Looking for some Home Selling Advice

[Bigdogjim]

As many of you know, my wife and I recently purchased a new home and our first house is for sale.

We are looking/seeking advice in attracting foot traffic.

The listing price was reduced. RE Commission was increased to 7% (3% seller, 4% buyer - hoping to entice realtors into showing the property to potential buyers). After failing to generate not even one showing (after two weeks) the 7% commission was rescinded and replaced with a $5,000 seller assist - nothing.

We need to get people INTO house which is a difficult task being that the property is located "off the beaten path." There is no reason for anyone to drive down our street, unless they are visiting a neighbor. It is a horseshoe neighborhood with no cut-thru access; an extremely quiet street with less than ten cars passing through a day.

The property is listed on MLS, advertised in local RE magazines, and advertised on open house days. We’ve had 4 open houses, and one person showed up each time. Total # potential buyers that have visited the house = 4.

Today is November 6<SUP>th</SUP> and the realtor is once again asking us to reduce the price.

I don't think or feel that lowering the asking price is the answer. We need to get people INTO house which is a difficult task being that the property is located "off the beaten path." Any ideas, suggestions ???


On the flipside, taxes are high, school district isn’t the greatest and a new K-9 school is being built with a projected increase in taxes of $400+ /yr. for the next eight years. There are also 73 properties for sales in the neighborhood; realtor says this is a 14 month supply of houses - ouch!

NO!! I’m not going to offer my car as an incentive.

*****

[KillJoy]

Ebay?

KillJoy

[dwasson]

Free beer.

[KillJoy]

:D

KillJoy

[MM03MOK]

Bury St. Joseph in the back yard?

[sailsmen]

Our house went on the market in Dec, we are also on a cul de sac.

In Feb the agent convinces us to reduce the price by 5%. In April we tell her to raise it back after I see what the other similar houses are listing for, she reluctantly agrees.

We sold it in September for what we wanted.

The easiest thing in the world is for a realtor to reduce the price by 50k, sell it in an hour and only loose 3,500 in commision.

Unless you are aware of some dire event over the horizon stick to your guns.

[chrish]

move the house to Austin TX. ,double the price, then throw a nother 20k on it,lower all commisions to 1.5-2% Stand back & enjoy

it is amaizing & has been predictable for the past 20 plus years.....when the east & west coasts are HOT texas is in the dumps....when texas is HOT the east & west coast is in the dumps.
Price is not everything you got to find the right buyer...of course you have done ALL the fix-up & things to make it better then ever? Realters that are local,hungry,experienced,,conn ected ,not lazy, & smart will move it & price it right.

[Bigdogjim]

Thanks the house some extras that others do not have in the area.

The quite street is what hurts, it was nice living there but no traffic is not working against us. Time is on our side as we are in no hurry to sell.

Thanks for the 3 good replys so far.

Any local realtors feel free to call me @ 609.672.6809:)

[DEFYANT]

Dump the realtor!

Our first was just like yours. Not only did they try to get us to ask less then the market value (for the quicky sale), but then they pushed us to spend MORE on the next house. The house was on the market for 1.5 months with 1 or 2 showings. They did squat for us!

They were dumped infavor of a realtor we used once before. Things worked out just fine.

As you know, the market has stalled

[Bigdogjim]

Thanks Charlie but the realtor we have has the best track record in our town that why we signed. Base issue is too many houses and high taxes.

[chrish]

rent the house out for a year or 2 till the market rebounds.
have someone lease to purchase thing or straight lease.Don't pay a realtor a bunch of $ for this service though . the going rate is .5-1 months rent for there fee.This will give time for the price to rebound, & maybe you can sell it on your own to the tenant or some one you know & save on the selling & commision fees..
this might be a good way for you to go

[Bigdogjim]

rent the house out for a year or 2 till the market rebounds.
have someone lease to purchase thing or straight lease.Don't pay a realtor a bunch of $ for this service though . the going rate is .5-1 months rent for there fee.This will give time for the price to rebound, & maybe you can sell it on your own to the tenant or some one you know & save on the selling & commision fees..
this might be a good way for you to go

Already looked into this and will keep this option open. Thanks

[RCSignals]

Try holding a silent auction. You must advertise it well, obviously. There are sites on the tinternet that give details.

