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1. The description on Zillow is awful as it starts with:
The listing agent is the best source for information about this listing. For complete details about this listing, contact xxx, the listing agent. Contact me at xxx or email me at xxx.
What a waste of electrons.
If I am thinking about the house, I really don't give a crap about the agent. I am buying a house, not an agent.
2. The Summervile market appears to be appreciating.
There is a clear seasonal pattern to prices and sales volume. Spring will be better.
3. This is funny.
Quote:
Originally Posted by efipoliRN
if people would drive correctly
I grew up in Massachusetts. A state that is notorious for bad drivers.
Last edited by davebarnes; 09-27-2015 at 09:41 AM..
yes we did make a huge mistake and we realize that. I did not want to buy the house and did try to convince my husband before closing. Without getting into a whole lot of personal stuff, we bought the house. I am a nurse that is correct. I do not like it here and did not almost immediately after arriving. We can not hang on till spring. I do not make enough money here to hang on. My pay has been cut more than in half by coming here. I must return home to make enough money to pay the bills. We have children who are also miserable here, I could go on and on but don't think it is necessary. Staying here is not an option. This house was on the market for 3-4 months before we made an offer on it. It was very over priced though. We have an inground pool and my realtor says that is a deterant for some buyers. I don't know why though, it is hotter than heck here , why would people not want a pool? She also says ( and this is true) that most homes sold in Summerville are at a much lower price point than we are at. Our feedback from showings has been ok. Most of course said the house was overpriced. One didn't like the roof and the one that showed the most interest ultimately decided against it because of the kitchen set up. We have had 5 showings total. 2 the first week , one the second, and 2 a week ago, nothing at all this week/ weekend
The market that we came from is much different then here. Our house in MA sold in 48 hours full asking price.
I am not trying to be mean, nasty or difficult at all, I am terrified we are going to have to go into the little we have in savings to keep from loosing this house and then still sell at a loss. I don't care about selling for less than we bought as I said it is now listed for less than we paid. It is the idea of having to come to closing with a check on top of loosing everything else.
wrt: The pool. I'm one of those buyers who wouldn't even consider buying a house with one unless the seller agreed to fill it in as a condition of sale. An in-ground pool requires constant maintenance and repair, increases your energy bill and is a big insurance liability. It's annoying to me that appraisers consider an in-ground pool an asset.
As far as your situation goes, my spouse and I bought into the height of a housing boom several decades ago when I transferred to a new job a couple thousand miles away. In addition to overpaying for the property, it was a very stressful move. We couldn't sell the old house we owned and were forced to rent it to tenants who turned out to be less than desirable. The situation at the new job deteriorated almost immediately (the person I reported to was undergoing a significant midlife crisis and was becoming increasingly erratic in his behavior -- of the seven of us who reported to him, I was the sixth who left. And I only lasted a year!). We finally threw in the towel and moved back to our old house.
In hindsight, this turned out to be a giant mistake. The housing market we had just left crashed and we were forced to rent out that house and again be long-distance landlords. We finally sold the place at about a 30% loss. My crazy boss was forced out of the company shortly after I quit and I heard that the stress level there became much more bearable; and if I had stuck it out my career would have been in much better shape. Within three years of us selling at a loss, the housing market had recovered.
Of course your situation may be completely different, but I have to agree with those who say take a deep breath, try not to panic, and realize that change is inevitable. You may find that the children are just on the verge of adapting to the new town and schools, and moving back will be another upheaval for them. The advice to see a (fee only, certified) financial planner before making any more big decisions is advice I wish I'd had way back then.
Again, I'm not walking in your shoes, but you might have a family conference and explain that you need to take the house off the market and reevaluate everything until next spring. You will gain some psychological breathing room. That's what I wish I had done!
Cancel your contract with the realtor, drop the price by 5%, and sell it yourselves. BUT... you will get a better price in the spring. Can you hang on that long?
^^^^ THIS! Drop the Realtor, drop the price drastically.
Luckily, my agency will not let us negotiate commission.
I would not make any effort to sell your home knowing you are screwing me out of money.
YOU made the mistake not your realtor.
If you decide to FSBO, have you considered carrying costs? Say your taxes, insurance, and mortgage are $3000 a month. What if you have to carry the home for a year before it sells? That's $36,000 out of pocket that you will not get back because the majority of that is interest on your loan.
I'd put your commission back up to 6% and offer a bonus.
