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$81/moth electric bill IS insanely low for North Texas in August.
Houston and Dallas are similar in terms of climate and electricity costs. I lived in Dallas for 5 years - and its hotter - but its less humid. I have higher bills in Houston than I did in Dallas, and that is because of humidity. Dallas also has more mild spring/fall than Houston which makes for less AC use in the spring/fall.
At any rate my point stands - Is $81 low? Yes - but the payback on $100,000 difference is 38 years...Very few people will pay for that.
It may be low for August, but what about the rest of the year? I would think only a few months in the Summer will it make a difference.
I also dont know how much of a difference it will make with someone buying a $750,000 home. Those people arent exactly the kind of people who are going to be worried about their electric bill. Now if it was a $200,000 home, it might make a difference to someone.
$166 per square foot is what my neighbors tax value for just under 4500 sq ft. built same year. We just completed the upstairs and a back office 2016. So the house is priced in line with others. Not sure where $100,000 is coming from? My neighbor who just coughed up about $90K to have his floors jackhammered to repair plumbing, install piers, re-install flooring, re-paint and repaiir all exterior damage said he wished he had a pier and beam. Very few contractors will offer as it's quite complex and takes time (almost 8 months on this one) Anything foundation here in North Texas is not covered by insurance. Very very difficult, basically impossible to prove anything other than movement caused a pipe to leak in a slab per my State Farm agent.
Every feature has a benefit! Some people want benefits and are willing to pay for them. Back in the day most homes in the DFW area were Pier and Beam. They do sell for more here from what I have learned in market research.
Your input does tell me I do need to do a better job to convey ALL the uprgades this home is so much more than Custom Passive Design and Premium Foundation. It's also GREEN built and Sustainable....Miinimizing repair and maintenace costs. Plus all the reclaimed wood, Interior Air Quality, etc....
The house is set up to be OFF the GRID too. So your home is just like mine and has been customed designed to minimize energy usage, has dedicated mechanical rooms in controlled downstairs spaces, 2 x 6 walls with continuous vapor barrier, calculated load analysis with custom duct analysis, 17+ SEER Heat Pump, No duct work or HVAC related equipment in the attic, 4 zone programable thermostats, Architectual low E argon filled windows and doors, continuous 3 foot overhang soffits with airflow and continuous ridge, Large mature trees to reduce cooling loads, WOW! I'm sure there's a few more to add but I can't get over.......
You are conditioning (HEAT OR COOL) an un-insulated attic? Say What!!!!!!!
$166 per square foot is what my neighbors tax value for just under 4500 sq ft. built same year. We just completed the upstairs and a back office 2016. So the house is priced in line with others. Not sure where $100,000 is coming from?
Your input does tell me I do need to do a better job to convey ALL the uprgades this home is so much more than Custom Passive Design and Premium Foundation. It's also GREEN built and Sustainable....Miinimizing repair and maintenace costs. Plus all the reclaimed wood, Interior Air Quality, etc....
The house is set up to be OFF the GRID too. So your home is just like mine and has been customed designed to minimize energy usage, has dedicated mechanical rooms in controlled downstairs spaces, 2 x 6 walls with continuous vapor barrier, calculated load analysis with custom duct analysis, 17+ SEER Heat Pump, No duct work or HVAC related equipment in the attic, 4 zone programable thermostats, Architectual low E argon filled windows and doors, continuous 3 foot overhang soffits with airflow and continuous ridge, Large mature trees to reduce cooling loads, WOW! I'm sure there's a few more to add but I can't get over.......
You are conditioning (HEAT OR COOL) an un-insulated attic? Say What!!!!!!!
I think you misunderstood my comments - I am telling you to market it like it is a normal home - but also to highlight as a bonus feature the green features and superior construction. While everything you did is very good (I appreciate them) most people literally do not care that much. It is very difficult to get someone to pay extra for a better foundation, or reduced future maintenance costs. Today's buyers just want everything updated and functioning.
Your zillow listing is ALL over the place with its content. I'm guessing you are an engineer or some other technical professional that is interested in the things you put in your house. I can see you took pride in it...but you need to advertise to the masses, and use your upgrades as a bonus feature. It should not be the central selling point.
The $100,000 was my estimate of the cost to build the upgrades into your house versus using lower quality standard materials, and mechanicals. You will recoup some of that cost, but appraisers don't care. The house will have to be priced the same as other homes in your area or it wont sell because nobody will be able to get a loan to buy it.
