If you were looking for a home in northeast Philadelphia, what would you want? (for sale)

[Margel]

Hi, I will be putting my house in northeast Philly up for sale very soon. I am worried about the market for selling. If you were looking to buy a home, what would be some of things that would move you to buy when other homes are just sitting? I know the area must be good....mine is, but other homes have not sold yet. My house has 4 bedrooms, while most others have 3. Does this make a difference. Most of the homes in my area are twin ranchers with the same amount of space. There are a couple for sale around the corner, and I believe my neighbor will be putting his up for sale due to relocation as well. So I guess I want to know what give one house the edge over another. Any thoughts, suggestions?

[William shivers]

being u have 4 bedrooms and the others only have 3 gives you an advantage. Homes sell because they are clean!!, clutter free, so people can see the space a home has, the home is well maintained, little or no repairs are needed, and the price is right. If you over price the house will sit, the longer it sits on the market the more people believe there is something wrong with the house. Most homes see the greatest amount of traffic in the first 30 days on the market. so price it right, make sure it's clean, make sure all repairs are done prior to listing and remove any clutter.

[L.K.]

I will atest to this! We sold our house here in Wi on the first day,while others in our neighborhood have sat for 6 mos.It was very clean,no clutter, and all repairs made. Our home is painted in pleasing warm colors which everyone commented on[as opposed to the all white or off-while walls] We priced it only to get out of it what we put in plus a small profit.This is not the time to try to make a killing!We ended up with 2 offers, so got over the asking price.I would really listen to William's advise,it worked for us.DO NOT OVER PRICE!

[Mrs.Bewitched]

If you price your home the same price as the other homes with 3 bedrooms, that will be an advantage. Of course you might not want to do that, but unless you bought your home just a couple of years ago, you will still be coming out ahead. Are you offering to pay any of the closing costs? I know that would be a HUGE incentive for me. Huge. Also, whether or not I would even buy into your neighborhood would be the grades of the public school that my children would be going to. Do you have a yard, and if so, is it fenced? Do you have a finished basement? Central air? How is your carpeting? How many bathrooms? Are you including all of the appliances and ceiling fans?

[ScranBarre]

You may also want to consider paying a little bit to have someone come in and professionally "stage" your home for open houses. For a nominal fee, usually one or two interior designers who call themselves "professional home stagers" will clear up your clutter, rearrange your furniture, make recommendations, and give your home a more "presentable" feeling inside. If your home doesn't have a whole lot of "character" (French doors, hardwood flooring, stained glass windows, etc.), then I'd recommend repainting your walls to a "neutral" decor, as it helps potential buyers to picture their own ideas for color on a blank slate. If your home does have those sorts of historic touches, then aim for vivid and vibrant colors that would help to highlight the architectural era in which your home was built. People with a keen eye for history usually tend to rehab "historic" urban homes by painting the interior walls in all sorts of eye-catching colors to give it a more "trendy" flair. The best advice I could give you if you don't want to look into "staging" your home or repainting would be to simply get rid of as much clutter as possible! Too much furniture and/or junk in a room gives your buyer the impression not only that the room is smaller than it actually is (a bad thing obviously), but also that the current homeowner is a "packrat" (which may imply that he/she is also lacking on home maintenance/cleanliness, whether that's true or not). Hope this helps a bit, and I wish you the best of luck in selling your home! If you don't mind me asking, why are you selling? Downsizing? Job transfer? Warmer climate? Moving to suburbia?

[Margel]

Thanks for all the advice. My husband is retiring from the Phila police dept and since we want warmer climate, we are relocating to Florida. Our home should be finished being built this summer, so we are worried about the slow market for selling. Our house will be up for sale by the end of this last week of March!! Scary times for sure!

[reptiles]

A deck, even a small one, is a nice incentive.

A modern master bath, with a steam shower might be appreciated.

Kitchen needs a nice floor (tile) -- granite counter top would be a huge plus for NE Philly home.

And for a no-cost idea; market the 4th bedroom as a home office and stage it that way.

Cheers!

[Will Kelly]

Most say location, location, location but in this market I believe it is Price. I work with buyers on a daily basis and I can tell you one thing. Our media driven society has painted a picture of a shattered real estate industry and the buyers smell blood.

Staging a home for showing is one way to get it sold quicker but pricing it right is the true test.

Think of it this way. You have two identical cars, they have the same mileage, age, service records and are the same color. One is pristine inside and one is full of twinkie wrappers and junk. How much more would you spend for the cleaner vehicle. $500, $1,000, $2,000? It's hard to say but my point is this, price your home identically with your competition and be realistic about the results you expect from this market. Visit the other similar homes with your agent and evaluate them with the agent before you price and market your home. Keep pace with their pricing. You want your home to be shown every time their home is shown. Showings are what sell homes. Getting the traffic will find you a buyer and in my experience the only thing that drives traffic is price. If the buyer has 3 homes to see and yours is more expensive than the first two they may fall in love with #2 and never see #3. Realistic Pricing=Realistic Results.

Good luck with the sale.