Just put my home on the market. Buyers aren't liking all bedrooms upstairs. (Mansfield: selling a house, tax)

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by metrorider100

Got up this morning to check my Zillow owners report as usual. All comparable homes in my immediate area are under contract. My neighbor 5 doors down was one of them, he was on the market 3 days with multiple offers and accepted $6K over list price. Maybe if there is nothing else left on the market we will get more looks. (sounds bad)


Okay I have to be patient.......not easy right now. I will take a break from watching the number.

Did any of the "comp" homes have all bedrooms upstairs? If not, then they aren't really comps. Did you set your list price based on sales of up bedroom homes?

You'll find a buyer, but as you're learning, when you have a floorplan that deviates greatly from the neighborhood norm, it will take more time and/or a discount to sell the home. Good luck!

[hypocore]

I know several people who have bought houses recently and a few that have sold and every single house involved had a contract in less than 3 days. The market is very hot and competitive and has been over the last year. Offers are being made instantly, when they fall through a second offer was accepted almost instantly.

So, if your house is not selling then there is definitely a reason. Perhaps it really is the fact that all bedrooms are upstairs. If that is the only reason then yes you will just have to wait until someone else has the same preference that you did when you bought it, like many others have said.

I'd suggest getting someone to give you feedback on the rest of the house and see if there are other things that you are missing out on besides the bedroom situation. Also remember that your house is not limited to attracting those who are looking for a starter home. Plenty of people are looking to downsize, move closer to work or family or to just move to a better location than where they are now.

In addition to the open floor plan, what other selling points does the house have? What negatives?

Location - corner lot, cul de sac, close to shopping and grocery, etc
Traffic patterns - cut through street. heavy school traffic, next to busy street, speed bumps
Yard - big enough for a family, small enough for retired couple to maintain, shade trees
Garage situation - room to actually use it for cars, have to use as storage as there is no other option, front/side/back of house
Kitchen - large counter space, plenty of storage, pantry
Laundry - convenient upstairs, inconvenient downstairs

Any number of things could be adding to your house not selling. Good luck!

[loves2read]

And if you lived there for 11 yrs what have you done to upgrade?
It was builder-bought so did you upgrade from basic ingredients then?

Price will always trump any other negatives---but depends on the people looking as what they think is a fair trade off--
House on busy corner---might take more of a discount from one family with smaller children than another with much older ones...
House w/all beds up IMO is one of the Eastern designs than tract home builders use to add sq ft when lots are small...because the first floor can be smaller and leave larger lot...
MOST buyers do not want an all-beds-up home
The ones who might could be younger couple either just starting a family or with very young kids -- so they don't want to be separated on floors...

Good luck
Like you said now that your neighborhood is booked up maybe people will consider yours
If you are not even getting foot traffic then I think your price is too high or there are other issues -- like dated finishes and sad paint...
Maybe the outside isn't pulling them in or the MLS photos are off-putting
I see more listings with BAD photos taken by the RE agent w/o any skill that would never entice me into checking out a home...

[HeatherDFW]

I could have written this same post last month. I listed my home, and I watched as the smaller, one story homes got multiple offers within a day on the market. It took us 23 long days. Just be patient, the right family will come along and love that all the bedrooms are upstairs.

[asiatrails]

Patience. it's a hot market. Be happy for the local sales it's competition going away. If you are in a good school district the house will sell if its presentable.

Comments about things that cannot be changed are useless, look at what realtors are showing your home if they are inexperienced talk to your realtor, if your realtor is inexperienced you have an issue that needs to be addressed with the broker.

Remember, they work for you, as do the realtors showing your home unless they are acting as a buyers agent.

After 9-11 we sold our house in North Fort Worth for our full asking price, it took a while, with a good realtor and broker it happens even in a horrible market.

[metrorider100]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Did any of the "comp" homes have all bedrooms upstairs? If not, then they aren't really comps. Did you set your list price based on sales of up bedroom homes?

You'll find a buyer, but as you're learning, when you have a floorplan that deviates greatly from the neighborhood norm, it will take more time and/or a discount to sell the home. Good luck!

