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Old 11-03-2010, 01:54 PM
 
62 posts, read 152,021 times
Reputation: 20

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Any advice on how to get traffic to a house in a rural area?? My husband's job situation is shaky and we may be forced to downsize in the new year. We're trying to be proactive and see if we can get any nibbles on our house now, but are not having any luck. It's been on the market for 70 days now -- and we have only had 2 showings (both within the first week, and both relocating from NY and had properties they have to sell first).

This market is bad enough on its own, but trying to sell a house in a rural area makes it that much harder!

We have it listed on the MLS, have signs at the entrance to our private (gated) neighborhood, but there is minimal drive-by traffic. We have placed flyers in post offices, libraries and utilized word of mouth of friends, family, neighbors and colleagues. We are promoting it on CraigsList regularly, and it is featured on Lakehouse.com, in addition to all the realtor sites that pull from the MLS. I'm also using social media and promoting it via Facebook and Twitter. It's drawing a lot of "lookey-loos" but no inquiries.

Open houses in our area generally don't work, and are typically for the benefit of the realtors.

For reference, our house was built in 2002, has 4BR, 2.5 baths, an office, a bonus room, a heated basement, and is a lakefront property on 6 wooded acres of land in a private, gated community. It would be quite the find for the right buyer - but that's the problem... such a specialized house takes JUST the right buyer...

Any advice on promoting a home for sale, with acreage, in a rural area?
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Old 11-03-2010, 03:35 PM
 
Location: NW Montana
451 posts, read 994,381 times
Reputation: 385
Try putting up signs on the highway stating, "FREE BEER" with arrows pointing the way to your place.

Traffic problem you asked for will thus be created. Have an armed security person of mammoth proportions nearby to explain your zany sense of humor to the many arrivals.

Then tell 'em all the features of your place, the great price, etc. - If they make an offer, give 'em a free beer - what the heck!

Hope this helps. The next step is a bit more drastic and involves a naked woman...
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Old 11-03-2010, 04:32 PM
 
Location: Eastern Washington
17,117 posts, read 56,763,506 times
Reputation: 18389
Just off the top of my head - my reason for living in a rural area is to AVOID any kind of "gated community" with no doubt an HOA. I'd go so far as to say that most who live in the country by choice do so to be able to enjoy Libertarian freedom, which means that I am willing to put up with neighbors doing things I don't particularly approve of, so that I can also do what I want, grow a garden of whatever proportions, cut my grass when I feel like it, park MY cars (and tractor!) on MY property where-ever I damn well please...

So, yeah, you are pitching to a very limited audience - someone with the dosh to buy the place (you didn't talk price, but given the desrciption it's not going to be cheap) who wants to live well outside of town BUT wants a "gated community" type experience too.

If you were to reveal the state or region anyway where the house is located, that might be useful to the collective here in coming up with ideas.

I don't mean to be harsh, just stating the facts of your case as I see them. Good luck.

Final thought - IMHO a property with limited appeal or a very limited qualified buyer pool means your time on market will be long. You should be able to get a fair price when you finally find the right buyer, but it will take a while. That and you should cast a wide net, start by putting it in the Classified forum here, but you need regional or maybe even national exposure IMHO.
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Old 11-03-2010, 05:42 PM
 
Location: in a galaxy far far away
19,118 posts, read 16,503,660 times
Reputation: 33156
You could raffle it off. Others have done it. You have a set price for the number of tickets sold, make sure a part of the proceeds are donated to a charity. There are regulations that you must follow but it's been done a lot! It might be one solution to your dilemma in this market. Desperate times call for creative minds to pull out the stops. Good luck.
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Old 11-03-2010, 08:53 PM
 
62 posts, read 152,021 times
Reputation: 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by M3 Mitch View Post
Just off the top of my head - my reason for living in a rural area is to AVOID any kind of "gated community" with no doubt an HOA. I'd go so far as to say that most who live in the country by choice do so to be able to enjoy Libertarian freedom, which means that I am willing to put up with neighbors doing things I don't particularly approve of, so that I can also do what I want, grow a garden of whatever proportions, cut my grass when I feel like it, park MY cars (and tractor!) on MY property where-ever I damn well please...
Wow, your experience with HOA and gated community must be pretty bad! Let me clarify -- our community is "gated" simply because it is a lake-based community surrounded by woods. The idea is for safety reasons - meaning, non-homeowners can't come in and fish our lakes without being with a resident, and there is no hunting in the woods in our neighborhood. Without the gate, there is risk of non-residents getting hurt or causing destruction to the natural areas that are so endearing to our area. All you need is a remote to get through the gate, or a code, which we are at liberty to give out to folks we trust. It's not "that" kind of gated community.

