My impending Italian Ex-Pat adventure is ***Official*** 2024-25 v3.1 (1 Viewer)

[The Z Machine]

We haven't told the kids or my folks yet, since I'm actually in China right now on a work trip.

A wrinkle in my job sitch is that my company just laid off a peer of mine who has been with the company 20+ years. They easily could had let me go instead as they knew I was asking to work remotely. Really weird timing...

 

[The Z Machine]

I do wonder if the decision was made to let the other guy go, the wheels were in motion, and then I drop the bomb on them that I'm going remote or quitting. I might have put them in a real bind unknowingly.

 

[The Z Machine]

Looking at rent costs in Geneva is nauseating. It'll be like 2x my current mortgage on my 2400 sqft. place to get a place of 150 m^2 (like 1700 sq. ft.). I honestly don't know how we're going to afford rent and cost of living. We gonna be broke.

 

[beer 30]

Looking at rent costs in Geneva is nauseating. It'll be like 2x my current mortgage on my 2400 sqft. place to get a place of 150 m^2 (like 1700 sq. ft.). I honestly don't know how we're going to afford rent and cost of living. We gonna be broke.

Soooo...why go then?

 

[Chemical X]

my only knowledge of geneva is that it is london, amsterdam, paris crazy high rental expenses. i saw a house hunters where the people lived across the border in france and commuted to geneva, but what that does visa wise is unknown. taking a salary decrease to go there is contra to the market. remember, you still have to pay US taxes. i assume the swiss are liberal tax wise.

 

[Chemical X]

my moving deposit is in and i have “saved the date”. now i need 1,311 other things to happen.

 

[The Z Machine]

Looking at rent costs in Geneva is nauseating. It'll be like 2x my current mortgage on my 2400 sqft. place to get a place of 150 m^2 (like 1700 sq. ft.). I honestly don't know how we're going to afford rent and cost of living. We gonna be broke.

Soooo...why go then?

Life to me isn't about amassing wealth, it's about experience. I lived in Europe before when I was 26 and I was flat broke buy it was an amazing experience. I want my kids to see the world and understand cultures and people and be challenged to live in a place where they will have to pick up another language. Most middle (and especially upper middle class) kids in the US have it pretty dang easy these days. They are so stuck into their phones and tictocks and whatever that the world is passing them by IMO. I'd prefer that my kids experience something different.

Maybe this experiment will be a total disaster and Geneva will simply be too expensive for us to live any sort of lifestyle that we'd like. I won't really know that until we try.

 

[The Z Machine]

my only knowledge of geneva is that it is london, amsterdam, paris crazy high rental expenses. i saw a house hunters where the people lived across the border in france and commuted to geneva, but what that does visa wise is unknown. taking a salary decrease to go there is contra to the market. remember, you still have to pay US taxes. i assume the swiss are liberal tax wise.

I think that as non EU passport holders that this is not a great plan. My hunch is that our visas will only be valid if we live in Switzerland.

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

my only knowledge of geneva is that it is london, amsterdam, paris crazy high rental expenses. i saw a house hunters where the people lived across the border in france and commuted to geneva, but what that does visa wise is unknown. taking a salary decrease to go there is contra to the market. remember, you still have to pay US taxes. i assume the swiss are liberal tax wise.

I think Z said his wife will be working for an international organization. If that's true, they should be able to take home 100% of pay, no taxes. I worked for the UN many years ago and that was the case for me.

 

[FarFromHome]

Looking at rent costs in Geneva is nauseating. It'll be like 2x my current mortgage on my 2400 sqft. place to get a place of 150 m^2 (like 1700 sq. ft.). I honestly don't know how we're going to afford rent and cost of living. We gonna be broke.

Soooo...why go then?

Life to me isn't about amassing wealth, it's about experience. I lived in Europe before when I was 26 and I was flat broke buy it was an amazing experience. I want my kids to see the world and understand cultures and people and be challenged to live in a place where they will have to pick up another language. Most middle (and especially upper middle class) kids in the US have it pretty dang easy these days. They are so stuck into their phones and tictocks and whatever that the world is passing them by IMO. I'd prefer that my kids experience something different.

Maybe this experiment will be a total disaster and Geneva will simply be too expensive for us to live any sort of lifestyle that we'd like. I won't really know that until we try.

