Personal Narrative

In the latest issue of This Old House, check out how a neglected 1928 bungalow makes for a cozy cottage redo. Buying a first house is a personal landmark that often signals the beginning of adulthood. But at 26, Brenna Byerlotzer didn't have homeownership on her mind when she came upon the small stone house that she would claim as her own. In fact, she decided in a split second to take the major domestic step. Despite that sudden start, nothing else in her home-owning saga would move fast. Grab this issue to read this exciting story, which shows how a first-time homeowner revives a neglected house with patience, perseverance, and a little help from her skilled friends.

I’d previously had such poor service and expectations of realtors that I came into this purchase with a skeptical attitude. I’d sold my home near Austin to relocate in San Antonio and had not gotten any replies off websites or phone calls that didn’t feel greedy and uncaring if at all, until Marie.

There is a huge sense of relaxation and being fulfilled while sitting on the patio with my wife enjoying an adult beverage, the glow of fire radiating from the fire pit. The sound of laughter and the joy on your child’s face while he runs around the grassy area of your backyard. Pretending he has just hit a walk off home run in game 7 of the World Series. Over the last nine months my wife and I have been through the ups and downs of selling and purchasing a home. When we received an offer on our home last spring we experienced a time of excitement and exhilaration. We were getting out of San Tan Valley. Ten days later, the offer fell through and we felt resentment and disbelief. Six months later with a new realtor representing us we had

I spent 25 years researching, analyzing and reporting the real estate market but I often dreamt of the day when I would no longer write about neighborhoods, housing market trends, forecasting, and the mortgage industry rather begin to complete my start of several short stories mostly geared towards the younger audience. Seemingly overnight and without warning the trajectory of my beautiful life would take a sudden turn in August 2016. Unknowingly, it would be my husband of 36 years who would bestow the gift of a vile and tragic story worthy of an audience. After taking a break from writing my memoir, Night Dancer, I have rediscovered joy after tragedy having written the enclosed story about Ara and I am hopeful it’s the start of my liftoff as a committed writer. A longtime friend recently commented that my voice as a story teller is fresh, clear and

My family and I had just taken the four hour journey from Fayetteville, North Carolina to Fredericksburg, Virginia. I was very excited to see my new home but, my excitement had soon faltered when I finally saw it. It was a medium sized house with yellow aluminum siding, blue shutters, a two-car garage and eleven windows. The only thing that made it different from the rest of the houses that lined the street was its full porch and its color other than that it was completely identical

Whaaat? You say it is crazy to think that a box of chocolates or some fancy grooming aid will help sell your house and you would be right in thinking it won’t, because, no one is going to pay $200,000 or more for candy and glamor products. But, what if your goodie bags contain things related to selling your home? Were inexpensive and tasteful

Paul handed the statue back to me and I set him on the windowsill again. “When did you talk to her?”

“One day, a realtor called me and found out that I was interested in a house that she did not list. She took the liberty to connect me with her competitor, which is something most realtors would never consider doing. Later on, I found out the house her competitor showed me wasn’t quite for me. Because of her kind referral, I decided to reach out to her and deal with her again. Eventually, I bought the house and she received a nice commission due to her excellent service. All she did was connect people. No wonder she was the Number 1 realtor in her city.”

First of all, finding the right house was a challenge. After going to many different homes daily with our realtor, we finally found the one that was meant to be ours. It was a peach color house with all of the paint flaking off the worn out cedar siding. It was a tall two story house with wide white windows, and a porch with missing wood pieces in some spots. My family and I entered the lopsided porch and heard creaking with every loose piece we stepped on. As we entered the home, we instantly smelled must and mold. That didn't scare us off because we saw the potential behind the old cracked plaster walls. We looked past the ancient golden wood cabinets hanging in the kitchen and the pet-stained green carpeting. In the bedrooms, there was a small closet in each room with barely enough room to fit

The old antiques collected over the years -- the smiling peanut piggy bank and John Deere tractor set included -- still line the tops of the kitchen cabinets, threatening to overflow their allotted space one day and spill onto the counter. The cheap suction-cup stain glass window hangings still shed odd circles of light on the dining room table where you least expect it. The old record player still sits in the family room, broken needle, melted plastic cover (an unfortunate consequence involving a young grandchild and a burning candle many years ago) and all. Nothing had changed. I mean, sure, the daughters-in-law had gotten the major aspects changed over the years -- the carpets, wallpaper, and curtains -- but the little things, the important things, the pieces of the house with character, had not changed a bit. There is something comforting about that. I guess it's my timeless refuge from the changing world, my haven from the hurricane of activity that otherwise surrounds my life. My grandmother's home was, and still is, an oasis for peace and relaxation. The only hassle is trying to convince her not to fuss over me, not to have a three-course meal on the table waiting for me as soon as I step through the door.

It was early on Sunday morning when I went to the rummage sale down the street. My mom brought me every year while I was growing up. Out of all the houses, she always insisted on visiting this specific one. It was a tall blue house right on the corner of our street. It had white shutters and white window frames and a big white door smack dab in the middle of the white porch. The exterior of the house wasn’t very decorated. It was pretty vanilla as I like to say because it was plain, but it still intrigued me. The grass was what caught my eye the most. It was always cut very short, almost like the green of a golf course. I figured keeping it that nice must’ve taken a lot of work yet I never saw anyone ever cut it. The driveway was pretty

Stacy is a good real estate agent in Raleigh, NC who signed a listing agreement for a home whose comparable houses averaged 116 days on the market. Like most realtors, Stacy was on a limited budget, and the home was completely vacant. Stacy spent hours combing through Craigslist and attending yard sales to finding enough furnishings to overshadow not so attractive features of the house like outdated lighting fixtures and an unconventional home design. By rolling up her sleeves and applying new paint, replacing light fixtures, and furnishing all the main floor rooms with live plants and furniture, Stacy was able to sell the house in only 59 days! This was 180 days faster than the last home that sold on the street and for $5000 more dollars. Stacy ended up saving her home sellers $12,000 by selling the home faster. Stacy’s story is testament to not only the home staging activities, but also in pricing the home properly. It’s typical for sellers to price their home higher than the fair market value for their home, but by managing the process Stacy was able to demonstrate her expertise and guide her client’s decision and get the property sold.

In his essay “The Mansion: A Subprime Parable,” Michael Lewis reveals the truth about the

Although the peak season for home buying is over, there are still some tips you could use to ensure that your home gets on the marketplace and sells even faster. With a little effort and the right approach, it would only be a record time before you sell your home. Making a great first impression and setting the price right are both very essential when you want to attract buyers. But what else do you need to do to get those offers rolling in? Here are 10 proven tips to sell your home faster even when offseason.

Visualizing yourself handing out to the Buyers the house keys and envelopes with your appliances owner's manuals and warranties.