WOW it is hard for me to sell my house here what to do? (live, centers)

[warren zee]

I would advise anyone not to make the same mistake that we did. People from PA - exception - Philadelphia burbs and parts of the Lehigh Valley and P'burgh, are not fans of NYers.
Especially those from Long Island.

Medical care is horrible. Schools are bad. Those who graduate from HS, attend mediocre local colleges. Yet their parents live in god forsaken places like "Mountain Top" in faux Mc Mansions.

We thought it was a funky and interesting area. Up and coming, we were told by Realtors.
They lied.

Look into the Eastern Midwest for beauty, seasons, health care and education - and people who feel an affinity for NYers.

Look into the south for hot weather and red politics.

[kitty61]

Are there any house sales in the past 3 months? Check mls.com for comparable listings on your own.

Look into hiring a house-staging expert. Despite how well you think you have arranged and decorated your home it might not be appealing to buyers. My real estate agent used virtual staging.
Take the agent's advice on improvements to make.

I priced to sell not what I thought my house is worth to me even though I had done thousands of dollars upgrading it. I did have to take a cut but my future plans were not adversely affected and my house sold in less than 3 months even in a depressed market.

Good luck!!

[okaydorothy]

Those that are looking to buy, want a bargain. Last week we were offered a cash price of $40K less than we have the house listed for. No can do as we still would have to pay the bank to off load the property. At the price we have it listed for, we are still loosing about $40K. So now we hold onto the house until the kids are finished in school here (about 2 years) and we may move to the poconos full time. Dh has a CDL so I think he can transfer. We do love the Poconos and it suits us but as we moved 300 miles away, its not a local drive anymore.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by warren zee

I would advise anyone not to make the same mistake that we did. People from PA - exception - Philadelphia burbs and parts of the Lehigh Valley and P'burgh, are not fans of NYers.
Especially those from Long Island.

Medical care is horrible. Schools are bad. Those who graduate from HS, attend mediocre local colleges. Yet their parents live in god forsaken places like "Mountain Top" in faux Mc Mansions.

We thought it was a funky and interesting area. Up and coming, we were told by Realtors.
They lied.

Look into the Eastern Midwest for beauty, seasons, health care and education - and people who feel an affinity for NYers.

Look into the south for hot weather and red politics.

Warren do we have to do this again? You had a bad experience with your one group of bad neighbors and since then you condemn the whole area for your bad experience. You and your wife could not say enough great things about this area and your choice up until the time you had the bad experience.


This could have happened to you in NYC or in Warren, Ohio. We, here at City-Data, supported you and tried to help. One poster even offered to let you live with them while you worked out your problems. In the meantime; you hang out here, instead of on the Warren Ohio City-Data, waiting to put down our area for your bad decisions. We did not chose the location you chose to live and are not responsible for your decisions and we tried to help. There is something very sick about the way you put us down to 'justify' your mistake!

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by warren zee

I would advise anyone not to make the same mistake that we did. People from PA - exception - Philadelphia burbs and parts of the Lehigh Valley and P'burgh, are not fans of NYers.
Especially those from Long Island.

Medical care is horrible. Schools are bad. Those who graduate from HS, attend mediocre local colleges. Yet their parents live in god forsaken places like "Mountain Top" in faux Mc Mansions.

We thought it was a funky and interesting area. Up and coming, we were told by Realtors.
They lied.

Look into the Eastern Midwest for beauty, seasons, health care and education - and people who feel an affinity for NYers.

Look into the south for hot weather and red politics.

People in Pittsburgh like New Yorkers? Really?

Come on. You moved into a crappy neighborhood and you decided to use crazy Susie Fort. She's been rich for so long, she's forgotten how to be poor--which is how she grew up.

Wilkes and Kings are decent, the public schools are shot, and the area isn't getting better.

I wouldn't move there.

