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i first found this site to read and get some advice from others that are having the same trouble as me on selling our house. but after continuing to read everyones posts...you guys are getting off track and need to start in another page under a new topic. i feel for everyone's problems butting fighting back and forth about finances are not relative.
i currently live in south florida and hoping to sell my house and relocate to the charlotte nc area...i am personally excited at the lower cost of living and housing out there but i guess it matters where you come from.
and i too have had a terrible experiance in the home selling process which i was hoping to continue to read about and share my story.
we are all hoping to sell and move on...why not continue to discuss the topic at hand.
if anyone is interested you may reply...
my horror story starts like this...
we were talking about selling when the market was hot down here but wanted to do some improvements before listing, then the hurricane came and did alot of damage...ok... we fixed the repairs and finally listed in mid may with the hopes of selling in the summer so my kids can start the new school year in nc.
noticing that the market has slowed down, we new it was going to take some time but felt that we can still pull it off for the summer.
our prayers were answered after having hardly any showings during that time...wow had had an offer in 7 weeks and the buyers needed to move fast. perfect...the contract was made the first week of july and to close on the 31st. we were very excited...started to get everything organized etc etc.
had the appraisal, buyers loan finalized and on time, now the inspection...they all showed up but acted weird and started personally attacking us and being very rude and nasty but being first time home sellers thought this is what you go thru...come to find out just last week a neighborhood who also had there house on the market who was priced higher and for a longer period of time was frustrated that we had an offer and decided to lower there price to see if they can sell faster as well...guess what, we found out that the buyers agent told the clients of our neighbors house price decrease while under contract with us and showed them the house. they came to our inspection with a changed mind and thats why they acted the way they did and is now closing on my neighbors home on monday.
its a big legal mess right now and we are just hoping for some new buyers.
any advice or encouragement would be appreciated...thanks
Have you tried the Florida forum? Ask your question there. There are posts about people having trouble selling their homes but it is very long. Try a new post on there and see what happens. Best of luck to you.
Have you tried the Florida forum? Ask your question there. There are posts about people having trouble selling their homes but it is very long. Try a new post on there and see what happens. Best of luck to you.
That's a good point. My experience was in California and, as I mentioned before, I don't know anything about Florida law or Florida real estate. But if Florida has a small claims court, it probably is pretty cheap to file and might get you some relief.
Good luck in whatever you decided to do about a move. I know there are good schools (and bad ones) in all parts of the country. Wishing you the best in either place and please, please know that I would certainly have problems with some of the things you are speaking about....
Have you tried the Florida forum? Ask your question there. There are posts about people having trouble selling their homes but it is very long. Try a new post on there and see what happens. Best of luck to you.
thanks for the advice and tips everyone...i will check out the florida forum. but after dealing with the stress and disappointment followed with anger, sadness and now desperation. i think its best to cut my losses and move on. why do i need the constant reminder of what happened...i have to stop feeling angry and depressed about the whole situation and try to get this house sold. unfortunately we just had to reduce our price 15k hoping to draw more attention to us, but i don't know if that would work. ever since we put it back on the market, we have gotten very few showings. they always say that the most activity is usually within the first 4 to 8 weeks of the listing and because of what happened we are now considered stale.
i basically need a miracle now...thanks for letting me vent
i basically need a miracle now...thanks for letting me vent
good luck to all with similar problems!
No, you don't need a miracle.
You need price cut.
Price your house 20% below comps, and you will sell. When you look around Florida, what do you see? Lots of "For Sale" signs, right? How about condos? Lots of them, right? There's a glut of housing available nearly everywhere you look in Florida. That's what you have to compete against.
Then on top of that I think folks in Florida now have to contend with insurance increases. In some areas of Florida, insurance premium could triple according to http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060731/WEATHER01/607310336/1075 (broken link).
These are factors that work against you at the moment. You don't have a lot of tools to counter them. However, pricing is one.
Price your house 20% below comps, and you will sell. When you look around Florida, what do you see? Lots of "For Sale" signs, right? How about condos? Lots of them, right? There's a glut of housing available nearly everywhere you look in Florida. That's what you have to compete against.
