Tag: buyers

It’s Back Breaking Work ….. part 1

It’s Back Breaking Work ….. part 1

susanmyoung1 Comment

The process of getting our home ready for sale means that a few things have to happen before we can tackle some big items. One thing that needed to happen was moving into our garage/apartment and we can now check that off of our list. Well, sort of. Our bed is in place and so is Truly’s dog crate and Tripp and Tyler’s beds. A couch has yet to make it up although the cushions did, so we have been lounging on the floor which suites the dogs just fine. We have plates and cups but no silverware and no food. All of that is still in the house. The other night Don said he was going to the “big house” to forage for food. He came back with a bottle of wine in one hand and a saucepan with a can of soup in the other. That’s my guy! The mighty hunter!  Four days later and we have finally moved the computers. It’s a slow process but we are getting there. At least the dogs seem happy with the move.

apartment and dogs

Our first big project to tackle is the living room ceilings. The living room, kitchen and dining room all share the same 18ft ceiling and there are a few cracks that need to be repaired. Actually, “cracks” is the wrong word. When Don was drywalling the ceiling he was recovering from a burst L1 vertebrae. Instead of using the paper tape that he has traditionally used with new drywall, he used fiber tape. It was faster and got the job done except that it only takes a slight amount of movement (settling) that all new homes go through and it cracks the paint. Slowly he has gone through the house, room by room, and fixed this issue as it has popped up. The ceiling is the last area that needs attention. Having scaffolding in the living room once again brings back memories of the beginning of this project.scaffolding.jpg

June 2004 saw us living in the garage, the house was framed and only lacked windows to be dried in. Things were going well. I was at my office when Don called and simply said “come home”.

“Why?”

“Just come home,” I immediately hit panic mode. Something was wrong. My van was having work done so someone at my office drove me home. We discovered Don laying on the floor in considerable pain. Evidently, he had been coming down from the loft when his ladder kicked out from under him, throwing him backward onto his back. He was the only person working on the house at that time so instead of calling for help, he crawled to the garage and up the stairs to his mom’s apartment over the garage. That’s when he called me. Don wouldn’t let me call an ambulance so we helped him down to my friends SUV and we drove him to the emergency room where we discovered that he had burst his L1 Vertebrae. The neurologist wanted to do surgery ASAP. Don said no, give me time to think. Thankfully we had a friend who was a surgeon who did us the favor of making a few phone calls and asking some questions. He was advised that if the burst was stable, to give it time to heal on its own. We were already incredibly lucky that Don was not permanently paralyzed after all of that moving around, now we were planning to put him in a turtle shell and let him be for several months. You can imagine that this did not make his doctor happy.

Don spent four nights in the hospital and was then sent home without surgery. He stayed in his bed for several days in the garage bedroom. Eventually, he felt well enough to make his way up the stairs to his mom’s apartment. He was on painkillers and in a turtle shell and our life was on hold. We had no idea if he would heal. There was still a chance that he could become paralyzed and to add to all of this stress the bank was giving us grief about our loan. When we took out our loan for the house, we owned our 8-1/2 acres and the garage with the apartment free and clear. We allowed the bank to hold all of this as collateral for our construction loan and now they were threatening to foreclose.  They were unhappy that our contractor/builder was laid up and that I was starting a new career in Real Estate. The loan officer felt that she had stuck her neck out too far and she was going to make sure that it wasn’t her that got burned.  Stress? Yeah, we know about stress.

I had also been competing with Tucker at that time, trying to get his first Utility leg. I had already been entered in a trial in Knoxville when this happened. Don encouraged me to go anyhow. He thought I needed to get out of this mess for a few hours. So at four in the morning, in the rain, I drove to Knoxville and over halfway there I started kicking myself. What the hell was I doing? What if I had a traffic accident? What would Don do? Stupid, stupid me! I continued on as by then it wasn’t that far away. I arrived just as our class was starting so I took Tucker out of the van, aired him and warmed him up. We went into the ring and nailed each exercise one at a time. Finally! It looked like we were getting that first leg! Finally, some good news! The last exercise was the go-out and directed retrieve. Tucker went out, sat, took the high jump as directed. My excitement was building. I sent him out again, he sat in the correct spot, I directed him over the bar jump and he….took the high jump. I quietly put his leash on him, went out to the van and started sobbing. All of the stress of the last few weeks came out. People walked by and saw me having a break down then walked away, whispering.  Eventually, I got myself together, went into the building and sat down next to my friend Michelle who was also crying. I said “Tucker blew the very last exercise. Why are you crying?”