Yes sir. When your on your death bed you don't look back and think u should have taken less chances. Your not gonna reflect so much on checking account balance over that walk on the beach with your loved one. Life is short. Play hard.

 

[The Z Machine]

my only knowledge of geneva is that it is london, amsterdam, paris crazy high rental expenses. i saw a house hunters where the people lived across the border in france and commuted to geneva, but what that does visa wise is unknown. taking a salary decrease to go there is contra to the market. remember, you still have to pay US taxes. i assume the swiss are liberal tax wise.

I think Z said his wife will be working for an international organization. If that's true, they should be able to take home 100% of pay, no taxes. I worked for the UN many years ago and that was the case for me.

Yes, she will be working for a UN subsidiary. Taxes are still taken out but the UN reimburses them. In fact the US is one of only a handful of countries where a UN salary is not tax free. There's a while office in the UN dedicated to helping US citizens with taxes. Thanks Uncle Sam!

 

[Drunken knight]

@Chemical X

i am certain you have mentioned this, but can you either speak to or direct me to the post regarding health care and cost of living (have lived in marin co, breckenridge, and now sonoma co for reference).

I will be looking into the northern lakes/dolomiti for potential retirement locations.

 

[Chemical X]

@Chemical X

i am certain you have mentioned this, but can you either speak to or direct me to the post regarding health care and cost of living (have lived in marin co, breckenridge, and now sonoma co for reference).

I will be looking into the northern lakes/dolomiti for potential retirement locations.

well, in general, the north is pricier than the south. proximity to milan, france, switzerland, the lakes……the north is the financial center of italy. health care….can you be specific? how is the system or what might be the costs?

 

[Drunken knight]

@Chemical X

i am certain you have mentioned this, but can you either speak to or direct me to the post regarding health care and cost of living (have lived in marin co, breckenridge, and now sonoma co for reference).

I will be looking into the northern lakes/dolomiti for potential retirement locations.

well, in general, the north is pricier than the south. proximity to milan, france, switzerland, the lakes……the north is the financial center of italy. health care….can you be specific? how is the system or what might be the costs?

yes, but less expensive than similar regions in Austria, Switzerland. proximity to other countries and regions is a huge draw for us (rivieras, mountains, coasts, wine regions, etc)
I definitely like border towns (in this case both Italian and Germanic influences)

health care: access (ease of authorization for rx and tx), and cost.

 

[Chemical X]

@Chemical X

i am certain you have mentioned this, but can you either speak to or direct me to the post regarding health care and cost of living (have lived in marin co, breckenridge, and now sonoma co for reference).

I will be looking into the northern lakes/dolomiti for potential retirement locations.

well, in general, the north is pricier than the south. proximity to milan, france, switzerland, the lakes……the north is the financial center of italy. health care….can you be specific? how is the system or what might be the costs?

yes, but less expensive than similar regions in Austria, Switzerland. proximity to other countries and regions is a huge draw for us (rivieras, mountains, coasts, wine regions, etc)
I definitely like border towns (in this case both Italian and Germanic influences)

health care: access (ease of authorization for rx and tx), and cost.

you plan on becoming an Italian resident?

 

[Drunken knight]

@Chemical X

i am certain you have mentioned this, but can you either speak to or direct me to the post regarding health care and cost of living (have lived in marin co, breckenridge, and now sonoma co for reference).

I will be looking into the northern lakes/dolomiti for potential retirement locations.

well, in general, the north is pricier than the south. proximity to milan, france, switzerland, the lakes……the north is the financial center of italy. health care….can you be specific? how is the system or what might be the costs?

yes, but less expensive than similar regions in Austria, Switzerland. proximity to other countries and regions is a huge draw for us (rivieras, mountains, coasts, wine regions, etc)
I definitely like border towns (in this case both Italian and Germanic influences)

health care: access (ease of authorization for rx and tx), and cost.

you plan on becoming an Italian resident?

Will need to research requirements for resident vs non-resident

All just a concept at the moment

 

[Chemical X]

@Chemical X

i am certain you have mentioned this, but can you either speak to or direct me to the post regarding health care and cost of living (have lived in marin co, breckenridge, and now sonoma co for reference).

