One day, in the not too distant future, this blog will originate in Mérida, not southeastern Virginia.
A major step was taken this past weekend, when our home in Norfolk was opened to scores of people searching for antiques and other assorted housewares at bargain prices. We just ended a three day estate sale and I can tell you this... it's a lot of work and we are exhausted. We contracted with an estate sale company because we read that it is not advisable to do this on your own. It does seem, though, that we did most of the work and paid them a hefty fee to collect the money. That being said, the sale went very well and we are now living in an almost empty house. There are still a few items remaining that will go to a local auction house and we will have a yard sale to get rid of the remaining junk. Was it an emotional experience? Not in the least. We have been told that letting go of material possessions can be very freeing and that is exactly the case. The moment we made a decision to purchase a home in the Yucatán we began a gradual detachment from all that we have accumulated over a lifetime. Other than a very few small items that will fit in our luggage or vehicle, everything is going. It feels really good to have most of the furniture gone. The house is That's the next step.
Out of clutter find simplicity; from discord find harmony; in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” ~Einstein
Great. You are well on the road.
ReplyDeleteThis was a huge step for us and it feels really good to be free of all that stuff. Now we can concentrate on getting the house spruced up and placed on the market. It looks like the real estate market is beginning to show signs of life once again, so we are hopeful.
ReplyDeleteI'm in a similar boat, but reversed. I sold my house and am now grappling with what I'll do with all my stuff.
ReplyDeleteI sold my house on my own with advice from a friend who used to be a r.e. agent. You can get your listing on trulia.com, realtor.com and all the other sites by using a MLS listing service. It used to be that people found houses by driving around and seeing For Sale signs. Now they find houses online. I listed my house at a price that was slightly less than others like it. After a few months I dropped it about 20% and the buyer showed up a week or two later. Painful, but mine sold and the others didn't.
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Thanks for the comment. We would like to sell by owner. With the sometimes drastically lower market prices, paying a 5 or 6% commission really hurts. Not having to add that on to the sales price could be the difference in getting an offer or not.
DeleteHello John and Alan, I'm new to your blog and thoroughly enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI'm planning to move to Merida next year...still house hunting. Just a comment about FSBO. I'm a Realtor in New York and I'd like to suggest that if you decide to sell your house on your own, first pay a licensed agent to supply you with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). It should cost you know more than $100. Statistically, people who sell their homes on their own make less than if they used and Realtor.
With a CMA in hand, you'll have a better chance of beating the competition. Good luck and hopefully we'll meet one day in Merida.
Hi Melissa, I'm sorry that I didn't see your comment until now. I'm supposed to get an e-mail with new comments, but something must not be working. At any rate, thanks for that advice on selling. I'm sure we will end up going with a realtor. It will just be so much easier and we'll get much more traffic.
DeleteI do hope that we will meet in Merida soon. Thanks again. John