Well, here goes. The start to our trek North to Maine, our new home-state. (Hartford: lenders, elementary schools)

[sierranevada1]

Are buyers still looking at what realtors try to pick for them? I mean in the internet age...
There's Zillow, redfin and also Realtor dot com for most up-to-date listings, one can do searches for whatever one wants, pick some and then have agent show them, if working with agent. It's really funny if buyer's agent even tries to mention some listings, like being back into 20th century, and they never can be anywhere close to the desired criteria anyway... all the stuff is on zillow with most of the same details that are on MLS. I thought seller's agent was there just to oversee the paperwork, place for sale sign (and look after vacant property) and everything else is done by computer now, one just has to make nice pictures and smart description for the MLS (something I wouldn't let a realtor do for me).

How can a listing agent "sell" a house? If a house isn't priced to market it won't be looked at or sold. Nice pictures, nice description on MLS and market price. Not sure what a listing agent can do to force sale. If they're using their local connections to push the listing on buyers via buyer's agents....normal buyer runs like hell from this, this smells of crookery.

[slyfox2]

Yes... Your house also has to have everything thAT ALL THE OTHERS HAVE. This means if everyone else your price range has central you need to have central air, or take 25K off the price, even though it make only cost 10K to put in central air. If everyone has an asphalt driveway, you have to too.

And then you either need something that nobody else has, or you have to lower the price below everyone else.

Don’t expect the listing agent to help you. All they do is post a sign and take the 6% they didn’t earn.

But everyone wants your price to be lower than everyone else, and be turnkey with ll the updates. Pay the $2000 for a home warranty. We did so we could compete with the new houses. And in our case, everything in the house was updated, from the roof, to the well pump. New carpets, new rooms new toilet new shower---literally everything.

Consider paying for a house checker to go over your house, but don’t tell the realtor or they will have to disclose it. And then do everything the house checker says is wrong with the house. After all, they will have their own house checker. If you have septic, then get it checked ahead of time, so you have no surprises when their septic checker comes, and so you have ammunition if their guy says there is something wrong with it.

But the bottom line: PRICE PRICE PRICE.

[sierranevada1]

Originally Posted by slyfox2

Consider paying for a house checker to go over your house, but don’t tell the realtor or they will have to disclose it. And then do everything the house checker says is wrong with the house. After all, they will have their own house checker. If you have septic, then get it checked ahead of time, so you have no surprises when their septic checker comes, and so you have ammunition if their guy says there is something wrong with it.

Wow, I guess market is still quite slow in some Eastern states....in the West, complete crapshacks go fast like hot pancakes, sold as is. Septic has to be brought to standard, though, as in some places sale can't even be recorded without septic passing the test. Not sure why do the septic test twice? Seller can just pay for septic inspection once there's an offer and bring it to compliance before closing if there's an issue.
I haven't heard of 2 septic tests/done by both parties before. Is it customary in the Northeast?

[slyfox2]

Originally Posted by sierranevada1

Wow, I guess market is still quite slow in some Eastern states....in the West, complete crapshacks go fast like hot pancakes, sold as is. Septic has to be brought to standard, though, as in some places sale can't even be recorded without septic passing the test. Not sure why do the septic test twice? Seller can just pay for septic inspection once there's an offer and bring it to compliance before closing if there's an issue.
I haven't heard of 2 septic tests/done by both parties before. Is it customary in the Northeast?

You seem to thing that bringing a septic system into compliance is a one day job. Usually it means bringing in a back hoe and digging a whole new field---provided there is even a place to do that. Bringing an out of compliance septic system into compliance is a two week $10,000 event. So way better to know what that is going to be in an older house than to wait for the guy from the buyer(who is looking for problems to find so that s/he can lower the price anyhow). Our buyer’s home inspector was paid to find things wrong with our house. But since we’d completely renovated it, he couldn’t find anything, and so the stuff he “found” was either just plain wrong, or stupid.

[JimG2]

Except for some NYC suburbs and some tony towns near Hartford, CT real estate is dead. The OP's problem. He's in a middle middle class town. Used to be an ideal town to work in Hartford or Springfield MA. That buyer is like the OP....looking to get out of CT.

[sierranevada1]

Originally Posted by slyfox2

You seem to thing that bringing a septic system into compliance is a one day job
Usually it means bringing in a back hoe and digging a whole new field---provided there is even a place to do that. Bringing an out of compliance septic system into compliance is a two week $10,000 event. So way better to know what that is going to be in an older house than to wait for the guy from the buyer(who is looking for problems to find so that s/he can lower the price anyhow). Our buyer’s home inspector was paid to find things wrong with our house. But since we’d completely renovated it, he couldn’t find anything, and so the stuff he “found” was either just plain wrong, or stupid.

If I were you I wouldn't make assumptions about me. I think it's you who doesn't know about bringing septic systems to compliance. I'm very familiar with the process and been through it. And you must be thinking that closing is a one day affair?
No, it's not a big deal to bring septic to compliance during closing (unless the lot is so small that setbacks can't be met for new drain field, one should avoid these properties anyway unless they're on public sewer). Closing is conditioned on bringing septic to compliance, and with current closing times septic is usually fixed about right in time. It's a very common situation.

Things must be really bad in the Northeast if a septic inspector can be "paid" to give fake reports on public health issues such as septic; in other places this means losing a license as minimum (and getting sued big time plus very likely criminal charges) as septic report is a public record filed with the county and is of serious consequences. Also, what I posted was seller pays for septic test, which means seller brings their inspector to test the septic after the offer is made, report that can be later reused. I can't really imagine buying in the US where you can not even trust seller's septic inspector and have to hire 2 of them, this is either plain paranoid or some kind of 3rd world state of affairs, where the county/state requires septics but can't enforce own rules, Detroit is something that comes to mind.

[maineguy8888]

Originally Posted by JimG2

Except for some NYC suburbs and some tony towns near Hartford, CT real estate is dead. The OP's problem. He's in a middle middle class town. Used to be an ideal town to work in Hartford or Springfield MA. That buyer is like the OP....looking to get out of CT.

And I'm afraid that his town might be too close to Springfield, MA.....not a very nice place. (Hartford isn't much better).

[sierranevada1]

Originally Posted by JimG2

Except for some NYC suburbs and some tony towns near Hartford, CT real estate is dead. The OP's problem. He's in a middle middle class town. Used to be an ideal town to work in Hartford or Springfield MA. That buyer is like the OP....looking to get out of CT.

Average time on the market is 90 days in Hartford....I wouldn't say the market "dead".
What is noticeable however that listing prices are way higher than Zillow value estimates....may be it's the problem, sellers asking for more money than the stuff is worth. I'd never agree to pay more than z-estimate unless it's some kind of non-standard property that they can't property appraise.

[carnivalday]

You put way more weight on a zestimate than you should. Until Zillow actually comes and looks at houses, Ill take their zestimate with a grain of salt.

[sierranevada1]

Zestimate isn't 100% accurate but it's pretty damn close most of the time. I consider zestimate to be even too high usually, rarely too low.
Anyway, when I mentioned Hartford zestimates: it was about average zestimate versus average listing price, so the individual house differences average out and the gap indicates homes are overpriced. Another thing is that zestimate itself has market impact, even if it's inaccurate, as many buyers and sellers look at it when setting prices.