Other than that, keep it and rent it out, or, tell the neighbours you are going to turn it into a group home/half-way house for ex-cons, or an Irish Pub. Maybe they'll buy it from you ;)

73 other properties for sale in the area? You need 73 'accidents' to happen I guess.

[Bigdogjim]

Hey whats wrong with an "Irish Pub" ? :rofl:

[martyo]

This is exactly why I always counsel clients not to buy the second house until the first is sold or at least in contract. So, now that it is too late for you to take that advice, I strongly suggest that you sit down and look very hard at family finances. Pick a conservative point in time when you Will not be able to "afford" to own two houses. Then back up from that date and then consider a heavy price reduction to get the house gone or just rent it. Fr what its worth, I prefer the rental option and would say look at that sooner rather than later.

[Marauderman]

Regardless of the increase in taxes or school $$ or whatever--the realator needs to capitalize on the LOCATION--Your home is perfect for a young family to raise kids--quite area--limited traffice etc--Tell them to go BIG on these issues and go after this client group--advertise it for such a family from a Safety point of view--kids can play in your area without exposed since its a rstriced area in a way---That was what I was looking for and told my agent to be on the lookout for such a property--problem --agents were listing them without that story line--except one--and we picked up on it ---sometimes the simple stuff in you face --just what you described about your area and house is just what needs to be blown up in the ad--the fact of --What makes this place different than the norm------

Well my thoughts anyway--hope they help Jim...........Tom

[DeadVic]

time value of money is what Marty is talking about. Our house in the Woodlands listed at $165K but I told our selling agent that we'd take $155K to get it sold within two weeks. Word of mouth amonst the agents in his network and we had $155K in place within two weeks.

The way to justify it was to figure a 1.5-3% cushion for negotiation on the 165K (puts us down to around $160k) and with taxes, insurance, and interest I was throwing another $1600 away a month for it to sit there. Not to mention the stress and the headache of moving from TX to AZ.

[gpfarrell]

If you really want it to move....

Compare the cost of keeping it (mental & financial) with the cost of discounting it. Everybody loves a deal... that is the fastest way to get ahead of the other 73 houses. You might save a fortune by discounting it and moving on.

Try a less experienced realtor. Seriously. Find one that has 5 listings and is eager to get a deal rather than one that has 55 listings and will sell 4 houses a month just by answering the phone.

Play up the strengths and target those buyers. Young parents would find that quiet street and new school to be a blessing. Go find young parents.

When you get a "deal", don't sweat the small stuff. If the buyers want an extra $1500 to replace a toilet seat, give 'em the money. Finding new buyers will likely cost you much more.

[Bigdogjim]

WOW! Some of should be selling houses if your not.
Thanks for the response so far!

[AstroVic]

I agree with the rental option, particularly since there are so many houses for sale in your area. The high taxes aren't going to help with the sale, either!

If you truly can afford to keep the house for awhile, then you should be able to afford a break-even proposition on the rental. Hold off at break-even (or even a slight loss) and wait until the market picks up again to sell. It might take several years, but by that time you've got more equity in the house and you might come out wayyy ahead of where you'd be if you sold it now at a reduced price.

Plus, renters LOVE the low traffic of culdesacs and horseshoe streets. When my wife and I first got married, we rented a house on a horseshoe street specifically because it didn't have much traffic and was a safe place for kids to play.

Also, what about new paint? A new fence? Some new landscaping (always a big seller!)? New carpet? Etc.

Good luck and keep us posted on your success!

[Bigdogjim]

I agree with the rental option, particularly since there are so many houses for sale in your area. The high taxes aren't going to help with the sale, either!

If you truly can afford to keep the house for awhile, then you should be able to afford a break-even proposition on the rental. Hold off at break-even (or even a slight loss) and wait until the market picks up again to sell. It might take several years, but by that time you've got more equity in the house and you might come out wayyy ahead of where you'd be if you sold it now at a reduced price.
Not a problem to hold on to the house right now.
Plus, renters LOVE the low traffic of culdesacs and horseshoe streets. When my wife and I first got married, we rented a house on a horseshoe street specifically because it didn't have much traffic and was a safe place for kids to play.
The house is the last on one the street right next to a few hundred acres of parkland with baseball, tennis, soccer, and picnic areas:):):) Great location for a party.