I will be looking into the northern lakes/dolomiti for potential retirement locations.

well, in general, the north is pricier than the south. proximity to milan, france, switzerland, the lakes……the north is the financial center of italy. health care….can you be specific? how is the system or what might be the costs?

yes, but less expensive than similar regions in Austria, Switzerland. proximity to other countries and regions is a huge draw for us (rivieras, mountains, coasts, wine regions, etc)
I definitely like border towns (in this case both Italian and Germanic influences)

health care: access (ease of authorization for rx and tx), and cost.

you plan on becoming an Italian resident?

Will need to research requirements for resident vs non-resident

All just a concept at the moment

well, it’s the 90-180 rule to comply without residency. good thing about italy is that they have national healthcare…..if you are a resident you can buy in for a low fee, think around €200 annually. this gets you public healthcare at no cost. meds are funny, you can just walk into any farmacia and buy anything you need. the stronger stuff that affects the brain likely will need a prescription.

 

[Chemical X]

spent today organizing my 15 step folder for the consulate. i have all the paper. need copies (thanks office printer) and money orders. the clock starts 3/15.

 

[Chemical X]

so, the only airline that flies direct to philly for me is awful Frontier. Got the flights for $200- pp rt, but they a-la-carte everything else. They want $74- for a carry-on, each way. LOL $150- for 1 bag?
I sent them a message inquiring as to whether or not my bag gets a seat for that money. Awful.

 

[Chemical X]

@Chemical X

i am certain you have mentioned this, but can you either speak to or direct me to the post regarding health care and cost of living (have lived in marin co, breckenridge, and now sonoma co for reference).

I will be looking into the northern lakes/dolomiti for potential retirement locations.

well, in general, the north is pricier than the south. proximity to milan, france, switzerland, the lakes……the north is the financial center of italy. health care….can you be specific? how is the system or what might be the costs?

yes, but less expensive than similar regions in Austria, Switzerland. proximity to other countries and regions is a huge draw for us (rivieras, mountains, coasts, wine regions, etc)
I definitely like border towns (in this case both Italian and Germanic influences)

health care: access (ease of authorization for rx and tx), and cost.

also, if you opt in for public insurance, you may not want to buy private insurance. private is if you want quicker access to care and to go to a private hospital. it is something i am likely to obtain for the first year. the italian public hospital experience was, enlightening. I am working with CIgna Global and they seemingly have a reasonable plan, called Choice Care. It provides coverage in Italy and the US and you can buy hospital only or with outpatient coverage and dental. Prices are based on what you do with deductible and co-pay percentage. I have priced something that works for us and it will be around $500- monthly for both. I will see if i like the public care and then likely dump private going forward....but this is while wife is working. If she isn't working, i will likely keep the private, so when we come back to the US, we have coverage and if we want coverage for things we don't think Italy can handle. Maybe something serious.

 

[The Z Machine]

Update: we told the kids last night (had to wait until I got back from a work trip). As expected, my 10 y.o. daughter was quite upset. She thinks this is terrible but hasn't said much except crying. It was hard... my 10 y.o. son was upset and worried but quickly started asking questions and he seemed excited for the adventure. He said he didn't want to have to learn a 3rd language, but I think he'll do OK. All in all it went as well as could be expected. My daughter actually came down from her room and had a normal dinner with us.

On the work front, I'm struggling to get straight answers about working remotely from Switzerland. Not from my company, which is quite supportive actually... but just the process. My wife will have a Ci permit, issued to fjord working in a UN type job. As her spouse I'm also entitled to a Ci permit, which means I can work for a Swiss company. The rub is that I don't want to work for a Swiss company, I want to keep my current job. Since I work for a multinational company, we actually might have a registered office in Switzerland even if there's no Swiss staff... I'm not v sure yet.

So option 1: my company has a Swiss office and I get transferred there and get a Swiss contract. That will be annoying to negotiate.

Option 2: my company doesn't have a Swiss entity and I apply for an ANobAG, which means "employee without a contributory employer". I would be obligated to pay into the Swiss social security system both as employee and employer. It's not a small amount out of pocket... here's an article: https://www.zuerchertreuhand.ch/en/spezialthemen/anobag-everything-you-need-to-know-about-it

So I need to get I touch with the European folks inside my company to see which option it is.

