Should we change realtors? How do we sell this house?
May 2, 2017 5:11 PM Subscribe
My brother and I put my mother's house up for sale at the beginning of March.
We really need to sell it. OTOH, we need to get as much from it as possible, since we need the money, and it is probably the most valuable asset either of us will probably ever have.
We are using a realtor he is friends with, but who does have a good rep in town (small town).
The house is listed under market value, as it needs some improvements.
The market is actually fairly good, and getting better, since folks in the rest of the area are getting priced out of the more populated neighborhoods. We are the closest community with excellent schools.
No one is living there now.
It is semi-staged, with furniture in a few key rooms - kitchen, living room, office.
We are keeping the yard as neat as possible.
We cannot put any money into the house. We might be able to stretch to a few flowers for the front garden.
We are considering switching realtors to one who does more and wider advertising.
While we need to sell ASAP, we are not interested in lowering the price. It is already $20k less than market value, since it needs work. (I'm relying on our realtor's comps, but even more on my own research.)
I feel like there has to be something else we can do, on our end, to increase our odds of selling sooner.
Has anyone else changed realtors with the house still on the market? Did it work out? Is there anything else we can do to get this house sold?
We are using a realtor he is friends with, but who does have a good rep in town (small town).
The house is listed under market value, as it needs some improvements.
The market is actually fairly good, and getting better, since folks in the rest of the area are getting priced out of the more populated neighborhoods. We are the closest community with excellent schools.
No one is living there now.
It is semi-staged, with furniture in a few key rooms - kitchen, living room, office.
We are keeping the yard as neat as possible.
We cannot put any money into the house. We might be able to stretch to a few flowers for the front garden.
We are considering switching realtors to one who does more and wider advertising.
While we need to sell ASAP, we are not interested in lowering the price. It is already $20k less than market value, since it needs work. (I'm relying on our realtor's comps, but even more on my own research.)
I feel like there has to be something else we can do, on our end, to increase our odds of selling sooner.
Has anyone else changed realtors with the house still on the market? Did it work out? Is there anything else we can do to get this house sold?
You've had this house on the market for two months. It's barely house-shopping season. No one looks at houses in *March*. I would give it all of May, and possibly some of June, before you consider changing. You need to get the house seen, and if it's seen with no offers, have the realtor try to get feedback from those who have seen it.
posted by scolbath at 5:27 PM on May 2, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by scolbath at 5:27 PM on May 2, 2017 [14 favorites]
When we sold our last house we did the following:
-Went through the sales in our town for the past 6 (maybe 12 months)and counted how many sales each real estate office had completed
-Then counted the sales per realtor for that office, and chose to work with one of the partners at the office
-Moved a lot of our crap into temporary storage to the extent possible with 3 kids
-Would stay on top of the realtor every week to the point that he got really annoyed with us; we wanted to know for what he had planned for each week. Either realtor or public open houses, private showings, etc.
What really helped was us having at least as much data as the realtor. He couldn't bullshit us, and we wanted accountability every single week. First buyer fell through, second one went through very quickly.
posted by zeikka at 5:39 PM on May 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
-Went through the sales in our town for the past 6 (maybe 12 months)and counted how many sales each real estate office had completed
-Then counted the sales per realtor for that office, and chose to work with one of the partners at the office
-Moved a lot of our crap into temporary storage to the extent possible with 3 kids
-Would stay on top of the realtor every week to the point that he got really annoyed with us; we wanted to know for what he had planned for each week. Either realtor or public open houses, private showings, etc.
What really helped was us having at least as much data as the realtor. He couldn't bullshit us, and we wanted accountability every single week. First buyer fell through, second one went through very quickly.
posted by zeikka at 5:39 PM on May 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
Without photos, or knowledge of your particular region, it's hard to tell if your realtor is doing a bad job, or if you're expectations are too high. Can you tell how long other similar homes took to move?
Changing realtors is alot of hassle... Before making that jump I'd really push your realtor to host an open house and ask it tag along on a showing to see for yourself how good they are at talking up the house. Don't be afraid to seem annoying -- this is a big deal and it's alot of money to put into jeopardy over shyness.
