Need advice on pricing our home to sell

[sajetto]

I'm going to tell you WHY my DF and I just bought our house. Maybe this will help you

Problems:
Ugly wallpaper
Hideous cabinets (yours are nice even if I don't care for the color, these awful)
1 bedroom upstairs is tee tiny
Ugly paint color in upstairs bath
NEEDS A NEW ROOF

Why did we buy it

great, fully fenced in back yard with a storage barn ( I know this doesn't help)

Staged VERY well (no clutter, however we've found that after this couple moved out that they aren't the cleanest people in the world. I swear they haven't changed the air conditioning filter in 2 years!)

1 YEAR HOME WARRANTY PROVIDED BY THE SELLER (I have no idea why, but this grabbed out attention even though it doesnt add a cent of value to the home. The sellers paid $415 dollars for the warranty. I would Really suggest you add this to the listing it doesn't cost much and it really grabs a buyer's attention)

Hardwood Floors

Nice window treaments that we requested to convey with the house

Really nice fixtures and wall decor that also conveyed.




Considering all the problems that we had with the house and we are spending thousands to update; all of those pretty wall hangings, warranty, and flooring really grabbed our attention enough to forget about what had to be changed. I would strongly suggest a home warranty and a price reduction if you still don't get an offer soon.
I hope it helps!

 

[FreshTressa]

Don't have too much to add...but...


Your house IS a great house, and you seem to have excellent taste.....BUT, there are lots of other great houses you are competing against. There are a lot of houses for sale in your price range.

I don't think you need staging...it looks nice and tasteful, but I agree with cindyluwho that you need to get rid of even more clutter. (Towels/pot holders on stove, utensils on counter, etc.) Some of the rooms look a bit crowded. They look fine for living in, but not for selling.

I bet dropping your price would do the trick. In order to search for houses in your price range, you have to go up to 190k, which sounds like a lot. When I look at the competition, there are nicer houses than yours at 185k, so you are competing against those. At the 179k, you are competing against some smaller houses.

Good luck!! I will be in your shoes shortly!

 

[RadioNate]

I don't really have a lot to add. We've moved a lot and I watch "Sell This House" way to much.

Relax about your decorating. It is lovely. I don't really see the need for staging. What does your mom think?

I'm glad you are getting new photos the #2 and #7 just scream 'look at our dead trees' to me. Now I know they aren't dead, it was just winter, but if I thought they were recient I'd be worried about tree maintence and tree branches falling on the house during storms. The #7 deck photo makes the trees look very close to the house.

I'd consider removing the rocking chair and getting a media amoire for the TV but I really like everything else.

It took our house forever to sell but lowering the price did the trick. We just did not want to deal with putting in a lot of work since we moved out of state. Looking back we should have just done the work. 6 months of 2 mortgages emptied our savings. It wasn't worth it spending all that money. In the end we still go less than we wanted.

OK ETA, I've looked at all the houses in your subdivision on the website you posted. Your interior shows very well. I LOVE color rather than neutral colors but some of those photos scared me. The lowest priced one realtor should be ashmed of those photos. I can also see that yards in the entire neighborhood have some issues, although there were 1 or 2 with nice decks. That would be a big selling point for me.

Best of luck. I'm terrified to try to sell my dad's house this summer. He doesn't want to do ANY work yet thinks he is going to get 150k.

 

[lecach]

Pluto: we do have a walkin crawl space. Its mentioned on our listing. Thats another thing thats kindof rare in our neighborhood - most houses dont have the crawl space that we have. If they have one at all its not walkin. We have our bikes and the lawn mower, patio chairs, sleds, DS's rideon car, etc. in there (but its not cluttered ). Its got a lot of room for that stuff.

 

[jenks0718]

I honestly do not think that changing realtors will help you much. IMO Sure you mentioned the flyers and new pics, but with 30 showings (that is ALOT) there is something wrong. The agent must be doing something right for you to have had that much traffic through. I know some of my sellers would have loved to have that many showings.

 

[PlutoPony]

Pluto: we do have a walkin crawl space. Its mentioned on our listing. Thats another thing thats kindof rare in our neighborhood - most houses dont have the crawl space that we have. If they have one at all its not walkin. We have our bikes and the lawn mower, patio chairs, sleds, DS's rideon car, etc. in there (but its not cluttered ). Its got a lot of room for that stuff.

That space is a huge plus! So that's actually a benefit of your back yard - due to the way the lot falls off you're able to get some great storage space. Wonder if a picture of the storage area and more prominent mention of it would help and at least balance out the initial perception some might have about the back yard...

 

[Rella Bella]

50 days isn't all that long. Ask your realtor what the average 'days on market' is for your area. You can also ask them for comparables to see what similar houses in your area actually sold for. A realtor has a lot of things in mind when advising you on setting a price but it is an opinion. With "comps" you can see some examples of what people got and how long they had to wait.

We buy & sell for a living and I use this site to help determining prices... it's not quite like the experience of a realtor but it gives you a little more understanding of the area. Don't expect this info to be 100% accurate, but it is usually pretty close. At least you may get more of a feel for what your dealing with. Then take what you learn and your realtors advice and make a decision you can live with.
http://www.zillow.com/

 

[floridafam]

I would take down all the photos, too.