“Titus finally got his utility title after dozens of tries”.

“Congratulations” sniff sniff “You worked hard for that title” sniff sniff. I gave her a hug, pulled myself together and drove home to take care of my husband and start the process of saving our property.

To be continued…………..

 

Tucker at weaverville rental (2)
our beautiful Tucker

 

 

 

 

Dogs, Apartments and Designs

Dogs, Apartments and Designs

susanmyoung1 Comment

We have many things that need to happen before we can put our home on the market. The first is to move out of the house. Having pets makes home selling difficult, although not impossible. We have previously sold three other homes while living with one or two golden retrievers but those homes were smaller and easier to manage. This home is quite large and our three goldens can make a day’s house cleaning look like a wasted effort in no time. Just keeping up with the puppy nose prints on the windows is a full-time job. We have the option of moving into the apartment over our garage so this is next on the checklist.

When we designed our home back in 2002-2003, my mother in law had just moved in with us. We decided to build the garage first, with an apartment over it, and then live there while we built the house. It was a great plan except that the apartment only has one bedroom. To give everyone a bit of space, we planned for a half bath in the garage and partitioned off part of the garage as a bedroom. Don and I slept in this space while my mother in law got the apartment. We ended up living with this arrangement for two years. Two long years. My mother in law lived with us for several years then moved back to Louisiana. We had a couple of renters after that. Each were real estate clients that needed a place to crash for a short term. Then our nephew moved in for a while. Six years ago, my own mother moved in with us. Recently she decided to move back to Northern Illinois to be closer to friends and family and that’s how I spent this weekend; helping my mom with her final packing. We spent a great deal of time organizing what the movers will take north, what goes in storage and what goes to Goodwill.  The apartment is now empty (or will be after today). It’s almost time for us to move in.

Next on the checklist is scrubbing down the apartment, fresh paint, and new flooring. We have to remember that this space is also for sale and it, too needs to look good. Once this is complete we will move just enough furniture for our needs, including the dog beds. All two dozen of them. Doesn’t every dog have a bed in every room of the house including their very own couch in the bedroom? Of our three golden retrievers, only Tripp will think that moving is an adventure. Old lady Truly simply won’t care as long as she is sleeping in the same room with us. The Punkin, however, is not going to like this. The Punkin doesn’t like change. She thinks everything is a conspiracy to her happiness and well being. The Punkin will not be pleased but the Punkin needs to learn to cope. We expect many arguments with the dogs as they realize they are no longer allowed in the house. All three of them have lived their entire lives on this property. Not having access to their refuge is going to take some convincing. If they only knew what comes next…..

All seven of our dogs have lived all or some part of their life on this property. Taylor was our first golden and we got her as a little pup when we lived in town on Murdock Avenue. From that remodel project we moved into a rental house while we built in East Asheville then moved again when that house was complete. We eventually sold that house and then house-sat for friends for a few months before moving into another rental while building the Spec house at the front of our property. We moved into that once it was complete. Poor Taylor moved with us four times plus two house-sitting stints. By the time we got to the Spec house, she knew all of the signs and when she saw the dog bed hit the floor in the new house, she was not please. She went to a corner, turned her back and sulked. We tried petting her but she went rigid. Her body was vibrating with the effort not to respond. So we did the only thing we knew to do; we made popcorn. Popcorn makes everything better in the eyes of a Golden Retriever. It was while living in the spec house that Taylor was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor. She was our beautiful flower child, always chasing butterflies and looking for fun. She made it through one more move when we moved into the garage. She saw the foundation go in for the house but missed the rest. She is the only one of our seven dogs who has not lived in this home but at least she had the opportunity to enjoy the pasture and the 100 Acre Woods.

This home was built and designed for our dogs as well as for us. There are no stairs for arthritic hips to maneuver when going outdoors. The windows are at dog level so they can look out at the pasture and watch their domain. We tiled the back foyer and designed a pocket gate for easy confinement when entering the home with muddy feet. The basement has a training ring so I can work with my dogs towards obedience competition titles and a large dog bath to make grooming easier. We also have a dog run off the back of the house so the dogs have a place to potty on days when we are gone too long. I am hoping the person who buys this house loves dogs as much as we do. We built it for them as much as for us.

