trying to sell house = so frustrated

[arminnie]

I know it's nice to have notice that someone is coming to view your home, but in a true buyers market I don't know if you really can afford that luxury.

I've been a seller in a horrible market - believe me you want any serious buyer to come see your home notice or not. When there are literally dozens if not hundreds of homes on the market you are only hurting yourself by limiting access to buyers.

Buyers lead busy lives too and right now they are holding most of the cards in many markets. I've had many a buyer and agent call from my driveway saying they wanted to see the house. My response - grab my purse and leave so they could see it. Telling them to come back tomorrow just means that they move on to the next house.

For those of you that are getting positive feedback but no offers - you might still get an offer. Most buyers know that the market has changed and many want to make certain that they are getting the best possible house for their money.

I bought a house that had been empty for a year. I looked at it in January but did not put an offer on it until April!! I'd been burnt so bad on housing that I really wanted to be sure of my decision so no hurry for me.

Plus the seller came down another $10,000 and gave me $5,000 back at closing which made it possible for me to have the place recarpeted and painted. There's NO way that I could have lived in it the shape it was in. It took every penny I had to come up with the down payment so it helped to have money for renovations.

 

[lisak1]

The people that made an appt. to see my house on Saturday had to cancel because of an emergency, but they re-scheduled with me to come back this afternoon. I think that's a good sign that they are interested, if they've called twice.

maybe they will be the ones.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

The people that made an appt. to see my house on Saturday had to cancel because of an emergency, but they re-scheduled with me to come back this afternoon. I think that's a good sign that they are interested, if they've called twice.

maybe they will be the ones.

Good luck!

 

[lisak1]

I
I looked at it in January but did not put an offer on it until April!! I'd been burnt so bad on housing that I really wanted to be sure of my decision so no hurry for me.

This is good to hear, and encouraging to all of us, I'm sure.

 

[knovak]

I would have had a showing today - but had to say no. They called at 2:30 to come at 2:45 to 3:45. My daughter had surgery this morning to have tubes in her ears and was sleeping and the house was a mess. 15 minutes any other time - I would have dealt with. I told the realtors office the circumstances. If the clients are really interested they will understand and call again, if not, oh well. I'm now at the point I want to stay put anyhow - after trying to sell for so long. Pixie dust to everyone out there trying to sell!

 

[ldo]

sorry if already said--I don't have time to read all the posts. Here are basic RE rules:
1.price your house right---if you are in the MLS and no one has looked at your house the 1st week of listing, then your price is probably too high for the market. Prices have come down since last year--some in our area by 20%.
2.neutralize---if you can redo any patterned wallpaper--DO IT.
3. declutter even more--go to a model home and see what they have on tables, etc. --that is an impossible goal in a lived-in home--but try to get the model home effect.
4. Make sure outward appearance doesn't turn buyers off--trim lawn, get ride of excess toys, old flowerpots, etc.
Your agent should be holding 1 open house a month and also possibly hosting a brokers luncheon, mailing postcards, etc.
Good luck--it's a tough market---but, unless you live in a very isolated area, you should have some lookers the 1st week, certainly by the 2nd week.

 

[cfknight]

Yet another showing today...makes number 19 in the 55 days the house has been on the market. No feedback yet.

 

[Gillian]

Truely I would be fine without having 24 hour notice but would like to know the night before that you want to come by that day. Or let me know during the day that you want to come that night. We have a dog to so I have to make sure she is either out of the house or in her cage when you come. Not going to happen if you call me and ask to come in a half hour when I am at work an hour away. I understand having a short amount of time to find housing but at least a little notice is appriciated.

I can understand about the dog, but 24 hours notice is a big problem. I'll tell you what happens. Buyers will get a list of houses and choose the ones they want to see. The realtor will make calls to get appointments for the time the buyer wants to go. If they can't make all the appointments, they'll typically go out and see whatever they got. And maybe they will drive past the others.

So your house was not shown, and if it's not shown it can't sell. Maybe the people will go out another night, or maybe they already found a different place and won't bother with yours.

If your showing instructions say 24 hour notice, there's little chance of someone calling to see if they can come sooner than that, except for aggressive agents who call your agent directly (generally appointments go through someone else).

I really believe that showing with a little mess or a few toys out of place is better than no showing.

 

[crisi]

Do your houses have storage?

We keep browsing - buyers market and our own house needs a basement refinish - we keep thinking maybe we can get a house where we won't need to do the work.