Also, what about new paint? A new fence? Some new landscaping (always a big seller!)? New carpet? Etc.
All that has been done in the last few years, just put in a 4 car poured stamped driveway (side ot house) and 25'sq. patio in the back yard:) also added central air to the lower floor. Paint was finished last week and new carpets were installed a few rooms, we have 3 cats and 1 dog so the rugs took it hard :rofl: Entire backyard was just leveled last year and tons of dirt and new seed were also added, a few trees (small) were removed to open it up.
Really were not ever thinking of selling last year and a garage was on the drawing board so to speak.

Good luck and keep us posted on your success!

Now it the joys of owing two homes....Only down side is keeps me from wondering too far from home.:shake:

[Bigdogjim]

Today we made our LAST trip to the "old" house. We did a final walk through with the new buyer and go to closing on Wednesday:up:

Party time is almost here!!!!!!!!:banana2::banana2: :bows:

What a long strange trip it's been.......................... ......

[Bluerauder]

Today we made our LAST trip to the "old" house. We did a final walk through with the new buyer and go to closing on Wednesday:up:

Party time is almost here!!!!!!!!:banana2::banana2: :bows:

What a long strange trip it's been.......................... ......

Wow, 6 months on the market. Congrats BDJ on your sale! :up:

Same is happening here in Northern Virginia. Houses that used to be sold in less than a week are taking several months .... not 6 but closer to 3. Much of our real estate problem here is caused by the glut of new houses being built. This is the first year in the last 6 that assessments have flattened out. In fact, my place lost about 10% this year alone. Of course, it had been climbing at 16-20% per year since 1999.

[BruteForce]

Congrats Jim. Sounds like it was more than a minor annoyance. :help:


Today we made our LAST trip to the "old" house. We did a final walk through with the new buyer and go to closing on Wednesday:up:

Party time is almost here!!!!!!!!:banana2::banana2: :bows:

What a long strange trip it's been.......................... ......

[JerseyVics]

if you were in Bergen County I'd send my parents over to look at your old house, we're in the market

but the prices are holding strong up here still... no steals

--Russ

[Aren Jay]

In Calgary houses sell within minutes of going on the market, but for you you might want to make sure it is fully inspected get everything fixed, then have a new inspection done and have this available for those viewing.

Clean the house out, but rent some modern funiture and things. These things you can rent for a few weeks and if someone really wants them they can be added to the price. Make sure the rental place will sell them ahead of time. You can also rent these 3 days before a series of viewings and then return them if it doesn't sell right away.

Paint it inside and out. New floors or fixed floors. A good realtor should have a team / contractor that can do this for a reasonable rate. Make it look perfect then you can keep your price and get what you want.

Get a new better realtor. Go with a big name and pick an agent that has a client list, people who will come for a viewing.

You could also make a good website to showcase your house. Put the link on the MLS and make your house look perfect. If you want younger buyers give it a white picket fence.

But get a good realtor not some local friend. Get someone who has clients looking and have them bring them to the open houses.

[Bigdogjim]

This house has been on the market 11 months........................ .......

I will be ahappy guy Wednesday afternoon:up:

Just don't spell my name wrong on the check:)$$$$

[RCSignals]

......................

Just don't spell my name wrong on the check:)$$$$

OK Bob :P

[jgc61sr2002]

Jim - Congrats. :D Glad it is working out.

[Bigdogjim]

Yes John I will feel like a "new" man:rolleyes:

[sailsmen]

The last two houses I sold took 6 & 10 months. Both were sold for a huge profit.

Both houses were unique and sold during a sellers market.

good Luck.

[MENINBLK]

Jim,

Glad to hear that you are finally closing.
The current market is slow and a one year ordeal is not unheard of.

You have done everything that was necessary on your part.
It sounds as if the Broker was not doing you his due diligence.
This is a problem in every market. Not just New Jersey.

[Bigdogjim]

It is OVER!!!!

Cloesed last Wednesday toss the buyer the keys got the check and halued azz out of the parking lot:burnout:

Poor wife was screaming something to the effect of s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n:help:


Thanks for all the advise!