 

2017-09-04 13.54.50
Tripp and the Punkin watch over their domain from the dog bed

 

When the real estate broker becomes the real estate seller….

When the real estate broker becomes the real estate seller….

susanmyoungLeave a comment

This morning I asked Don, for the dozenth time “did you read my blog post?”

“You posted something?”

I let out a big sigh. “Yes. On debris flows and other types of landslides. It’s posted on both my personal and business Facebook pages. You didn’t see it?”

He replied, “oh, sorry, I thought that was another news report and skimmed past it.”

Houston, we have a problem. I enjoy writing but it seems few people take the time to read what I have written. Don thinks it’s the topics. Every real estate agent that writes a blog writes about staging your home for sale, preparing for home inspections, and other well covered topics. He suggested a change of direction. Don and have decided to sell our home. This means me, a real estate broker, is about to become a home seller. Then a home buyer. Or more likely we will buy land then design and build our next home. Most likely we will be renting for a while. Or maybe living in an RV? Or maybe we will load the dogs in the van and camp out down by the river while we figure out the next step. Hmmm…….I like that idea. This could get interesting.

Let’s start this new direction with the story about how we came to buy this land. Don and I were living in the Riceville area, east of Asheville. He was convinced that he needed more than a few acres to keep him occupied once he retired. I liked the idea of living in the country. We loved the little town of Weaverville and since this would hopefully be our last move, we decided to settle north. Don suggested a little further north in Madison County since the property taxes are lower. I agreed with the caveat that we tried to find land as close to Buncombe County as we could. I was not yet in real estate so finding land was Don’s project. We looked at several parcels but none of them felt right. Then one day he called Bill Eckstat at New Horizons Realty in Mars Hill who directed him to a 9-1/2 acre tract on Bartlett Road, right on the county line.  Everything started falling into place.

After Don had walked the property with Bill, he gathered me and the dogs up in the van and drove us out to this rolling pasture. It had once been a tobacco field but for many years it pastured horses and the wild raspberries were taking over. There was an old tobacco barn sitting under a cluster of massive oak trees on one of the knolls. We walked to this and sat, looking out over the fields while the dogs went exploring. I said this would work. Don wasn’t so sure and I asked why. He said he just couldn’t picture it.

The thing to know about Don and I is that we are both artists. In the late sixties, he briefly went to college to become an architect. College life wasn’t for him and eventually, he joined his dad’s construction business and started building and remodeling homes. In his free time, he drew portraits. Since retiring two years ago, he has rediscovered his art and has even painted a few commissions for clients. I have always been artistic and loved to draw but didn’t find my outlet until about 10 years ago when I took a stained glass class. I decided immediately that I would only work from my own imagination and never from someone else’s pattern. Since then I have created many commissioned portraits of different dogs in glass.  For the two of us together, it means that we can describe ideas, plans, and house features to each other in a way that paints a picture that the other will understand. Not many couples can do this and it is a big part of why home building and remodeling is so stressful for so many people. For us, it’s our Zen place.

So as we sat on that knoll in the rolling pasture, looking out over the possibilities of a home here, I was a little surprised when Don said that he couldn’t picture it. He couldn’t get an image of what our home could look like on this piece of property. I suggested a little exercise in imagery. I told him to envision being on a long vacation and we were returning home. He is pulling in the driveway and what does he see?  We sat there in silence for a while, listening to the birds and watching the dogs chase each other in the pasture. After a while, he said “I got it. This is the place.”  We had found our next home.

High End vs Vintage Homes

High End vs Vintage Homes

susanmyoungLeave a comment

vintage

noun  vin·tage  \ ˈvin-tij \

1a (1) : a season’s yield of grapes or wine from a vineyard

(2) : wine; especially: a usually superior wine all or most of which comes from a single year

b : a collection of contemporaneous and similar persons or things: crop

2: the act or time of harvesting grapes or making wine

3a : a period of origin or manufacture such as a piano of 1845 vintage

b : length of existence: age

In this case, we are talking about Vintage Homes.  Why use the word Vintage?  Because old sounds old and tired as if the home is in need of work when that’s not always the case. Many of these old homes have been lovingly restored with modern features yet retain an amount of charm and character that new homes often lack. A home absorbs the feel of the families who occupied it and the older the home, the more life it has experienced. They are full of love and sadness, joy and sorrow. They have a character that you feel as well as see. It’s no secret that I LOVE Vintage homes and it is for this very reason.