As someone whose been to quite a few open houses, my tips would be:
1) Make sure the WHOLE house has had a deep cleaning. Really, everything. I once overheard someone complain about dust inside a drawer that was inside the fridge.
2) Flowers in the front yard is a nice touch -- fresh paint for the door would be better if you can spare the cash.
3) Really good photos for your listing. Take new photos if your listing photos are poorly lit, not in focus, or include personal stuff from the previous occupant. You can also include nearby points-of-interest in your photos like neighborhood parks, coffeeshops, etc.
4) Take a second look at your staging. If you're staging with folding tables and a plastic tablecloth (something that's weirdly common in my area) I'd suggest just leaving the rooms empty instead. Make sure NONE of your personal stuff is left in closets/storage/etc.
Ultimately, you might have to decide between price and speed, but I'd make sure that the house looks as good as possible before making that choice.
posted by tinymegalo at 5:51 PM on May 2, 2017 [6 favorites]
Changing realtors is alot of hassle... Before making that jump I'd really push your realtor to host an open house and ask it tag along on a showing to see for yourself how good they are at talking up the house. Don't be afraid to seem annoying -- this is a big deal and it's alot of money to put into jeopardy over shyness.
As someone whose been to quite a few open houses, my tips would be:
1) Make sure the WHOLE house has had a deep cleaning. Really, everything. I once overheard someone complain about dust inside a drawer that was inside the fridge.
2) Flowers in the front yard is a nice touch -- fresh paint for the door would be better if you can spare the cash.
3) Really good photos for your listing. Take new photos if your listing photos are poorly lit, not in focus, or include personal stuff from the previous occupant. You can also include nearby points-of-interest in your photos like neighborhood parks, coffeeshops, etc.
4) Take a second look at your staging. If you're staging with folding tables and a plastic tablecloth (something that's weirdly common in my area) I'd suggest just leaving the rooms empty instead. Make sure NONE of your personal stuff is left in closets/storage/etc.
Ultimately, you might have to decide between price and speed, but I'd make sure that the house looks as good as possible before making that choice.
posted by tinymegalo at 5:51 PM on May 2, 2017 [6 favorites]
I would encourage you not to think of your asking price as "under market value." It might be under market if it didn't need any work but was priced the same, but the market value for a house that needs work done is just not the same as a house that is turnkey.
Now, 20K under market for a turnkey house might very well be the market value for a house that needs the work that yours does; it's hard to say. I agree that if you are getting traffic but no offers it is probably priced too high. If there have been showings, can your real estate agent touch base with the buyers' agents to see if there's feedback? Even better if he can figure out which houses the prospective buyers bought instead.
It's true that it's still early in the buying season, but you may want to weigh the cost of dropping the price against the cost of keeping it on the market (if there is a mortgage, HOA fee, staging furniture rental, etc).
I also agree with really making sure it looks its absolute best in the pictures. Everyone uses aggregators now and so the listings aren't necessarily being vetted through an agent who can say "123 Maple is really a lot nicer than the pictures show".
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 6:11 PM on May 2, 2017 [7 favorites]
Now, 20K under market for a turnkey house might very well be the market value for a house that needs the work that yours does; it's hard to say. I agree that if you are getting traffic but no offers it is probably priced too high. If there have been showings, can your real estate agent touch base with the buyers' agents to see if there's feedback? Even better if he can figure out which houses the prospective buyers bought instead.
It's true that it's still early in the buying season, but you may want to weigh the cost of dropping the price against the cost of keeping it on the market (if there is a mortgage, HOA fee, staging furniture rental, etc).
I also agree with really making sure it looks its absolute best in the pictures. Everyone uses aggregators now and so the listings aren't necessarily being vetted through an agent who can say "123 Maple is really a lot nicer than the pictures show".
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 6:11 PM on May 2, 2017 [7 favorites]
Ugh, I feel you, I put my house on the market in February, priced to move (or so I thought, $20K below what the realtor originally advised) and had to do a long distance move in early April (I was hoping to have it sold around the time we moved) and it's still... not... sold. It feels like it has been forever.
