Get This Home

Sorrrry!

2010-08-20T16:51:00.001-05:00

     The house has been sold and we are grateful to have gotten rid of it. However I'm sure we were paid way below market value.

     The lawyer for the park district that purchased the house informed us afterward that my daughter who was the last to live in the house left it quite a mess. The park district told the lawyer it was left in just awful dirty and messy conditions.

     They charged us an additional $250 dollars for cleaning. I would like to respond here as to the conditions.
My daughter was there with her 16 month old son. It was all she could do to watch and care for him and keep the house clean. Their was one bedroom upstairs where she did just throw things my parents left that no one in the family wanted. Things like hangers, books, magazines, light bulbs, stationary, etc.

     The basement was also full of junk from my parents like paint cans, cleaning supplies, wrapping paper, bows, tapes and gift boxes.

     I understood that they were going to tear down the house and the garage so I told my daughter not to worry about the junk because I just thought it would be all hauled away with the bricks and lumber. I mean we had one garbage can, where were we supposed to put it all anyway without it costing us more money.
It seemed logical to me.

     All of my parents appliances were fairly new and we left those so the park district could either sell them or use them. This included the washer, dryer, stove, microwave. refrigerator, and an air conditioner. They did not pay us extra for any of those. In light of all that I think they should have paid for their own cleaning costs.

The Story Briefly

2010-05-10T16:41:00.000-05:00

     My mother died of heart failure on Dec.2, 2008, my father died of colon cancer on Dec. 4 , 2008. The house we're selling was their house after they purchased it from my dad's mother. My father grew up in that house, but when he came out of the army and married my mom they moved into an apartment in the city. So I never lived there except for the past year.

   To the one side of their house was another house and then a parking lot for the next building which was called Sokol Hall a community center which people could rent for parties and doings.Anyway, the house in between my parents house and the parking lot was torn down after the people that owned it died. The towns park district bought the community center and wanted that house torn down to extend the parking lot. Now that my parents are gone the park district saw an opportunity to buy our house and extend the park even further.

   My parents ashes are buried at a nearby towns cemetery and my sister and her family live kind of far away. So we don't get a chance to get together and visit my folks graves. My sister and I both feel like we never got a chance to properly grieve because there were so many things to do with regard to the estate of my father and our own families, jobs, and responsibilities. Now that the house will be sold and the proceeds used to pay the remainder of my parents bills and then split between my sister and I, we feel like we need to say good bye once again at the cemetery and then go out to dinner so we could spend some time with each other.

   My mother was going downhill health wise having to be rushed to the ER almost on a weekly basis. We knew for a long time that her days were numbered. However my father did not tell us about his cancer till a couple weeks before he died. He simply did not want to go on without my mom and just wanted to take care of her and her illnesses. I could tell he was sick but I had no idea it was as bad and as advanced as it was. When I called them every other day they would just say they were a little tired but OK. When I finally got a chance to go out there to see them.I got to see how bad he really was. I couldn't talk to him then because he had other relatives their giving out belongings and household items. By that time he knew his days were numbered and he needed to give away what he could and tell everyone what and how he wanted things done. None of us were ready for my mom to go first.

      It was by pure chance that my sister, mother and I got to spend a final evening with each other two night before she died. I was going to stay there for a while and my sister unplanned decided to spend the night there with my mom and I. We ordered in and talked, laughed, and cried. That was the day we asked that my dad be taken to a hospice unit in the hospital. My sister and I tried but we could not take care of my dad ourselves. By this time he couldn't even turn in bed and I was administering the morphine to him myself.

     Anyway even though I still miss them it will be easier to move on once we close on this house.

SOLD!

2010-05-04T12:44:00.000-05:00

     Well, we've finally sold the house. You'll never guess who bought it. Yep, the park district bought it. They intend to tear it down and expand the parking lot and install a play area for the neighborhood kids.

     Al though we did not get the full worth or price we would have liked to get, I think we got a fair deal. Add in the fact that because this is an as is deal we don't need an inspection, or to fix anything, or a broker to share commission with. Plus it's more than our previous offers, a lot more.

