Problem: Internet

While my husband doesn't really think the lack of the internet is a dire emergency, as a family that homeschools, we do rely heavily on the internet and not having it would be a real problem.  The problem is, we don't want to have cable run to our camper and then out to the house once it was up.  I started brain storming and comparing ideas.  Finally, we decided that with the new plans and a discount for being a military veteran, Verizon's unlimited plan for the whole family would actually be a great plan.  It was actually cheaper than what we paid for our phone/internet (we have DSL and bad cell coverage at the old house so we had to have a home phone), TV (we had the lowest plan possible with Dish), and cell phones for myself and husband.  I suggested IPads at least for the younger two but my husband said it won't be long before they will be going places and will need a phone for us to pick them up or something.  Plus, they can tether 10GB each line for laptops and tablets.  I told them they should stream from their phone so they use the bulk not through tethering.  Also, I got an HDMI plug for the iPhones so we can stream from the phone onto the tv.  It hasn't worked seamlessly yet but we are getting better at it.  They don't even really mind watching from their phones.

We got it all switched around which was a little bit of a pain but we got it done and I am kind of loving being able to text the kids rather than yell for them.  I usually make and print a weekly checklist for school.  This time I used their reminder app.  That was fantastic.  I am making them really use them for good purposes- alarms, reminders, chore lists, language learning, and multiplication fact practice.  Our internet is better now also than the DSL we did have. We also won't be far from the library either just in case we have another internet need.  One problem solved.

Better than For Sale By Owner: How we sold our house faster and better than ever

This home was not the first we bought or sold.  We have had great real estate agents and we have had many not so great agents.  We were really spoiled by one of our last agents.  She and I worked together to discuss plans to make the house look stellar.  She really worked on pictures and I would find her on a ladder, laying on the floor, etc.  She captured the essence of living there, not just the house itself.  It took a week to list the house but it sold the second day it hit the market,  during the housing slump.  Since moving to Tennessee, we found most of the agents take some pictures (don't care what they look like- if they look cluttered or dark, etc.) and then just sit and wait. I asked some agents what marketing avenues they used.  I was told realtor.com.  I waited for more and then asked, "That's it?"  Yes, that was it and may of them are completely out of touch with our very social-media driven generations or have no marketing plan.  I was so fed up with paying someone so much money, but not feeling like I got my money's worth (yes I know there are fees and more  and that they split it with the seller agent).  However, I do recognize the value of having it listed on the MLS and paying a seller agent a commission for bringing me a buyer.  I wanted my cake and I wanted to be able to eat it too.  I figured out how with some research.

There are MLS listing agents that you pay an up front fee to list your house and then you can offer a seller commission as well.  I started making a list of the listing agents that offered this service, what the fees were and what came with the package.  I really wanted signs, a lockbox (I know generally a house should not have the seller there- this way I could safely leave a key), I wanted it listed many places, I wanted to have lots of pictures and I didn't want to pay a ton.  I finally settled on one but they came back and said they couldn't list it on our local MLS listing, only a nearby one.  So, I called a lot of them and found the same answer.  The house was in a very rural area, I don't think many of you would have this problem.  Then, I started calling and email local agents to see if any of them would offer me that service.  Finally, I found one who was willing to.  He was a little more expensive than the online ones I started with, but he offered a few additional services.  One, if we wanted to convert later to just having him sell our house, we would get a credit for his up front fee on commission.  He didn't just bring us one sign, he brought us directional signs as well (to point the way down our road, up our driveway, etc).  He actually had us listed on several MLS regions, giving us more exposure.  All his listings were premium listings on Realtor.com and Zillow.  Despite assuring him over and over again that we didn't mind paying him a seller commission, if he received a call, he sent them to us instead of showing the house and getting the commission for himself.  He offered himself for any free advice I wanted and was really compassionate and helpful.

I took pictures with my "good camera" (digital canon) and edited them to really pop.  There are free apps for this.  In addition to the MLS and all the sites like Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com that we got through the realtor, we added the listing to Facebook sites, Craigslist, and anywhere I could get exposure.  I was going to list it also in the paper despite that I think it is becoming outdated, but I was astounded to find out the prices of real estate ads (think hundreds for a week).  Newspapers, you have to compete in the digital age and you are increasing prices? I don't get it so I opted out.  I got inquiries from all areas.  You want your listing to spread and be seen by anyone.  You never know how your listing may be seen by the future buyer.

Did our house sell?  Yes, by cash offer in just a couple of months and we ended up actually being there on that showing which, in this case, actually helped sell the house.  We did pay a seller agent the commission but we ended up paying half of what we would have paid if we had gone the regular route.  The buyer also gave us several additional months in the house after the sell because they knew we were building.  Would I do it again?  In a heartbeat.  Would I recommend to others? Absolutely.

Some sites to look into:
https://www.byownerflatmls.com
Http://www.mlsmyhome.com
www.savvylane.com
http://www.nationalflatfeemls.com/
http://www.flatfeemultiplelistingaccess.com