Sullivan's Island home for sale! (Charleston: rentals, hotels, new house)

[JAM712]

Thank you, LocalHero.

[Browsing Duo]

A property is worth what a buyer will pay, not what you paid or need. That said, it would be best to take it off the market for now, get a stager to come in an gussy it up, take new photos, and relist it at a new lower price in early spring. Even if it's a teardown, it's worth making it as appealing as possible. As others said, it looks very unloveable, especially at the price.

[JAM712]

Thank you, Browsing Duo. Unloveable...love it!

[Rocky21]

Did your financial situation take a drastic downturn? You were planning a $2 million+ project and now you're nervous about taking a $80k loss?

It sounds like you know what the issue is. You overpaid for the property and outbid a local builder (who is probably an expert at local land values). Now you think the property is worth what you paid (plus all your costs). You need to either wait longer for it to appreciate in value or take a loss.

Did construction financing fall through? I'm curious how this happened.

[LocalHero]

It's a tough property to value with no equivalent comps. It could be that taking it off the market for now (yes, it is traditionally the worst time of year to sell) and re-listing it in the spring would work out. Of course that means you'll have your carrying costs from now to when you re-list added to your expenses.

If you are getting a lot of interest but no offers close to ask, then it's probably overpriced for now. If no one's even looking, then it might need heavier marketing.

[m1a1mg]

Just curious, but if it's a tear down, why not do so and make it ready for whomever comes in.

[lizardspock]

I'd say get a new realtor before you do any of the things above. It could be perfectly priced but you don't have the right person on the job.

[johngolf]

I looked at the listing. While some say it is a tear down, it is quite livable. One might well want to live there while contemplating what to do in the future and/or saving for their dream house to be built on the site.

I say clean the place up some (especially the landscaping, fence, etc.) and relist it with better photos (the present ones are crap) and see what happens.

[macalan]

It's actually not a bad little house, and as someone mentioned, there might be someone who wants to live in it. Keeping it and fixing it up a bit (rather than thinking of it as a tear-down or actually tearing it down) certainly broadens your buyer base. But you need to get all the stuff that's in it (looks like misc. mis-matched old-style furniture, and what is that big pink thing?) out, spend a little money on a thorough cleaning, and some basic cosmetics - paint, possibly redo floors, etc., and hire a good stager.

If you don't want to spring for a stager since they can be expensive, and you don't how long it will take to sell, I don't know if they offer it here, but we did a one hour consult with one at home, and it was invaluable. He provided great suggestions, and we shopped Wayfair, Home Goods and Overstock, and used some of our own things. Less is more. You don't need much, since this is a small house.

As a woman, just a suggestion. Consider replacing the appliances to matching SS. Can't tell what the stove/oven is, but doesn't seem to match the refrigerator, and the microwave looks black. Can't tell what the counters are. For less than 5K, we replaced all our appliances to SS, and changed out the countertop in the kitchen to granite. It made a huge difference in the look and feel.

I don't see any bathroom pics, but we also replaced old, outdated vanities with Home Depot ones (really inexpensive), and had the granite people put Carrara marble on the tops of the vanities. Such a small thing (and inexpensive) but looked really nice. If the tubs are old pink or blue or otherwise horrible, have Bathfitter put a covering over them.

Then clean up the yard as someone mentioned, maybe hire a landscaper to plant some flowers (something else we did for $300 that made a huge difference), put some nice pots by the front door with flowers, get a nice mailbox, and either fix and paint the fence or replace it. If there's not a walkway, put in simple flagstone pieces, or if there is one in disrepair, fix it.

All in, I bet you could get this looking really nice for quite a bit under 10K, and you might even get some offers at your price once it looks more inviting. There's nothing that's more of a turn-off than an old neglected house.

It really just needs some cleaning up and some curb appeal (and way better photos, and a new realtor). But it could be cute.

[FiveLoaves]

Would this parcel have any kind of a Water View ?? Even from a new raised ranch on pilings ?? The Location is what you're selling here, some drone shots would be appealing, most of the better RE Photographers have access to drones.
Do you have a recent Survey ?? What is that small street behind you ??

If this has been exposed to the Market for 5 months (all last summer? ).....your Buyer is probably not going to come from this area. Your new Realtor should have connections in the wider surrounding areas.