Big house, small town. ...Sale problems (Louisville: neighborhood, buyers, luxury house)

[kalpi]

Having trouble finding buyers in my small town for a big lakefront luxury house. Local realtors are not of help because all they would do is list it in local MLS where no one has the resources to buy it. It's ideal as a retreat, rehab center or a weekend get away but am having trouble finding the right buyers. Appreciate any help in marketing. Please don't send realtor recommendations. Have tried that for the past EIGHT years, but no one wants to take up the challenge. Hometown realtors don't have the initiative to do creative marketing and out of towners don't want to put in the effort to drive here. PLease help. I am now retired and my house is too big for me. I specifically would like to market to people in the rehab business , small businessmen in nearby big towns and luxury Bed and Breakfast operators. TIA for all your input.

[gemstone1]

I feel your pain...I went thru that in 1980, trying to sell a unique but remote property in the Ozarks, I listed it in 6-8 major city newspapers across the country, hoping to spark some interest.... with zero results. In the end, a local realtor sold it for way less that I wanted, but he did sell it. You might try the Louisville/Nashville markets...plenty of disposable income in Nashville.

Regards
Gemstone1

[Oldhag1]

You are very unlikely to get what you think the value of your place should be. This is true any time you have a property that local people can not afford. No one should build a luxury home on cheap acreage unless they are planning on be there for decades - seriously. If you live there only a short time you are pretty much guaranteed to have to sell for under the cost. I could give you links to multiple properties in the state of a Kentucky that are selling for less than $200,000 that if located elsewhere would easily fetch well over a million.

I understand your frustration. This has been a discussion my husband and I have had many times in the last year. Right now we are building a house that I know would be difficult to sell without losing money if we don’t stay at least five years, but it is supposed to be our final home and we want the features we want.

[Mindy Davis]

I'm not sure if you are still looking for marketing advice, but one thing that might help is to know where the lake visitors are coming from, if possible. You might want to check with your town's Chamber of Commerce or Tourism departments (whichever ones your town has) to see if they collect insight on the visitors coming to the lake. If they are all coming from up north (let's say Ohio and Michigan for example), that would be a good area to target. Does your town have a welcome center (or is there something near a marina, etc.) where you can post photos of your house? Do you know any neighbors or people in your community? If your neighborhood has it, the NextDoor app is a great way to communicate with neighbors even if you don't know them. More word of mouth you can get out about your home, the better. Also, if you post photos of your home on Facebook, make them shareable/public so your friends and family can send to their contacts. Good luck!