 

[The Z Machine]

I also told my folks and my brother. My parents were supportive and excited although a little sad too. They live in Cali and I'm in MD so it's not like we're nearby anyway. The time zone will be tough though.

My brother was most concerned about the financial implications as well as taking care of my MIL. That's top of mind for him because his MIL passed away last week and he's essentially the executor.

 

[Chemical X]

Update: we told the kids last night (had to wait until I got back from a work trip). As expected, my 10 y.o. daughter was quite upset. She thinks this is terrible but hasn't said much except crying. It was hard... my 10 y.o. son was upset and worried but quickly started asking questions and he seemed excited for the adventure. He said he didn't want to have to learn a 3rd language, but I think he'll do OK. All in all it went as well as could be expected. My daughter actually came down from her room and had a normal dinner with us.

On the work front, I'm struggling to get straight answers about working remotely from Switzerland. Not from my company, which is quite supportive actually... but just the process. My wife will have a Ci permit, issued to fjord working in a UN type job. As her spouse I'm also entitled to a Ci permit, which means I can work for a Swiss company. The rub is that I don't want to work for a Swiss company, I want to keep my current job. Since I work for a multinational company, we actually might have a registered office in Switzerland even if there's no Swiss staff... I'm not v sure yet.

So option 1: my company has a Swiss office and I get transferred there and get a Swiss contract. That will be annoying to negotiate.

Option 2: my company doesn't have a Swiss entity and I apply for an ANobAG, which means "employee without a contributory employer". I would be obligated to pay into the Swiss social security system both as employee and employer. It's not a small amount out of pocket... here's an article: https://www.zuerchertreuhand.ch/en/spezialthemen/anobag-everything-you-need-to-know-about-it

So I need to get I touch with the European folks inside my company to see which option it is.

https://www.ssa.gov/international/Agreement_Pamphlets/documents/Switzerland.pdf

 

[Chemical X]

me and the mrs gave my office color copier a 30 minute work out last night. made piles of copies for the consulate. then we went next door for bubbles and cake.

 

[Chemical X]

so, heading to philly tomorrow for our friday appointments. i will report back on the process. i am wondering if they just gather the info, will they talk to us, ask questions. will they go item by item…..italians are like a box of chocolate when it comes to red tape.

 

[Chemical X]

so, got up early and arrived at 8.30a for 9a and 9.18a appointments. check in with the guard, we are number 1, wait. they call us to sign in at 8.50a and check IDs. we head upstairs to the office. basically a small room with 2 DMV style kiosks and chairs to wait for about 15 people. at 9a they call me and dude asks me what type of visa i want, i tell him and say my wife has an appointment after me can she come with me together. he says yes but sends us to the other counter which has a woman worker. perfect english and nice, asks for my application. it has a line where it says current occupation and my attorney filled it in as Employee. the lady was a little confused, likely because of our age, thinking i wanted a work visa. i explained the situation and she understood, she asked me to write in pen my actual employer……that was the only small hiccup. we were hyper prepared. she asked for all documents at once and thumbed thru them. i gave them a full passport copy, but she only took my picture page. i gave 2 passport photos, she only wanted one. wife provided the same after me. we chit chatted and small talked. she was very pleasant and truly excited for what we were doing. she had no issues and at the end tapped our packages on the desk and said they were the most organized and intact she had seen, which made us feel real good. asked us how long we were together. she said it should take less than the 90 day waiting period. we talked some italian and were done by 9.30a, saving them about 10 minutes.

 

[The Z Machine]

Atta boy, X

 

[Chemical X]

so, got up early and arrived at 8.30a for 9a and 9.18a appointments. check in with the guard, we are number 1, wait. they call us to sign in at 8.50a and check IDs. we head upstairs to the office. basically a small room with 2 DMV style kiosks and chairs to wait for about 15 people. at 9a they call me and dude asks me what type of visa i want, i tell him and say my wife has an appointment after me can she come with me together. he says yes but sends us to the other counter which has a woman worker. perfect english and nice, asks for my application. it has a line where it says current occupation and my attorney filled it in as Employee. the lady was a little confused, likely because of our age, thinking i wanted a work visa. i explained the situation and she understood, she asked me to write in pen my actual employer……that was the only small hiccup. we were hyper prepared. she asked for all documents at once and thumbed thru them. i gave them a full passport copy, but she only took my picture page. i gave 2 passport photos, she only wanted one. wife provided the same after me. we chit chatted and small talked. she was very pleasant and truly excited for what we were doing. she had no issues and at the end tapped our packages on the desk and said they were the most organized and intact she had seen, which made us feel real good. asked us how long we were together. she said it should take less than the 90 day waiting period. we talked some italian and were done by 9.30a, saving them about 10 minutes.