But although it's a strong market, and getting better, it's not yet quite house-buying season, and in my particular market, it's SLOW. Like, a friend of mine was told, when she sold her house, to expect it to be on the market for a YEAR. One thing I would look at is what the average time is from list to sale in your market. My particular house is also unusual, and only appropriate for a subset of people looking to buy, so that's also a factor.
I'm originally from an area with a really hot housing market, where houses sell before they're even listed, so this is a new experience for me. (I'm actually about to put a house in THAT market up for sale, and I expect it to go in less than a week.) Every market is different. Ask your realtor more about what the average is for number of days on the market.
You could also try the bowl of fruit trick. Bowl of fruit on the dining room table. Bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter. People really like bowls of fruit.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 6:17 PM on May 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
But although it's a strong market, and getting better, it's not yet quite house-buying season, and in my particular market, it's SLOW. Like, a friend of mine was told, when she sold her house, to expect it to be on the market for a YEAR. One thing I would look at is what the average time is from list to sale in your market. My particular house is also unusual, and only appropriate for a subset of people looking to buy, so that's also a factor.
I'm originally from an area with a really hot housing market, where houses sell before they're even listed, so this is a new experience for me. (I'm actually about to put a house in THAT market up for sale, and I expect it to go in less than a week.) Every market is different. Ask your realtor more about what the average is for number of days on the market.
You could also try the bowl of fruit trick. Bowl of fruit on the dining room table. Bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter. People really like bowls of fruit.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 6:17 PM on May 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
The value (in the eyes of buyers) to a decrease of $20K from the ave market value also depends on that market value and what improvements are needed. I'm guessing that an empty "mother's house" likely has old carpet, outdated finishes and maybe used-looking appliances at a minimum? The cost of changing that stuff out can very quickly get to more than $20K even without going very upscale. The only people who will see the $20K discount as a benny will be people who are willing to live without the improvements, so people for whom $20K more is a dealbreaker. That is much more possible for houses in the $150K range than $350K or more. I would suggest you do a realistic appraisal of the cost of improving the house to whatever generic, reasonably-new standard is available in the neighborhood. I would be surprised if it can be done for $20K, and if you are not in a place where people are willing to live in a "mother's house" without updating, well there is your problem.
Note: I'm sure it's a great house, and I love my mother's house too, but I'm sure not living in it!
posted by dness2 at 6:58 PM on May 2, 2017 [6 favorites]
Note: I'm sure it's a great house, and I love my mother's house too, but I'm sure not living in it!
posted by dness2 at 6:58 PM on May 2, 2017 [6 favorites]
Are you comfortable linking to the listing for a couple of days? We could probably give an opinion on the professional-ness of the realtor from that.
Do you have any friends who are currently house hunting? They can probably give you some ideas about how your place compares to the other places they've seen. Being noticeably worse than the norm can be debilitating if you want a good price.
Also, watch the sales figures for your area. Are properties being sold at the asking price? Because often, people buying are expecting to either negotiate down or get into a bidding war and pay much more. This is highly market dependent, but buyers do get a feel for the market fairly quickly and have definite expectations about what an asking price means.
Get good photographs in good light. Add some colour to the rooms. Do you have a friend who likes to make their home look nice? Ask them to give the photos a look and make suggestions to make it more homey. Beds in the bedrooms can help, as the perceived size of the rooms can change size significantly with furniture. Do you or your brother have any nice, small furniture that you can put in whilst you try to sell?
First impressions are sadly very important. Put the best photo first in the listing. Make sure that the entrance from the street is pleasant, as is the foyer. How does the house smell? You might not even be able to smell it, as it just smells like your mother, but smell has a massive impact on whether a place feels like home, and people might be put off just walking in if the house smells unlived in or musty.
If the house is unrenovated, but the layout is good, a professional looking floorplan can be helpful. It can also be a good way to rule out a home without even looking at it, so only include it helps your case.
posted by kjs4 at 7:00 PM on May 2, 2017
Do you have any friends who are currently house hunting? They can probably give you some ideas about how your place compares to the other places they've seen. Being noticeably worse than the norm can be debilitating if you want a good price.
Also, watch the sales figures for your area. Are properties being sold at the asking price? Because often, people buying are expecting to either negotiate down or get into a bidding war and pay much more. This is highly market dependent, but buyers do get a feel for the market fairly quickly and have definite expectations about what an asking price means.
