rafiki Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Find a different realtor. Instead of dropping your price, see if there are any home stagers in your area--maybe they can find something only a professional can see to jazz up the presentation. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I was also going to suggest another realtor AND a home stager. When I sold my last home there were about 10 houses for sale in my subdivision of 80 homes. There were only 4 or 5 different house design/floorplans, so all were very similar. Most languished on the market for months and months, but mine sold three weeks after it was on the market. The home stager was the best money I ever spent, and it wasn't that expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iquilt Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Find a different realtor. It sounds like you have done everything that you can do to maintain a good listing and you could use a new realtor who will do different things to market your home. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I have been thinking about putting my house on the market too. I was listening to a local real estate program - Minneapolis/St. Paul last week. They were saying there has been a hold on foreclosures that ends in 90 days. They expect house prices to drop drastically again when that happen. I hope that doesn't happen but if you really want to get out of your house you may want to think about dropping the price. Good luck.:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I honestly think that 6 months is not that long in this market. Especially if you are in an area with lots of new homes waiting to be sold. I know of people who took 2 years to sell their homes. In my neck of the woods they seem to sell very fast or 1-2 years is the new normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 My mom would tell you to do this. It's what she told me, anyway: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/20040831a1.asp :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxxxxxxx Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I would call around until someone would sell it for less than the 7%. Our realtor is charging us 7%, our last realtor sold our house for 5% in another state, so 7% seems high. We have offered to give $2,500 in closing assistance, but were told by our realtor that is only something done with first time homes, not move up homes? He's given us a list of what has sold in our development the past 6 months, we are in the middle of that price range, however we have a 4 bedroom and most of them were 3 bedrooms. If you break it down cost per square foot, we are on the low end with our current asking price. Also, conserning the quote above. You can offer closing assistance with any home. We asked for closing assistance from the builder, our 4th home, definitely not a 1st time home. They gave it to us. This is a crazy market......and I think those incentives will push you and your house to the top! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pajama Mama Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 There is a show on HGTV(I think it's that channel) called Sell This House. They hide cameras to hear what potentials buyers are saying about the house. Then the folks on the show stage the house and invite the same people back. The folks are always impressed with the difference. If you can't be on the show then maybe you could find a stager like others have suggested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.love.lucy Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 7% is quite high. Is that the norm for your area? If you can find someone good who will do it for less, you can drop the price by that amount. 10 showings seems very low for 6 months. What is he doing to market it? Have you had a virtual tour? Open houses? Realtors tours? Has he done any mailings? For 7% I would expect nothing but the best blitz. Don't forget craigslist. If it really and truly does look great inside, no staging needed, then it's the price. I think you should look at not just the comps for your specific neighborhood, but also the ones closest by. Everywhere that someone considering your house would also look, and then you need to be priced in the bottom third of those that are comparable. Good luck. I know this is tough as mine is one the market too. We can't wait 6 months and in fact are moving out this weekend. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prudent Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Finding another agent is a good idea. But my honest opinion is that your price is equally to blame. Bargains sell quickly, full priced homes sit much longer. I would wait at least a month or so before re-listing with a new agent. Even if you lower your price, your listing is stale. Prospective buyers and agents have seen you house on the market for 6 months. A lower price will likely re-inforce in their mind that your home is not the most desirable. If your home is off the market, then later re-listed with a new broker and a better price, I think it has a better chance of selling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 7% is the norm in our area. The selling agent shares that with the buyers agent so offering a bonus really isn't necessary. Closing can be offered on resales but usually you wait for the buyer to ask for it so that it looks like you are giving them something extra, that you hadn't planned to. Plus they will ask for more than you initially offered. The suggestion to get a new agent who will aggressively sell your house is a good one. A good agent will arrange for a stager. Check the comps in your area to make sure the house is priced right. That is something that could have changed since you first put it on the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrumm4448 Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 (edited) We have offered to give $2,500 in closing assistance, but were told by our realtor that is only something done with first time homes, not move up homes? I was a broker for 10 years and people offered closing assistance all the time. It has nothing to do with first time home buyers. Offer it, if you want to. Do we offer the realtor who sells it a $2,500 bonus? A bonus should help. We're talking about dropping the price $7,500-$10,000 however dh keeps saying if it's the right house, the buyer would make an offer and doesn't think dropping that amount will make a difference. Houses sell based on price and condition. Most buyers don't want to offend you with a low offer. If they think your house is priced too high, they will pass. Please keep in mind there is a lot of product on the market right now. Your house is being compared to so many others. I've tried going through a Dave Ramsey endorsed local provider to get a 2nd opinion, however there were none in our area, then they emailed us and sent our information to another realtor in the same office as our current, so that has made things a little hairy. If you are under contract with your listing agent you are creating a situation for yourself. When does your listing with your current agent expire? We could get a 2nd opinion from our builder's wife who is also a realtor, she sells tons of homes, but we have mixed feelings as she sells mostly new homes and since it's a family business, she'd likely promote the new homes first. When we dealt with her while buying this home we were put off by her talking on the phone constantly to other people while helping us. We were in front of her, in person, and actually purchasing a home. I just think that is rude. Go with your gut. It won't steer you wrong. So if you were in our shoes, what would you do If I was your agent, I would recommend you drop your price. This is not the market it was three years ago. Very few people fall so in love with