now we wait. we have a container move scheduled for 6/15, but we are hopeful of a quicker visa answer. if we get a faster answer, we can then immediately put our house on the market and hopefully move the container forward by like 2 weeks, to the beginning of June. this would better meet our timeline of heading out end of june.

 

[Chemical X]

also, philly is absolutely filthy. dirty as hell, bums everywhere. have a funny story, later on that.

 

[The Z Machine]

also, philly is absolutely filthy. dirty as hell, bums everywhere. have a funny story, later on that.

You should come to Baltimore. Dirtier but fewer homeless

 

[Chemical X]

also, philly is absolutely filthy. dirty as hell, bums everywhere. have a funny story, later on that.

You should come to Baltimore. Dirtier but fewer homeless

hard pass.

i mean, i’m from NYC and i’m used to the rough ethnic vibe, but NYC did the quality of life thing years ago. don’t know how it is now, but the 1 block walk from my hotel to the reading market, which is awesome FYI, was literally littered…..with actual litter, drunks, hobos, bums, homeless, buskers and beggars. i know it’s a bigger crisis, but i saw cops sitting in my hotel coffee shop all day and not a cop outside having people stop from sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk.

also, we arrive on thursday and grab a cab. get to the hotel and we can’t get to the front because a delivery truck is idling. our driver tries to go around the truck on the left and is real tight, at the same time the truck driver gets out of the truck and the passenger mirror is close to hitting him so he decides to punch slam it into our cab. i didn’t know what happened, i thought maybe our driver hit the guy, so he stops and gets out of the cab and in an instant the guys are having a fist fight lol. it’s 75 and sunny and these morons are pulling a true philly. i hop out and try to grab the taxi driver and i’m yelling at him that it isn’t worth this and both guys should stop. he kind of pushes me aside and the other guy ignores me. they separate for a moment, some other bystanders come over and they start fighting again. my wife is yelling at me to walk away, because people are nuts and this isn’t my beef, but i can’t let grown men fist fight. so, i grab the taxi driver again and he finally focuses on me enough to stop….they continue to curse at other, threaten to kill one another, throw some racial slurs and off i go……

i remind my wife this is the city of brotherly love that boos santa clause. crazy

 

[Chemical X]

so, we have a r.e. agent and did some prelim work. she asked if we’d be interested in preview showings and we had our first today and another tomorrow. we really can’t sell until we are 100% sure of the visa, but like i said, if we get a stupid offer, we have our beach condo…….agent suggested a price of 699k, but feels it will sell higher. she doesn’t want to list over 700k because the 700k-1.2mm market is not as strong as the sub 700k. she’s rather people panic and bid high. did i mention i don’t have a note? boing

 

[The Z Machine]

so, we have a r.e. agent and did some prelim work. she asked if we’d be interested in preview showings and we had our first today and another tomorrow. we really can’t sell until we are 100% sure of the visa, but like i said, if we get a stupid offer, we have our beach condo…….agent suggested a price of 699k, but feels it will sell higher. she doesn’t want to list over 700k because the 700k-1.2mm market is not as strong as the sub 700k. she’s rather people panic and bid high. did i mention i don’t have a note? boing

I'm really jealous as it seems likely that rental income on our house in Baltimore is unlikely to cover the mortgage and insurance, so we'll be cash flow negative. Sure I'll be getting continued equity as the note is only 2.75%, but it's still gonna put even more hurt on the budget. I'm freaking out a little about it, but I guess we'll just work through it... so many unknowns though right now it's tough to see how will work out.

Not gonna stop the process but I gotta have faith in my wife and I as a couple to pull through.