     My sister and I are happy and even happier to put this matter to rest. The closing is at the end of the month so my sister suggested after the closing we will with our husbands and kids meet one more time at our parents grave site and then go to a nice dinner.

Good News I Hope

2010-04-28T04:31:00.000-05:00

It looks like we may have a buyer for our house. The head of the parks in the suburb where the house is came to see me and explained that they want the house. They of course want the land and will tear the home down.

By selling to them we won't need a inspection or a broker. It's as simple as giving us a check and we're done. Right now they are waiting for the appraisers report, and should be calling us this week with an offer. He's already told us we will not be getting the amount I told him what I thought it was worth, but we can't support the house much longer. Wish me luck!

See What Our House Looks Like

2010-04-01T06:06:00.000-05:00

      If you click on the link at the top that says " our house " you will see the house I'm trying to sell. The address that's displayed is wrong but the house is the middle one with the chain link fence around the front yard.

      Buy it to live in or just for an investment property. I would love to stay there myself but we can't afford that and our apartment and the house is just too far from my husbands job. We are willing to negotiate the price. Please e-mail me at kmilz44@gmail.com or leave a comment here. This could be your first home or the start of a new business for you.

      There is still an $8000 tax credit available till the end of April for first time home buyers.

Got My Say

2010-02-13T19:37:00.000-06:00

A woman called me out of the blue to ask for a referral for the company that laid some tile for my folks a year or so before they died. I advised her no matter how cheap they were to run the other way.

The kitchen here is very small but these guys managed to screw it up anyway. They left those cross shaped things in between the tiles. I think they're called spacers. They are supposed to be taken out after the tile is laid. They obviously also did not seal the tile or grout because it's been chipping away in little pieces since we've been here. The bathrooms seem all right, it's just the kitchen for some reason.

Pictures

2010-02-06T01:52:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry that I don't have pictures up yet, but I've got to get a camera first and learn how to do it. That's it for now. More about the house in the next post. Thanks for stopping by!

Sell by Owner or Hire Realtor?

2010-01-27T14:41:00.000-06:00

     There are at least two other houses on the block for sale and both have been on the market for close to a year. Both had realtors.

     Since our house needs some minor sprucing up I don't mind taking less than the house is worth. Our lawyer pointed out that a realtor is less likely to give you that "wiggle room" because of course they are getting a commission on the sale of the house, which is the second reason I'd rather find a buyer myself.

     I figured after I found a buyer and agreed on a price then I could hire someone to help me with the details of the sale. Anyone out there been through this already?

Closets

2010-01-20T20:31:00.000-06:00

This house has the most unusual closets. Two of them begin with only about 4 foot high doors and unless you're a very small person they are not walk ins. They are very deep and they shorten the further you go in till they get to be about maybe 2 feet or so high. There is one in the bedroom upstairs and one in the hall room upstairs.

Because they are so deep they offer a lot of storage room. I have to be honest though, they creep me out a litter bit. I think it's because they have locks on the outsides of the doors. These are not key locks they are the kind where you just turn them half a turn to lock and unlock. In other words they are meant to keep people out, but to keep them in. Go figure!

Spread The Word Please

2010-01-14T16:46:00.000-06:00

I know there is someone out there who would love to buy this house. The price is right and the house different enough from the others in the neighborhood so that the owner can make it their own.

Ask about it if your in the area and in the market to get a great deal!

For Sale

2010-01-09T16:02:00.000-06:00

     I thought it would be a good idea to list this house for sale in the towns local paper, so I bought the next days issue to investigate other peoples ads. Boy was I in for a surprise! There were pages of houses listed which I knew was unusual for this paper.

     Upon reading the ads I saw that out of the couple hundred that were there only one was for sale by owners choice, meaning the others were all foreclosures listed by the banks or realtors hired by the banks. Wow, such a shame so many have lost their homes.

     In a country as rich as ours you would think this should be a rarity. In the meanwhile this means I am having trouble moving the house I"m trying to sell. We can keep our apartment and the house for a few more months more, but not much longer after that. We"ll either have to give up the apartment, or sell the house at a great loss, and miss our one last chance at securing our future.