Get good photographs in good light. Add some colour to the rooms. Do you have a friend who likes to make their home look nice? Ask them to give the photos a look and make suggestions to make it more homey. Beds in the bedrooms can help, as the perceived size of the rooms can change size significantly with furniture. Do you or your brother have any nice, small furniture that you can put in whilst you try to sell?
First impressions are sadly very important. Put the best photo first in the listing. Make sure that the entrance from the street is pleasant, as is the foyer. How does the house smell? You might not even be able to smell it, as it just smells like your mother, but smell has a massive impact on whether a place feels like home, and people might be put off just walking in if the house smells unlived in or musty.
If the house is unrenovated, but the layout is good, a professional looking floorplan can be helpful. It can also be a good way to rule out a home without even looking at it, so only include it helps your case.
posted by kjs4 at 7:00 PM on May 2, 2017
While we need to sell ASAP, we are not interested in lowering the price. It is already $20k less than market value, since it needs work.
There's a whole industry in fluffing/staging and of course marketing, but given that you don't have more money to invest in the property, I think you are probably going to end up at the point where you find it is just not the right price for your timeframe. Of course this is hard. I owned a house we had lovingly renovated by hand, but it was quirky, and we ended up selling it faster than planned at a not-so-great time of year, and we got a bit less for it than we could have by manipulating some of the other factors but...ultimately, that was when we needed it out of our lives. 12 years later, ok, sure, if we'd had that extra 10k to invest it would now be a bazillion dollars but actually no, and our lives are in good shape.
I agree about the following though:
- photos are huge
- cleaning
- smells
- any clutter you can move
- have open houses
posted by warriorqueen at 7:06 PM on May 2, 2017
There's a whole industry in fluffing/staging and of course marketing, but given that you don't have more money to invest in the property, I think you are probably going to end up at the point where you find it is just not the right price for your timeframe. Of course this is hard. I owned a house we had lovingly renovated by hand, but it was quirky, and we ended up selling it faster than planned at a not-so-great time of year, and we got a bit less for it than we could have by manipulating some of the other factors but...ultimately, that was when we needed it out of our lives. 12 years later, ok, sure, if we'd had that extra 10k to invest it would now be a bazillion dollars but actually no, and our lives are in good shape.
I agree about the following though:
- photos are huge
- cleaning
- smells
- any clutter you can move
- have open houses
posted by warriorqueen at 7:06 PM on May 2, 2017
Coming in to say bowl of fruit. Also agree with keeping it very clean.
posted by BoscosMom at 7:22 PM on May 2, 2017
posted by BoscosMom at 7:22 PM on May 2, 2017
I found a blog of a stager in my town and read all her entries and then staged the crap out of our house. Expensive shower curtain, white bath mat, fluffy white towels, orchid in the bathroom, the full deal. We bought abstract art for the living room and master but you could easily make something yourself. We had two (!) HUGE bowls of lemons in the kitchen and flowers in every room. I cleaned up the arrangements every day as well as swept and cleaned up.
You may need to add furniture and decor. Honestly for how much realtorS make on a sale (in my area at least), I think home staging should be included. You can try staging the office as a baby's room, especially if the area is attractive to families. Just buy a crib off craigslist or borrow one. If you look at the staging blogs you'll see good examples.
Do you have the master set up? It's worth it to find a bed and set that up too. Empty houses show very poorly. People are just not good at using their imagination. They need to see everything set up. Get one of those bed in a bags in white white white and add more pillows than you think anyone could ever want, two side tables with matching lamps, a big abstract art piece over the bed. That's all you need.
I spent $200 on throw pillows at IKEA and around $2000 overall, not including paint. You could probably borrow lots of stuff or find cheap/free if you look around. We painted over everything that wasn't neutral and repainted the front porch so it was really fresh. Curb appeal is ridiculously important. The pic of the front of the house is what people see on MLS and people will also drive by.
We're in a hot market so I don't take too much credit but I think the staging is what made people fall in love with our house. In my town people really don't want to do *any* work. Homes in good condition sell easily, anything that needs work sits for months and eventually sells for $50k under asking.
