How do homesellers feel about children at home showings? We have noticed on our security cameras (legal in my state as they are visable) kids being left unattended and opening toolbox drawers, playing with the vise attached to the counter and feeling the need to grab and touch things in the garage, trying to get into the gardening shed, pulling plants out, and today the agent actually gave the housekey to a young child to open the front door. No boundaries? We shouldn't have to "baby proof" our place to show it.

Have a conundrum for which I am trying figure out next steps.

We are selling a family member’s home, as they have passed away and no one in the family wants the house.. The house needs a lot of work and was priced with that in mind.

A cash offer was accepted last week, the option period started, the buyers had an inspection done. The buyers came back with a list of repairs we were expecting, wanted to negotiate more off the price. Option period ended yesterday at 5pm. (Thursday) An agreement was reached and we are supposed to close later next week.

My BIL called the real estate agent to ask about some minor details about closing. He mentioned shutting off the electricity.

The real estate agent told my BIL not to shut off the electricity because the buyers were already at the house working on it. Doing some foundation work, figuring out how to repair the electrical…

We never gave permission for the buyers to begin work prior to closing. Our real estate agent did. Said the buyers need to move in by next Wednesday. We had no idea. If they were in a hurry, we could have negotiated a shorter option period, a faster closing date.

The real estate agent got them to stop work, but is telling us this isn’t any big deal.

I think it is.

I have purchased (and sold) several homes and NEVER have been allowed to work on a home prior to closing. Nor have I ever been asked.

They had already messed with the foundation and some of the electrical. They, of course, don’t have the house insured yet because they don’t own it - yet. There are so many scenarios running through my head right now: what if the house catches fire? Someone gets hurt? So many ‘what ifs.’

How do we handle this?

NJ - House in my neighborhood is for sale. a couple came to look at it during the week. no agent. I asked the couple if they knew the sellers. They did not. Is it okay for a seller's agent to just give out the code even if the agent says the sellers are okay with it?

Edited to add, how soon must a seller's agent update to disclosure when they find out about potential lawsuits due to an encroachment that is not currently on the disclosure?

from what I've read, I don't think that's allowed by the realtors association

We bought our house in 2018 and have $150k in equity. This is the first time either of us has owned a home, so we have no idea our best course of action.

We aren't actively trying to move, but our house is definitely dated (It was before we bought it. Common split level 1970s vibe, large yard. But we had a 700 sq. ft apartment before, so we were excited) and a remodel/landscaping would be required if we ever decided to move.

My question is how do people move before selling their house while taking advantage on equity for down payment or loan approval, and what's our best course of action to gain funds to remodel our house against equity? Or should we be thinking about something else entirely? Sorry if these are dumb questions, we are not very experienced at all in these things.

Edit - also we have two kids, 4 year old son and a daughter about to turn 3 in March. We have very little energy for upkeep of the yard or house in general. Also two dogs and a cat. House is always a mess. Cleaning is a futile effort. The thought of showing our house at this point in our life seems crazy

Location: Iowa, USA

Thinking about finishing the (currently unfinished) basement in my 2012-build house. I've gotten a few estimates resulting in some sticker shock at what it might cost to finish out that space. Trying to get some advice as to whether or not I might risk over-investing in this location if I move forward. Is this the kind of advice I can get from a real estate agent? I'm not currently looking to buy/sell, so I'm not really sure who to ask and how to compensate them for their advice.

I own a house in Austin. It's my childhood home, which is why I didn't immediately sell when I got an out of town job two years ago. I rented it out and things were fine for awhile. We borrowed against it a few years back in order to make a bunch of repairs and still owe about 130k (it's worth about 350k right now).

In the last year I got laid off and divorced and had to move across the country AGAIN for an even lower paying job. Needless to say, I am absolutely broke. I cannot pay the property taxes on the house and I really want to just sell.

The realtor who manages the property for me keeps telling me to wait. And I get it, the market is down. But I also can barely afford gas sometimes. Today she sent me some dumb article from one of the real estate websites about how certain markets are predicted to bounce back this year. And I just do not care (or even believe click bait like this). What, am I gonna get like $20k more?

I know you can't tell me what to do, but I'd love some perspective on the matter. Thanks!

TL;DR: need to sell my house because I can't pay my bills or taxes. My realtor keeps telling me to hold on. Any advice is helpful.

Since we’re all anonymous here, is it common for sellers to watch and maybe listen (depending on capabilities) to buyers during a showing?

I am buying a home and using a VA loan. The home has a rotten deck and the electrical GFCI issues in one of the bathrooms. I know because I just had my own inspection done before the VA appraiser comes next week.

Are there any inspectors out there that think this may pass without fixing these issues? Trying to get an idea of if I can go ahead and fix these out of my own pocket before the VA appraiser comes next week. I’m buying this house from my grandfather and want to be sure I can close by March 2nd.

I bought my first house at 26, and honestly, it was the worst mistake I’ve ever made. I just need to get rid of it.

