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It's like cars, someone can heavily mod a sports car, but if they try to sell it they can't up-sell it; way too personalized. Buying a condo and putting 10-15k into it is one thing, but 100-150k is just crazy.
As a consumer, this advice makes me sick to my stomach. If an agent showed me properties based on how much more money would be lining her pockets, I'd kick her to the curb in a heartbeat. I hope you're no longer selling real estate.
Hope you have a barf bag handy then !
A higher commission will at least get realtors out to see the property (as, whether you realize it or not, the realtors have to be sold on it first). Then, if they have a suitable buyer they will show it. It works every time on properties that are hard to sell.
BTW, just so you know, no realtor worth their salt is going to try to sell something to someone who it doesn't fit, but they might go, "hey, I should show this to Paul, he might really like it". It's merely a way of attracting serious attention to a property that's been sitting for a year, going nowhere in a hurry.
I've only done this once, at the (very wealthy) sellers insistence, when I was the listing agent. I did not want to double the commission, I insisted that he didn't have to in order to get the property to sell, but it was a unique property that generally would take a bit of time to sell and he didn't have time.
And, guess what? We had multiple offers within a couple of days and he got his money fast so he could move on with another important (to him) investment. He was beyond thrilled and referred me to numerous friends. If you think that's a bad job you have NO understanding of markets and I hope you are not buying real estate in my area!
OP, I know you don't want to divulge the city it's in but it does make a huge difference to whether or not someone will buy it. In NYC, I know there'd be a buyer, in Oklahoma City, maybe not so much.
I see the value you put in and I know the cost of those renos however the appraised value of your condo does make a HUGE difference to any buyer as they can't get a mortgage if it appraises for less than the sale price (realtors see this often). Most buyers in your price range are not buying for cash.
Big lesson here, NEVER over-improve a home, compared to the area, especially a condo as bank appraisers look at a unit, square footage and number of bedrooms and baths and that's about it - they do add some in for renos, but more for renos that will be loved by the majority of the people...because if they end back up with it they want a condo that will sell FAST!
I think your condo is beautiful, but, way over the top for a $100-$200K-range condo complex. We've also learned something interesting from living in condos for the past 12-years and completely renovating one, while adding serious upgrades to another ($400-$650K range). Unlike a range of SFH's which may vary considerably in any given neighborhood, the baseline market price for a condo is very clearly established by other condos with the same floor plan.
Some people may pay a premium for some designer options, but, it's very unlikely that one will ever get more than a 10 to 20-percent overall 'price bump' and quite rare that one will ever get a dollar-for-dollar return on their condo upgrades. More often, serious buyers will use your unit to get some good ideas of what they could do in a similar, but, much lower priced unit. Realtors will likewise show your unit, to help them sell the potential of similar, lower priced units.
OP, I know you don't want to divulge the city it's in but it does make a huge difference to whether or not someone will buy it. In NYC, I know there'd be a buyer, in Oklahoma City, maybe not so much.
I see the value you put in and I know the cost of those renos however the appraised value of your condo does make a HUGE difference to any buyer as they can't get a mortgage if it appraises for less than the sale price (realtors see this often). Most buyers in your price range are not buying for cash.
Big lesson here, NEVER over-improve a home, compared to the area, especially a condo as bank appraisers look at a unit, square footage and number of bedrooms and baths and that's about it - they do add some in for renos, but more for renos that will be loved by the majority of the people...because if they end back up with it they want a condo that will sell FAST!
Some lady was going to buy it, she was waiting for her house to close so she could buy it with cash. She viewed the condo twice... but her sale flubbed.
Btw, thanks for the double buyer's agent commision tip. I'm going to contact my realtor and tell her to put it up there in writing, double commision to the buyer.
Here in NYC, you could sell that for A LOT OF MONEY.
The condo I currently live in is ugly c o compared to yours, is only 660 square feet, located in Staten Island ( the least desired borough) and sells for close to $200k
The only people I know who move into a house and do nothing are people who are building homes to their specs. I'd rather pay a reasonable price for something that isn't what I want but was cheap enough that I could afford any changes I would like to make and I wouldn't feel bad about ripping out. If I am going to be doing that much work, I am going to go for the $80,000 condo in your building to get a bargain (if it is in good shape). It would also be a negative to spend twice as much as anything else in the building.
I personally do not care for hard fixtures you chose and the fact that they are high end is actually a big negative in my eyes (I would feel bad ripping them out). I like the bathroom in the bedroom and the kitchen is nice, everything else I would change as it is too dark or caricature-like for me. I also like neoclassical but I do not care for your interpretation of it. When I think of neoclassical is it way more neutral, mostly cream/muted colors, a good balance of light and dark, gold touches and light on bold accents (like colors or modern designs). So even in your decor style, there are variances in preferences that your condo does not meet.
I understand that it is hard to hear about someone not loving your home as you do, especially when you put so much time and effort into it. When I sold my bachelorette house I was flabbergasted that the new owner was going to repaint the living room. My husband and I can't even drive past our first home because the new owners changed so much about what we loved and did to the house.
True neoclassical is only the green room. The rest is just contemporary with some japanese twist to it.
Anyway, just for fun sakes, I took the pictures of kitchen/living rooms from each house within 150-300k range across one "nicer" neighborhood. I literally took one from each house as I browsed west to east, spanning the whole neighborhood.I stopped at 8 houses, I'm sure you'll get an idea. I'm sure each of these owners remodeled their house "to their liking" like everyone in this thread swears would do and yet everybody ended up like this:
I know everyone here sounds like they'd do something good about it, but 99% of the houses on the market share the same look just like these ones.
I know everyone here sounds like they'd do something good about it, but 99% of the houses on the market share the same look just like these ones.
I think you make a good point. The average time someone owns a home is roughly 7 years. The basic upgrades are done: painting, flooring, cabinets, counter-tops, new appliances and that's about it. I think it's great what you did with your condo, but as you know it fits you perfectly, not everyone else.
True neoclassical is only the green room. The rest is just contemporary with some japanese twist to it.
Anyway, just for fun sakes, I took the pictures of kitchen/living rooms from each house within 150-300k range across one "nicer" neighborhood. I literally took one from each house as I browsed west to east, spanning the whole neighborhood.I stopped at 8 houses, I'm sure you'll get an idea. I'm sure each of these owners remodeled their house "to their liking" like everyone in this thread swears would do and yet everybody ended up like this:
I know everyone here sounds like they'd do something good about it, but 99% of the houses on the market share the same look just like these ones.
Soooo.... basically you just proved the point that you over-improved for your market, as well as designed your place in a decorative style that doesn't at all match what 99% of buyers in your area are looking for.
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