We also had excellent photos that were taken in full sunlight.
You probably don't want to post publicly but I bet more than a few of us would be happy to look over your listing and give specific advice if you memail.
posted by TheLateGreatAbrahamLincoln at 7:45 PM on May 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
You may need to add furniture and decor. Honestly for how much realtorS make on a sale (in my area at least), I think home staging should be included. You can try staging the office as a baby's room, especially if the area is attractive to families. Just buy a crib off craigslist or borrow one. If you look at the staging blogs you'll see good examples.
Do you have the master set up? It's worth it to find a bed and set that up too. Empty houses show very poorly. People are just not good at using their imagination. They need to see everything set up. Get one of those bed in a bags in white white white and add more pillows than you think anyone could ever want, two side tables with matching lamps, a big abstract art piece over the bed. That's all you need.
I spent $200 on throw pillows at IKEA and around $2000 overall, not including paint. You could probably borrow lots of stuff or find cheap/free if you look around. We painted over everything that wasn't neutral and repainted the front porch so it was really fresh. Curb appeal is ridiculously important. The pic of the front of the house is what people see on MLS and people will also drive by.
We're in a hot market so I don't take too much credit but I think the staging is what made people fall in love with our house. In my town people really don't want to do *any* work. Homes in good condition sell easily, anything that needs work sits for months and eventually sells for $50k under asking.
We also had excellent photos that were taken in full sunlight.
You probably don't want to post publicly but I bet more than a few of us would be happy to look over your listing and give specific advice if you memail.
posted by TheLateGreatAbrahamLincoln at 7:45 PM on May 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
I also think you are underestimating the cost of the work that needs to be done. $20K doesn't get you much these days in most markets: new flooring, interior and exterior paint, a washer and dryer and that's about it. If you live somewhere cheap where $20K actually buys a real contractor and some actual work great. If not, that's hardly even worth my time as a buyer to manage the work that needs to be done on an older house. $20K translates to about ~$100-125/month. I'd pay that not to have to do any work on a place.
The rule of thumb is to price what the improvements will cost then drop the price 1.5-2x that amount for the buyers trouble and time.
posted by fshgrl at 8:24 PM on May 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
The rule of thumb is to price what the improvements will cost then drop the price 1.5-2x that amount for the buyers trouble and time.
posted by fshgrl at 8:24 PM on May 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
What kind of work does it need? Like, there's a difference between "needs new paint and carpet" and "needs new windows". Remember, it's not just the cash outlay of needed renovations that buyers must consider, but the time required to perform them. That's time where they either need to find temporary housing, or pay two mortgages, or live in a house that's partially under construction. If you want a fast sale, then the house needs to be a sweet deal. Is $20k a 20% discount on the market, or more like an 8% discount? If you're firm on the price, then you had better make it as move-in ready as possible, which means professional cleaning, excellent staging, maybe new paint.
I think a reconfiguration of expectations is in order here. Selling a house is business. Nobody is going to give a damn that you need money or that this was the only asset of value in your family. That's not their problem, and they're not going to pay you more than the house is worth just to be nice. And to be clear, the house is worth what someone is willing to pay, not whatever Zillow or the county tax assessment says. It behooves a seller to put emotion aside and be realistic about the return on investment here. A seller cannot expect to capitalize on a house's "potential".
posted by Autumnheart at 8:30 PM on May 2, 2017 [10 favorites]
I think a reconfiguration of expectations is in order here. Selling a house is business. Nobody is going to give a damn that you need money or that this was the only asset of value in your family. That's not their problem, and they're not going to pay you more than the house is worth just to be nice. And to be clear, the house is worth what someone is willing to pay, not whatever Zillow or the county tax assessment says. It behooves a seller to put emotion aside and be realistic about the return on investment here. A seller cannot expect to capitalize on a house's "potential".
posted by Autumnheart at 8:30 PM on May 2, 2017 [10 favorites]
Have you had any offers? If so, talk to your realtor about why they are so much lower than you expected. I think you may be significantly underestimating the amount of rehabbing your mother's house needs to be a welcoming home for a buyer who has none of the emotional baggage you and your sibling have. Appliances, finishes, counter tops, bathroom fixtures, vanities and tiled showers are expensive. En suite master baths are important to many buyers. If they don't currently exist they will have to be built. Not to mention landscaping, older windows and roofs.