I appreciate your candor. I'll try the classifieds section here, too. Any other ideas for promotion are welcome and desired.

Thanks everyone!
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Old 11-04-2010, 09:21 PM
 
Location: in the ground
375 posts, read 1,377,065 times
Reputation: 164
I've auctioned several of the family homes off during these sad economic times. We didn't get nearly as much as we would have going the regular sale route, but we did get them sold. The auction company posts all the photo ads and printed publications. They collect 10% from you as the seller and 10% from the buyer (premium).
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Old 11-04-2010, 10:00 PM
 
Location: Between Seattle and Portland
1,266 posts, read 3,214,150 times
Reputation: 1525
With your clarification about the gated aspect of your acreage, my suggestion would be to niche-market it as either a "gentleman's hobby farm" (established garden/animal areas would be a plus) or -- now bear with me here -- a sort of "survivalist/prepper compound" and/or "homestead retreat" for those with employment umbilical cords to the nearest big city but wanting a rural escape hatch in case the economy tanks or zombies start roaming the landscape. See what I mean in the latter instance by viewing the listings here:

SurvivalRealty.com

Another avenue to explore is a long-term lease-option to a well-vetted (background check, credit check, references, etc.) power couple without too many kids and animals to trash the place, with big non-refundable security and cleaning deposits. That way you could move on and still have a regular monthly income to pay your mortgage until their lease expires and the market is, hopefully, recovered enough for you to get the price you want.

Good luck, and I'd also be interested in knowing what region of the country you're in.
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Old 11-05-2010, 02:05 PM
 
Location: Eastern Washington
17,117 posts, read 56,763,506 times
Reputation: 18389
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShaySquared View Post
Wow, your experience with HOA and gated community must be pretty bad! Let me clarify -- our community is "gated" simply because it is a lake-based community surrounded by woods. The idea is for safety reasons - meaning, non-homeowners can't come in and fish our lakes without being with a resident, and there is no hunting in the woods in our neighborhood. Without the gate, there is risk of non-residents getting hurt or causing destruction to the natural areas that are so endearing to our area. All you need is a remote to get through the gate, or a code, which we are at liberty to give out to folks we trust. It's not "that" kind of gated community.

I appreciate your candor. I'll try the classifieds section here, too. Any other ideas for promotion are welcome and desired.

Thanks everyone!
Well, to me "gated community" calls up a completely different image, that of some sort of snobby high-buck enclave, typically infested by speed bumps on roads and people who can't mind their own business inside the gate.No, I have not had a bad experience with such an outfit, there are some things like Moose **** Pie that I don't have to actually try to know I wouldn't like. You should, IMHO, not call this place a "gated community", just say that there is a gate on the entry road. It's still a niche market and a small one though - not that many rich people want a country house, at least as a primary residence, and it would only be a really rich person who could call your place a "dacha".
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Old 11-05-2010, 03:01 PM
 
Location: Land of Free Johnson-Weld-2016
6,470 posts, read 16,329,097 times
Reputation: 6518
Quote:
Originally Posted by M3 Mitch View Post
Well, to me "gated community" calls up a completely different image, that of some sort of snobby high-buck enclave, typically infested by speed bumps on roads and people who can't mind their own business inside the gate.No, I have not had a bad experience with such an outfit, there are some things like Moose **** Pie that I don't have to actually try to know I wouldn't like. You should, IMHO, not call this place a "gated community", just say that there is a gate on the entry road. It's still a niche market and a small one though - not that many rich people want a country house, at least as a primary residence, and it would only be a really rich person who could call your place a "dacha".
I personally moved to a rural area for all the reasons you mentioned. So, that's two of us.

BTW, I think hunters actually provide a service by killing a few of the million and a half deer who would otherwise roam around eating all of the crops and native plants they could find. The people in that community must have a lovely lake, and some pretty barren gardens LOL.

Can you try removing the word "gated" from your ads and see if that makes a difference?
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Old 11-05-2010, 03:44 PM
 
Location: Eastern Washington
17,117 posts, read 56,763,506 times
Reputation: 18389
Not to beat a dead horse, but "property is on a gated private road" or "behind a gate" would make me think of what you actually have, OP, while "gated community" has a completely different meaning to me and apparently to most. I like "on a private road behind a gate". Other people hunting your land - that could be a thread in itself. At best a hunter does no harm, maybe offers you some game meat, then again you have "slob hunters" (who ironically usually come from the city) who shoot, field dress, and haul out your mule, (I think this has actually happened, not certain, but I think it's been documented somewhere) never realizing it's not a deer, drink and hunt while soused, sound shoot, etc. etc.The shotgunners are mostly all right in terms of behaving properly, riflemen are all over the place, some excellent, some just plain slobs.
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