[Further]

OK....Lets talk about why it's really is hard to sell a house here and therefore no interest to buy one. Lets just go one inch outside the box and think..the truth is, the area just is depressed. The only reason I'm here is a well paying cushy job in a family business. When the time comes and I know it will, I'm gone. I agree it's wonderful for those with a pension and SS to live on, but what about the average working man??? Lower wages or the commute from hell. Then one look at Hazleton and the average person will just run. It's no accident this area is known as the "Great White Ghetto" . You guys really need stop fooling yourselves as to how great the place is.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by Further

OK....Lets talk about why it's really is hard to sell a house here and therefore no interest to buy one. Lets just go one inch outside the box and think..the truth is, the area just is depressed. The only reason I'm here is a well paying cushy job in a family business. When the time comes and I know it will, I'm gone. I agree it's wonderful for those with a pension and SS to live on, but what about the average working man??? Lower wages or the commute from hell. Then one look at Hazleton and the average person will just run. It's no accident this area is known as the "Great White Ghetto" . You guys really need stop fooling yourselves as to how great the place is.

I drove a truck before I retired and made $75K/year. I know that people make more in the city; but that was enough for us - it paid the bills. It even paid off our mortgage and left us debt free. Of course we did not buy more than we could afford in the first place.


I do admit that we do not have those good paying union jobs that we used to have (we still have UPS). Roadway/Yellow moved and Consolidated Freight closed (after it had moved). At their height; those two companies probably paid an average yearly pay of about $50K to about 1500 workers. That is counting dock, yard and OTR drivers. That was also twenty years ago when $50K went farther.


Our area has always favored resorts and of course the lower paying jobs that accompanied the resort businesses. But that was years ago. I know that our resorts still have plenty of political power; but locals are outnumbered and we should have political change that leads to better selections for our workforce. It amazes me that our commuters have not brought their jobs here. It almost sounds like a no-brainer that people, tired of the commute, would not want to start their won companies on this side of the river.


I fought our congressmen, to no avail, to seek out other trucking companies and encourage them to locate in our area. I always thought that the Blakeslee area would have been a good location for trucking - it is not too far from the Turnpike and not too far from I-81 and I-84. But the same politicians were too busy pushing businesses that catered to illegal immigrants; like the Iridium scandal where they used millions of taxpayer dollars to retool for the illegals.


But it cannot just be one lone voice. Our commuters, that share the most misery, should be very vocal about their expectations. Running doesn't help because property values continue to decrease.

[mbrun]

Some positive spin:

We use our vacation home (15 second golf cart from Lake Wallenpaupack which gets crowded on weekends but we waterski from 7 am until 9:30am to miss the crowds; weekdays are fantastic ) every weekend from May to Sept (this past summer we had not one rainy weekend, and out of the last 4 summers very rarely had a washout weekend (for those complaining about the cloudy weather which is seasonal and El Nino dependant).

You have to like the outdoors and relaxation(weekdays are nice and quiet. Even in the winter we ski (down hill and cross country). It does not fit everyone. We grew up in the country and work in the suburbs of Philly; and escape to the Lake (to each his own) My extended family comes up often to escape the city and its suburbs.

It is a tough real estate market to sell in, but eventually change occurs so keep your head up.

[Bike4Life]

Originally Posted by Rogue0888

Not to be a debbie downer, but your probably not helping your cause by pointing out the flaws on a public forum and not the positives. You moved there for a reason and that reason could be the same for the person interested in your house. But these days people do their research and if you are only pointing out the negatives on a site re-locators frequent, then those people won't make the apt to see your house.

Actually, I appreciate Rogue's realistic honesty rather than trying to pretend that it's great out there and forewarn others about the issues. I'm not convinced with the housing market value. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I've seeing housing priced at $425K while the property tax appraisal is $100K. Another house on the market for $380K now but it was purchased for $60K in 2012. I live in a vibrant city with excellent medical care, high job growth, entertainment, and housing demands but I don't have to pay more than $190K. I think it's ridiculous to pay anything more than $150K in a small town.

[auntlucy]

Originally Posted by pinecone lady

we have had our home on the market here for about 9 months and no offers the real estate said there are alot of closures in our area bringing things down . We are sorry we came here were shocked by the quality of medical here and lack of drs We did lower price but need something to buy in FL or LI . My husband has the opportunity to work on LI . Some people could help us but he has a job here. We would have to rent there We are from Long Island and it is our home and I miss it terribly I know its crowded and expensive but I wonder if it would work We thought of Melbourne FL area but it has gotten more expensive the reason is there is a beautiful park for special needs people there but we could also just visit we lived there before and I did miss the 4 seasons. the worst for me was that I had a hard time adjusting to the oppressive heat . now Im older and dont have to stand outside in it like I did with younger children any thoughts thanks

Where was your home on the market? People should say where they are at. so we know if the house is in our own location.