hypotheticalsyou’re selling you’re house and plan to packup your layout and take it with you.
what would you say if the buyer offers to buy your layout? (They have kids or he always wanted a model RR)
saves you the trouble of packing it up and moving. gives you a chance to start over. You negotiate on how much rolling stock is included.
Besides that; its a bunch of wood and plaster and stuff,replaceable.
Not like your first born male child, wouldn’t take me long to tell em, sold!
I’d be all over that offer! I’m quick to say that as, we figure our next move will to a retirement community, where hopefully I can start all over.
Everything is fine now, but 10 years down the road?
Mike.
This has come up before. R/E basics are anything attached to the structure go with the sale(usually curtains/drapes). Even a China hutch can be fair game as many have the upper part bolted to the wall to prevent tipping. Make sure all exclusions are noted in the sales listing. If that layout is attached, it needs to be listed in the exclusions. That said, most Realtors will want the layout out of there before they will show the house…
That would be the equivilent of winning the lottery.
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As was noted, most realtors will want the layout removed prior to showing the house. Buyers want to see what they can do with the space.
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This will be a problem for my girls. Hopefully I will live to remove the layout myself, but if I get hit by a bus 7 years from now they will have a problem.
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-Kevin
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That’s the impossible dream.
My house just went on the market in anticipation of the upcoming move to NC. The ILS in the upstairs office had to go with major repairs to the wall after shelf bracket removal. Had two old N scale layouts (3 x 5 and 4 x 8) in the basement. Had to chuck the smaller one and crate and ship the larger one that my son had built. Realtor would have died had I had a full basement sized layout.
I qucikly discovered that Realtor’s hate anything out of the ordinary.
Ray
Some people just get lucky though. When we sold our last house, I had no room for a layout, but I did have a large reef aquarium. I was NOT looking forward to moving it. The buyer put an offer in that included the aquarium. He always wanted a saltwater tank. Boy was I relieved! Admittedly rare, but possible!
Your realtor let it stay while showing the house?
And then you found someone to buy the house who wanted the layout?
Did you get hit by lightning twice and live as well?
You know the record for getting stuck by lighting and surviving is 7 times… just if anyone was wondering…
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I see you are from New Jersey.
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I don’t know how much of this is true, but it is kind of a model railroading legend.
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The VIRGINIAN & OHIO is (was) not that far from you. This is probably the most famous model railroad in existance. It actually has a historical society. Amazingly well built for operation and included in hobby publications for three or more decades.
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The story is the layout had to be removed to sell the house.
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If the V&O cannot survive the real estate market, I doubt any layout can.
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-Kevin
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Read the history page of the Pacific Southern. The house with layout has now had 3 owners. I believe it’s existence is very unique.
While I’m wishing, I want a magical pony that poops gold nuggets.
Maybe not a pony nor magical but there’s a bacteria that “eats” metals and “poops” gold nuggets albeit microscopic ones…
While living in Dayton I had the pleasure of visiting Allen’s layout several times. I was general manager of a machine about 1/2 mile from his house. I told my wife, had we not moved to western Colorado in 1998, we might have been buying the V&O with a house on top of it!
I wouldn’t want to sell my layout because I would want to keep all of my structures, and the layout wouldn’t be the same without them. I would also want to keep all of my figures (people) and other scenery details, and of course all of my trains. So what someone would be buying would be track, bench work and plaster mountains with empty lots where buildings used to be. I don’t really think that is what they would want.
I’d go right out an buy a Lotto ticket too. I’ll have some of what you are smoking.
what about turning this around. You’re moving, plan on packing up and moving you’re layout and find a house already with a layout.
would you want it? you could possibly combine both, choose the best structures from both.
would it affect which house you buy?
And they want you to remodel your kitchen and bathrooms at a retail cost of $25,000 to only get back about $17,000 on the price (don’t believe thse home fix up shows where they show people spending $25,000 and that increases the value of the house by $35,000)
But hey, the house shows better and is easier to sell…
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No.
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You have a better chance of winning the lotterty than to think that another person could build a layout I would have fun with for 20 years.
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I also doubt anyone would want my layout.
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-Kevin
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It happened to me. The realtor who worked with us to buy the house knew it was a 2nd choice and had a buyer looking for what we had. She showed the house while we were out of town and I had all track down, running with RailPro, foamcore temporary buildings and some ground cover started. The people made us an offer while we were still out of town. Before we could counter offer I ended up in the hospital and my wife told them, yes you can buy the house but it will be sometime before the layout can come down. They had a 12 year old who liked trains. My son in law went to the house and took all engines but 2 and left 30 pieces of rolling stock. A neighbor showed the kid and his dad how RailPro worked and that was it. My wife keeps track of all expenses and knew how much money I had in building the layout and made a good deal IMO. We got back about 70% of the expense and I considered time I spent building it as a learning experience. About a year later I was asked over to help the kid with some maintenance, let’s just say this kid felt entitled.
A rare deal I agree, but yes, lotteries also can be won.
TomO