Unfortunately your idea of what your mother's home is worth is colored by your memories of your mother, but a buyer has no sentiment about it, and will see it only as an outdated property that will require investment to make it an attractive future home. Dispassionate assessment is needed.
All that said, it really is all about location, location, location. In some your mom's home would be a tear-down, but in others a family will anticipate living in the structure. Only you know the local market and can respond appropriately. Your local realtor will be equipped to assist with this. If you have a realtor who is not wonderful perhaps additional advice would be helpful, but if two realtors have similar advice, I'd listen.
posted by citygirl at 10:04 PM on May 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
Unfortunately your idea of what your mother's home is worth is colored by your memories of your mother, but a buyer has no sentiment about it, and will see it only as an outdated property that will require investment to make it an attractive future home. Dispassionate assessment is needed.
All that said, it really is all about location, location, location. In some your mom's home would be a tear-down, but in others a family will anticipate living in the structure. Only you know the local market and can respond appropriately. Your local realtor will be equipped to assist with this. If you have a realtor who is not wonderful perhaps additional advice would be helpful, but if two realtors have similar advice, I'd listen.
posted by citygirl at 10:04 PM on May 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
Yeah, I think if you're aiming for buyers spilling over from the local hot market, they're going to be wanting the standard people are talking about for their money. If the bathroom and kitchen haven't been done in quite a while, that's for sure going be a deterrent. It sounds like things are pretty tight. But if you really want to maximize your opportunity here, any investment you could make to bring at least those rooms (bathroom & kitchen) up to expectations would be worthwhile. (Pending feedback.)
It might be worth borrowing if you have to. How are you with DIY? Or do you know anyone who's decently handy? Or someone in the trades, who could hook you up with cheaper builders' materials? (They apparently get that stuff cheap, they have special connections.) You'd be lucky if anyone went for it, but maybe you could offer someone like that payment once the house is sold? Or, could you rent it out for a little while, until you could come up with enough to do necessary renos?
I just think that if a lot is riding on this sale, it's really worth removing any barriers people might have. (Because a lot of people do focus on things like taps, you know? Or just have a hard time imagining what else could be done. Or even if they can imagine things, can't get past e.g. salmon tiles because they had some association with a bathroom that colour, whatever.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:46 PM on May 2, 2017
It might be worth borrowing if you have to. How are you with DIY? Or do you know anyone who's decently handy? Or someone in the trades, who could hook you up with cheaper builders' materials? (They apparently get that stuff cheap, they have special connections.) You'd be lucky if anyone went for it, but maybe you could offer someone like that payment once the house is sold? Or, could you rent it out for a little while, until you could come up with enough to do necessary renos?
I just think that if a lot is riding on this sale, it's really worth removing any barriers people might have. (Because a lot of people do focus on things like taps, you know? Or just have a hard time imagining what else could be done. Or even if they can imagine things, can't get past e.g. salmon tiles because they had some association with a bathroom that colour, whatever.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:46 PM on May 2, 2017
If your real estate agent has good word-of-mouth local recommendations and decent sales in the last year, then changing now might not be worth it. Has your agent shared any feedback from showings? Hosted an open house for other agents? If so, what was the feedback? Hosted an open house for buyers?
Make sure you have great photos that compare well with other houses on the market in your town--well lit rooms, shades up, wide angles. Keep things spiffed up as everyone has said--spic and span, sparkling windows, freshly painted front door, new mat, etc. Lots of good advice upthread for showing the house.
Extra steps if you haven't done them: Go to Zillow to check out sales around this month a year ago and the months since then. If you have time, visit open houses to see what your competition is. Families looking to buy in a good school district may be just starting to look, so that's in your favor.