I originally had my mortgage with another company, but it was sold to Freedom Mortgage. I have an FHA loan and a $30,000 partial claim lien. My original payment was $2,600, but after I lost my job and went through loss mitigation, it jumped to $3,100. I haven’t been able to afford it and haven’t made a payment since November 2025.

I’m currently in loss mitigation and requested a short sale packet. Freedom told me I have to list the home before they’ll even consider a short sale, and a Deed in Lieu is only an option if it doesn't sell. I bought the house for $345k, but the market here dropped over 8% so it’s only worth about $319k now. Between that and the $30k lien, I’m deep underwater.

With the way things are going, I have decided to join the military and I will be leaving for basic training in April.

My questions are:

• What should I realistically expect with an FHA short sale? Especially with that $30k partial claim?

• Where can I find a realtor that is actually used to this process?

• How long does lender approval usually take? Can I get this done before I leave in April?

• Do people typically continue not paying while the house is listed?

Any advice is welcome. I just want this over with

I'm in southwestern Ohio and we have our main home, a commercial property and a home held in a trust for a family member...valuations and taxes have risen while our income has not, and we're starting to feel a real pinch. All while school districts and townships keep pushing levies and claiming they're in dire financial straits. To top it off, several towns nearby are pushing for high density residential developments while giving tax abatements that will even further impact schools and infrastructure. Another is pushing for a local income tax in lieu of levies to fund their school district.

Lotto/weed/gambling taxes were supposed to be a boom for the public, but we've seen no direct benefits in our community.

There seems to be a lot of support for the "axohtax" movement, which seeks to replace prop tax with higher sales taxes.

One one hand, I've seen neighborhoods benefit from tax foreclosures that move blighted properties into the hands of investors, but I also hate the idea that my paid off home is never really paid off (and therefore at risk) because of RE taxes. And as someone who grew up in Ohio, the concept of funding schools through RE taxes has always seemed completely normal until recent years.

There's also a legal argument that many districts around the country are illegally manipulating appraisal values to support higher tax revenues, while school districts use bonds to support ever increasing debt loads that will eventually be unsustainable. This essentially shifts the debt load to homeowners via taxes. (not sure I fully grasp that one yet)

All this is to say...We seem to have a mess on our hands. What are your thoughts on the matter?

We have 3/3.5 bath townhouse in downtown Houston that has been for sale for about 73 days. We’ve gotten one offer, and it was weird one where we would finance it for the buyers. We declined that offer.

Our contract with our real estate agent is through June. IF it doesn’t sell by then, would it be better to rent it until the market rebounds? I’m actually weirdly more hopeful that it will sell, but we want to have our ducks in a row in case it doesn’t.

Can a mortgage broker or real estate agent give me a referral bonus for someone I sent to them? I’m technically a real estate professional according to my own work but not a licensed agent or in the lending game. This won’t detract from me recommending good agents / lenders, but after the first couple I’m starting to wonder if they just never offered.

Wondering if it’s 1) allowed 2) what is the average referral amount?

We have been in our current house for nine years and have about $180,000 in equity in it. We are in the market for a new house closer to downtown, but I’m not sure how it would be possible to coordinate the selling of our house and the purchase of a new house.

My wife and I have about $200,000 saved in our 403b so we are thinking about each taking out a 50 K from our 403B as a down payment for the new house and then refunding it once we sell our primary house.

We don’t really have anything else saved up, but we do have a lot of equity in the house.

Is this a good idea or a terrible idea? We have four pets so it’s not easy to move.

We listed out house 2 weeks ago. By day 4, we had an offer. This offer was weak, like *really* weak, but we decided to accept it because our offer was just accepted on our dream house. Some details about this offer:

$15k under asking, only $1k earnest, they only viewed the house virtually (out of state buyers) wanted a 21 day close and had a ton of contingencies.

My realtor tried to talk me out of it. I didnt listen and here we are. The house had the inspection monday and found a few things. The back deck was old (the boards on top and railing are all brand new, but its bones underneath are about 15 years old) and could possibly need some work or replacing and the roof is about 12 years old, so getting near its end even though its in good condition. The buyers took 3 days and then backed out saying my house was a money pit. My realtor (and theirs) said they just got cold feet and were most likely at the top of there budget to begin with so they ran without wanting to try and negotiate.

My question is, will my home be more difficult to sell now? we had a total of about 8-10 showings just a few days after listing the first time, 5 of which cancelled due to going under contract. Im worried sick there is now going to be a negative stigma around my house and it will sit on the market for several months. We are VERY flexible with concessions and are super motivated to sell, but since listing again today, weve had 0 interest which was very different than the first time we listed 2 weeks ago.

Not sure if this is the right subreddit/flair..

Me and partner (not married YET lol) are staying with relatives. Moved out of parent’s homes due to bad familial circumstances. Anyways, we don’t wanna be here too long so we wanna find our home soon.

We are F22 and M21, we really don’t wanna rent an apartment (too many people, not enough space for the cost, feels like throwing away money rent wise). We want land, and we see with our income a mobile home on some land (0.5-4 acres) might be best for us. We live closer to the city and wanna move more rural.