 

[Chemical X]

So........seems my interpretation of showing my house via "sneak peak" was off. Recap, our timing has been essentially that the max time it takes to get our visa decision is 90 days, putting us to 6/15 now. i/we were hopeful that we could get a quick decision, thus knowing for sure if we should sell our primary residence in the US. i mean, we hadn't really really discussed do we sell and market for sale before a decision. Pretty much, if we put the house up regardless of decision, then we are committing to live at our beach condo if the visa decision is negative. In that scenario, we would likely pursue the 90/180 thing in italy and go back and forth. So, our agent showed the house "unlisted" to someone who wants our neighborhood Sunday and Monday. I thought that if they liked the house they could then wait until it hits the market and they would have a leg up..................well, the Sunday looker offered us in the 660s, a low number and based on 1 crappy comp in our neighborhood. I didn't realize we'd get offers. Our agent wants to list at 699k now, which is much higher than i had planned during 2023. We told her no and we aren't countering. I mean, why should i counter 1 buyer on a low offer when the house isn't even listed? Agent agreed..........then she called later in the day and said the buyer will pay us our full ask. Talked to the wife and my thoughts are, if we are selling the house regardless of visa decision right now, then put it on the market formally and let every buyer panic and react to the competition. So, pictures are being taken today and our listing goes up Thursday. IMO, the house may sell over ask. Our market is crazy and objectively, my house is pretty loaded (size, features, yard, privacy) for my area. So, let's see what happens this weekend and i will have people bid against themselves.

I owe no one anything. I want the most money i can get. This might only happen once in a lifetime and i've been squeezed on other real estate deals. My wife would like to take the 699k, but I have 1 offer on 1 showing........methinks maybe i can get to 725k. Maybe i am wrong, but that is what my gut says. Couple of houses down from me just had a house sell in 2 days at $263 sq ft, which puts me at $683k........but i have another 600 sq ft in my attic that can be finished, with a superior backyard and kitchen.

We'll see........

 

[ChiefD]

Our house is going on the market tomorrow and we have four showings scheduled already and it hasn't hit MLS yet.

No way I'm selling it to the first unlisted person that comes in and making an offer. Especially a low ball.

 

[Chemical X]

Our house is going on the market tomorrow and we have four showings scheduled already and it hasn't hit MLS yet.

No way I'm selling it to the first unlisted person that comes in and making an offer. Especially a low ball.

how about the first person that offers you full ask?

 

[gianmarco]

Our house is going on the market tomorrow and we have four showings scheduled already and it hasn't hit MLS yet.

No way I'm selling it to the first unlisted person that comes in and making an offer. Especially a low ball.

how about the first person that offers you full ask?

If they already came up to full ask and no one else has seen the place yet, I don't see how you're losing out by entertaining other offers. They are obviously interested. I would wait and see initial activity. It could backfire, but I think the chances of that are far lower than the chances of you getting more. Depends on your risk tolerance and how quickly you want to get stuff done.

 

[ChiefD]

Our house is going on the market tomorrow and we have four showings scheduled already and it hasn't hit MLS yet.

No way I'm selling it to the first unlisted person that comes in and making an offer. Especially a low ball.

how about the first person that offers you full ask?

I'm waiting for a competing offer. A house in our neighborhood went for 10k over ask and had 4 offers.

I also want to be able to see what the financing looks like if we end up with multiple offers.

Edit to add: I'm waiting because ours is listing tomorrow and we have showings lined up already. So I'm expecting this to run through the weekend before going through offers if we are lucky to get some. Now, if someone walks in tomorrow and offers me 15k and good financing, that may change things.

 

[Chemical X]

Our house is going on the market tomorrow and we have four showings scheduled already and it hasn't hit MLS yet.

No way I'm selling it to the first unlisted person that comes in and making an offer. Especially a low ball.

how about the first person that offers you full ask?

I'm waiting for a competing offer. A house in our neighborhood went for 10k over ask and had 4 offers.

I also want to be able to see what the financing looks like if we end up with multiple offers.

Edit to add: I'm waiting because ours is listing tomorrow and we have showings lined up already. So I'm expecting this to run through the weekend before going through offers if we are lucky to get some. Now, if someone walks in tomorrow and offers me 15k and good financing, that may change things.

as an fyi, in my market i just got a 2nd full price offer. my house is NOT listed and i have a pair of 699k offers from 2 preview showings, good financing ready and on our closing schedule. only difference is 1 offer is 10k due diligence money, the other is 15k. we are asking our agent what the play is here…..do we give them a number or say we have multiple full price offers, bring me your best and final by 3p (we might do this)?

