Changing agents - questions to ask

[lhall85917]

Originally Posted by mapmd

It's not so much that. Fairly normal in the South and mid-Atlantic here. I am wondering why the master bedroom was changed. That green strip between the mouldings at the top of the wall was a great accent. Why did that go away? Maybe it's just the angle or the color change from the phones though.

I'm also not sure how removing curtains helps, which is the only change I can see in the dining area. No curtains to me makes the place look like a sterile apartment. I'm 28 and I like your curtains and the bedspreads.

Condition is fantastic. I'm not even sure price is necessarily out of whack though either without knowing other factors. What's the job market like in your area? It literally could be that people are just not moving to the area or not sticking around. If population is declining that's not good when you're trying to sell. If population is stagnant and there's new supply then that leads to the same problem. Honestly I'd buy a house in a condition like that.

(ok, you've shown us the good pictures...how about what you're not showing?, come on now!)

The green strip in the master is still there, must be the pictures. Nothing has been painted. I tend to agree with you on the curtains but we felt like the color didn't really match what was in the living area and they are a bit old fashioned.

Our new agent sent a stager the other day and the only change she suggested was to swap the sofa and chairs in the living room to open up the area. She also suggested taking up that area rug to show the hardwoods. The photographer is coming tomorrow and it will be interesting to compare them to what we had.

Job market is good. This is a very technology and defense system based area. Lots of engineers moving here. Several new companies are also coming in, one with 2000 new jobs - not all will support this price house but many will. We are in the most desirable school system in the area, near shopping, nice pool and playground community. On paper everything sounds great. Again, it comes back to so many choices for new construction at or near this price range.

Honestly, this is it. We are retired, live here without kids and had a small dog that passed away earlier this year. So no pets in the home. My husband enjoys spending time in the yard and takes pride in it, he even won a beautification award from the city.

Someone else mentioned that we shouldn't expect the listing agent to sell the house and we understand that. After all of this time we needed to do something different. Our hope is the new agent with a different marketing approach who will keep us updated will get this done. We do expect honesty as far as pricing and have stressed that. Perhaps it is wrong, but what we were doing wasn't working and we felt that we gave it more than a fair chance.

[mapmd]

If you are retired then what is your end lifestyle goal in selling the house?

Are you moving to another town or state or staying in the same area? Will you buy again or will you rent? Retirement home or world travel? I'm sure you've already thought of these things, but your end goal is yours to decide and should be your first priority...not the property by and of itself.

I'm not sure what your monetary situation is, but many retirees are banking on their home to save them and often their 'wishing price' isn't exactly what the sale price will be. If you want to be done with it and on your way and it won't hurt too much it may just benefit you to drop the price a tad. No mortgage hassle for a place you no longer want to live in and no property taxes, no insurance, and no worries about something getting damaged or going bad.

Of course I'm just a kid. I don't mean to pry, just trying to offer insight and trying to jog the brain.

[oh come on!]

Originally Posted by lhall85917

Our hope is the new agent with a different marketing approach who will keep us updated will get this done. We do expect honesty as far as pricing and have stressed that. Perhaps it is wrong, but what we were doing wasn't working and we felt that we gave it more than a fair chance.

Sellers often overestimate what listing agents do. To get the listing, an alternate listing agent will probably rattle off a bunch of stuff, hoping something will sound different to you.

You'll probably hear stuff you've heard before.... "500 different websites", open house, brokers open, email blast, pro photos, contacting active buyers agents.... throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks.
and you may still end up listening to crickets chirp.

[Pooks1976]

How much longer will they be building new construction? Can you wait for it to be over? New construction is tough competition even if you have superior quality, if the price is similar. Once it is over, all buyers must settle for things they wouldn't have chosen and pick the best fit.