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ConeyIsBabe
05-22-2008, 01:33 AM
:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( My house has been on the market since May first, and as of today May 21st I've received ZERO phone calls. WAaaaaaaaaaaa.

I can't even have any cheese with my whine cuz I'm lactose-intolerant :'( :'( :'( :'(

Rokinronda
05-22-2008, 02:54 AM
OK, I pity you! As for a party, I am sipping whine as we speak. How are you advertising? The local paper might not do it. We tried FSBO. It wasn't working. A home as beautiful as yours needs the professionals! Call several. Find the right one for you. These days, they are working with the potential buyers looking at MLS. MLS is the key. Now get er done!

PJ
05-22-2008, 03:19 AM
CIB, I'll chime in with some pity and a little advice.

I know rentals are different from sales, but when I advertised my house (in NO VA, DC area) for rent, I used the big ole Washington Post, which cost me over $300 for one weekend, and I got no calls!!

Then I advertised for free on Craigs' List, and received MANY responses, got my place rented immediately. I've used CL multiple times now, and even bought my car off it, very happy with it, and highly recommend CL!

Here it is:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html

Just find the city nearest you, and use the menu to look for real estate section, and look through the houses for sale in your area.

Write a really good ad, post some good pictures. You can do 4 pictures, or 1 or 2 pictures, and a floor plan of each level if possible. That's what I did. People love to see floor plans with measurements of rooms. And viola, people lined up to rent it, seriously they were competing!!

Good luck!
PJ

ConeyIsBabe
05-22-2008, 04:58 PM
Thanks for the advice ronda & pj; I'll try C/List and perhaps MLS. My biggest problem is that I purchased the home 3 years ago at the height of the real estate market and now the market is in the dumps; and I wouldn't feel good if I had to sell for less than what I paid plus the upgrades I put in (all hardwood floors, etc.). I live in a country area where there are many, many low-priced properties for sale and mine is on the upscale side. My potential buyer would have to be someone with $$$ coming from CA who wants to live the Oregon-Dream!

I guess moving back to Florida and maybe TV will remain an option for whenever real estate sales pick up. So the pity-party continues ............. :'(

Barefoot
05-22-2008, 05:14 PM
Coney, you didn't say if you are listed with a professional real estate company and your house is on MLS, or if you are trying to sell it privately. As a former realtor I can tell you the list price is all important. If you are getting showings with no offers, you are somewhat overpriced. If you are getting no showings at all, you're probably really overpriced.

Unfortunately, what you paid for a house doesn't mean that is the sale price in today's difficult real estate market. Everyone always thinks the "right" buyer from the "right" area will be willing to over pay for their home. Not gonna happen. Buyers these days are very savy and do their homework.

Hiring a professional to do the marketing, give you an honest list price, and place it on MLS gives you exposure to thousands of agents.

Rather than reactiving my real estate license or trying to sell my house privately, I just listed with a specialist so I would have exposure to the 20,000 members who belong to this real estate board. In the long run, I will benefit financially from this decision.

Coney, if you have any real estate questions, I'd be glad to help if I can, just PM me.

l2ridehd
05-22-2008, 05:16 PM
If your plan is to not sell below what you paid plus upgrades and you bought at the top of the market, you will actually have to wait for the next market top to sell. The real estate market goes up and down and right now it's down. But it is also down in TV. So even though you may sell yours for less, you will also buy for less. However if you wait for the next boom to sell yours, you will also pay a high price in TV. It does you no good to wait and get another 40K for your home if you end up spending another 40K for a Villages home. All it does is delay your time in getting where you want to be. The Oregon and Florida market timing may vary as to when the ups and downs exactly hit, but not by a lot. So decide what you really want to do and then price your home at "market value" not what you paid value and move forward.

Good luck.

Barefoot
05-22-2008, 05:27 PM
Good post 12ridehd .. you are right on with you comments!

ConeyIsBabe
05-22-2008, 05:53 PM
barefoot & 12ride........ I AGREE WITH YOU both ! Actually, I did consult with my realtor from Help-U-Sell and she set my price at $450k because I also have 3.77 acres. At this time, I'm trying to sell as a FSBO. However, I realize it's at the top of the market price. I would consider offers for less (IF I HAD ANY) but I can't/won't sell for below my investment ! ::) Maybe, in the winter, when I'm more desperate ::)

l2ridehd
05-22-2008, 06:53 PM
The market will eventually come up to meet your sale price and your home will sell. However the home you want to buy will also move up by a like amount. So your net in pocket additional money will probably be zero. It is always very hard to sell something for less than you paid. Especially something you have invested time and your personality in. That's why people hold on to losing stocks. And that's OK if there is nothing better to buy. Just always consider relative value. A home is not really an investment unless your buying it to rent or flip. If your living in it, it's a home. And selling one to buy another, relative value really does come into play. So take a hard look at the pro's and con's of selling and buying now vs doing it a year or two from now. Have you gained other things by staying where you are and waiting? Or would it be better to be starting your new life sooner? It's not a $$$ decision, it's a what do I want out of life decision. The $$$ you end up with will be very likely the same now or two years from now.

