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Old 10-15-2014, 11:03 AM
 
Location: Aiken, South Carolina, US of A
1,794 posts, read 4,890,444 times
Reputation: 3669

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Be prepared to to try to lower the price.
You may have to borrow to get rid of the house.
Empty the entire house out. Everything!
Hire a lawn service company to clean the yard up, both
in the front and out back.
Make sure everything is clean, and retake the pics.
Look around to see how much you can borrow to pay
the morgage off, I'm serious, and relist it now at a much
lower price.
The realtor took the listing to get the listing, but I would
lower the price somewhere around 180 and then see who
makes a bid.
After you clean the place out. You must take the furniture
out, are you still living there? I thought you stated you had
moved and had 2 mortgages.
Clean it all out. Nothing left.
Cut the bushes, all the weeds, clean it up.
Lower your price, its a money pit for someone else.
It needs everything!
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Old 10-15-2014, 11:13 AM
 
79 posts, read 152,944 times
Reputation: 98
I think some inexpensive micro-blinds would look a lot neater. I don't think the photos are that bad, but they were just taken on a typical cloudy day in Oregon. If you could at least retake the main one on a sunny day....Unemployment has been a big problem in OR, and remains high. I would expect to get in a pretty decent neighborhood in Portland for 200+ for a bungalow.
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Old 10-15-2014, 11:17 AM
 
2,779 posts, read 5,484,974 times
Reputation: 5068
Quote:
Originally Posted by cal-tex View Post
I think some inexpensive micro-blinds would look a lot neater. I don't think the photos are that bad, but they were just taken on a typical cloudy day in Oregon. If you could at least retake the main one on a sunny day....Unemployment has been a big problem in OR, and remains high. I would expect to get in a pretty decent neighborhood in Portland for 200+ for a bungalow.
I'd be really surprised if you could live in a decent neighborhood in Portland for anywhere in the 200s. I live in a small town across the river in WA and even here the smallest and oldest houses in town are in the 200s.
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Old 10-15-2014, 11:29 AM
 
16,715 posts, read 19,336,312 times
Reputation: 41481
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fiddlehead View Post
Thanks for the comments so far. Much appreciated.

Here is the listing.

478 Ray Ln, Ashland, OR 97520 is For Sale - Zillow

It is alone at its price point. The cheapest in town.
I wouldn't offer 3/4 what you're asking for it.

This is going to sound harsh, but who the heck took those pictures?! Because they are truly awful, and someone didn't even bother to clean up the yard, making your house look like a dump. Did you not even try to make it look presentable? Are you selling it as-is or something?

First picture:

* branches hanging in front of the house makes it look unkempt
* uncut grass
* watering hose in the yard
* tree growing out of overgrown shrub
* weeds everywhere

Indoors:

* looks dark & dingy
* blurry photo
* tacky window fan in a kitchen that hasn't been updated in years
* those curtains look like they have been pulled down or are falling off a rod, you can only pull off that "look" with very sheer, light panels; take them all down
* another tacky window fan
* and another tacky window fan
* picture has broom in it (not enough proof for me that this house has been taken care of, after seeing the yard)
* beautiful flooring, until you see the dark smudges on the walls where nobody bothered to paint
* bent curtain rods

Backyard:

* completely unkempt
* another hose in yard
* overgrown with weeds
* old ladder and yard implement leaning up against tree
* shrubs overgrown beyond a chair and table in the corner

Back of house:

* stuff lying up against the house (a doggy door?)
* old chairs haphazardly strewn about
* more junk overgrown by bushes
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Old 10-15-2014, 11:30 AM
 
Location: Pluto's Home Town
9,982 posts, read 13,720,885 times
Reputation: 5689
Ouch! Thanks for the tough love people.