I know it sounds corny but people want to see themselves in your house. I really believe it works.


Are you getting feedback after your showings. We asked for both the negative and positive feeback when we were selling our house.

Good luck today!

 

[lecach]

floridafam: As far as taking down pictures we mainly just have pics of our son up. Should we take them down even if we dont have anything to replace them with? Is a hole in the wall better? Im not being sarcastic - I really want to know.

We are getting feedback. Its mainly positive like: shows well, cute house, etc. The only negatives have been: buyer likes house but needs more yard, buyer found one they liked better. And then Saturday we got from one realtor - that only stayed a total of 7 minutes: dont like how front door opens into steps, house is cluttered.

Rella: I dont think 50 days is unusual. In my Mom's office (45 minutes away) the average is 120 days. Our next door neighbors was on the market for 5 1/2 months (but of course November-March is dead around here). I think the issue is that we have another house that will be ready late June and our realtor is worried for us.

 

[floridafam]

I didn't think about the holes in the wall. We took down pictures but then we painted. I guess you wouldn't want a big hole in the wall sitting there.

I would just take down any that may be on tables.

You can't really do anything about the door opening into stairs.

It's too bad sod won't take in your back yard. Do you have a little bench or anything you can put out there? Is there anywhere you could create just a little sitting area?

Good luck today.

 

[FreshTressa]

Looking at other houses in your neighborhood, I think the price drop will do the trick!!

Good luck!

Do you have any piccy's of the house you are buying?

 

[lecach]

This is a link to our new house. Its the Preston II four bedroom option. Elevation J. http://www.standardpacifichomes.com...104951&PFPID=Preston II - Four Bedroom Option

If the link doesnt work go to http://www.standardpacifichomes.com/findhome/NeighborhoodIntro.aspx?NID=1153 and click on Preston over on the right side.

 

[golfgal]

Leigh, don't worry about a few pictures of your son. I think the whole "have all your personal stuff out of the house" is over rated. Yes, if you have a million precious moments laying around, that is clutter, but a few pictures of an adorable little boy isn't going to hurt your resale.

We went through one house that had to have had 200 photos of their wedding in various frames around the house. We didn't buy the house because it was too small not because we were afraid that they might leave all those pictures behind.

 

[tar heel]

I don't have any advice, but I did want to say that I recognized your neighborhood the minute I saw your house!

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

2 easy things to add curb appeal:

1. Put in a small natural area in front of your sidewalk. Make it start at the existing natural area at the front of the house and curve it in and out like a snake to the driveway. Use a garden hose as a guide. Add some colorful vincas. Put in 1-3 matching vincas near your back door for added punch. Possibly add some near your mailbox.

2. Pressure wash your driveway.

Lori

 

[lecach]

Lori: Good ideas. We had the cement outside our back storage area pressure washed when we had the deck done and its amazing how new it looks. I might call our pressure wash guy and see what he'd charge to do the driveway, sidewalk, and front and side porch. The planting is a good idea too - cant do it before the cruise but maybe when we get back.

 

[DisneyGirl2005]

The only advice I can add would be if you are willing to live without the TV in the bedroom, I would take it out. Also, would it be possible to use the armoire from the bedroom in the living room? That would definitely clean up the entertainment clutter. I think those are the only rooms that seemed to have too much furniture/stuff. Work on the things you know can change, the yard is what it is, some will love it and some won't.

We just sold our first home and it had less square footage than yours. We actually rented a storage unit (we did not have a garage either) and took everything out of the house that was not absolutely essential. When selling any home, but especially a smaller home - people want to see space - Take a look at your closets are they slap full? I thinned out all the clothes in the closets, if it wasn't winter clothes it went to storage. Went through all the kitchen cabinets/bathroom cabinets and took out anything I didn't have to have. This included the microwave - our kitchen had very little counter space, so out it went. I wanted to take out the toaster, but my family revolted.

We listed the house the end of February and we were under contract in about 2 1/2 weeks. I don't know how much all the decluttering helped, but I know it made a difference. I would go with the 179,900 price point, the extra exposure should certainly make a difference. Good luck - your house is really cute. I am sure the right buyer is out there.

 

[FreshTressa]

Oh, yah...now that it is spring, put a couple pots of bright flowers in the front...that way you can take them with you to the new house and it will add some color and 'life' to the front.

And I LOVE the floorplan of the Preston...Good choice!!!

 

[lecach]

My DH did an amazing job in the living room. He got rid of all the extra stuff in the TV area. And he did such a good job on his desk that its almost empty. Unfortunately he was so thorough that he packed up our Mothers Day cards! So he has to go dig those out today

The complex that my office building is in had a ton of flowers delivered for planting this morning. I was checking them out - trying to decide what would be good for our house. I think the guy thought I was going to steal them!

My Mom - the new realtor - thinks we should still leave our house at the current price for 2 weeks. Then lower. But I think that we'll probably drop it before we leave on vacation. I think you're all right - we'll get more interest at the lower price. And we'll tap an entire new market. There isnt nearly as much competition at the lower range either.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Good Luck to you!!! We moved last April and had 2 homes for about 1 month. That was nerve racking.

Sounds like you are on your way!!!