Got An Offer

2009-12-27T01:23:00.000-06:00

We got an offer on the house for about 65,000, but my sister and I turned it down. The house is worth at least twice that much and as much as we want to sell it, we don't want to get taken either.

The Homes Maintainence

2009-10-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

     My folks were 74 and 75 years old so not much was done to the home the last few years. In other words the rooms need painting and a touch of spackle here and there.

     They did have the bathrooms redone just last year, so the fawcetts, tile flooring, and tub are new, as is the floor tile in the kitchen. I believe they also had some of plumbing redone also because I know they had to obtain permits to do the work.

     They also had Orkin in every year to examine the house and the garage, in fact they came and inspected both within the last month. They said there were some cobwebs in the garage, that was it. Before I forget the house is also insured till July of 2010 and fully paid for.

     We do not intend to do any painting and would like to sell as is to leave that up to the buyer. We are willing to shave off the price so the buyer can do that or have it professionally done.

The Neighborhood

2009-10-07T11:47:00.000-05:00

     The house sits in the middle of a quiet street. There is a brand new park district building two doors down that features all kinds of classes for the people and kids in the neighborhood. It's clean and surprisingly quiet. In between the park districts "Liberty Center" and our house are two lots they use for parking. We have a heavily vined chain link fence seperating the lots from our house, however the park district also has plans to build an additional 6 foot fence to further seperate and privatize our properties.

     It is a very long block and the other homes are clean and well maintained. Berwyn takes care to keep itself that way and watches for properties that might need some outdoor maintenance like fence painting and so forth.

     At the very end of the block there is a large apartment building, however aside from a small handful of kids playing, that is very quiet also.

     It's a neighborhood watch community and the people are friendly and tend to say hello rather than just ignore you. The Berwyn Police and Fire Departments along with the neighbors were always very helpful, concerned, and godsends really over the course of my parents illnesses. My folks died two days apart, my mom of heart disease and my dad of colon cancer.

     Within about 4 or so blocks there are two little grocery stores, a fast food restaurant, an ice cream shop, and a couple gas stations. I am probably missing a few other businesses but I wanted to let you know if you needed something quickly, it's only 2 minutes away.

Description of The House

2009-10-07T11:25:00.000-05:00

     This is a 1 1/2 story brown brick house. It has a full unfinished basement, fireplace, 3 bedrooms, small main room upstairs, long living and dining area room downstairs, 1 1/2 baths, 2 car garage, and several closets.

     It has plush carpeting, electric glass top stove, large refrigerator, large washer & dryer, all of which we are leaving to buyer with house.

     The house is set back and is a horizontal rather than vertical set up. The front and back yards are both large because I believe it sits on a double lot. I'm not a realator so I'm not sure of the correct terms.

Price, The Bottom Line

2009-10-07T10:50:00.000-05:00

     So far as we can figure the house is worth about $186,000. However, I am a more honest person than I am a good salesperson. So here's my bottom line. I realize the market is favoring buyers rather than sellers. I am more interested in selling quick rather than getting full value therefore willing and expecting to negociate the price.

     Although we are willing to consider all bids, please do not insult me as I am not desperate to sell the house. In other words this is not a foreclosure. It was my parents home and they passed away last December. We have someone living there for housesitting purposes only and we reside elsewhere.

     We're willing to give someone a good deal while the market is down so don't be afraid to come and see it and make an offer.

House For Sale

2009-10-07T04:36:00.000-05:00

     Hello ! To put it simply, I've got a house for sale. So that I don't waste anyone's time, the house is located in Berwyn Illinois.

     Berwyn is a suburb of Chicago and the house is on a quiet block only minutes from the expressway. It's close enough to the city to make it only a ten or so minute ride and far enough from the city to forget city life altogether. The house is also only a couple minutes from the train to make commutes even easier.

     Each post will have more details and information about this house, so if you're in the area or are looking to relocate at a reasonable cost please leave a comment about your interest and I'll get back to you.

                                                                                                            Respectfully,

                                                                                                          Kathleen M. Milazzo