Be Prepared

As a young girl in scouting I was always told, "Be prepared."  I have held that as part of my living style forever.  In fact my purse weighs a ton because I have small scissors, band aids, aspirin (watch out for the heart attack) lotions, sun screen, needle and thread, safely pins, tape, plus all the usual stuff.  My suit case never makes it under the weight limit at the airlines.  I need the rain coat, the sandals, plus good walking shoes, a black dress (I read somewhere to always have a black dress with you in case you quickly need to go to a funeral) a small medicine cabinet, a mini library of books, clothes, bars and juice boxes (I don't always like the food I am served) and my hair and make-up products.  My husband always says I over-do it.  He is right, but I am always once step ahead of the game.

 

Sellers need to be the same way when they list their house. They need to be prepared for what the buyer will object to.  Here is a good check list:

1)Broken windows and torn screens

2)Furnaces and air conditioners that have not been cleaned and tuned up recently

3)Over-grown vegetation

4)Trees growing in gutters

5)Window wells with plants growing in them

6)Electrical boxes not labeled

7)Drains that do not drain

8)Leaking faucets and spray hoses

9)Basements with spider webs

10)Ants and mice and bats

11)Fences in poor condition

12)Garage door openers that do not operate correctly

 

Do you think that is a long list?  Those were objections that commonly came up on three buyers' inspections that were done for my buyers last week.  It would have been cheaper and less frustrating if the sellers had taken care of the list of objections before their house was listed.  If the showing agents miss them, if the buyer does not complain, you can bet the inspector that is being  paid $350+ for the inspection will find these issues.

 

Be prepared before you list your house.  See it through the eyes of a buyer and you will get to work on the job jar.

Comments

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Thank you Beth! Our goal is to complete an entire novel, I guess you could say the tidbits we are posting are excerpts. I am mostly interested in people's opinions,critiques about our posts right now, kind of testing the waters with our ideas and learning.

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One problem with this discussion is while nice; it's an example of the tail trying to wag the dog. The needs of transit authorities to be able to collect small payments rapidly probably is not high on the list of lawmakers' concerns, especially since in the US the jurisdictions running transit agency are not those printing and coining money.

The better solution is to move to electronic fare collection systems (RFID-based, smartcard-based, whatever) for most trips. For one-off trips by non-regular transit users; onboard (or platform-located) vending machines can sell single-ride tickets.

At a very minimum, transit authorities who have little cash to upgrade their onboard equipment, could still switch to a proof of payment system (enabling faster boarding and rear-boarding) by having the driver give out transfers for all cash fares; anybody with a pass or a ticket purchased elsewhere is free to use the rear door; anyone who wants to do it the old fashioned way has to board in the front, pay exact change, and keep their receipt.

This will help transit agencies run efficient operations more than hoping the greenback goes away; even if the US currency is excessively paper-based..wllv20111108

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This is just mean-spirited and petty. Here's a guy who has given most of his professional life to public service in Durham County and done more than creditable service through some pretty important issues. He gets in trouble for giving commission members legal advice they don't want to hear on a hot zoning case and they dump him - only months before his planned retirement. Shame! is all I can say.I also believe true "equal opportunity" in practice requires an open hiring and employment process. I think both Patrick Baker and Lowell Siler are wonderful people. However, as someone who would potentially compete for these jobs, it is disheartening to have these positions be filled as a result of backroom negotiations rather than open processes.
wllv20111108