As the “queen of the castle”, I appreciate that you didn’t give the actual address over the web. You took a great picture.

You don’t have to knock on the door (though you are welcome to do so), I can tell you that my dear stepdaughter (yes, not only am I the queen of the castle, I am a “wicked stepmother”) didn’t like to play princess – she was much better at playing soccer! She also didn’t have cancer, and it wasn’t her dying wish to live in a castle, she is alive and well at age 25. There are other rumors out there, so let me just say that no, we aren’t into kink and have a dungeon. No, I didn’t tell my husband that I would only marry him if he built me a castle, regardless of what the National Enquirer said. Nope, it wasn’t built for a location shot for some sitcom. No, none of our children were deformed monsters (though God and I both know that they all acted like that when they were teenagers).

The truth is simply that my hubby is just a very creative engineer who likes to build stuff and who bought a very run-down one-story house (had been a POORLY maintained rental house when he bought it) that sat way down from the road and flooded a lot whenever it rained hard. As the family got bigger when we got married (we raised 5 kids between us), the house got bigger as well. Why NOT turn it into a castle? Hubby is just starting to finish the side of it so that it looks complete. Now that the kids are all grown, it’s time to start thinking about selling.

We have a massive amount of trick-or-treaters every year. A few years back (2008?), we had something like 700 kids. Unfortunately, it became a safety hazard with all of the cars coming and going, mixed with all the kids weaving in and out between stopped/parked cars after dark. A woman was hit by one of the cars; thankfully, she was not hurt. In 2009, we put a sign out front on Halloween morning that we were not doing trick-or-treating that year so that we could “reset” the madness. It was sad to miss a year, but necessary for the safety of all the kids. Last year, it was a more manageable 300. Although there are a few people that don’t like it, they are in the minority – because rest assured, the trick-or-treaters come to see the castle, not just for the candy. We buy our stuff at the grocery store just like everyone else!

And Greg, since you aren’t paying our taxes, perhaps you should turn your head and look the other way as you drive by – and maybe quit using the house as a landmark if you are so offended by it. But then you’d have to look at the ski chalet across the street from us and use it as the landmark, huh?

PS to Alison – If, by chance you are the mom of the adorable little girls that wrote the letter, I want you to know that we are planning on writing them back. I have a friend who writes calligraphy, and waiting on her help (complete with wax seal).

Great advice! Having been in the real estate business for 23 years, and an appraiser for the past 14 years, I’ve always recommended seeking the advice of a good local Realtor when thinking of selling. If someone wants an unbiased opinion, or more importantly, they need a defendable opinion value then by all means get an appraisal. However, seeking the advice of a local expert Realtor should be done. Their knowledge and insight are invaluable, heck, there are times I reach out to them for advice.

Regards,

Michael Bolton
Proevalue.com

I try to work with sellers to get them to see that if only 3 or 4 houses are likely to sell, and theirs isn’t one of the best combination of price/condition/location houses, it’s going to sit and sit and sit, and not sell.

And we know, from experience and from the market stats, that houses that sit, end up selling for less.

In our market, the most traffic goes through in the first few weeks of a new listing. If the listing isn’t getting traffic, it’s over priced, and the price needs to come down.

It is essential for sellers to understand that “waiting for the right buyer” won’t get their house to sell for their asking price. Pricing it right for the market is what will get it under contract – even if the list price isn’t what they had hoped to get.

Can you share some of your experiences with us, too?

Tony Ciramella

I understandhow to calculate absorption rates and odds of selling.

How do you use these to get your sellers to agree to a list price.

I am a realtor with irongate in springboro ohio