OP, before you make any other urgent decisions, just be absolutely sure of your reasoning for all of it. This is going to cost a lot and before you are willing to take that financial hit, make sure your are really unhappy about your location and it's not just the shock of moving out of state. Maybe some time will help? You said your income is half........ for a nursing job? That doesn't sound right. Mass to SC probably has different wages but also different cost of living. I'm wondering if you're using your job situation as an excuse? I know moving away from home definitely requires some getting used to, I know cause I'm doing it now, moving from Louisiana to Arkansas.
Yes, 100x yes! Take deep breaths and wait a few months.
OTOH, I grew up where the OP is (apparently) from, and I've seen this dynamic before...people extremely anxious being away from the area of their upbringing.
We planned a relocation to South Carolina from MA for many years. Lots of research went into it. I did not like it when I arrived here , it is a very different place than MA and not at all like we had thought it would be , especially the community we are in. I came alone my husband stayed in MA so it was very difficult to get him to understand and he had his heart set on moving to warmer weather and what he thought would be a better life for us. He also felt that being at a distance my change of heart had more to do with being alone down here than truly not liking it. Anyway even when my children arrived it did not get better because this was not the right place for us. Against my better judgement we bought the house, he wanted it so badly I thought I was doing the right thing and that it would work out when he arrived. It took me all till the end of Aug to convince him that we don't belong here and it was a mistake. My children are extremely unhappy as well. My husband agreed but asked that we look into other places down South , again his heart was set on warmer weather. This was his dream. That is where Wilmington NC came in. I agreed to look and we did. It is very nice there and if we had gone there to begin with it might have worked out. I am terrified to make another made relocation choice and we have now agreed to go home where we have been happy and where we KNOW it will work. My husband has been at his same place of employment for over 20 years and I have been a RN for 16 years doing the same work for almost 10 of those years. We are not unstable unbalanced people. Just people who thought chasing a dream might work out and it did not for us.
in your opinion, why did 5 years of research yield such a poor result?
secondly, and as important tot he question of selling the house - if the home was on the market for 3-4 months when sales are highest, how long do you think it will be on the market now?
how is your home presented and priced compared to your competition? How many competing homes are for sale, and what's the absorption rate?
I dont think people are trying to mean, just trying to understand. You obviously did put a lot of research into the move, so its hard to understand how you could be so unhappy so quickly. Its like you really didnt give it a chance; how could you being there only a month? Your kids are unhappy? Dont you think they are taking your lead, since you are obviously so unhappy. Its just hard to understand what is so different from what you researched before the move.
I'm not sure they need to "read the realtor the riot act." In that price range, and in a smaller market like the OP is in, five weeks on the market with no contract isn't particularly alarming, especially with school starting back right as the house went on the market, which can affect things.
OP, you do need to meet with your realtor though and both of you agree to an aggressive marketing plan, if there's not one in place already.
Also, insist on this information weekly:
1. Feedback on all showings.
2. Which homes in your price range have sold this week? How did they compare to your home? Why did those homes sell and yours didn't?
3. What's your competition? How is it priced?
4. What is the average time on the market for homes in your price range?
5. If you don't have the comps (sold AND listed) for your house, get them - and have your realtor keep that information current - weekly.
Make SURE that your home is show-ready. Every showing is a prime opportunity. How many showings a week are you getting? What has been the feedback? Why do people decide not to buy your house?
How long was your house on the market before you bought it?
If you drop the price, have your agent contact every agent who has shown the house to see if their buyers may still be interested in it.
That would be my advice.
You could consider asking to be released from the listing contract but that's iffy - and not likely to sell your home any faster anyway. I wouldn't drastically lower price until I had done all of the above for several weeks.
Everything Kathryn said. Also, sometimes top producers don't make the best agents because they neglect their attention to the lower end home sales in favor of showing their high dollar homes. Low end homes are a realtor's bread and butter. A wise agent understands this, and keeps up with selling activity on ALL their homes. So definitely try to get information from your agent RE what efforts she has made on your behalf to sell your home. Make sure your home is spotlessly clean. That is super important. If I remember correctly, SC is not a particularly hot market, so it may sit for a while no matter what. Try to be patient. I don't recommend you lowering the price. Good luck!
Southern culture and northern culture are two different beasts. We have people from the east coast move to Oregon and move back because of culture shock. Unfortunately, internet research isn't going to give you an idea if that is going to happen to you or not.
I think the biggest problem you have is that you just bought the house. I personally think you need to rent it out until Mayish or so, then sell during the peak. It is really hard for an agent to convince people that there isn't something wrong with the house, or your neighbors with such a fast resale time. People will start to imagine all sorts of crazy scenarios like you have a crazy stalker neighbor or that the house has some major defect. I think getting over that psychology will be difficult.
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Drop the Realtor, drop the price drastically.
