House Update

The open house that was held at our place over the weekend was not a huge success. There were five groups that came through: 3 were neighbors, 1 liked the house but thought it was priced too high, the fifth didn't like the floorplan. It was not a surprise that the neighbors went through - they always are the most curious when a home is shown in the neighborhood. In talking with our agent yesterday, there were a couple of conclusions. The first one that I mentioned to him was that perhaps because the home is empty it might be a disadvantage. With no furniture, the home is too wide open. The second is that the price needs to be reduced to help with activity.

We are looking at a new method for staging a home - virtual staging - where a home is made to look furnished while viewing online. It is a brand new method for providing views of a home that looks lived-in while not physically having any furniture. The price for actually providing furniture on a physical staging contract is too high, so that is out. We are investigating the cost for the virtual staging as it is a brand new method. We reduced the price $5K which is not something we were happy to do. If it generates more activity, it will be worth it. The thing that bothers us the most is that if someone likes the house well enough - make an offer. The price is always negotiable.

There is a another, second open house scheduled for this weekend. We are hoping that the new price will make a difference and more people will show. We still have some time, so we are not panicking.

Josie goes into work early this morning - 7 AM - for what is the start of the final push for Valentine's Day. She will probably work until 4 or 5, so her days are not getting shorter at this point. That won't happen until Thursday when it is all over...