The houses, which are well maintained, clean, well decorated and beautiful, haven't fit our life or our stuff...

No storage - this has been really common - people finish the basement and don't leave any room for stuff. Little bitty closets. My question when browsing a home is always "where is the Christmas tree kept in July?"

Unusual floorplans - I don't want bedrooms on every end of the house - I don't want to walk in the front door to my kitchen. You can't fix these things cheaply, but if your floorplan is unusual, your house needs to be prices at a lot less - or you are waiting for the person who says "I never thought I'd find a house with three staircases to the upstairs!" (Not kidding, looked at one like that three years ago).

 

[arminnie]

or you are waiting for the person who says "I never thought I'd find a house with three staircases to the upstairs!"

I saw a house once that was SO hideous inside. The MBR and bath had dark brown wall paper with huge blue roses - with matching drapes. 2nd BR had gold wallpaper with big red and green birds all over it and of course matching drapes.

The original owner refused to update it even though it sat empty for well over a year because she was just sure the "right person" would come along who would really, really want that decor. I think it was really expensive stuff but just oh so ugly.

 

[zalansky]

When our house was recently on the market, I put my kids down for naps in the early afternoon and got in the shower for a whopping ten minutes. While in the shower, I received a message from our realtor saying that another realtor was on her way over with a couple to show them the house and they'd be here any minute. Not only was I wet & naked, but toys and laundry were everywhere. I am no realtor but that was totally unprofessional, he knew I was a SAHM with 2 little kids who nap. Plus it gave me NO time to tidy up and more important - to LEAVE. I was very embarrassed to have to be here while these strangers rushed through my house. It was umcomfortable for everyone involved! BTW - I was dressed by the time they arrived, thank God. When my DH confronted our realtor about the shower incident and that I was upset about the whole thing, he said "welcome to the world of selling your house!"

We took our house off the market after 8 weeks, 3 lookers and a pathetic open house. Its just not a good time to sell right now in Florida.

OP - good luck!

 

[lisak1]

Again, great feedback on my last showing. The buyers loved my house, and wanted to make an offer. the only drawback is not all the bedrooms in my house are on the same level (2 upper, one lower). I'm hoping that they find out (when they shop around a bit) that the other house models in our neighborhood that have that particular floorplan they are looking for are priced $15-$30K more than mine, and they won't find what they want in the same price range as mine is. Maybe price isn't such an issue with them, but if it is, they might be back.

 

[punkin]

I saw a house once that was SO hideous inside. The MBR and bath had dark brown wall paper with huge blue roses - with matching drapes. 2nd BR had gold wallpaper with big red and green birds all over it and of course matching drapes.

The original owner refused to update it even though it sat empty for well over a year because she was just sure the "right person" would come along who would really, really want that decor. I think it was really expensive stuff but just oh so ugly.

our last house had black and powder blue monkey and parrot wallpaper in the master bath and the lady we bought from asked if I wanted her matching drapes and bedspread for the master bedroom. Umm. NO!!!

I loved that house though. good bones.

 

[disneyde]

our last house had black and powder blue monkey and parrot wallpaper in the master bath and the lady we bought from asked if I wanted her matching drapes and bedspread for the master bedroom. Umm. NO!!!

I loved that house though. good bones.

That's the way I felt about the house we bought two years ago....good bones is exactly how I described it.........pink carpet through out first floor faded old blue upstairs....huge stone fireplace with a lot of pink cultured stone....I did a painting tech that kept the stone looking natural but neutral......a pink bathroom with pink shower insert and grey toilet and sinkt........master bath with HUGE great tub in GREEN.....but it's a wonderful story and half...it is a open concept home with huge wide open spaces, a first floor master bedroom. like you said great bones just hideous color choices by the first home owners or builder.

 

[CarolA]

I saw a house once that was SO hideous inside. The MBR and bath had dark brown wall paper with huge blue roses - with matching drapes. 2nd BR had gold wallpaper with big red and green birds all over it and of course matching drapes.

The original owner refused to update it even though it sat empty for well over a year because she was just sure the "right person" would come along who would really, really want that decor. I think it was really expensive stuff but just oh so ugly.

Sounds like the town home next to mine. Only they advertise "remodeled kitchen" I don't know how to tell them that a new frige and stove is not "remodeled"

Of course my "remodeled" unit still had some issues. The former owner spent a LOT of money on the ugliest fixtures ever. Lucky for me my boyfriend is pretty handy so we have changed all but one light fixture (and the replacement is on the floor in the foyer)

 

[arminnie]

I bought a house once that had a totally remodeled kitchen. It was SO bad.