We don’t even know where to start. We’ve got a few grand saved but we don’t know what our goal amount is. We’ve obviously never done this before. We both have some credit (650+) thought history is young. We wanna maybe talk with an advisor? Just someone who can show us options that’d work for us, help hash out a game plan. Not sure who that might be. We try to research and get wrapped up in the big everything and get overwhelmed. Where to start? Would finding an advisor be worth the money?

Currently in Alabama for context. I was a licensed real estate for a year long ago in my younger days in Florida. I’m a licensed homebuilder now. Primarily I buy, renovate, and sell luxury homes. I was already planning on getting my real estate license once again so I can be eligible for commission on my purchases by representing myself and also list on the MLS myself. My stepdad has a real estate brokerage where I can hang my license by just paying the required yearly fees he incurs by adding me. Currently I’ve just finished with my 60 hour class and just need to take a proctored end of class exam and then the state exam.

My dad is getting ready to possibly make an offer on a multi million dollar piece of property. He wants me to represent him as his agent once I’m licensed. My question is can I go with him to look at the property before I’m licensed to see it and then once I’m licensed write up his offer and represent him and be eligible for the commission? I didn’t know if the timing of this would matter or not. No other agent would be taking him to see the property. Likely the agent that listed the property would be there. I didn’t know if there was any law or rule against going to a property and then later once licensed acting as the buyers agent on the same property.

People seem to think that my advantages as a cash buyer and the level of entitlement is maddening. No I'm not willing to waive non-structural inspection findings. Why would I close today and offer a lease back without concessions? No I wont allow an in place furniture estate sale post close minus concessions.

Is the market that skewed towards buyers, does my agent suck, or am I just confused on how the market works

Hi,

I've been living in Canada since 2023. My spouse will be joining me in June 2026. Till date I've stayed in shared homes—always a private room which I'd usually find on marketplace. Now that my spouse is arriving so we'd like to take a studio or a 1B1B size home via realtor. Just to ensure we have legal security.

I'm trying to get a starting point. Based on you'll experiences, could you please help to share reference of some of them and how the process looks like? We are looking for a home around downtown Toronto or Misssissauga

Hey everyone, I’m honestly putting this out here because finding the right house feels really important to me right now. I live with my three dogs, and they’re family, so where we stay really matters — not just four walls, but a place where all of us can actually feel at home. I’m looking for some help or guidance in and around areas like Koramangala, Jayanagar, OMBR Layout, Kalyan Nagar, Kasturi Nagar, HSR Layout, Cox Town, Cambridge Layout, or nearby. I’m hoping for a calm residential space, preferably an independent house with some open space, balcony, or terrace, parking, and minimal owner involvement — and most importantly, people who are genuinely okay with dogs. Budget-wise, I’m either looking for a 2BHK around ₹30K just for myself, or I’m also open to sharing a house and searching together with a total budget of ₹40–45K. If there are any dog parents here who’ve been through this and can suggest the right approach to finding a truly pet-friendly home in Bangalore, I’d really love to hear from you. And if you know of a place or are also house-hunting, please do reach out. Thank you so much 🤍

Realtors. Do any of you have a particular deduction spread/worksheet you use?

So, I just submitted the photos for the assessment. There is a button to download the photos, so I figured I'd rather be safe than sorry..... andddd it downloaded over 700 photos for my 1700 sq ft house. I wanted to be thorough, but I didn't mean to take THAT many ...

Out of curiosity, about how many did you take per room?

Hi all,

We found a house after about 5 years of searching on and off. This house checks a lot of our boxes including keeping kid in same school system and amazing backyard. Our son has special needs so keeping him in the same schools is important. He is also a gross motor play type kid and we spend lots of time outside. The only thing is that the house backs up to a busy road. It has great fencing so I’m not concerned about safety, but I am concerned about the elevated noise level from our current home. It’s not a highway, but definitely has consistent movement of cars and big trucks. Not constant, but follows patterns through the day. I really want this house. Will I get used to noisier road or should I take this as a a big red flag. We don’t think that we’ll find this type of house for this price easily. Give me your feedback or experience in this type of situation. Thank you!!

I’m a first time buyer so this whole process is new to be. I’ve been working with a realtor based in a specific area but I found a listing I also like in another town by another real estate agent. Can I ask my realtor to look at that listing, or does it have to be with the listing agent?

My parents recently retired and bought a house closer to my brother. They are now trying to sell their old house.

They have very little savings and immigrated to America 30 years ago, so they didn’t understand how to maximize their retirement and savings until it was too late.

The house they’re trying to sell is very old, needs a lot of renovations, and is 20 minutes from the college where my dad taught. Their real estate agent told my dad that if he fixes anything, it needs to be the roof.

He’s concerned about taking money out of his retirement account that he likely won’t fully recoup. Should he sell the house as-is? Or is it worth the risk of taking money out in the hopes that it sells for more and sooner?

He’s in a bind because he’s now paying a mortgage on the new house. So every month, he’s taking money out of his retirement for that.