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There's really no excuse for the poor spelling and the crooked picture of the exterior of the home. There are probably more flattering angles for some of the interior shots too.
I would also add to the feedback that if you have plenty of showings (presumably from the listing, despite the flaws) and no offers, then there might be something else at play other than the price.
That is, is there anything else you can do to improve how it shows? Did your Realtor get any showing feedback? Can your Realtor explain why other houses have sold while yours has remained on the market? Does your Realtor have other suggestions on how to best market your home for the desired outcomes?
Any Realtor who would price a home at $200,000 instead of $199,900, for example, obviously hasn't yet learned that some buyers will automatically be turned off seeing that "2" as the first digit vs. the "1", even if it is only a $100 difference in price in the grand scheme of things.
Or they understand that a house priced at $200,000 will show up in searches from $175-200 and $200-225, or however the web sites break down the ranges. Pricing at $199,999 will never show up for buyers shopping the $200-225 range. It all depends on how the commonly used web sites in your location are set up, but if possible the consensus seems to be to use a price which lands right on the boundary between two price ranges to get more people to see the listing.
I might actually consider a final price reduction to $109,900. Real estate pricing is just like retail pricing. If a retailer wants to charge $40 for a sweater, then they'll price it at $39.99. That $0.01 may seem worthless in the grand scheme of things, but in the subconscious mind of a buyer seeing the first digit as a "3" instead of a "4" instantly makes them think they're spending less money than just $0.01 less. How often do you overhear someone when they are shopping looking at an item that is priced at $19.99 and say "Oh wow! It's only $19!?" No. It's $20. Our minds only focus on the whole dollar portion of the pricing, though.
Any Realtor who would price a home at $200,000 instead of $199,900, for example, obviously hasn't yet learned that some buyers will automatically be turned off seeing that "2" as the first digit vs. the "1", even if it is only a $100 difference in price in the grand scheme of things.
If you still aren't netting a sale drop it to $109,900. At that point you should at least start to see offers, even if they are lower than your asking price. You can still always "counter" those offers with a counter-offer, and then the buyer can accept that or try once again with a counter to your counter-offer. It's just like haggling at a garage sale, basically. You see something you like priced at $20. You only wanted to spend no more than $15 on it, so you offer the seller $10, hoping to get lucky. They may decline and shoot back "How 'bout $15?" You say "sold."
Oh boy.
KCfromNC explained it nicely and correctly why some agents (like me) price their listings at round numbers. Rep point coming right up.
You keep saying that you "have to" get out of that school district and into the "right" one. What's wrong with the schools where you are now?
Could that be a factor in why you are getting no offers? A three bedroom house is something families with children would be looking at. Perhaps they are passing in part because the school system is much less desirable?
Is the price of your house within the range of homes that have sold around you? In my experience, price is usually the problem no matter how right you do everything else.
Are the two websites you mentioned the only internet exposure your house is getting? Is your agent holding open houses? Have you told her you're not happy with the marketing materials and you want them changed? I'd nix the agent bonus and add it to the credit you're giving the buyer. I like "the personal touch" so when I market my properties, I ask neighbors to help me out by sharing info about my listing with people they may know who want to live in the area.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ready2mov
These are the facts...1958 Brick Ranch 3 bedrooms 1 Full Bath and 2 half baths..that has been updated throughout including updated kitchen and baths. Listed with Real Estate Agent September 2009 have been listed with same agent and broker since then. Initial Listing Price $143,500...Now Listed $125,000 (she never once initiated a price change..always my idea). We are offering a $1000 agent bonus and are advertising $2000 toward buyers closing cost. Have had numerous showings at all the different prices...probably a total of 8 after the last reduction to $125,000 which was about a 1 1/2 months ago. We have asked her to put motivated seller...make an offer...reduced...etc...never to see any of these on her marketing material. I am happy however, with how well our home has been advertised (realtor.com..great broker site..and in the paper very often). We need to sell super quick now..baby due in June...5 year old starting Kindergarten in Fall....want to move to a different school district but can't until house is sold. Questions are: Why is my house not selling and it seems like absolutely everything else around us is???? Do I need to change my agent/broker???? What do I need to do to get my house sold???? My patience in wearing thin....
Questions are: Why is my house not selling and it seems like absolutely everything else around us is????
I was looking at the house, and thinking wow this is a good buy. Then I saw Master bedroom is 10.6 X 12 and was no longer "interested" in the house. Not anything you can change, but maybe it's the size of some of the rooms?
Something that almost turned me off on the house we ended up buying was it has a tiny bathroom - your knees are nearly at the cabinet if you have long legs, when sitting on the toilet (And likely not up to code...) and the saving grace was that there's a small bedroom right next to it that my fiancee and I decided we'd simply knock the wall out, put a Jacuzzi in the corner, and make it awesome.
...
(Then we cut a hole in the wall after checking to make sure it isn't a load-bearing wall, intent on starting to tear it down as the last thing we do before heading back to our apartment the other night, and a large pipe runs diagonally through it... argh!)
The rasberry curtains are pretty (I love that color) but they are dark - consider changing them to white. The other family room picture looks odd. It's very clean, etc. But the furniture arrangement is odd - the side table simply floating on the wall ?? The photos are not bad but I'd like to see the fireplace lit - a nice fire would be pretty in the photograph. Maybe try a different angle on the exterior front - basic edditing would help.
Sorry I can't rep you again MMichelle. Absolutely agree with more emphasis on staging efforts. Remove the tv, insert a lovely plant (why is the tv on?). One of the kitchen photos: one of the lights is not on (broken?), remove the kitchen towel on the stove. Remove the coffee maker and replace w/a vase of fresh flowers or bowl of colorful fruit. Window treatment: move it up to let in more light. One of the other kitchen photos has the door open to a view of the next house, yuck. The kitchen photo to the door with the matching window treatment is fine. More plants, flowers (i.e. Life!). There was another post about using a wide angle digital camera, good idea. A professional or semi-professional photographer would be a good investment on the agent's part.
Backyard w/the deck is fantastic but the swing set shot doesn't do anything for me as it isn't very high-end. Maybe rent or borrow a wonderful dining set for the deck in front of the grill to show how great the area is (again, more plants).
Also, consider staying put until you're better equipped to deal with this whole thing.
If the agent can afford a virtual tour, visitors could really get a great feel for the backyard and what it can be since it appears large.
The basement appears finished but hasn't been staged at all, or at least the one photo doesn't show it's best attributes.
Above all, try to eliminate stress as much as possible. Easier said than done. If school starts in August and you end up switching schools later in the year... don't worry about it. Kids are pretty adaptable and resilient.
I wish you well with whatever happens. Just know that it will all work out, maybe just not in your time frame. By the way, the home is really adorable.
Pictures look very nice. A few more would be helpful.
"assetts" is spelled wrong.
No kidding LOTS of words were spelled wrong. I'd at least ask the agent to have her broker proof read (who can hopefully spell and has decent grammar).
Pictures of the bathrooms I'd say are imperative.
The backyard and view from the deck is gorgeous!
I'd also want to see what other listings in the same price range are showing in their listings and do at least what they are doing The more pictures the better.
Play up the pretty lot and nice yard in the description.
Make sure you read the descriptions of your competitiors listings. Your's needs to look and sound MORE enticing and appealing than theirs does. A misspelled poorly written description won't sell your house.
Scour the real estate listings in your area..including those with homes three or four times the price. Notice how THOSE homes are described. Then write a description using those as a guideline for your house. If it is better than what your agent or her broker can come up with, INSIST they use YOUR description. You know how it goes. If you want a job done right, sometimes you have to do it yourself.
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