High on Paint Fumes

Hello!

• Bad news: the whole upstairs has to be painted; the addition has to drywalled; my indoor Chinese laundry lines must be taken down. Before the house is even listed on the MLS.

• Good news: paint hides many sins (fumes notwithstanding); we have a fantastic real estate broker. From the three we interviewed, he was by FAR the best choice, judged by honesty, timeliness, and knowledge. With almost 150 acres on the line, Peter Hebb, with his background in surveying and forestry, is our ideal agent.

Fixing up a house just to sell it seems like a overwhelming task. One has no way of knowing if the "fixes" will make any difference to a prospective buyer. Everyone says that the cosmetic touches both draw buyers in but also don't make any difference in offers made because people will change things as soon as they move in. Seems like an oxymoron to me. Why waste time, money and energy on something that buyers will most likely change anyway, but without, won't even come in to look at what you have to offer?

You want to know why we didn't pick one of the more popular agents? Apparently the land, and landscaping, will not be what will persuade someone to make an offer. (Besides the fact that he low-balled us right from the start!) I swear my jaw hit the floor. Yes, to give him credit, he did say the fact this place has not seen chemicals in over 5 and a half years will make this property more attractive to some buyers. But not the apple, or cherry, or plum trees. Nor organic blueberries and blackberries, enough though there is even to sell. We were too disgusted to mention that this land provided us with all the meat our family required to last through winter and spring.

My apologies. I rant. It was not my intention today. Now I must go paint some more.

An after-thought: did you know that this week, organic blueberries are selling at $3.99/half a pint??? Only half? Imagine that. I have at least 3 acres of them right here at my back door. Life is sweet.