Anybody actually sell a house? (Cumming: selling a house, price, land)

[ellar]

One thing I don't think anyone has mentioned is smell. When we went house hunting we were shocked at how many houses smelled bad! It was a huge turnoff. I think animal owners in particular need someone else to come into their homes to assess whether their home stinks. It's amazing what some homeowner's noses can ignore. Litter box odors, musty odors etc. are yucky. The first house we put on the market received two offers on the day we happened to have several vases of fresh flowers out that smelled and looked beautiful.

[LoveMiami]

u can guys watch on tv HGTV house for sell and they tell you what u need to do to sell your house.
people always buying homes no matter what market it is.

[brande]

There are many really good points made throughout this thread.

As a real estate agent on the south side, I truly understand a distressed market. I also understand about sellers being told certain reasons why there homes have not sold, which are just flat out excuses.

No matter what condition the market it is, with a well priced home and a properly marketed home, it will sell.

[BillWagner]

This is a good thread. A lot of what was said here is true and brings a lot of good points to think about when selling or buying a home. Actually prices are up, but a lot of people are discounting homes to sell quicker. There is an 8 to 9 month supply here in north Ga. Builders are giving 30K discounts and incentive packages to buyers of new homes. One thing that I haven't seen discussed here is the mortgage industry's stranglehold on the loans people get. I have seen people with 600+ scores get turned down for loans. New home buyers not be able to get loans. FHA, and VA have some great packages for new home buyers. Things are changing, if you have good credit and the money to put down on a home you should be OK. What I see happening is everybody is over extended with credit. With the tightening in the mortgage market these people cannot get loans that were available just last year. This has made a change in having enough buyers to buy homes. I talk to buyers agents who don't have any clients, you throw open houses, do good marketing and no one shows up. I have homes that are undervalued to move fast and still no agents are bringing in clients to look. Realtors have been around for over a hundred years and there is a reason for them. If you are a buyer their services are free to you. You should be represented, the seller is by the closing attorney, his realtor or lawyer and you should be too.

[mxd.Brit]

Going back a bit to OP -

As a potential buyer I have one very important suggestion.

MAKE SURE THAT THE PICTURES USED TO ADVERTISE YOUR HOUSE DO IT JUSTICE.

As many buyers are looking on the internet first (usually from a different country, state, city etc), I cannot tell you how annoying it is to just get pictures of the current owners furniture or one corner of a room or a sink or just the fire place. We are trying to see size of rooms etc not furniture.

Realtors please take note!!!!!

[artdesignlou]

Originally Posted by SaraSatin

We're trying to sell and things just seem so slow! I can't figure out where we are going wrong... we've got a townhouse in a great school district, we fixed it up, and we priced it right. We were out of town this past weekend and our agent did an open house. There were 2 or 3 people that had called inquiring about the house that were scheduled to come during that time. Not only did they not show up, but nobody did! I know the market is slow, but if anyone has actually sold their house and has some tips I could use them. Our agent is doing a good job marketing and I'm worried maybe something about the house itself is doing it. Thanks!

Have you watched those HGTV shows on selling your house? Like "Designed to Sell"? they can be very helpful.

[K'ledgeBldr]

a good house- marketed right, priced right, and in a desirable location will sell. I think one thing has been overlooked. You have all of the above, you get a buyer, agree on a price, and sign a contract. House doesn't close- your buyer can't get financing or better yet- your buyer's buyer can't get financing- he can't close, so you can't close. And on down the line it goes. Yeah, we might be in an O.K. market but we're still getting kicked around because of several other factors.
So, getting them in the front door is only half the battle (or maybe a 1/4?)

[NorthmeetsSouth]

Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr

a good house- marketed right, priced right, and in a desirable location will sell. I think one thing has been overlooked. You have all of the above, you get a buyer, agree on a price, and sign a contract. House doesn't close- your buyer can't get financing or better yet- your buyer's buyer can't get financing- he can't close, so you can't close. And on down the line it goes. Yeah, we might be in an O.K. market but we're still getting kicked around because of several other factors.
So, getting them in the front door is only half the battle (or maybe a 1/4?)

You got that right! I was talking to a builder the other day who has had almost 50 contracts that fell through in the last 3 months because of financing.
For years the banks were throwing bags of money at anyone who had a pulse. Now that they have realized their error they have gone to the opposite extreme and they are turning down people who should get approved.

[netdragon]

Previously owned townhomes and condos moved slowly before the market went down and now it's worse (townhomes are a little better than apartment style condos). I'd just de-list it until next Spring or you'll be shooting yourself in the foot (unless you absolutely have to).

[atlantamoi]

Slow going in my subdivision inside 285.. One home knocked down their price by 10% and it is now under contract, but none of the other 7 homeowners have lowered their asking price by nearly that much.