The kitchen floor was carpeted (bad idea to start) in this awful orange, green, gold pattern. Then they used a paisley wallpaper with the same colors - but different pattern. It looked like someone had vomited on the walls and floor!

I only owned that house 10 months, but I made money even in a terrible market because I painted everything taupe and put in new floors.

 

[shelly3girls]

I bought a house once that had a totally remodeled kitchen. It was SO bad.

The kitchen floor was carpeted (bad idea to start) in this awful orange, green, gold pattern. Then they used a paisley wallpaper with the same colors - but different pattern. It looked like someone had vomited on the walls and floor!

I only owned that house 10 months, but I made money even in a terrible market because I painted everything taupe and put in new floors.

We bought our house which was advertised as a recently remodeled kitchen. I have no idea where they came up with that idea. The floor was linoleum that was filthy and had holes in it. The cabinets that they said were 8 years old were falling off the hinges. The appliances were between 15-20 years old. It was a disgrace. The house did have good bones in an awesome neighborhood so we bought it anyway.

 

[princesspwrhr]

To those with houses on the market...

The realtor signs you have in front of your house - does your realtor have the website on it? Is it easy on the agency website to find your realtor and all of their listings?

Do you have flyers in front of your house? Does the flyer have the PRICE on it? Are there a few pictures? (more of the house, less of your agent! LOL a couple flyers we picked up had huge pics of the agent (glamour shots) and 1-2 small pics of the house) Are the flyers kept stocked?

We're in the market for a house in the next 3-6 months - unfortunately not in the area any of you are selling in- and have been driving around for the last 6 months or so to get a feel for what we can reasonably get in this area and what areas we like. It is such a turn off to drive by a house and a) find the flyer tube empty b) get the flyer with no price on it or if there's not a flyer right down the agent info & website and then not be able to find the house! The few times I've called the agent for info someone has tried to sign me with them and show me other houses - all without giving me the price of the house I called about. So I've stopped calling agents. If there's no flyer or no price on the flyer we don't bother taking down info anymore.

We do go in neighborhoods and just drive around but we're more apt to drive through the neighborhood if we can see a sign off the main road -even a directional sign if no neighbors have a house for sale. So if you're in the back of the neighborhood see what you can do about putting a sign somewhere near an entrance.

 

[cats mom]

sorry if already said--I don't have time to read all the posts. Here are basic RE rules:
1.price your house right---if you are in the MLS and no one has looked at your house the 1st week of listing, then your price is probably too high for the market. Prices have come down since last year--some in our area by 20%.
2.neutralize---if you can redo any patterned wallpaper--DO IT.
3. declutter even more--go to a model home and see what they have on tables, etc. --that is an impossible goal in a lived-in home--but try to get the model home effect.
4. Make sure outward appearance doesn't turn buyers off--trim lawn, get ride of excess toys, old flowerpots, etc.
Your agent should be holding 1 open house a month and also possibly hosting a brokers luncheon, mailing postcards, etc.
Good luck--it's a tough market---but, unless you live in a very isolated area, you should have some lookers the 1st week, certainly by the 2nd week.

Under normal circumstances, even in a typical buyers market, I'd probably go along with this. But some places are sooo oversaturated you have to throw all the 'rules' out the window.

I just talked to one of the top agents in our area today and she said she has never seen things as bad as they are now. She told me about one of her listings that was priced close to 40% under appraisal and of course way, way under any nieghborhood comps. She said even in this market she was sure it would be a quick sale. Not so... still took 4 months to get an offer. The bargain price generated surprisingly few lookers. All her agent friends were excited about it - they just had no buyers to bring. I think a lot of folks are sitting back watching to see if prices drop even further.

As for open houses: conventional RE wisdom is that they're more about making contacts and marketing the agent than they are about selling houses. That said, 2 of the 4 houses we've purchased I saw initially on open house. Guess I'm an anomaly.

 

[lastminutemom]

One of my realtor friends said one of the things hurting the market where we are is the fact that so many potential out of town customers looking to relocate can't sell the homes they own in other markets.

Realtors are reporting no customers. I think that the tightening of rules in the lending market has removed many customers. Additionally, many people who might want to move can't because they won't be able to sell their own homes. Vicious cycle.