Current Property Market.....need some advice!!!!help (Sarasota, Siesta Key: sale, real estate)

[siestachica]

Hi

We put our home on the market last Dec on Siesta Key, we put it on at $640 with the advice of our realtor, even though i said 599 but the oh listened to the advice, it's completely remodelled not just a lick of paint and has had approx $180k spent on it to make it our forever home, anyway its a 3 bed 2.5 plus den bath single storey close to siesta village and beach, it's over 2000sq ft, the drawbacks are there is no pool, or gge but the plot is oversized and more than enough room, not on water and is non deed restricted, some people would thnk these are drawbacks but i didn't mnd and i like my canopy road bo ho multi nation neighbourhood, it was one of the attractions for me.

we had an offer in the first 4 weeks at 590/k but they were using finance and the appraisal didn't stack up, unfortunately a lot of reo sold in the immedate area in the last 18 months

fast forward to to 2 weeks ago, we are now with a different agent but my husband has had a heart attack so he just wants to sell, the new agent listed at $550k, now we have a cash offer at $490k, we've countered but looks like it's going to end up at 515k, including the furniture, its fully furnished with tempur mattresses, huge imacs, smart tv's, you name it, it's there and it's all brandnew.

My husband feels he's being backed into a corner by the realtor, his realtor is telling him the market is quiet, buyers have disapperered, but then i read on here what the inventory levels are like at the moment in sarasota

Would appreciate the feedback on the current market place from the realtors on here tht i really respect with their inside knowledge, and people currently looking to buy and people who have recently sold, what sort of percentage drops are people taking, I generally thought it was 95% of listing price. I have also found out that our listing agent knows this buyer, is that a conflict of interest???????

I'm just concerned that with buying season around the corner, could we find a better buyer or is it as bad as our realtor is making out, or is he benefitting from the knowledge that my husband will sell for a loss because he doesn't want the stress and expense of an empty property anymore


thks everyone for all your help in advance

[blueherons]

I'm not a realtor, but if it doesn't feel right, follow your gut and back out.

[bbronston]

It would be inappropriate for any agent to comment on anything you are doing with your current agent. However, generally speaking, you and your husband are in command of your decisions, not your agent. If you know what the property appraised for, that would obviously be a good starting point for the conversation. Obviously, somebody thought it was worth $590K so you have to take that into consideration. It's all about a willing buyer, a willing seller, and each party's motivations.

Now, if you already have a signed deal, nothing else matters. If you are contemplating defaulting, I strongly suggest you consult an attorney first.

[beninfl]

If you sell for $590k the agent gets almost $18k in commissions. He's had you as a client since December 2012. So now if he sells it for ~$500k he still gets $15k commissions instead of losing 8 months of work when your contract expires.

Its $3k to him, but $100k to you PLUS all the furniture and items in it ($5k? $10k? $20k?). Consider the interests. Assuming a realtor for buyer and for seller for fee calculations.

And also consider that if its the only real action you've had on the house in 8 months, perhaps the realtor is doing you a solid. I'm not trying to instigate anything dubious by your realtor at all, lots are great lots suck. But the incentive for him to still market your house is low compared to the return he gets if he sells for full price. Just a food for thought.

Good luck with everything!

[gypsychic]

I'm not a realtor, but your house has been on the market a long time. You have said the appraisal did not "stack up" back then, does it now? If it were me, and I needed to sell sooner than later and had a solid CASH OFFER on the table, I personally would take it and run. The longer your house sits, the more it "loses value" in people's eyes. That offer sounds pretty good to me, considering you are not on the water, no pool, etc. People in that price range have more to choose from. Just my .02 cents.

Good luck to you!

[Obrero]

What the was appraised value from the first offer? Can you ask your agent to show you sold comps that support this selling point?

[Cardiff by the Sea]

This situation doesn't pass the smell test for me. Pressure from real estate agents is pretty close to the top of my list of pet peeves. I have had the good fortune to deal with agents who really had my best interest at heart and I have had the misfortune to deal with agents who lied to me and were just trying to get a quick easy sale. I like the suggestion from the person who said trust your gut.

Isn't August usually slow? I thought I read that in Sarasota there is a selling season of a couple of months before Thanksgiving and the big season is the winter Jan -April. It makes sense you are likely to have more buyers and more interest when the town is flooded with people.

Your husband wants to sell quickly but not at a fire sale price. Is it really that urgent to do this quickly? To me it sounds like you couldn't do any worse than this offer. Sort of reminds me of the low ballers on Craigslist. They throw out a very low price just to see if you will say yes.

I am so sorry to hear you have to sell your forever home that you put a lot into. Sorry to hear about your husbands health. Makes me sad for you. I hope things that a turn for the better.

[siestachica]

thks for all your comments, the oh thinks the market will turn if obama pulls f & f but i feel that with buying season around the corner with the new price of £550k, we've got every chance t get higher than 515 including all our furniture, tv, kitchen ware, bedding. we're starting over again then, and that won't come cheap.

[coastal chic]

I would just counter.....no one is going to make you a full priced offer, even in this market, in that price range. There's too much to choose from. $515k isn't horrible when you consider it's 93% of asking price (which is about average). I would just counter with no furniture. If they want the furniture, you can negotiate that separately which is the way it should be.

[loves2read]

and while this is harsh---
the improvements you made might be to your taste an improvement--but just because you spent that much money doing things to the house doesn't mean that other people will value them the same way...

when we were touring homes several years ago before buying one we are in now in TX we saw several homes that had been "remodeled"--some even with extensions to the house...
most of the time they were very specific to the owner/sellers' taste--and were turn offs...

not saying your house is that way...but putting 180K into a home doesn't automatically guarantee you raised the value that much...

did you get an actual appraisal by 3rd party appraiser when you had that first/higher contract offer? or was that just negotiated offer?

have you HAD a 3rd party appraisal -- not a RE agent's market assessment?

I don't know FL like I know Dallas but to me FL market has much more room for variety in types of comps chosen for a particular area especially if there is no HOA involved...
which means there could be lot of variety +/- about comps used for YOUR house...

good luck---especially with your husband's health...