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I thank you all for taking the time to respond and for offering some great advice. This entire process is very overwhelming, and it's been exacerbated by numerous other recent mishaps and reasons to worry (car wreck, sick dog wearing a cone of shame, moving my kids to new schools in a new city, leaving a job I love for an uncertain career future, saying goodbye to lots of wonderful friends, etc.). Plus, my youngest daughter, who's normally a very happy-go-lucky kid, cries nearly every day for her Daddy. So it's been quite difficult for me to think rationally and without emotion. Honestly, I'm normally a pretty smart and reasonable person, but this relocation has turned me upside down.
So I'm going to take a day or two to reflect on all you've said and ponder the next best course of action. My agent did advise to drop the price to $189K or lower; my husband is reluctant but will think it over a couple of days and talk to agent directly. (I'm ready to go to $185K, but what do I know?). Agent is coming over tomorrow to take more pics and I'm going to discuss the photo quality with her. In the meantime, I'm in the midst of a 12-step process for scrubbing soot off the fireplace and moving some furniture around (again). I looked for a new bedspread at four different stores tonight, but no luck yet.
But for right now, I'm going to enjoy a big glass of wine, watch Property Brothers on DVR and feed my five 100-pound Rottweilers a few more T-Bone steaks. If that doesn't make me feel better, I don't know what will.
That is A WHOLE LOT OF DOG...
It could be very intimidating to some folks to have that many large powerful dogs around.
At the very least I would make a effort to take the "crew" for a long car ride whenever viewings are scheduled,
If it were October, and your husband weren't already working in the new city, and you didn't have to move, I'd say take it off the market, get it better ready, and re list in the spring. But it's MAY - spring market is nearly over. You ARE under pressure to move - you've got to get settled and start the kids in school in less than three months. If you rent the house, the tenants will be very hard on it. Drop the price dramatically and SELL!
It could be very intimidating to some folks to have that many large powerful dogs around.
At the very least I would make a effort to take the "crew" for a long car ride whenever viewings are scheduled,
Sorry, that was intended as a joke/theft deterrent, because my address was disclosed earlier in the thread. I DO NOT have five dogs, just one non-smelly one who loves car rides and also wants us to have more showings so she can get out of the house.
When I see a 3 BR listing with only 1.5 baths (or similarly a 4 BR listing with only 2 baths), I assume it is really or was originally a 2 BR house, and a "bonus room" or something else that was converted to a bedroom is being called the 3rd bedroom, and no matter how well done or how smartly incorporated into the house those rooms are done, they are always inferior to genuine 3 BR homes with 2 full (or at least 3/4) baths.
Regardless, so-called bonus rooms, like something put into an attic, or a basement, or an enclosed garage, or an enclosed patio area, are seldom worth the same per SF as a house that was originally constructed with 3 bedrooms or with those "bonus" living areas. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if your 3rd bedroom is made from a bonus room, that your best comparables for pricing your home would be 2 BR / 1.5 Bath homes, with zero value attached on a price per SF basis, and perhaps then look at the upper end of those 2/1.5 comparables, rather than trying to price your home as a 3 BR house. In any case, the lack of a second full or 3/4 bath is a huge red flag for the typical buyers of 3 BR houses.
I think of "bonus" spaces and rooms as just that, a "bonus." I personally attribute no added value to these spaces, and I believe that most buyers don't, either. I certainly don't take the price per sf from a nearby sale of a 3/2 home and apply it to a house like the OP's. I, and most other buyers, all else being equal (location, age, curb appeal, quality and age of bathrooms, kitchens, house layout, etc) would far rather buy or own the "real" 3/2 rather than a 3/1.5 where the 3rd bedroom was built from a bonus space. No matter, only 1 full or a single 3/4 bath in a 3 bedroom home is deal killer for most buyers who actually need the bedrooms and the second bathroom for occupants (like, families).
