It is an exciting weekend, as my kid sister is moving into the first house she has ever bought. We recently got an inheritance, and she decided that it was time to buy a house.
So, after a little retreat in late September where we had a mini-family reunion, they began looking in earnest. Surprisingly, they have a pretty solid income, and could afford a lot more than I thought (good for them), and they had ample selections to choose from, as the market is a little soft at the moment.
They bought a great older house with good bones, but in need of some TLC. It was owned by a single woman, a retiree who spent her life working at IBM in the south San Jose area. It was an estate sale, and the price was very fair for the area. But the trustee/executor of the estate didn’t have any money to tart it up, so it was largely as-is. Not as bad as that sounds, it means:
- It doesn’t pop, so a lot of buyers will go meh. It had been on the market for a while without attracting a lot of interest or offers.
- You don’t have the superficial “tarting” that is common. A coat of cheap paint, replace the carpet with some cheap rental grade carpet. And a deep cleaning. Sure, those things add to ‘curb-appeal’ but they are not where YOU would have spent the money.
After a month of getting things ready, they are moving in.
And on Sunday, I will go and lend my shoulder to help get them sorted. It will be a good day.
