Annie's Corner

By Anne O. Stout

Ya-hoo! Yippee! Wa-hoo! Finally, after 18 months on the market our home in New Jersey has sold.

Picture a 1900, three story colonial with hardwood floors and maple woodwork. Two full baths and the kitchen, new and modern with a large deck off the kitchen leading to the fenced in yard and storage shed. Basement and attic have inside entrances, and the attic is finished off. Sitting on the front porch you look out over a park where soccer and softball games were held as well as a tennis court and basketball court near a playground.

Now you say why didn't it sell? Not new, not carpeted, on the outskirts of town, all minuses in southern New Jersey. I try to be fair, but we really brought out the crazies in interested buyers.

One buyer's complaint is that the neighborhood was too quiet. This is a problem? Another buyer didn't like my dog. What does that have to do with my house? The dog is going with me. One complained that there is no carpet. Now as hard as it was since we had just polished those floors, I did suggest she carpet the floor. If looks could kill I would've been dead. Apparently an expense the woman did not want. A couple seemed interested, at least the husband, the wife was sticking up her nose at everything. They left arguing! Wonder if they ever agreed on and found a home.

In the eighteen months we did almost go to closing twice before we actually got there. The third time is the charm I guess. One of the buyers was unable to secure a mortgage, so ended up back in a motel where they have been living. Wouldn't you think if you can pay a rent, you can swing a mortgage.

An even harder phase of selling in New Jersey is that many towns require an occupancy inspection. The concept behind the inspection was good, but now, with a fee charged every time they come in, no one passes the inspection. First time we had to make our porch and deck rails more graspable, two inch instead of four inch, and fill in the spaces below any railing. The second time we had to stone or pave our dirt driveway and paint the shed. The people we bought from were forced to put in a sidewalk and driveway skirt. This may sound great except we had a sidewalk that goes nowhere because the street ended after the next house.

No seller is prepared to spend so much at the end, when you are in the process of selling, especially if you are already living in another area like we are.

How do good ideas go so wrong? Too much power in an individual's hands? Why isn't at least the inspection covered by the taxes we paid to the town? I bored you with all these details because if any New York towns come up with this inspection idea, don't vote for it. Trust me, it will turn on you!