Any advice/secrets to selling a house here right now

[sheldonteam]

Every listing on the Hampton roads mls has virtual map, you can zoom in the property and see cars in the driveway, this will give you some ideas of the property location. Almost every cities web site has mapping so you can see the property lines, your REaltor should be able to do this for you. My theory on the blurry pictures is that the agent doesn"t know now to edit the picture to make it show better. If they were trying to hide something they probably wouldn"t even have a picture.

[jojo61397]

I'll show you...

Single Family Home - 21 WHETSTONE DRIVE, Hampton, VA, 23666 - Realtor.com

This blurring is what I'm talking about... I would like to see the entire yard and house. This just makes me think that they took this fancy picture to blur out something they didn't want you to see.

[stltova]

When i see this, I think the agent is trying to get fancy, do something different, and have the property stand out among the others. (the agent) Hiding something does not come to my mind when I see a photo like this!!! I do agree that many inside photos are dark, poorly taken, or people have dish towels hanging out on the counter or clutter everywhere!!!! JMO though!!!!
We are in the market to buy too, and it's incredible that people think you can leave your house dirty for a showing and expect to sell it!!!!!

[pbmulligan]

I wouldn't say the market is dead right now- just the contrary. Part of your problem is the time of year you listed. All the above postings have given great information from the buyers' POV. Take a few of their suggestions. What sells the homes quickly in this market are proper pricing and condition (including staging).

I don't have my sellers advertise Closing Cost assistance, because I figure (and advise my buyers) that in this market, it is just understood. It also gives a little more flexibility in negotiations (some buyers need it, others rather have the price break). I will definietly rethink it, though. Thanks all for the comments, Buyers!

[VirginiaMommy]

You all are awesome. Soon after I posted here, we got a contract on our house...YAY! Obviously, it is not all final yet...but I hope that everything will go through.

You all are right about the pictures. We had a great realtor who did a virtual tour as well as pictures....and I noticed that a lot of people didn't have that. We did put our house on the market at a horrible time...but what is so odd is that more people were looking at it then...I guess because we had just put it on the market? Then, it got dead again through the whole month of Feb..maybe because of the winter?

Anyway....I agree about the closing cost assistance thing. We had it advertised heavily at first....but then took it off everything accept the sign in our yard...and lowered our price to what the comps were selling for now. When we first put it on the market, they were selling a little higher...but then it changed soon after.

I will give you an update if it goes through!
Thanks again!

[VirginiaMommy]

Oh...and I didn't say - we don't have a four bedroom in Thalia...Sorry, but good luck!

[stltova]

Congratulations!!

[VirginiaMommy]

Thanks! This is a huge relief...since we had to relocate for my husband's job. I would never sell in this market otherwise...

[Shellybean]

My husband and I sold our house at the end of July/beginning of August. Our realtor teased us with, "whatever weird things you're doing, they work!" because within three weeks, we had two contracts. The market was already dead at that point (though probably not as ugly as it is now), but we sold ours fast. Here is my advice.

First, pictures ARE very important. Make sure you have lots of them, all well-lit. One of the major jobs you are going to have to do is de-clutter. Put away everything you don't immediately need. I mean EVERYTHING. Pictures, knick-knacks, excess lawn furniture, decorative pillows, oversized furniture-get rid of it all. I don't mean throw it out, just stow it out of sight. My husband, daughter, and I packed away 70% of our home, and we hated it. However, it certainly helped. The poster who mentioned odors was correct. We Febrezed our house every day from top to bottom. We stopped smoking inside and made sure our dog was bathed. Set the kitchen table up to look pretty and keep everything spotless. Again, it's a pain in the butt but it will pay off. If your yard is a disaster, roll up your sleeves and make it pretty. We tore down two dilapidated sheds (they were there when we moved in) and resodded half the yard. If you can afford it, update! Old or faded wallpaper, cracked sinks, busted tiles, yellowed paint, etc....those will all turn off prospective buyers. We couldn't afford to do much, but we redid our half-bath with a new sink and vanity, fresh paint, and new light fixtures. What we didn't replace we scrubbed down. Finally, don't be closed-off to contracts with "extras". Our final buyer needed a large closing-cost assistance. We weren't expecting this, but we agreed. Be willing to do that little extra, or even offer it up front. Be flexible and good luck!