Finally - my attic is fully insulated. The entire envelope of my home is Foam insulated. The foam is 6"deep on the bottom of the roof deck and in all walls. There are AC ducts in the attic as well. I do not have any outside air intrusion except for air that comes in through open doors, and that which is pulled in several times per day through the air exchanger, which is pre-cooled prior to being added back to the AC ducts. I can appreciate everything you did - I did it all too, even the pier/beam (though I have 266 bell bottom piers)...I just do not think most buyers will pay for it.
Bottom line - list it on the local MLS and build a folder of all your upgrades that you make available during visits, or on the docs page of the MLS. Highlight your upgrades, do not make them the central selling point of your home.
Your house is nearly 90 DOM, and from what I can find, the average right now in your area is 60. Im wondering if maybe you are emphasizing things that are important to you, rather than what is most important to the average person shopping for a home in that price range. Have you sold a house without a realtor before?
I'll summarize what other posters have already said, " too much icing on the cake" ; and the reality of the market is that 99.99999% are only interested in the cake and don't want to spend 1c extra for 'extra icing'.
The 'save $100 a month' on your electric bill is a TOUGH sell when they can buy the house next door for 500k and SAVE $900 a month on their MORTGAGE (-vs- this $749k home).... MOST people won't be able to get over this .....
The once realistic 'eco save energy' concerns climaxed in the mid-2000's with 'runaway energy prices' ; however NOW the reality IS that HORIZONTAL DRILLING (and yes fracking!) and continued discovery since of VAST UNTAPPED RESERVES right here in Texas (and other parts of USA) that are economically recoverable at prices a fraction of the 'runaway prices' means CHEAP energy for the LONG FORESEEABLE future, many decades at least; endless natural gas is nearly a 'waste product' ( = CHEAP/CLEAN elec. production) in the process of recovering our nations needed crude right below our own very feet rather than having to cow-tow to the Saudi's ..... NOT going away anytime soon ....
While your average person in DFW may not comprehend fully the above, they HAVE already made their decision (-ergo, take a look around - what are people DRIVING; no, not a 'Leaf' compact, rather the streets are crowded with every fullsize SUV imaginable, and they continue to fly off the carlots at record pace . . . )
Finally, and worst, is the unfortunate reality that the nature of the 0.000001% that would appreciate (and maybe willing to pay full price) for the 'extra icing' are they types that would only take pride in 'doing the icing themselves' 'their' way ....
soooo, in a nutshell, the 'best way' is going to be 'with unending patience' . . . given the circumstances.
(fyi, it took me about 10 months (WITH a realtor) to sell my Denton County 3500ft home w/2acres that featured MANY similar energy-saving upgrades, but at a much more palatable $450k starting price; I ultimately got $410k, so I KNOW exactly how the market here is gonna treat this .....) My buyers 'liked' the eco stuff, but they bought mainly for the acreage/treed lot, which 99.99999% of homes in metro DONT have.
Last edited by oldoak2000; 05-19-2017 at 09:23 AM..
Reason: sp
I love your property/landscaping. If I could afford it, I would buy it. One problem is that the Zillow listing shows the Zestimate is about $200K lower than asking. A minor point is a feeling of dissonance i had when looking at the actual house vs. design/decor choices. For me, a more modern decor would feel more natural in that building.
The very first thing you need to do with your Zillow listing is separate the description into paragraphs, people aren't reading through it. It also says Tennis Courts, Basketball Courts... is that on your property or in the community, it is vague.
For your photos you are focusing too much on your things and not the house. The kitchen photos are nice and bright, I would get rid of the wine bottles. Many of your photos are dark in some spots because of the natural light coming in, you really should have professional photos done that are adjusted correctly. While I don't care if a cat has lived in a house, some people do so I would delete that one, also if the room that the cat is in has a wet bar stage it that way, I thought it was a bathroom vanity in one photo. One of the rooms looks lavender, not sure if it's lighting or not, I also would get rid of the closeups of the light fixtures and your "HOME" cabinet. Having 3 months of utility bills is very useful.
As others have said you need to market to the masses even though you have a speciality home, someone needs to fall in love with the house not the green build of the house.
The 'save $100 a month' on your electric bill is a TOUGH sell when they can buy the house next door for 500k and SAVE $900 a month on their MORTGAGE (-vs- this $749k home).... MOST people won't be able to get over this .....
Yup. I have to agree. And in the $749k range ($3600 month mortgage) I'm not sure that will move the needle for people that can afford a house like that.
You are over 100 DOM. Are you getting traffic? Are you showing the home? Have you taken note of the feedback? I also noticed that the property taxes seem to be going up rather significantly every year. Is it possible the low electric bill is negated by the fact of the property taxes going up 10% each year?
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