Out in the woods, the house is almost done...
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The second floor has its second coat of poly. Third coat will be applied after all other work is done. First floor has been sanded and is waiting for its finish.
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Might be a little hard to see here, but the balusters (the vertical parts of the handrail) are pretty close together. I saw a railing like this in another house in the development and said we wanted them spaced out more. But, it turns out they have to be that close together because of building codes: 4" minimum between balusters. Drat!
Also, upstairs windows all must have child-proof mechanism to stop them from opening more than 4" without pressing a little button while lifting. And so they do.
The kitchen is progressing.
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This is the first time we've seen the house with lights in it. It's been natural light, only, up till this week. But now, it's alive!
We did our unofficial pre-walkthrough walkthrough this weekend. We made a list of things that need to be fixed. Most were minor: a couple of cabinet doors don't close correctly (too close together); some minor drywall patches needed; utility room sink is too small for the opening they cut in the counter; there's a big gap between the granite and the wall on one end of the kitchen counter, etc..
Mrs. discovered that the big light fixture she chose for the foyer is just too small for the space it occupies. So, she's going to have to see if it can be returned.
While we were there, there was a whole family working to clean up the sanding dust from the floor finishing: mother, father, two little girls. It did not feel great seeing two little girls wiping down our stairs by-hand. I don't feel its my place to say anything to anyone about this, though. Oh well.
Current house is still for sale. We were talking to some neighbors at a Halloween party who said under no circumstances should we try to sell an empty house - because if we did, people will assume we're desperate to sell and will give ridiculous low-ball offers. So, if we heed their warnings, we'll either have to leave enough furniture there to make it look lived in (not really possible - we really don't have a lot of spare furniture), or rent some furniture. Blech. Our realtor said not to worry about it.
I’ve heard the opposite concerning empty houses: some say (you know, some) that if the house has no furniture, it’s easier for the prospective buyer to imagine their own furniture and belongings in the space.
Both sides are anecdotal. Real Estate is a science, like psychology plus economics minus the rigor.
it’s easier for the prospective buyer to imagine their own furniture and belongings in the space
yup. that’s what our realtor said. with our stuff in there, it limits what people can envision.
my plan: leave the lawnmower in the garage (stupid grass is still growing) and get everything else out, ASAP.
Mmmm. If it was me looking around an empty house my first thought would be “make them a stupid offer, they’re probably paying two mortgages!”.
But it all depends on _what your realtor gives away_ – if they say “Oh, the Cleeks have moved into a nice new house” then it won’t help. :)