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Old 04-05-2009, 03:29 PM
 
Location: Asheville, NC
12,626 posts, read 32,046,770 times
Reputation: 5420

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My house has been on the market for about 4 months in FL. I've had about 3 showings. Of all the 3 showings, everybody, including the buyer's realtor has said that the house is in perfect condition and spotless. I had an offer that we agreed upon. The buyers backed out b/c they said they wanted a lower monthly mortgage. There was nothing I could to do to change that. With all the comps in the area, I'm told that I'm priced right by realtors. They say, the right buyer just has to come along that wants you're house. I've talked about having an open house, but I've heard that those aren't usually helpful. There are about 4 other homes that are for sale in my neighborhood of about 300 homes. They haven't sold either. Some of them even lowered their price. The one house has an open house about once a month. Truthfully, my house is the highest price. Actually, it's only about $25K more that the others. The reason being is b/c it's bigger (400-600 more sq feet) than the others and has a bigger lot. It is only 5 years old, opposed to the others being 30 years old. My house needs nothing. It's just frustrating! I guess it's just the market. I heard by lowering it, $10-$15K won't really make a difference. Any other advice would be nice. Here's a picture of my house:
Attached Thumbnails
Having difficulty with getting buyers to view my home-new-house-pics-003.jpg  
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Old 04-05-2009, 04:21 PM
 
Location: Outside Portsmouth, NH
128 posts, read 467,873 times
Reputation: 59
Do you also have pictures of the inside on the MLS? The outside looks fine to me!
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Old 04-05-2009, 04:41 PM
 
Location: Beautiful Rhode Island
9,285 posts, read 14,890,077 times
Reputation: 10343
No offense, but your house lacks curb appeal. You need some flowers, some landscaping. The rocks are low maintenance but overall pretty dull. Can you think of something to welcome a buyer and draw them in- huge flower pots on either side of the front door maybe? The taupe color is fine but without bushes, it looks very faceless and bland. The house has little ornament- some shutters on the lower window maybe? Replace that porch swing with some white rockers?

Please take this in the spirit it was meant- as constructive criticism.
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Old 04-05-2009, 05:00 PM
 
Location: Marion, IN
8,189 posts, read 31,226,172 times
Reputation: 7344
I have several friends who have been trying to sell in FL since late 2005. 4 months is not very long in most FL markets these days. A few have been foreclosed on since they could not afford to sell at what buyers can get financed for.

Not sure where in FL you are, but with the jobs disappearing down there (and everywhere) the friends that I have that were looking to purchase have decided to wait for more stable times. I was looking down there, but decided to buy elsewhere.
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Old 04-05-2009, 05:04 PM
 
Location: Baltimore, MD
205 posts, read 824,217 times
Reputation: 170
Your house looks clean from the outside. As a buyer, the clean-slate look appeals to me because it'd be easy to personalize it. I'm mainly looking at price and condition. In my target neighborhood there were 6 townhouses all priced at $275. All of them were similar except some had an extra bathroom and some were better kept than others. One popped on the market for $220 and I was in it the very next day writing an offer. If you want to stand out from the crowd, price is the most appealing thing to many buyers out there. If you stay in the crowd, I'm just going to wait until you all start dropping. One will capitulate and set the new price ceiling.

I don't think it would be a good idea to make any major changes unless the interior condition of the house is poor. Save your cash and alter the listing price. Even if you're bigger than the others in the neighborhood, you have to undercut them to get the sale. If you don't have to move, then you can just sit tight unless you want out of the house.
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Old 04-05-2009, 05:16 PM
 
Location: Barrington
63,919 posts, read 46,707,495 times
Reputation: 20674
I was watching an episode of HGTV, last week where the owners wanted to sell but were not getting any showings. They did not know why. <sigh>

HGTV looked at nicer homes, in the area, that were asking 20-25% less.

The owner's listing agent looked at the comps and determined they were asking 20-25% more than nicer homes, in the area. ( I wish HGTV would have asked the listing agent why she took a listing of an unsalable home .......now that would make a great story)

Owners were unwilling to reduce their price because their price is what they paid for the place and they did not want to go into their savings.

So all agreed that maybe HGTV could work some $1250 magic and get the house sold. The place looked better afterwards but the difference did not materialize into showings because ta-da, they were asking more than anyone was willing to pay, in the current market.

And so the house sits. At some future point, the owner's will tire and either dig into their savings to get sold or they will stay put.
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Old 04-05-2009, 05:36 PM
 
Location: DFW
40,952 posts, read 49,155,879 times
Reputation: 55000
Are you in an area where builders are still trying to sell new homes ? If so it is real hard to compete with new construction. Not much you can do if this is the case.

Last edited by Rakin; 04-05-2009 at 06:43 PM..
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Old 04-05-2009, 06:10 PM
 
Location: A Yankee in northeast TN
16,066 posts, read 21,123,322 times
Reputation: 43615
I agree it needs more curb appeal. Not that it would make or break a sale, I just think it would make it catch a potential buyers eye more easily. I've always read that the hardest trick to selling a house was to get people into the house. When you are out driving around don't you notice well kept, attractive yard? IMO a pretty yard does seem more inviting.
Maybe move the swing into the yard to open up the porch area a bit? I think a little bit of greenery and some flowers would make your pictures show better, and generate more interest. The flower pot idea is good, or maybe a topiary, maybe throw a few annuals in the flower bed or a bouganvilla to wrap around the porch post. Nothing expensive, just something to attract the eye to your house.
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Old 04-05-2009, 07:10 PM
 
Location: Asheville, NC
12,626 posts, read 32,046,770 times
Reputation: 5420
Quote:
Originally Posted by buyerbuyerpantsonfire View Post
Do you also have pictures of the inside on the MLS? The outside looks fine to me!
I do have inside pics. Everything is neutral. I will try to add some curb appeal. Thanks for the ideas. Any other suggestions would be great!
Attached Thumbnails
Having difficulty with getting buyers to view my home-interior-house-pics-001.jpg   Having difficulty with getting buyers to view my home-interior-house-pics-024.jpg   Having difficulty with getting buyers to view my home-interior-house-pics-002.jpg   Having difficulty with getting buyers to view my home-interior-house-pics-019.jpg  
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Old 04-05-2009, 07:23 PM
 
Location: Salem, OR
15,572 posts, read 40,409,288 times
Reputation: 17473
Call in a home stager. Your interior photos are average and I don't think particularly appealing. I also agree that your home lacks curb appeal.

I would also suggesting take an exterior photo at more of an angle because the portion of the garage dominates the home and needs to be minimized. My first thought was planter boxes under those second story windows to break up that huge space, but a stager can help you with that.

Stager...that's my recommdation. Then better photographer.
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