4 ms·

We had a contractor doing repairs before we sold our house. Without being asked he took an orbital sander to the wooden hand railings along the stairs to the fr

We had a contractor doing repairs before we sold our house. Without being asked he took an orbital sander to the wooden hand railings along the stairs to the front door and said "people really notice this". A family came for the tour and before walking in the father put his hand on the rail, looked up at the house, and said "this place seems well maintained". Then they bought the house after a small pleasant (for us) bidding war. The contractor earned his high rate and then some.

WalterBright 3mo ago
A real estate agent told me that a customer decides to buy/not buy a house as soon as they put their hand on the front door knob. If he decides to buy, he'll look at the rest of the house looking for a reason not to. I.e. putting in an expensive door knob is a good plan!
- HPsquared 3mo ago
  Also make sure the door operates smoothly and is well-aligned.
- SoftTalker 3mo ago
  Certainly wasn't the case for any of the houses I've bought. All were compromises in various ways; none were houses we loved on first sight.
  - WalterBright 3mo ago
    Have you ever driven by a prospective purchase and never bothered to get out of the car? > All were compromises in various ways That's true of just about everything.
    - SoftTalker 3mo ago
      No, if we took the time to go to the place, we at least looked at it. I don't remember ever driving up to any property and just turning around. Did we rule looking at something based on photos/descriptions? Yes, certainly.
      - WalterBright 3mo ago
        Photos tend to focus on the house, not the setting. A big deal for me is the relationship of the house to the sun, the neighborhood, the view, privacy, traffic, noise, etc.
        phil21 3mo ago
        Even a house you know you're not going to buy is worth taking a walk-through if you're already there and the agent has prepped it for showing. You can learn a lot from such experiences. What to look for/what not to look for, etc. Sometimes the wrong location will have the right house and you can dial in precisely the things that matter to you so you waste less time on future showings. Of course if you're highly experienced and on your 4th house purchase the value for your time may not be there. But I've found it quite useful over the years - especially when looking at different property types than I'm experienced with.
- lotu 3mo ago
  There's a reason the three most important things in real estate are "Location, location, location"
  - jawilson2 3mo ago
    None of those are "door knob, door knob, door knob!"
    - red369 3mo ago
      :) I was confused by the parent post too. Perhaps they mean that you see the neighbourhood before you even see the house. A little like the first impression of the house is made before even seeing the actual house.
- brnt 3mo ago
  > A real estate agent told me Whatever you wanted to hear to make them the most amount of money in the(ir) least amount of time. They are the sellers agent. You should not trust them a millimetre further than that. (I bought my current house based on a spreadsheet analysis. Doorknobs are easy to replace, foundations, walls, electric, a lot harder.)
  - arcanemachiner 3mo ago
    You seem to be assuming that the real estate agent was in the process of selling them a house.
    - WalterBright 3mo ago
      A good friend of mine is a real estate agent. I have never retained him. He's a fountain of good advice, though. He's the most successful agent in my community. BTW, a so-so agent will lie to you. The ones on the top, however, are that way because they get repeat business. P.S. Read books on salesmanship. It will inure you against slimy sales pitches.
switchbak 3mo ago
Maybe it's just me, but someone deciding to physically sand things without my consent would get a stern eye from me. Unless it's well into the "no brainer" kind of decision. (eg: the railing didn't have a finish on it, etc).
- deleted 3mo ago
  [deleted]

WalterBright 3mo ago

A real estate agent told me that a customer decides to buy/not buy a house as soon as they put their hand on the front door knob. If he decides to buy, he'll look at the rest of the house looking for a reason not to. I.e. putting in an expensive door knob is a good plan!

HPsquared 3mo ago
Also make sure the door operates smoothly and is well-aligned.
SoftTalker 3mo ago
Certainly wasn't the case for any of the houses I've bought. All were compromises in various ways; none were houses we loved on first sight.
- WalterBright 3mo ago
  Have you ever driven by a prospective purchase and never bothered to get out of the car? > All were compromises in various ways That's true of just about everything.
  - SoftTalker 3mo ago
    No, if we took the time to go to the place, we at least looked at it. I don't remember ever driving up to any property and just turning around. Did we rule looking at something based on photos/descriptions? Yes, certainly.
    - WalterBright 3mo ago
      Photos tend to focus on the house, not the setting. A big deal for me is the relationship of the house to the sun, the neighborhood, the view, privacy, traffic, noise, etc.
      - phil21 3mo ago
        Even a house you know you're not going to buy is worth taking a walk-through if you're already there and the agent has prepped it for showing. You can learn a lot from such experiences. What to look for/what not to look for, etc. Sometimes the wrong location will have the right house and you can dial in precisely the things that matter to you so you waste less time on future showings. Of course if you're highly experienced and on your 4th house purchase the value for your time may not be there. But I've found it quite useful over the years - especially when looking at different property types than I'm experienced with.
lotu 3mo ago
There's a reason the three most important things in real estate are "Location, location, location"
- jawilson2 3mo ago
  None of those are "door knob, door knob, door knob!"
  - red369 3mo ago
    :) I was confused by the parent post too. Perhaps they mean that you see the neighbourhood before you even see the house. A little like the first impression of the house is made before even seeing the actual house.
brnt 3mo ago
> A real estate agent told me Whatever you wanted to hear to make them the most amount of money in the(ir) least amount of time. They are the sellers agent. You should not trust them a millimetre further than that. (I bought my current house based on a spreadsheet analysis. Doorknobs are easy to replace, foundations, walls, electric, a lot harder.)
- arcanemachiner 3mo ago
  You seem to be assuming that the real estate agent was in the process of selling them a house.
  - WalterBright 3mo ago
    A good friend of mine is a real estate agent. I have never retained him. He's a fountain of good advice, though. He's the most successful agent in my community. BTW, a so-so agent will lie to you. The ones on the top, however, are that way because they get repeat business. P.S. Read books on salesmanship. It will inure you against slimy sales pitches.

switchbak 3mo ago

Maybe it's just me, but someone deciding to physically sand things without my consent would get a stern eye from me. Unless it's well into the "no brainer" kind of decision. (eg: the railing didn't have a finish on it, etc).

deleted 3mo ago
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