I will think about how to clean things up. Interestingly, it is getting showings, so the picture haven't been a complete turnoff. It is a modest home, to be sure, and I am no landscape architect.
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Old 10-15-2014, 11:36 AM
 
Location: Englewood, FL
1,268 posts, read 2,989,953 times
Reputation: 1117
I'm not familiar with the area at all, but in looking at what's for sale there- there appears to be a serious shortage of decent housing in that town for a decent price. I would imagine most buyers are moving to other outlying areas where they can get a lot more for their money. Based on the inventory, I wouldn't think you would have a hard time selling, but only because there's not much for sale! The prices in that area are just too high for what you get and buyers want value. Why are homes so expensive there?

On to advice about maximizing your listing. I agree- your pictures are DARK. The window treatments need to come down (even the cheap blinds!). Try to avoid the chain link fence in photos of the front- it makes it look like it's in a bad part of town. Personally, I would take the fence down ASAP and remove the shrubbery in front of it- does anyone really want a chain link fence in their front yard? It kills the curb appeal. Clean up the yard. Add mulch in the front, to create flower beds, even if there aren't any plants in there. Add a few potted mums or flowers at the entry. Or maybe a nice wreath on the door. I realize you've already moved out, but you have to show people that spending $240k on a tiny house with 1 bathroom is a value. Value in these older homes comes from character and curb appeal.

Last edited by coastal chic; 10-15-2014 at 12:19 PM..
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Old 10-15-2014, 11:40 AM
 
Location: Denver CO
24,204 posts, read 19,086,029 times
Reputation: 38266
What was your realtor's recommended listing price?

I have to say that I also think it's overpriced for the condition. What you paid for it 10 or so years ago isn't always directly relevant to the market value today. The kitchen is very dated, and I have to assume (since there were no photos of it) that the bathroom is equally dated. Those are big ticket items to update, and while I'm not suggesting you take on that work, the cost is going to need to be reflected in the selling price. Honestly, I don't think that your "lowball" offer was that off base. Depending on how long ago that offer was, I'd try negotiating with that buyer. Sitting on the market longer doesn't increase the value.
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Old 10-15-2014, 11:41 AM
 
Location: SW Missouri
15,853 posts, read 35,047,758 times
Reputation: 22694
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fiddlehead View Post
Real estate gurus,

I could use some advice and fast.

I am struggling with selling my little 2 br/1 ba 1000 sf. home in a very nice western resort town. It is up the street from a park, a safe, beautiful neighborhood with a nice school down the street. I also dumped about $20k into it, with new floors, paint, wiring, etc. before listing it. After several months on the market, I am getting a decent number of showings, but no solid offers. I am a bit flummoxed because the town is very desirable and many people would give a favorite body part to live there. We lived there 11 years, and loved living in that house that neighborhood. Idyllic. We moved for a job and bought a home elsewhere, and I am now carrying two mortgages and sinking fast. The house is listed in the low $200s, and I know houses in the $300-400k range are selling briskly. I have cut the price to very close to what I paid for it in the early 2000s, so I don't think the price is excessive, but perhaps the market has become so gentrified no one wants it. I did receive one lowball offer, which would be a $10-20k loss for me, all considered, so I am trying to figure out whether I should take that or rent it this winter and try again in the spring.

What would you do?

Any and all idea / strategies welcome!
People have the general misconception that they are suppose to make money when selling a house. Unfortunately there are a zillion factors that come into play and quite often you don't make anything or you end up in the hole.

If your house is not selling it is because it is overpriced. End of sentence. If you want to sell it, then you are going to have to lower the price to meet market demands. Maybe you will have better luck next time.

20yrsinBranson
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Old 10-15-2014, 11:45 AM
 
Location: Over yonder a piece
4,268 posts, read 6,269,135 times
Reputation: 7134
I agree with everyone else that a lot of cleanup will be necessary and then much better pictures. Then price accordingly.

The backyard alone would make me say "no way" even if I liked the house.
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Old 10-15-2014, 11:53 AM
 
334 posts, read 582,921 times
Reputation: 752
All the houses in Ashland are overpriced, and they don't budge on them. It will eventually sell. I'd put some nice touches outside, such as hanging plants and a pretty planter with blooming plants. For fall, put some nice pumpkins and some cornstalks out. For winter, I'd put a wishing well out there and decorate it with lights (a wooden wishing well). Just something cute. Good luck to you.
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