(This is posted to both misc.consumers.house and alt.home.repair, but not X-posted. )
Last summer, a neighbor sold his house to a contractor. The house went down in November, and a new larger home is going up in its place. The shell is completed (they finished siding yesterday), and there's been HVAC, electrical, and plumbing contractors in and out for the past week. It should be ready for sale within 6 weeks or so. During the old house knock-down, DH spoke to the President of the contracting company about whether they'd be interested in doing the same for our property, as we're moving in June. The Prez said they could be interested, but wouldn't do anything until the one down the street is finished. Since it's nearing completion, DH and I would like to write a letter to the contractor, include a photocopy of our plot plans so he has an idea of lot size, and let them know that we're still interested in a sale. I'm looking for information on the best way to write the letter... what to say (or not) that would get the contractor interested.
Some general info:
The house down the street sold for $310K. (It was rather small, no additions... which is unusual for this neighborhood. Also needed some work.) Houses in this neighborhood have been selling at $350-400K (and inching higher) for the past two years, and on the other side of town, prices are much steeper... in the $600K+ range. (Those houses are more McMansion-y, while my neighborhood is 3-4 bedroom Capes). We'd be happy with $320K (and our lot is much bigger than down the street). We're in a town about 15 miles west of Boston.
Contractor told DH in November that they're planning on listing the new house down the street at $550-600K. I can't wait to see how quickly it sells, and the final price.
We'd like to avoid the whole "showing the house" thing with a realtor. We've got 4 big dogs, and two of them don't like the two others, so they have to be separated. We've also got one car. If a realtor came by with a prospective buyer, we'd have to take two dogs out in the car, and I dunno... walk the other two? (Leaving any dogs here alone with strangers isn't an option.) And add three kids into the mix, as well. It would just be easier to sell privately than deal with the house-showing mess.
If we sold directly to the contractor, we wouldn't need to bother with a realtor, and the associated fees. All we would need is a lawyer. Also, since he's knocking the house down, there's no worries that new owners might sue later for "problems."
We bought our house as a "fixer-upper." We've done a lot of work to it, but there's still more to be done before we'd be ready to sell it through a realtor. If we went with a realtor, our asking price would probably be more like $350K+ (but that profit would be negated by the realtor's fees and the time/money spent on repairs). If we sold to the contractor, we wouldn't have to bother with the rest of the repairs, since the house would be demolished.
We want to be out by June. If we use a realtor, there's no guarantee that the house would sell quickly enough, which would throw a wrench into our moving plans. We're moving to Alaska, and want enough time over the summer for the cross-country drive and house-hunting there.
So, the letter writing? I plan to emphasize that our lot is bigger (as is our house, compared to the one knocked down), and that we're willing to move quickly. I'd like to mention the "realtor problems" WRT our dogs, as well as repairs still needed. But I'm not sure if the dog thing would sound too personal and not professional enough (I'm shooting for "business-like" writing, not "chatty.") And if I discuss areas to repair, I'm worried that (should the contractor decline and we're forced to go with a realtor) there's now written disclosure of problems.
Any suggestions?
Cina