That said, have you had any showings? Any showings with second-look visits? If not, your selling price is too high. Its value isn't the money you and your brother need but what someone is willing to pay. The longer a house is on the market, the perception becomes: "There must be something wrong with it." Better to lower the price early than late. See where you are in a month during which families shopping for a school district should be looking at your house if it's priced correctly. Then consider a price cut if you're not getting showings and offers.
posted by Elsie at 6:04 AM on May 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
Make sure you have great photos that compare well with other houses on the market in your town--well lit rooms, shades up, wide angles. Keep things spiffed up as everyone has said--spic and span, sparkling windows, freshly painted front door, new mat, etc. Lots of good advice upthread for showing the house.
Extra steps if you haven't done them: Go to Zillow to check out sales around this month a year ago and the months since then. If you have time, visit open houses to see what your competition is. Families looking to buy in a good school district may be just starting to look, so that's in your favor.
That said, have you had any showings? Any showings with second-look visits? If not, your selling price is too high. Its value isn't the money you and your brother need but what someone is willing to pay. The longer a house is on the market, the perception becomes: "There must be something wrong with it." Better to lower the price early than late. See where you are in a month during which families shopping for a school district should be looking at your house if it's priced correctly. Then consider a price cut if you're not getting showings and offers.
posted by Elsie at 6:04 AM on May 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
Unless you tell us what neighborhood (or at least city & state) your mom's place is in, this advice at best will be general. There are very specific things to do with houses in hot markets that will be washed out with general advice
e.g. i) Long Island, NY - what is the municipalities tax code?
ii) Queens NYC 3 miles away what is the parking like/proximity to subway?
posted by lalochezia at 7:09 AM on May 3, 2017
e.g. i) Long Island, NY - what is the municipalities tax code?
ii) Queens NYC 3 miles away what is the parking like/proximity to subway?
posted by lalochezia at 7:09 AM on May 3, 2017
You need to switch realtors. Market value would be a house in perfect, up-to-date condition that needs NOTHING (even in a small town). A good realtor would have you price this house to move as-is, which, based on your own descriptions, could be as much as $50k-75k below "market value". Your realtor, being your friend, wants to be helpful by pricing it only $20k below "market value" because they don't want to disappoint you. But your house will not sell.
posted by TinWhistle at 7:17 AM on May 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by TinWhistle at 7:17 AM on May 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
1. Hamg a pot of Red geraniums by the front door. It adds a lot of curb appeal for not much money and It worked for me
2. That bowl of fruit trick. See above.
3. Buy a small statue of St. Joseph and bury it upside-down in the front yard. Preferably under the realtor's sign. It's a tradition. And it worked for my sister.
posted by SLC Mom at 8:11 AM on May 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
2. That bowl of fruit trick. See above.
3. Buy a small statue of St. Joseph and bury it upside-down in the front yard. Preferably under the realtor's sign. It's a tradition. And it worked for my sister.
posted by SLC Mom at 8:11 AM on May 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
In addition to good quality photos (several folks have good advice there), make sure that you have a lot of photos of every part of the house. If I click on a listing with 15 photos, and 8 are every angle of the master bedroom, 2 are the front door, and 5 are the backyard, I'm going to wonder what you're hiding (true story. It may be a great house, but we're not going to go look at it).
Consider saying up front what work is needed in the listing. Some people may be turned off by this, but if it's 20k less than what other houses are selling for in a good school district and there's nothing in the listing about what needs fixing ("Great home for less than going rate in Great School District! Some cosmetic updating needed, in addition to driveway needs repaving and living room windows should be replaced" or whatever), I'm going to assume the worst and keep going.
posted by joycehealy at 8:37 AM on May 3, 2017 [3 favorites]
Consider saying up front what work is needed in the listing. Some people may be turned off by this, but if it's 20k less than what other houses are selling for in a good school district and there's nothing in the listing about what needs fixing ("Great home for less than going rate in Great School District! Some cosmetic updating needed, in addition to driveway needs repaving and living room windows should be replaced" or whatever), I'm going to assume the worst and keep going.
posted by joycehealy at 8:37 AM on May 3, 2017 [3 favorites]
When we wanted to sell our first home the realtors we contacted suggested prices well below what we wanted so we said no and went by the local FSBO franchise and chatted for a while. It's not brain surgery or rocket science.
We knew a photographer. She wasn't a real estate photographer and that was a good thing. We uploaded the photos and now our house had a website. We put up the signs FSBO gave us. 800 bucks in 2005.