In our subdivision of 67 homes there appears to be only 4 homes with my exact floor plan. Not any of the 4 homes have been sold in the last 6 - 7 years, and most are original owners like us. No real comps for floor plans of this style.

[metrorider100]

Originally Posted by hypocore

I know several people who have bought houses recently and a few that have sold and every single house involved had a contract in less than 3 days. The market is very hot and competitive and has been over the last year. Offers are being made instantly, when they fall through a second offer was accepted almost instantly.

So, if your house is not selling then there is definitely a reason. Perhaps it really is the fact that all bedrooms are upstairs. If that is the only reason then yes you will just have to wait until someone else has the same preference that you did when you bought it, like many others have said.

I'd suggest getting someone to give you feedback on the rest of the house and see if there are other things that you are missing out on besides the bedroom situation. Also remember that your house is not limited to attracting those who are looking for a starter home. Plenty of people are looking to downsize, move closer to work or family or to just move to a better location than where they are now.

In addition to the open floor plan, what other selling points does the house have? What negatives?

Location - corner lot, cul de sac, close to shopping and grocery, etc
Traffic patterns - cut through street. heavy school traffic, next to busy street, speed bumps
Yard - big enough for a family, small enough for retired couple to maintain, shade trees
Garage situation - room to actually use it for cars, have to use as storage as there is no other option, front/side/back of house
Kitchen - large counter space, plenty of storage, pantry
Laundry - convenient upstairs, inconvenient downstairs

Any number of things could be adding to your house not selling. Good luck!

I definitely appreciate the suggestions. Our home has been well taken care of, and we have added trees & shrubbery, and stonework that looks great. We could definitely talk up the selling points, and maybe this will help overcome the glaring negative of all beds up. After all, we weren't all beds up people, but the other positives made that less of an issue.

[metrorider100]

Update: Great weekend that included 4 private showings requested on Saturday. Two of the 4 showings, provided good feedback. (They liked the area, and liked the floor plan) Hopefully after mulling things over someone will make an offer. We have had a total of 15 private shows. Many complements on openness, cleanliness, and like or dislike of floor plan.

[convextech]

Originally Posted by Angie682

My two story home has the master downstairs. I think many people prefer that layout now vs. all bedrooms upstairs.

I've never understood this, myself. I would much rather be on the same floor as, or above the kids, with them pounding around playing.

[loves2read]

Originally Posted by metrorider100

In our subdivision of 67 homes there appears to be only 4 homes with my exact floor plan. Not any of the 4 homes have been sold in the last 6 - 7 years, and most are original owners like us. No real comps for floor plans of this style.

Comps don't really rely on floor plans for their SQFT valuations--or pricing decisions---
Appraisers can't give bonus points for having a smart layout or take away points for having a bad, old-fashioned one....it is all based on specific formula...

Although I know why comparing sales of similar floor plans makes YOUR decision seem more accurate
The person who wil appraise for the mortgage goes by HVAC under roof--so some larger closets that might not have a vent can be excluded from the size of the home--
Even though I imagine you paid for those sq ft when you bought it from the builder...
Just like having an engineered, piered/beam foundation costs more to build and is supposedly more desireable in TX w/its clay and expansive soils....you only get credit for a foundation that is not "broken"...no matter if it is builder basic slab or more expensive engineered piered beam...
Upgraded appliances don't give you more benefit either--it is either dishwasher working or not working...
At least based on my experience with having an appraisal done for house we bought 10 yrs ago---
We didn't need mortgage--but wanted valuation for negotiation w/seller...

When we were looking for newer home 10 yrs ago--we liked a builder in Mansfield TX area and went to see some homes he had designed and built...although we were looking at lots in other area he was building in
One of the homes we saw we really liked had a very spacious downstairs--until we realized there was no master--no bedroom at all downstairs---
The family who built had younger kids and wanted separate planes of existence---
Common living on first floor and bedrooms/baths on second...

FOR US--a couple going into retirement--we knew that was not remotely practical---especially since some of our visitors were older than we were and stairs were not their friend...