Comments on: Wandering Down Memory Lane

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:03:03 +0000

Thanks for sharing!

By: susan.brady

susan.brady — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:45:12 +0000

(1) The fact that it was an old home. While I found it charming, many people prefer something build after 1900. While I saw the history (it used to be used for revival meetings), others saw the potential upkeep and upgrades down the road. (2) location, location, location. Near a busy street (woodside road), and amongst duplexes and apartments with lots of residents, lots of cars and people, and not all of them as nicely kept as when I had bought previously.

By: Ed

Ed — Sun, 11 May 2008 20:50:02 +0000

So what do you think it was that caused your home to not sell?

By: susan.brady

susan.brady — Tue, 06 May 2008 04:26:48 +0000

Zain, I have sent the info to your email address.

By: zain

zain — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:08:54 +0000

Susan: great post! I’m in the market for a first home and I’m regularly stumped about what’s a good location and what isn’t. Great advice, though.

Hey, any chance you could post contact info for Auntie Val? That’s a solid endorsement and I’d love to give her a call Drop me an email if you dont want to post the info in public – zain at inzain dot net

By: susan.brady

susan.brady — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:39:38 +0000

Yes, we did enjoy the home, but in hindsight we would have been better off in PA. Not only would we have made more $$$ (I mean almost $200k), but the schools would have been better, and it would have been highly unlikely that the house would have sat for any length of time on the market. You cannot imagine what it is like to ready a house every day for 18 months for potential clients. With 2 children and a dog, that is no easy feat.

By: Red

Red — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:25:56 +0000

You lived in a charming home for 7 years and you have regrets? Have you ever fixed a “fixer”? You can sink an enormous amount of money, live with countless problems, contractor nightmares… and then not get lucky with where the “location” is and lose your shirt.
Ah, and Palo Alto home prices sucked around ’94 too. Check out one – very nice – place:
Sold: 1988: $1,350,000.
Sold: 1990: $2,400,000.
Sold: 1993: $1,650,000.
A $750,000 loss.
This is: “Palo Altos Signature Home, The Squire House” now for sale at $14,750,000. A little high?
Nah, location, location, location….

By: Tracey Taylor

Tracey Taylor — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:16:45 +0000

Susan: I think “San Mateo” makes a valid point. You said yourself:

“the house served us well for 7 years. There were numerous families in the neighborhood, lots of friends for our children, and easy access to freeways. The store was within walking distance, as was a school”

That sounds pretty idyllic to me and worth factoring in when crunching the numbers. Seven years of good-quality life is worth a lot!

By: San Mateo Home Sellers in Trouble

San Mateo Home Sellers in Trouble — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:35:12 +0000

My question is, do you think you would have liked to live in the Palo Alto house better? Nevermind the amount of money you could have made, a house really is just a place to live.

By: david gordon

david gordon — Mon, 05 May 2008 04:49:02 +0000

You are indeed lucky. It is tough to find or know someone who truly cares about your financial situation after the sale. Many have to ask a friend or talk to a listing broker at a house they walk into.

You are also knowledgeable of local RE where many are not and have no clue what is going on in their local area, and that can spell disaster if you are looking for blind guidance from a realtor. The decision to buy or sell really does start and end with the buyer/seller. A realtor is mainly there for the paperwork in my eyes, and they get paid quite a bit to do that!