Half the calls were from parasitic aggrieved realtors who thought we couldn't possibly know what we were doing. The other half were real people and I showed the house. Told them to wear boots and jeans cause we were going to walk the lines.
We showed the house thrice. I was absolutely blunt and honest about defects and upcoming repairs. I also knew the history of the land and the house and we'd go around and I'd point out just how fucked this thing that we fixed had been and the schedule we'd had for unfucking the rest of the place.
CW to the wind. There was a bidding war. We got 90k more than the realtors thought we would. And no commission. Photographer, FSOB and title atty = 2k.
I remember some of your previous questions and gently I suggest that you might not be the best person to do this. I'll bet you know someone. It's lots of money.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 3:28 PM on May 3, 2017
We knew a photographer. She wasn't a real estate photographer and that was a good thing. We uploaded the photos and now our house had a website. We put up the signs FSBO gave us. 800 bucks in 2005.
Half the calls were from parasitic aggrieved realtors who thought we couldn't possibly know what we were doing. The other half were real people and I showed the house. Told them to wear boots and jeans cause we were going to walk the lines.
We showed the house thrice. I was absolutely blunt and honest about defects and upcoming repairs. I also knew the history of the land and the house and we'd go around and I'd point out just how fucked this thing that we fixed had been and the schedule we'd had for unfucking the rest of the place.
CW to the wind. There was a bidding war. We got 90k more than the realtors thought we would. And no commission. Photographer, FSOB and title atty = 2k.
I remember some of your previous questions and gently I suggest that you might not be the best person to do this. I'll bet you know someone. It's lots of money.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 3:28 PM on May 3, 2017
If you've had showings, your realtor should be giving you feedback. We just sold our house in February and it went fast. But our realtor gave us every bit of feedback from the open house and we knew pretty quickly that the kitchen remodel was something that a lot of buyers weren't willing to compromise on.
Honestly, in most cities in the US, right now it's a crazy hot market for sellers. We got two offers on our house the day of our open house. And it needed a kitchen refurb in the worst way. While we were looking to buy a new house, any house that was turnkey or needed only minimal work in a vaguely decent neighborhood was sold out of from under us almost every time. The house we ended up with, very nearly got into a bidding war. People are panicking due to a possible rise in interest rates, so yeah, your house should be generating interest.
We walked away from a house that was damn near perfect because it was going to need a new roof and the sellers were completely unwilling to comp us anything in closing. Your agent should be getting you more traffic, especially in this market, but your 20K under might not be as under as you expect.
posted by teleri025 at 7:08 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
Honestly, in most cities in the US, right now it's a crazy hot market for sellers. We got two offers on our house the day of our open house. And it needed a kitchen refurb in the worst way. While we were looking to buy a new house, any house that was turnkey or needed only minimal work in a vaguely decent neighborhood was sold out of from under us almost every time. The house we ended up with, very nearly got into a bidding war. People are panicking due to a possible rise in interest rates, so yeah, your house should be generating interest.
We walked away from a house that was damn near perfect because it was going to need a new roof and the sellers were completely unwilling to comp us anything in closing. Your agent should be getting you more traffic, especially in this market, but your 20K under might not be as under as you expect.
posted by teleri025 at 7:08 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
Does your realtor "have a guy" (i.e. have a business relationship with a contractor who does fixes on for-sale houses for him, for an excellent rate, in exchange for the constant flow of business) who could do the work necessary? I know you don't want to put money into it but if you're in a market where people expect turnkey, it may very well be worth it to borrow to get it to turnkey.
If your realtor doesn't "have a guy" I'd say it's time for a new realtor, assuming you haven't signed anything that would prevent you from getting one. Because "having a guy" is kind of a minimum qual, at least where I live.
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:51 AM on May 4, 2017
If your realtor doesn't "have a guy" I'd say it's time for a new realtor, assuming you haven't signed anything that would prevent you from getting one. Because "having a guy" is kind of a minimum qual, at least where I live.
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:51 AM on May 4, 2017
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You don't want to sell through someone else then have your current agent sue for commission or something.
posted by TheAdamist at 5:14 PM on May 2, 2017 [1 favorite]