(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