Selling in Silicon Valley - Want to come along for the wild ride?

[2017SoFarSoGood]

I'm prepping my house for sale in Silicon Valley, California - just south of San Francisco. The property market is completely insane. It is astonishing who can actually pay these prices - especially when you realize that most purchases are cash. That's right, cash. With no contingencies and no chain.

Will be chronicling the madness of this sale here. I will then be purchasing a smaller (cheaper we hope) property nearer to SF. They say 'good luck with that. Feel free to join in, or simply ignore. Should be very interesting.

DH is watching the photographer with fascination. Says he has just gone up with this amazing toy. It's a handheld drone controller that he clips to his iphone 7 plus to, then fixes a special lens onto the phone camera. The phone pivots slowly in various motions so you can get great shots in tight spaces like bathrooms.

Who knew?

I just rearranged my breakfast bananas and took a few of DH's apples out of the fridge. I don't think the fruit bowl even made it into shot, anyhow! (shame, because it's a pretty stainless steel Alessi one).

The stunt tablecloth is definitely one we'd use those - just one that the kids haven't ruined yet. I also saved my nicest looking towels for photos and viewings, took the chance to replace a stained shower curtain with a fresh one (something I do annually, anyhow) and so on.

All simple stuff, though - our house is only worth 5 figures! It soon became apparent that we'd made more effort than most of the vendors of the various houses worth 3-4 times as much that we viewed, so I can relate to the comment above about making the bed. Our agent said she'd had to tidy up before taking photos more times than she can recall.

The phone pivots slowly in various motions so you can get great shots in tight spaces like bathrooms.

I think the UK equivalent of that is standing on the toilet seat because it's the only way of getting the whole ensuite in shot without a door in the way :o

One of our local agents does use a drone for exterior shots, mind. It does give a good sense of how the house lies with its neighbours, before you go noseying on google street view, or for a drive by. (Our house is unrecognisable on street view as it's so long since it was updated here - we've rebuilt the garage and replaced crumbling pebbledash since then)

PickAChew

DH says the red mustang parked down in the street below us has now driven off. Not sure if it added or subtracted to the drone shots.

I've just had a call from the real estate guy, we've not even signed contracts yet or are even up for sale and we've got two viewings tomorrow

We are having a small amount of work done next week and I thought it would be better to wait until then.

Wow Poo that is amazing. Do you get to be home or are you forced to leave? We even have to take our poor cat when someone is coming to view. There is a one hour notice rule, but we shall see if it works. I'd love to be a fly on the wall.

Poor kitty is at the cat hotel. We get daily visits of ten minutes if we like

I don't want to be here 2017! It's our choice but I prefer the agents to earn their commission on this one

I think it's a bit mean your poor cat has to vacate too. Do you mean they can call you at 9 am one day and say you have a viewing at 10 am and you have to allow it?

I couldn't live with that stress with two small dc, I'd be a wreck before it sold!

Yes, Poo one hour's notice is all required once it is on market. We've actually rented an AirBnB for three days next week, when it is likely to be craziest during the day and evening. Weekend day opens are only a few hours, so hoping it will be less stressful.

The cat could stay home, but the litter box can't be on show, and the chances of someone leaving a door open and her escaping are high. She's an indoor cat, and we do have lots of turkey vultures (can lift a cat no problem if they choose to), coyote and even mountain lion sightings, so best not to risk it. DH considered taking the poor kittty out for rides - she does quite like the car - but we reckoned that would be more stressful on the whole than a week in 'cat jail' as my DGS's call it. Very fancy & expensive cat jail if you please. She's getting lots of lovies before and after. Poor baby.

Can you list out the things the stagers did or changed - really fascinated........

hi Another. My house is unrecognizable!

The stagers kept a handful of our items.

Living room: completely replaced everything except one Murano glass bowl, one piece of art and one small orange Chinese pot.

Dining room: Everything replaced except wall art and window treatments.

Master bedroom: left the mattress on the frame, our own bedside tables and three of the decorative cushions. Replaced wall art and all bedding. Added a rug.

Guest bedroom: left all art and wall shelves, and bed. Replaced bedding and added end tables and a rug.

Hallways: left all our art and one console table. Moved coat stand and bookcase.

Guest room/My dressing room: moved our master bed’s dresser in, used our chair, lamps, and added a rug. I staged it with or DGS’s small crib, toys and artwork. (I insisted on leaving my shoe cabinets) – Previously I had removed small couch, normal art work and my lingerie chest/dresser.

Family room: moved living room couch, two chairs, round decorative side table and lamp down there. Left tv cabinet, and some ornaments in it (4 large pieces.

Bathrooms: master she left exactly as I styled it (she liked my stuff!); en suite same. She added towels since I did not want to have mine out for general use.

Worst thing she did: made us take our real plants out, then put fake ones in. That stings.

Our realtor consoled me upfront - it is not the same quality as we have, but it is acceptable and what is expected in the area. The feel is quite Pottery Barn - do you have that there? I had antiques/steel and glass/mixed woods. Very eclectic. This is not my style. But if it gets the price up then job well done.

Your cat is giving you the evils, there.

I would sleep with your door closed for a few weeks, when this is over :o

PIckAChew she's home. On parole til Tuesday. She is NOT impressed with all of this new fake stuff in her home.

One shot from the Drone. Very interesting to see your house from totally new angles. I swear our deck umbrella is turquoise.

So hard trying to live in this without disturbing all the Stuff.

I'm gobsmacked at how fast things move in the US

Perfect how did the showings go? Any bites?

No feedback yet 2017. Agent said they'd speak with us on Monday.

Dh and I have fallen in love with our house again after getting it all sorted.

Following with interest. We are currently buying a house that was amazingly staged and really loved it from the second we walked in the door. Best of luck with the sale.

JustGettingStarted: It's only so fast in some markets & in some states.
In California realtors usually handle all the legal paperwork for sale/purchase, and they work for both sides (they also get a whacking great big commission compared to UK... 5-7%?).

When OP gets an offer. 30 days from offer to finalised is perfectly normal. There are increasing penalties if either side withdraws from the sale, starting 3 days after sale (we don't have gazumping or gazundering problems like you do in UK).

IIRC, in some states Lawyers handle all the paperwork & it can take weeks & weeks & weeks to get thru the buying/selling stages just like in England.

If OP was selling in a backwater like Barstow, El Centro or Bishop, there wouldn't be all this staging activity.

Oh good luck Summer. We had that experience when we walked into this house. Completely entranced from the moment we turned into teh loving room. That's the 'money moment' according to the agent. Question is how much money. We are going with an asking price below what I'm most comfortable with, but have to trust it will gamer the most overbids.

Good luck Perfect. Hole you get such enormous offers you can't refuse. Know just what you mean though. We felt like that until the staging. Now it's not our home.

Tomorrow we go live online. It is possible we shall have viewing requests. Eek.

I did not sleep last night. This is getting scary.

💐to everyone.

Ok we are live. The website just went up. www.270dartmouth.com

What do we think people?

video here: www.270dartmouth.com/videos/

Wow. I haven't commented before but have been following. It looks amazing - like it's out of a magazine! Good luck, though I don't think you are going to need it!

shoot. 4 more houses in the direct area came on the market today as well. That is not good. We liked being one of 7! All are kinda same size as well.

Wow I am completely jealous of your house, it is beautiful. Good luck for the sale, I hope you get what you want for it

But do they have the views and the stunt deer in the garden? It looks great, but I didn't see the price on the listing.