I wish you every success in doing what is right and best for you. And maybe we will meet in LSL some day.

another Linda
05-22-2008, 07:28 PM
Well, it may sound simple enough, but it isn't always. My daughter would like to move closer to her current job so she is not faced with a 2 hr commute. However, her house would now sell for approximately $20K less than her mortgage balance. So, no down payment for next house and she would need to come up with the $20K at closing. A horrible situation!

chelsea24
05-27-2008, 04:42 AM
When we sold our house last year, I became a very aggressive seller. I didn't leave it to the realtor because I really wanted to move here to TV. I do have an advertising background so I decided to put that to good use. I rewrote the flyers and brochures the realtor had made up. I placed flyers in all the places my hubby and I frequented, like restaurants, our dry cleaners, etc. The people were very nice to let us to that. I also talked to everyone and anyone who would listen about what a great house we had and the terrific location. We also gave a reasonable price and still made a profit. Of course we could have made more if we waited, but we'd still be waiting. Sometimes you have to take charge of your situation. So, get out there and sell peeps! You can do it! :bigthumbsup:

uujudy
05-27-2008, 07:39 AM
barefoot & 12ride........ I AGREE WITH YOU both ! Actually, I did consult with my realtor from Help-U-Sell and she set my price at $450k because I also have 3.77 acres. At this time, I'm trying to sell as a FSBO. However, I realize it's at the top of the market price. I would consider offers for less (IF I HAD ANY) but I can't/won't sell for below my investment ! ::) Maybe, in the winter, when I'm more desperate ::)




A friend of ours put a $1,000 "bounty" on her house for whoever could find her a buyer before she signed with a realtor. It motivated all her friends to tell their friends, who told their friends... She actually got a buyer this way! This was quite a few years ago, so the bounty would probably have to be higher now. The best part was that the friend (who got the prize/commission) wanted the $1,000 donated to her church, which made it tax deductible. It was win/win for everybody. :2cool:

Lil Dancer
05-27-2008, 10:49 AM
We had friends in Naples who were in the same situation as you. They priced the home for sale at a really high price point, based on advice of realtors, got a few people looking but zero offers. It was on the market over two years. They steadily dropped the price, even took it off the market for awhile. Finally, they got an appraisel done to get the value of the property in today's market. The asking price dropped considerably, and they just sold it. Took somewhat of a loss, but as she said, they're out from under it, and the cost of keeping it on the market was to be considered as well, with heating/air conditioning costs, taxes, etc. She was under a lot of stress for the past two years, because they couldn't get rid of this house. If they had priced it properly to begin with, they would have saved themselves a lot of hassle. I think its human nature to overprice our homes. We are going thru it now as well. My husband as done a lot of work on our home, and he sees more value in the home than the realtors do. We have an appraiser coming in today, so we'll hopefully get a true picture of the home value.

We dont' have a crystal ball to tell us when the market is going back up again. I'd hate to see you wait 5 years or maybe more, and be missing out on a great life in The Villages. Sometimes you just have to pull up your socks, admit you made a incorrect financial decision, and move on. Best of luck to you.

Barefoot
05-27-2008, 01:06 PM
I think its human nature to overprice our homes. We are going thru it now as well. My husband as done a lot of work on our home, and he sees more value in the home than the realtors do. I'd hate to see you wait 5 years or maybe more, and be missing out on a great life in The Villages. Sometimes you just have to pull up your socks, admit you made a incorrect financial decision, and move on. Best of luck to you.

Lil Dancer, good post. Based on my 20 years as a realtor, I would agree that it is human nature to overprice your home. Owners do not want to listen to realtors ("they want to underprice my home for fast commission") because they know the "real" value. Upgrades and renovations that were done for your own personal enjoyment don't necessarily add to the value of the home. If I like carpets, your $15,000 worth of hardwood floors would be worth 0 to me. People are always looking for that elusive out-of-town buyer with money to burn who will think their over-priced home is just perfect. Yet strangely, when they move to TV, they are shopping for bargains like everyone else.

Most people contemplating a move to a seniors' community are probably in their 50s or 60s. Folks, you may not have a lot of healthy years left. Seize the moment, go for the gold!

Lil Dancer
06-26-2008, 10:08 AM
ConeyIsBabe - how are things going with your house - have you started getting some action yet???

We just put ours on the market. I went thru and staged it,and it looks the best its ever looked. We've put it on Craig's list as well as the local paper, and Craig's list seem to generate the most emails. Another strategy someone told me, is to have a garage sale. That way you get a lot of people to the house, they tell their friends, etc., and it is possible to generate potential buyers that way. I kind of pooh, poohed the idea, but interestingly, we had a garage sale 2 weekends ago, and we met a couple that just happened to be looking for a house in our area. My husband showed them the house, (it was a wreck, we weren't prepared to show it at all), and believe it or not, they're coming back for a second visit. They sound etremely interested. I'm hoping that seeing the house 'staged' will do the trick for them. So, maybe there is something to having a garage sale! Good luck with your house, ConeyIsBabe.

Boomer
06-26-2008, 02:04 PM
To CIB and to anyone else facing this trying to sell a house issue:

The advice here on pricing your home realistically is outstanding. Please listen to it.

Things are not always like we want them to be.

And at this point in life, to paraphrase that great philosopher Mick Jagger, "Time, time, time is SO NOT on our side."

Boomer

ConeyIsBabe
06-26-2008, 03:19 PM
Dancer..... my house is/has been "staged" and is drop-dead-gorgeous! It can be seen at picturetrail.com and my member name is rosejolie.

And, Boomer...... I agree with you 100% about pricing the property for the current market. That is my problem! I purchased my "Dream Home" at the height of the market 3 years ago, paid top-dollar then, and I simply refuse to lose any $$$ at this time.

Perhaps another winter in the freezing Tundra might change my mind :dontknow:

Lil Dancer
06-26-2008, 03:34 PM
I looked at your pictures - how beautiful! I love your rose garden. You've done a nice job. Best of luck!

njgranny
06-30-2008, 12:24 AM
CIB, Your house is absolutely beautiful and what great photography!

ConeyIsBabe
06-30-2008, 12:32 AM
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/rosarobin/SeptDoubleRainbow.jpg

Thanks, Jan ;D This is my view looking west.