a house that they must have it. Especially in today's market, it's a take it or leave it attitude. Keep in mind your emotions are wrapped up in your home. Buyers are looking at your home as just another house that might work. Sounds harsh, but it's true. Good luck! One more thing. If you are currently under contract with your agent (typically 90-180 days) it will be difficult for you to get out of it. Sellers who are not satisified with their current agent could go to the company's broker and discuss the situation with him or her. Your contract is not with an individual person, but rather with the company. So, they can give that listing to any other agent they want to. Doesn't happen often as it creates bad blood between agents in the office, but, the managing broker could work out a deal between the old and new agent (offering a referral fee to the old agent to soften the blow.) But, that referral fee does take away money from the commission of the new agent. Very sticky situation. Edited February 4, 2010 by cdrumm4448 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 7% is normal around, here, too. The realtor who sold our condo and found us our current house, works with a stager, so you might ask your realtor about a stager. Is your realtor doing all that he/she should be doing? Are they promoting it to the fullest? Houses around here are sitting on the market for a long time. A friend of mine has has hers on the Market since August, with no real offers, and there's nothing really wrong with it, either. It's just a bad time to sell. So, if your agent is not working hard to sell the house, get another agent. If your agent is doing everything possible, consider a stager and lowering the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildiris Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 For what it is worth: I had a nice mobile home for sale in CA. (My father died.) Although the mobile home market is different than the regular housing market it is real estate. This was an older mobile that had been gutted, upgraded with new appliances, heating and air conditioning, an out building/ studio and decking added. When I started the selling process the fair market value set by the real estate agent was $80,000. Remember this is CA just before last fall's downward slide. I had no offers and many visits in the first six months. I changed agents, lowered the price not once but twice and in the end took $10,000 less than my final asking price and paid both buy and seller agent fees of 8% just to get out. In the one year the mobile spent on the market I received one good offer that was not a scam of the two offers total I recieved. It was the offer I took. Unfortunately, the mobile home park my father chose restricted who could live there and no rentals were allowed. I was stuck paying for a place I couldn't live in myself or rent to one of my sons, and the rent was almost $700 a month. I sold it for less than what my father bought it for and certainly did not recoup the huge investment he made into renovation. When I changed agents I made sure the new agent took better pictures and had an excellent web presentation. I think this made a difference. The most frustrating part was this was a nice, move- in right now, no fixing, mobile home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrumm4448 Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Our contract expires this weekend, see this realtor also only did 6 month contracts. He has a lot of houses and has sold alot, does this full time, and has the experience. We're not from here, which is hard to know who is good. Since your listing is almost expired, I would absolutely interview several other agents. Be prepared to receive a lot of phone calls from agents who farm expired listings. That's exactly what you want: agents who are competing for your listing. From an agent's perspective, all that advertising of your home, pictures and virtual tours and all that marketing, is great for generating buzz about your home, but keep in mind that a serious buyer will be working with an agent actively seeing homes. A buyer's agent prints listings of homes to give to buyers that fit their parameters, then they schedule showings on those homes. Most serious buyers don't pick and choose from the Sunday paper what they want to see. It's been my experience that those buyers that do are not very serious about buying. So, that means that all that advertising is great to satisfy the seller, but what it's really doing is advertising the company name. The only real things that sell a home are price and condition. If an agent tells you otherwise, dump them. Also, when you are interviewing agents, put up some roadblocks for them, meaning give them objections that they need to handle to get your listing. You want to list with the agent who most aggressively handles your objections, as that shows they are qualified and motivated to handle a buyer's objections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 We are currently starting to look at homes to buy (moving soon). I look at how long a home has been listed. If I see a home that has been on the market for 6 months it makes me wonder what is wrong with the house or how overpriced it is. I will still consider it but I am going in looking for the flaws that made everyone else pass it up. I would take it off the market and relist it with a different agent. It will be in the MLS as a new listing and get more consideration. I would also try to negotiate a 3 month contract so you can do the same thing again in May if necessary. Most people looking for a family home want to move in the summer so you may run into the old listing problem again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 No advice, but :grouphug: I think the PP have good ideas. Have you considered renting it out? I know that is what a lot of people around here are doing. We are living in a rented house now because the owner won't get what he wants for it. So he is basically sitting on it. :iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Find a different realtor. Instead of dropping your price, see if there are any home stagers in your area--maybe they can find something only a professional can see to jazz up the presentation. Good luck! home staging sold our house. I was watching alot of shows on selling property and picked up a few tips. I hung curtains in one room, put new throw rugs, and rearranged the living room furniture with some of the tips I'd gleaned and the house sold the following week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I was also going to suggest another realtor AND a home stager. When I sold my last home there were about 10 houses for sale in my subdivision of 80 homes. There were only 4 or 5 different house design/floorplans, so all were very similar. Most languished on the market for months and months, but mine sold three weeks after it was on the market. The home stager was the best money I ever spent, and it wasn't that expensive. :iagree: Neutral colors may not be the best for showing off your home for example. When we sold our house 4 years ago, my mom, who has phenomenal color taste, picked colors for us. I thought she was crazy as well as my dh, but she was right!!! It looked fabulous afterwards compared to the neutral colors before (white mostly). She even had us paint our one of the bathrooms blood red:001_huh::ack2: and we were crying as we did it. Afterwards, though we saw how fabulous it made that old dingy bathroom look! Also, she recommended packing away all family pictures and putting into storage any excess stuff to make it look spacious. We also spent some money on relatively inexpensive light fixtures from Lowes and curtains from Target to spruce up the place. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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