Recently I had the opportunity to view a stately mansion, circa 1916. I called my friend and fellow Realtor, Lydia to join me on this expedition. Lydia is a Buyers Agent for high-end clients but rarely sets foot in a Vintage home. I have listed a few high-end homes but my passion is Vintage. It was fun to tour this home together as our perspectives where far from overlapping.

The first thing she noticed was a slope in the kitchen floor. I bounced on it a few times, looked at the joists from below and declared there were no worries, it’s typical settling for this age. She was stunned. What do you mean this is FINE?  Agreed, in a new home it is most certainly not fine but in a 120 year old home, it’s normal and expected. I was excited that the home had air-conditioning. Lydia gave me a blank stare. Why wouldn’t it have air? Because it’s an upgrade! Even in this high end price range, not all homes have updated heating, cooling and electrical. This one has all three! The kitchen in this home is spacious which excited me. In many Vintage homes, the kitchen was an afterthought.  Lydia was concerned that her high-end buyers would bemoan the lack of granite tops and stainless steel. OK, she has a point on that one. I was unhappy that the master bath was not done in period tile. She was overjoyed that the travertine tile, rain forest shower head and large, claw foot tub for soaking gave the owners a spa-like feel. Everything else is period, can’t we give them one getaway to relax and rejuvenate? OK, I’ll give her that one too. She knows what her buyers need and if her buyers are not into the quirks and peccadilloes of Vintage, a home like this would be a poor choice. However, even if Vintage is their thing, they may still want a touch of modern.

It’s always important to work with a buyers agent who understands what you want and need in a home. By the same token, if you are selling a Vintage home it would behoove you to pick an agent that shares your passion. As we have just discussed, not all high-end real estate agents have the same perspective. Choose someone who understands you and understands your home and it will be a successful partnership every time!

Sunnyside,_173_Macon_Ave.,_Asheville,_N._C._(5756038688)

Living on the County Line

Living on the County Line

susanmyoungLeave a comment

This is a cautionary tale for anyone purchasing a home that is located on the county line. I am not saying you shouldn’t do it. In fact, there are many perks that can come your way. But there is also some frustration.

Many years ago my husband and I went looking for land to build our new home. Don wanted to be in Madison County for the lower tax rate. We both wanted to be close to Asheville. We found the perfect spot right on the county line. The property was in Madison but it was the Weaverville (Buncombe County) post office that delivered our mail. Therefore, people thought we lived in Buncombe County.

On the plus side, this gave me access to a larger library system. It also gave us slightly lower delivery rates from many local vendors. It also caused some issues.
Sometimes it’s minor stuff like discovering the lumber yard was charging me a higher tax rate because they assumed we were using the lumber in Buncombe County. I have to always remember to tell the car mechanic that we live in Madison when we have inspections done. Madison does not require emissions testing. However, you have to make sure your car registration is always recorded correctly as it affects your personal property tax rate. Speaking of taxes…….

Many years ago I refinanced my loan. I made sure the attorney knew which county the house resided in. He collected money for property taxes then sent it to Buncombe County who then returned the check (no account to credit). The check sat on the attorney’s desk for several months. I was alerted to the error when I received a notice of foreclosure by the county for unpaid taxes. Isn’t that a fun letter to receive in the mail? It got better. The same attorney recorded our deed and mortgage in Buncombe County then discovered his error a year later and recorded in Madison County. However, the lender didn’t know about the correction (neither did I) so when that lender sold the note, then that lender sold the note, then that lender sold the note… all transfers were recorded in Buncombe County. This created a clear chain of title in the wrong county and NO chain of title in the correct county. This is a BIG problem that will hold up the sale of your property if not corrected. I did get this issue cleared up but not without a lot of aggravation over the course of several months. As my husband kept pointing out – thank goodness I am a real estate agent and understand what happened and how to fix it.

