Help, I can't even give my Covington house away (real estate, lease)

[jinxd_13]

I am just about ready to let the bank have it. My family and I have been trying to sell our cute, little house on the Northshore of Lake Ponchatrain for about 15 months now to no avail. We had it listed with an agent and showed it dozens of times without an offer last year. we have since sunk more money in it jazzing it up and have had it listed FSBO since Jan. We have even, since June, had it listed to Owner finance. We have had several people tell us they want it, one evne signed a lease purchase contract, and tehy have all backed out. This is my home on Craigs list:


Huge porch and Landscpaed corner lot (broken link)

I don't think it is a bad house. It is 5 years old and shows really well. Any advice you guys have would be greatly appreciated. Any and all suggestions will be taken into account. Don't worry about my feelings, they have already been hurt by this whole situation so give me what you got!!

[jsagil]

First off you need to list it with a top real estate agent in your area....the market is slow all over and listing it will expose it to most amount of potential buyers as possible. You also need to clean up the "clutter", sorry! I know it's how most of us live, but your trying to sell your home so it needs to look like there is PLENTY of room for someone else to live there. At least put everything away for the pictures that you post on the internet. Cleaning supplies, personal care products, pet cages, pets, clean off the kitchen and bath countertops. All of those items need to be out of site. Pack up alot of the personal belongings and store somewhere else if possible. If you need the name of a top agent in the area I would be happy to recommend one to you. The home look very cute, is it on the water? If so you need to play that up or the fact that it is close anyway. The exterior pictures look ok, like I said very cute....but are those boards leading up to the house? If so, get rid of them. You asked for honesty! Your home needs to look like a model home to sell it in this market. Good Luck

[Chinolala]

Originally Posted by jsagil

First off you need to list it with a top real estate agent in your area....the market is slow all over and listing it will expose it to most amount of potential buyers as possible. You also need to clean up the "clutter", sorry! I know it's how most of us live, but your trying to sell your home so it needs to look like there is PLENTY of room for someone else to live there. At least put everything away for the pictures that you post on the internet. Cleaning supplies, personal care products, pet cages, pets, clean off the kitchen and bath countertops. All of those items need to be out of site. Pack up alot of the personal belongings and store somewhere else if possible. If you need the name of a top agent in the area I would be happy to recommend one to you. The home look very cute, is it on the water? If so you need to play that up or the fact that it is close anyway. The exterior pictures look ok, like I said very cute....but are those boards leading up to the house? If so, get rid of them. You asked for honesty! Your home needs to look like a model home to sell it in this market. Good Luck

I agree with this most. I moved 5 times in 11 years and have become somewhat of an expert in this entire process from prepping the house to show down to packing for a move.

If you have family or friend close by, take your dog and the cage to their house when you're showing the house. Make sure all doggy poop, dog toys, etc. are cleaned up. Then remove all of your knick-knacks. Bascially pack them up now until you move. Things like scultpures, figurines, trophies, etc. need to be packed away and out of sight. If you don't have a lot of storage in your house, you don't want to have packed boxes there either. Believe me, it's worth renting a small storage space and putting things like that in storage until you move. Try to have as little as possible out on your kitchen counters, bathroom sink, etc. As soon as I saw the photos of your kitchen, my eyes went to the things on your countertops. Unless you have a huge gourmet kitchen, all kitches seem smaller when they're are things on the counter tops. This is called "staging" and you can read about it in real estae sites on the internet. Your house looks very clean. Make sure it smells clean, but at the same time, not like Lysol or Pine Sol. Also have someone who does not own a dog, come to your house and ask them if they honestly smell dog. I don't have a dog and you'd be surprised how often I smell dog in peoples' homes. When you own I dog (I have in the past) you don't even notice the smell anymore but others will. It's a cute house and seems to be priced reasonably. I think removing some of the clutter will help.

[Chinolala]

A couple more things...the brown fabric furniture in your living room along with the desk, computer and dog cage, make that room look too cluttered. If you can't switch out the furniture, maybe remove the ottoman and you have to get rid of that dog cage when you show the house. The curtains in that room look rather dark. I'd look into getting some ivory or white cotton drapes or sheers to allow more light into that room.

[njkate]

All of the above suggestions are on target....also not to be picky but you have close up pictures of your tile floor..the grout between the tiles needs serious cleaning.

Living room is way to cluttered between all the electronic equipment, dog cage, computer set up.

Also retake some of those pics...turn the tv's off..some pics of master bedroom..leave the dog out of the pics (hey I love dogs have one myself but some people will see doggie and just ASSUME your house smells doggy)

I looked as Louisiana is on my list for a winter home

[jinxd_13]

Thanx so much for ya'lls help. Some of the pics are old and happened pre-declutter soI guess one of the main things I need to do is take new ones. I have gotten new curains and we have been working on the tile on the weekends. So I think I am addressing all your concerns so far but keep 'em coming. I need all the help I can get!! I will post new pics when I take them so ya'll can rip me apart some more.LOL.
As to the agent, we have had bad experiences with agentsand decided to give it a try on our own. We will be paying to have it listed on the MLS and offer to pay the going rate to the buying agent but that is far as I am willing to go. Thanx for the advice though and I hope I don't seem stubborn but...I am

[njkate]

Great..can't wait to see new photos

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by jinxd_13

Thanx so much for ya'lls help. Some of the pics are old and happened pre-declutter soI guess one of the main things I need to do is take new ones. I have gotten new curains and we have been working on the tile on the weekends. So I think I am addressing all your concerns so far but keep 'em coming. I need all the help I can get!! I will post new pics when I take them so ya'll can rip me apart some more.LOL.
As to the agent, we have had bad experiences with agentsand decided to give it a try on our own. We will be paying to have it listed on the MLS and offer to pay the going rate to the buying agent but that is far as I am willing to go. Thanx for the advice though and I hope I don't seem stubborn but...I am

Can't wait to see new pics too. Definitely DECLUTTER - think model home perfect - no personal effects displayed, NOTHING on the kitchen countertops, nothing personal showing in the bathroom, even if it is just deoderant and we all use it, lol.

I understand your concern about a realtor, but in truth you would probably have not been on the market this long if you had had one. If you are willing to wait longer then keep going with your current plan.

[junkintrunk]

Im with Lisa.. Your home is adorable but I think the curtains need to go.. Its too dark in there. You need to get the drapes like a ivory color.. Make it look more open and spring like.

Also, I always lit a candle that smelled like baked cookies or cinnimon buns.. I recommend that as well.. Even if you light them for a short time and then blow them out when you leave it will leave a more homie smell that is inviting!

BTW your puppy is precious!

[Ellwood]

I agree with everyone's views on decluttering. You might also want to include your listing on the CLASSIFIED ADS on City-Data forum. Good luck.