 

[Chemical X]

Our house is going on the market tomorrow and we have four showings scheduled already and it hasn't hit MLS yet.

No way I'm selling it to the first unlisted person that comes in and making an offer. Especially a low ball.

how about the first person that offers you full ask?

I'm waiting for a competing offer. A house in our neighborhood went for 10k over ask and had 4 offers.

I also want to be able to see what the financing looks like if we end up with multiple offers.

Edit to add: I'm waiting because ours is listing tomorrow and we have showings lined up already. So I'm expecting this to run through the weekend before going through offers if we are lucky to get some. Now, if someone walks in tomorrow and offers me 15k and good financing, that may change things.

i understand your spot, but these offers save us having to fully clean the house for photos, have a sign up, have people trample thru, etc. we are not even close to the listing stage like you are amazingly.

 

[ChiefD]

Our house is going on the market tomorrow and we have four showings scheduled already and it hasn't hit MLS yet.

No way I'm selling it to the first unlisted person that comes in and making an offer. Especially a low ball.

how about the first person that offers you full ask?

I'm waiting for a competing offer. A house in our neighborhood went for 10k over ask and had 4 offers.

I also want to be able to see what the financing looks like if we end up with multiple offers.

Edit to add: I'm waiting because ours is listing tomorrow and we have showings lined up already. So I'm expecting this to run through the weekend before going through offers if we are lucky to get some. Now, if someone walks in tomorrow and offers me 15k and good financing, that may change things.

i understand your spot, but these offers save us having to fully clean the house for photos, have a sign up, have people trample thru, etc. we are not even close to the listing stage like you are amazingly.

Yeah, definitely understand. If it's a number you are good with and you don't wanna mess with it? That's a good deal in my book.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

I let the buyers know that you will be opening the listing up and will taking offers until X date. Your place is obviously desirable. I think you’re going to get more offers. On X date go through the offers and choose the strongest one. And make sure you have contingencies built in to allow to do whatever you need to do, before you leave for Italy. I’m happy for you

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Our house is going on the market tomorrow and we have four showings scheduled already and it hasn't hit MLS yet.

No way I'm selling it to the first unlisted person that comes in and making an offer. Especially a low ball.

how about the first person that offers you full ask?

I'm waiting for a competing offer. A house in our neighborhood went for 10k over ask and had 4 offers.

I also want to be able to see what the financing looks like if we end up with multiple offers.

Edit to add: I'm waiting because ours is listing tomorrow and we have showings lined up already. So I'm expecting this to run through the weekend before going through offers if we are lucky to get some. Now, if someone walks in tomorrow and offers me 15k and good financing, that may change things.

as an fyi, in my market i just got a 2nd full price offer. my house is NOT listed and i have a pair of 699k offers from 2 preview showings, good financing ready and on our closing schedule. only difference is 1 offer is 10k due diligence money, the other is 15k. we are asking our agent what the play is here…..do we give them a number or say we have multiple full price offers, bring me your best and final by 3p (we might do this)?

I'd do this just for the convenience of not having people coming and going, having to have the house constantly spotless, etc. Tell your realtor the recent court decision on blowing up their 6% fee should have any difference coming out of their end of things.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Our house is going on the market tomorrow and we have four showings scheduled already and it hasn't hit MLS yet.

No way I'm selling it to the first unlisted person that comes in and making an offer. Especially a low ball.

how about the first person that offers you full ask?

I'm waiting for a competing offer. A house in our neighborhood went for 10k over ask and had 4 offers.

I also want to be able to see what the financing looks like if we end up with multiple offers.

Edit to add: I'm waiting because ours is listing tomorrow and we have showings lined up already. So I'm expecting this to run through the weekend before going through offers if we are lucky to get some. Now, if someone walks in tomorrow and offers me 15k and good financing, that may change things.

i understand your spot, but these offers save us having to fully clean the house for photos, have a sign up, have people trample thru, etc. we are not even close to the listing stage like you are amazingly.

