Alyeska Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 3 years. Our house has been on the market for 3 years. :banghead: Oh man. Now I feel bad for complaining about 5 months. I am so sorry your home hasn't sold. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyeska Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 We would love to sell. Unfortunately we bought near the peak of the market and despite faithfully paying our mortgage every month for 6+ years, we still owe more than we can sell it for. And we can't refinance either, because there's no equity. We're stuck. :grouphug: Ugh. Feeling stuck is not a good feeling. I am sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 3 years. Our house has been on the market for 3 years. :banghead: I understand!! We have had ours on the market for 4 years!!! We listed it for rent as well after 18 months and had it leased quickly. It has been rented for two years, unofficially on the market until the lease was up each year, now we are on the market again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyeska Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 YES! Our house hasn't been on the market but 2 weeks...so I shouldn't be annoyed JUST yet..but we've been working on the house since May to prep it for sale and now it's so hot here that no one wants to even schedule to come see the house..and although I don't blame them I'm really ready to MOVE! I def. need a large dose of...:chillpill: My new dose of :chillpill: is Sleepytime Extra herbal tea. It has valerian root in it and chills me right out without making me sleepy. I was debating whether or not to medicate actually, when I decided to try valerian. thankfully it works for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma23peas Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I feel most of y'alls pain! We had our house on the market for 31 months..it sold 18 months ago and it seems just like yesterday, we had to take a 20% cut on the price which ate our equity in half...it was not fun, but neither was 2 mortgages for that time frame. It will take us 2-3 more years to recover financially....the markets are horrific...until our government gets control of spending, no one will have confidence to hire employees, families will fear moving, and most will not be able to qualify for mortgages...with interest rates below 4% it should be a very hot market....the only thing that got me through was realizing that in 10 years selling the house would not be my biggest thorn in my side...thank goodness, we only had to make it through 2.6 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Def. need that tea here! :001_huh: Boy do I feel silly after seeing that others are still on the market after years. WOWeee...I just don't even want to think about pushing this sale out that long...I'm already debating on what we're gonna do if we don't sell within 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyinTN Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Cindy, Your home is beautiful! I can't believe no one has snatched it off the market. It would be perfect for our family if it wasn't 2.5 hours from my dh new job. Hang in there and I pray it will sell very soon. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in C-ville Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 Thank you, gals, for the encouragement! And good grief, I am SO sorry for those of you who have had your house on the market forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 In my life since homeschooling, I've become a realtor. It is a tough market still in many, many places. All of my listings have sold in less than 60 days this year. They are clean and decluttered AND priced right. The market will tell you what the correct price is--however hard that might be to hear. Even worse, we are all at the mercy of appraisers these days. Even if a buyer is willing to sign on the dotted at a price, if they are getting financing, the bank wants to feel super comfy. I had a house not appraise a couple of weeks ago. We went back and forth in negotiations to get the deal done, but it was scary. Every few weeks, have your realtor do a current market analysis...keep checking on what is selling and for what price in comparable homes. Figure what it costs for you to 'hold' a property. Cutting losses is When a showing is scheduled we urge our clients to turn on every light and open all the blinds. (Wash those windows!) Light and bright does sell. As far as possible, keep your house looking loved. If you've already moved, try to keep the electricity on. Leave a couple of lamps and a small radio going to give life to the house. It goes without saying that fresh paint is a great way to freshen a home for sale. There is no such thing as too clean in a home for sale. These days, buyers don't go for the scent of fresh cookies, but they do love a home that smells clean and fresh. I really like a freshly painted front door, too. In fact, curb appeal matters more than I ever believed it would. Currently, I have a client that will not go in a house if she doesn't like the outside--specifically if it looks the least bit shabby or unloved. She's a tough buyer and she is not the only one. When you are selling a home, you are selling a dream of the life a person could have there....help them see the dream as clearly as possible. Think high end hotel...clean, fresh, calm. Good luck with all your sales, ladies. I'm sending all kinds of good thoughts your way. I've got my fingers crossed for one of my sellers tonight. Someone is viewing her home for the second time...she needs a buyer badly because she had to move for a job...after being unemployed for many months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 We closed this week. Add up the yearly utilities, taxes, insurance, and risk of damage to an unoccupied house. Then think of how much the agent will get if you wait a year to sell. If you are not getting any active nibbles or even some low ball offers you can work with, I'd knock down the price by a years of expenses and the reduced agent's fee. After 8 months on the market, that's what I did, and that sold it. In our market out here, many people are taking their houses off the market after 18 months and just sitting tight. So, look at your local market and remember your agent isn't out anything if the house takes 12 more months to sell. You are paying the bills and taking the risks. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 We lowered our price by $10,000 in the first year! It was well below what anything had sold for previously. They just weren't selling houses in the town. Rental was the best option. We are right in line with all the comps and still nothing! It is an adorable house. Insurance is getting us a new roof....I hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessReplanted Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Ugh. I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine how frustrating this is. Are you still living in it? No, we moved closer to my husband's work (1 hour from our house) and we are living in a friend's house (which is for sale and was previously empty). Our friend said that we can stay here until this house sells, but we never expected to be here this long (almost 2 years). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in C-ville Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 We closed this week. Add up the yearly utilities, taxes, insurance, and risk of damage to an unoccupied house. Then think of how much the agent will get if you wait a year to sell. If you are not getting any active nibbles or even some low ball offers you can work with, I'd knock down the price by a years of expenses and the reduced agent's fee. After 8 months on the market, that's what I did, and that sold it. In our market out here, many people are taking their houses off the market after 18 months and just sitting tight. So, look at your local market and remember your agent isn't out anything if the house takes 12 more months to sell. You are paying the bills and taking the risks. HTH. We've actually already taken it down 86K and it is scheduled to keep going down until is sells. We do have someone mowing the grass, but there's really nothing else we can do. We could never get approved for a loan to do any more work on the house, although we would have loved to have done that. A garage would add value too. Our agent is great and working hard to move it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 The house we sold 11 years ago was about the same size as yours (3700 sq. ft.) and on 4-1/2 acres. We sold at a time when prices were realistic and the market was not bad. Not great, but not like it is today. It was a beautiful house, in good (not excellent) condition inside and out, and in a great area. It still took 18 months to sell, and we had to drop the price several times. Houses that size aren't for everyone, and it can take a long time for the right buyer to find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in C-ville Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 The house we sold 11 years ago was about the same size as yours (3700 sq. ft.) and on 4-1/2 acres. We sold at a time when prices were realistic and the market was not bad. Not great, but not like it is today. It was a beautiful house, in good (not excellent) condition inside and out, and in a great area. It still took 18 months to sell, and we had to drop the price several times. Houses that size aren't for everyone, and it can take a long time for the right buyer to find it. "Houses that size aren't for everyone." VERY true. The size and the yard sold it for us. It's basically a big box and we used every square foot. No jacuzzi, garden tub ... just big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annandatje Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Our firm is handling the estate of an public figure's widow. A few years ago, the widow had purchased a home in an upscale [for here] neighborhood of a suburb for $682,000. At the time, she got a very reasonable deal and paid significantly less per square foot than other homes had recently sold for in the neighborhood. She died July 2010. The house was listed for sale in August 2010. In July 2011, the well-maintained house sold for $475,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in C-ville Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 Our firm is handling the estate of an public figure's widow. A few years ago, the widow had purchased a home in an upscale [for here] neighborhood of a suburb for $682,000. At the time, she got a very reasonable deal and paid significantly less per square foot than other homes had recently sold for in the neighborhood. She died July 2010. The house was listed for sale in August 2010. In July 2011, the well-maintained house sold for $475,000. Ugh. Honestly, I don't care if we NEVER "own our own home." Just a bit of shelter please, and the freedom to walk away at any point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Ugh. Honestly, I don't care if we NEVER "own our own home." Just a bit of shelter please, and the freedom to walk away at any point. Cindy, I don't know if this has been discussed, but can you rent it? Just wait out the market a bit? We couldn't sell a house after 6 months of trying and had to move -- got renters who wanted a 3-year lease. It was longer (much!) than we had hoped to be landlords but it has worked out great. They are paying our mortgage for us (and a bit more) and we are in a very nice rental home until we can put the house we own back on the market. *Hopefully* by then things will be easier. I was fearful about being landlords, but it really has been fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 We sold our house last year and after almost THREE YEARS we dropped our price *over* 100k. Yup. We made it out by the skin of our teeth because the prices STILL went down after that. If you are in the middle states, your prices and housing are still going down. there's just too many foreclosures and there are still millions slated for this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in C-ville Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 Cindy, I don't know if this has been discussed, but can you rent it? Just wait out the market a bit? We couldn't sell a house after 6 months of trying and had to move -- got renters who wanted a 3-year lease. It was longer (much!) than we had hoped to be landlords but it has worked out great. They are paying our mortgage for us (and a bit more) and we are in a very nice rental home until we can put the house we own back on the market. *Hopefully* by then things will be easier. I was fearful about being landlords, but it really has been fine. We thought about it, but don't want to do this b/c we don't have the money to fix siding, roof, and windows. These things don't *have* to be done right now, but they will in the next couple of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I was hoping ours would sell super-fast too. I guess most folks are. And the worst is reading people's comments after they go through. Can't they see that this is an amazing place? http://www.trulia.com/property/3052831701-641-Montei-Dr-Earlysville-VA-22936 Just a thought - the public rooms are very neutral. The bedrooms look a lot fresher with just a little colour zing in them. You might like to talk to your estate agent about whether some bright cushions might liven them up. Best wishes Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 If you need to sell, IMHO I would consider dropping the price to just about your bottom line. Ideally the house should be below other comparables that have sold. If it is still scheduled to drop, then why not drop it all at once? I would consult your realtor on this.:grouphug: Several realtors have told me that if a house is on the market longer than 4-6 weeks that it is priced too high. They also said that your best offers come in the first 4-6 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 If you need to sell, IMHO I would consider dropping the price to just about your bottom line. Ideally the house should be below other comparables that have sold. If it is still scheduled to drop, then why not drop it all at once? I would consult your realtor on this.:grouphug: Several realtors have told me that if a house is on the market longer than 4-6 weeks that it is priced too high. They also said that your best offers come in the first 4-6 weeks. Good to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I am right there with you. We moved in Nov and have seriously lowered the price. We are willing to take a loss to sell it, but no offers yet. I will pray for your situation when I pray for my own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 We have an offer in on a house right now and are waiting to hear if the sellers accept. The house has been on the market for seven months. It's a beautiful house, but the pictures online didn't do it justice. We feel really fortunate to have found it! There are people buying houses. I hope the right families for all of your houses come along soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.Balaban Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I am so so sorry that all of you ladies are going through this. My DF and I are currently renting, and we are not at all likely to even OWN a home in the next five years. It is so depressing with this market, and it is impossible to find a decent, and affordable rental. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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