I still love my home and think it’s in the perfect location. We do plan to eventually sell and when we do, you better believe I will have a long talk with the closing attorney!
One item that doesn’t affect me but has affected a community near me is schools. The Seven Glenn’s Community has the county line running right through it. If you live in Buncombe County, your kids go to North Buncombe Schools. If you live in Madison County, your kids go to those schools. If the school district is important, make sure you make some calls and find out where your kids will go. For my own home (I actually asked!) kids would go to Madison County Schools. The Buncombe County bus actually turns around in my driveway but I would have to pay tuition if I wanted my (hypothetical) child in that school. Crazy.

Should you buy a home on the County Line? Sure! Just pay attention and you will be fine!

NC-Madison-County-North-Carolina-1911-Map-Rand-McNally

It must be Sparkly!

susanmyoung1 Comment

You have chosen your agent and they are doing their part to make your home look stunning in advertising. Mr & Ms. Seller, you also have work to do!

Your home must SPARKLE. That is capital letters, make no bones about it, SPARKLE. If two identical homes go up for sale on the same street, I promise you that the home that SPARKLES will sell quicker and for more money than the one that is only every-day clean. When a buyer walks in your door, they will see the dirt that is a part of our everyday life and it will make an impression on them. Sometimes, it can be a negative impression. Perfectly fine hardwood floors with smudge marks, dust and paw prints become floors that need to be refinished. Otherwise beautiful kitchen cabinets will suddenly need replacing because of grime that has accumulated around the pulls and handles. Every ounce of dust transmits to the potential buyer how your home was cared for and in turn, this affects not only whether a buyer decides to make an offer but how that offer is framed in terms of purchase price and repair requests. (I have previously addressed odor so I’m not going there again, but needless to say, your home needs to smell good too!)

I once worked with a buyer that looked for every little defect in a home so they could use this as a reason for the seller to reduce their purchase price. If you live in WNC, you know we have ladybugs every spring and stink bugs every fall. This buyer used the presence of even one bug to justify reducing the price. The kitchen pantry needed a good scrub down (what pantry doesn’t?). To her, this was evidence that the sellers were unclean and that she had work to do to make the home livable – so reduce the price. It was not a fun experience for anyone involved.

It is in every seller’s best interest to give their home a deep cleaning to prepare it for sale. Get rid of the cobwebs. Wash down window sills, screens and get rid of puppy nose marks on the windows. Make sure potential buyers can actually see the outdoors! Scrub down cabinets and appliances. Even the inside of a dishwasher could get looked at so make is SPARKLE. Mop your floors and clean the shower. Dust, dust, dust.  And then………keep it up because we all know it comes back again. I promise you that your efforts will pay off!

you own three dogs and see how easy it is to
keep up with puppy nose!
#thestruggleisreal

20180417_082451_resized

Can you see the view????

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take your dog to work..…every day

susanmyoungLeave a comment

Around the Asheville area, it’s very common to walk into a place of business and be greeted by the office dog.  For many of us, we immediately get a good vibe about the company. Of course, they must be good people if they love dogs!

Being a Real Estate Broker I have been blessed with the ability to bring my dogs to work with me. Sometimes they even get to help out.  A few years ago I marketed and sold a Boarding Kennel / Training facility where two of my dogs helped with the photo shoot to advertise the property. On another occasion, I was asked to bring my Tag along when listing a home. The owner was in her 80’s and the thought of selling her family home was very stressful. Tag sat at her side and gave her comfort through the process. A friend of mine is a home health nurse and often takes his dogs along when visiting home-bound patients. He says this always brightens their day.  A photographer that I know in Florida has used his dog in many photo shoots for jewelry and other items.

When I decided to change real estate offices, I interviewed with several companies. Everyone is positive that I picked Town and Mountain Realty because they have truly gone to the dogs. On an average day, you will see a half dozen different dogs trotting around. As cute a Frankie Doodle is, he really isn’t the reason that I picked this office but he told me a lot about the office. He told me the office has a heart. This is a place that cares about every person that enters the door. Just the other day I was greeted by the secretary Kassie as I pulled in the parking lot. She was walking two visiting dogs while their owners were discussing an offer on a potential new home. How many employers would tell their secretary “Yes! Go play with the customer’s dog so they can concentrate”. Not many people get the significance of that one little act of kindness.  It says a lot about the office I work at and the people I work with. It makes your work environment feel much more inviting. And it doesn’t hurt to always have a fuzzy face to cuddle with when you are having a bad day!

Tripp at my desk