Or this

 

[Chemical X]

I let the buyers know that you will be opening the listing up and will taking offers until X date. Your place is obviously desirable. I think you’re going to get more offers. On X date go through the offers and choose the strongest one. And make sure you have contingencies built in to allow to do whatever you need to do, before you leave for Italy. I’m happy for you

my gut says i should this, but i also don't want to lose offers, though i know i shouldn't worry. we actually went back to our agent to tell the bidders that we have multiple full price offers, bring us your best and final by 3p.

 

[Chemical X]

Our house is going on the market tomorrow and we have four showings scheduled already and it hasn't hit MLS yet.

No way I'm selling it to the first unlisted person that comes in and making an offer. Especially a low ball.

how about the first person that offers you full ask?

I'm waiting for a competing offer. A house in our neighborhood went for 10k over ask and had 4 offers.

I also want to be able to see what the financing looks like if we end up with multiple offers.

Edit to add: I'm waiting because ours is listing tomorrow and we have showings lined up already. So I'm expecting this to run through the weekend before going through offers if we are lucky to get some. Now, if someone walks in tomorrow and offers me 15k and good financing, that may change things.

as an fyi, in my market i just got a 2nd full price offer. my house is NOT listed and i have a pair of 699k offers from 2 preview showings, good financing ready and on our closing schedule. only difference is 1 offer is 10k due diligence money, the other is 15k. we are asking our agent what the play is here…..do we give them a number or say we have multiple full price offers, bring me your best and final by 3p (we might do this)?

I'd do this just for the convenience of not having people coming and going, having to have the house constantly spotless, etc. Tell your realtor the recent court decision on blowing up their 6% fee should have any difference coming out of their end of things.

our commission is 5% fyi.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

I let the buyers know that you will be opening the listing up and will taking offers until X date. Your place is obviously desirable. I think you’re going to get more offers. On X date go through the offers and choose the strongest one. And make sure you have contingencies built in to allow to do whatever you need to do, before you leave for Italy. I’m happy for you

my gut says i should this, but i also don't want to lose offers, though i know i shouldn't worry. we actually went back to our agent to tell the bidders that we have multiple full price offers, bring us your best and final by 3p.

I don’t think you will lose offers. Especially if you communicate what you are doing to the current offers. Let everyone know that you are accepting offers until 3/27 and that a decision will be made 3/29.

 

[gianmarco]

I let the buyers know that you will be opening the listing up and will taking offers until X date. Your place is obviously desirable. I think you’re going to get more offers. On X date go through the offers and choose the strongest one. And make sure you have contingencies built in to allow to do whatever you need to do, before you leave for Italy. I’m happy for you

my gut says i should this, but i also don't want to lose offers, though i know i shouldn't worry. we actually went back to our agent to tell the bidders that we have multiple full price offers, bring us your best and final by 3p.

I don’t think you will lose offers. Especially if you communicate what you are doing to the current offers. Let everyone know that you are accepting offers until 3/27 and that a decision will be made 3/29.

This.

 

[Chemical X]

I let the buyers know that you will be opening the listing up and will taking offers until X date. Your place is obviously desirable. I think you’re going to get more offers. On X date go through the offers and choose the strongest one. And make sure you have contingencies built in to allow to do whatever you need to do, before you leave for Italy. I’m happy for you

my gut says i should this, but i also don't want to lose offers, though i know i shouldn't worry. we actually went back to our agent to tell the bidders that we have multiple full price offers, bring us your best and final by 3p.

I don’t think you will lose offers. Especially if you communicate what you are doing to the current offers. Let everyone know that you are accepting offers until 3/27 and that a decision will be made 3/29.

this is what i want to do, but my wife and my gut say i needn’t push the envelope as much as i’d like. i’m happy with the number and our broker brought the buyers, so she has reduced the commission to 4%. that is enough to make me comfortable. also, the buyer’s are putting in 20k due diligence money, which means if they don’t go forward for any reason at any time, that money is mine. just isn’t worth the extra effort for maybe another 10k. we have bigger fish to fry and i honestly didn’t think i’d be over 650k pre commission.

i might now be able to install that pool in italy and you won’t mi d when you jump in…

 

[The Z Machine]

My wife would like to take the 699k, but I have 1 offer on 1 showing........methinks maybe i can get to 725k.

What's the downside to listing? You get your asking price and close a few weeks later? IMO you made the right move.