Selling Our Cottage

Our house has been on the market for four weeks. We did our monthly SOR with the realtor, viewed the latest comps, and dropped the price 4.5%. We are on the wrong side of the freeway. Location is everything. All our comps are coming from the other side of the freeway.

Debby mentioned that she thought the master bath was our weakest point and the realtor agreed. A quick redo is in motion - new paint on walls (tan) and cupboards (dark brown), replacing on-wall medicine chest with a wood framed beveled mirror, and replacing a modern vanity light fixture with a more period-looking fixture. The redo should be finished by Friday.

We also will make the living area look bigger. Today we removed the large drapes in the dining room and removed a leaf from the dining table. Debby will sell the sofa in the living room and we will move some chairs around to make the room look lived in. We were not planning to move the sofa anyway.

We'll see what the next month brings. Our realtor believes the prices in our neighborhood have bottomed. Houses are selling for asking price and more. But interest rates are starting to rise again, and layoffs continue to plague the young urban professionals who would be potential buyers here.

Meanwhile, our focus continues on the Seattle market. I will be in Seattle Tuesday through Thursday getting the lay of the land. I will learn where houses are selling there, and that's where it would make sense to buy. Location counts.

We aren't considering buying there before we sell here. This sale will in all likelihood take a while. But if something 'to die for' popped up, we would probably grab it and deal with the consequences. Hopefully, we'll be in the Pacific Northwest by 2010. If not, we are fixing this place up so that we will enjoy living here for however long it takes.