Accept the reality that your house will only appeal to a limited segment of the market, such as singles, or childless couples who don't have any plans for kids, or likely retirement age folks like myself, and even then I wouldn't want your house at any price because it would be very awkward for guests, including my adult children, to use my shower or bath. Anyone buying your house would want to evaluate the cost to add a shower to the half bath - it may not be physically feasible to do so - but if it is feasible and you have an estimate for the cost to do such an addition, you should use that as a rule of thumb for the market discount from genuine 3/2 home sales that you and your agent undoubtedly used to price your house.
OP: Chances are your home is overpriced. Ask your agent for comps of 2 BR / 1 or 1.5 bathroom house sales, and adjust your asking price accordingly (don't include the SF from the 3rd bedroom in your calculations, and then use the price per sf from the sale to value the remainder of your house). Come back and tell us the result.
I have met very few real estate agents or brokers in my many years of involvement with real estate who can competently value homes, especially older homes like yours with "bonus" spaces, or agents who truly understand market value in general. Sellers (and buyers) who solely rely on their agent for pricing are frequently ill served. Over pricing a home drives away many potential buyers who may like your house but do not want to get into an endless back and forth haggling - price it right, right at or just above a realistic market value, and your house will sell in due time.
Last edited by Westbound and Down; 05-06-2014 at 05:58 AM..
When I see a 3 BR listing with only 1.5 baths (or similarly a 4 BR listing with only 2 baths), I assume it is really or was originally a 2 BR house, and a "bonus room" or something else that was converted to a bedroom is being called the 3rd bedroom, and no matter how well done or how smartly incorporated into the house those rooms are done, they are always inferior to genuine 3 BR homes with 2 full (or at least 3/4) baths.
Regardless, so-called bonus rooms, like something put into an attic, or a basement, or an enclosed garage, or an enclosed patio area, are seldom worth the same per SF as a house that was originally constructed with 3 bedrooms. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if your 3rd bedroom is made from a bonus room, that your best comparables for pricing your home would be 2 BR / 1.5 Bath homes, with zero value attached on a price per SF basis, and perhaps then look at the upper end of those 2/1.5 comparables, rather than trying to price your home as a 3 BR house. In any case, the lack of a second full or 3/4 bath is a huge red flag for the typical buyers of 3 BR houses.
I think of "bonus" spaces and rooms as just that, a "bonus." I personally attribute no added value to these spaces, and I believe that most buyers don't, either.
No, this was originally a 3BR, 1.5BA home, quite a luxury in 1953 when house was built. It is obvious that all three bedrooms are original to the house. The additions include a larger family room on back of house (behind kitchen), an office, laundry room and garage. All were constructed with brick to match the original.
A bonus to the buyers agent, especially undisclosed, amounts to a bribe. That is not how we want to conduct our business if we ever hope to be viewed by the public as professionals instead of used-car salesmen.
So true. I'd rep you again if the system would let me. The practice of offering bonuses to the buyers' agent is acknowledgment of the existence of unethical agents. We know they're out there but we don't have to feed them.
Lisa, I hope you were able to relax last night, you certainly do have your hands full. Do keep watching the Love It or List It type shows for staging ideas; even if you can't stand the dialogue just hit the mute button. Also the House Hunter shows. Knowledge is power.
0. Clean. I now you have done and are doing that.
2. Hire a stager. $200. Don't rent furniture as that is where the high costs are.
3. Get a pro to shoot photos. $100-$200.
Think about the daily cost of not selling and you will determine that staging and better photos are worht it.
0. Clean. I now you have done and are doing that.
2. Hire a stager. $200. Don't rent furniture as that is where the high costs are.
3. Get a pro to shoot photos. $100-$200.
Think about the daily cost of not selling and you will determine that staging and better photos are worht it.
Or use a competent agent that includes staging and professional photography in their commission. The seller should not be incurring these costs if she has a professional agent.
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First things first