You have a good point here. But be careful not to let your neighbors find out how much you sold for until you've moved. I'm sure they won't be thrilled that someone who sold 20% below comps has now brought their house value done. On the other hand, if someone needs to sell and has to price cut to do it, then so be it. The neighbors are not the ones that are going to pay the bills and I'm sure if they were in a similar situation, they may do the same. We sold below comps (only by a few thousand) but still it's below comps. But hey, we needed to sell and with this glut of homes on the market, there's not much room for leverage on the seller's part.
Price your house 20% below comps, and you will sell. When you look around Florida, what do you see? Lots of "For Sale" signs, right? How about condos? Lots of them, right? There's a glut of housing available nearly everywhere you look in Florida. That's what you have to compete against.
Then on top of that I think folks in Florida now have to contend with insurance increases. In some areas of Florida, insurance premium could triple according to http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060731/WEATHER01/607310336/1075 (broken link).
These are factors that work against you at the moment. You don't have a lot of tools to counter them. However, pricing is one.
20% price cut?. Anyone can give a house away if they are desperate, but a 20% cut is almost what most investors or flippers would offer, even in this market.
Here is what a 20% cut looks like.
Comps 20% cut New sell price
$500000 $100000 $400000
$400000 $80000 $320000
$300000 $60000 $240000
$200000 $40000 $160000
$100000 $20000 $80000
I would find out what the neighbors house sells for and maybe price yours accordingly.
I know Realtors aren't always favorites but they really can help over a FSBO. If you list with a reputable company, Coldwell Banker, Prudential, Remax etc., then everything should be on the up and up. Some of the 'discount brokers' do have hidden fees and little surprises. You need to get your house into the MLS, online house hunting is HUGE. If it's not in your local MLS then you are missing out on a large percentage of buyers. A realtor can also help you to price your home properly. If your home is in good shape, priced according to market value and is advertised, there is no reason it shouldn't sell in a decent amount of time. Good Luck!
20% price cut?. Anyone can give a house away if they are desperate, but a 20% cut is almost what most investors or flippers would offer, even in this market.
Here is what a 20% cut looks like.
Comps 20% cut New sell price
$500000 $100000 $400000
$400000 $80000 $320000
$300000 $60000 $240000
$200000 $40000 $160000
$100000 $20000 $80000
I would find out what the neighbors house sells for and maybe price yours accordingly.
we were careful with the process. we didn't rush listing our house, we fixed minor repairs, added additional curb appeal, rented a pod and decluttered to make the house look larger, painted inside and out, interviewed many realtors, etc. etc. we decided to list w/ coldwell bancker (highest commision payout) and priced correctly. after little activity we lowered our price by 15k and that weekend got an offer, unfortunately the deal fell apart at the last minute. relisted the property but nothing...it seems that there was a little burst of buyers but now there gone, i say this because most of my direct competion had sold during that time as well. unfortunately we got stuck with shady buyers and a really bad buyers agent.
so recently we made our listing fresh w/ a new mls number and reduced the price another 15k, which is now below appraised value...still nothing.
we are already below market value but not as much as you say we should be...we can't afford to take that kind of loss, i wish we could. but as sellers we were never greedy like most of my neighbors, always been realistic about the current market values. im just nervous that our recent bad luck has caused us to miss our opportunity and has now made our house stale.
I know Realtors aren't always favorites but they really can help over a FSBO. If you list with a reputable company, Coldwell Banker, Prudential, Remax etc., then everything should be on the up and up. Some of the 'discount brokers' do have hidden fees and little surprises. You need to get your house into the MLS, online house hunting is HUGE. If it's not in your local MLS then you are missing out on a large percentage of buyers. A realtor can also help you to price your home properly. If your home is in good shape, priced according to market value and is advertised, there is no reason it shouldn't sell in a decent amount of time. Good Luck!
good morning househunter...i really hope your right because we have done everything you recommend. we are with coldwell banker, price below appraised value and our neighbors, house is updated and clean (probably the best in our neighborhood and surrounding area competition). our realtor also does heavy advertising, we are offering a full commission w/ a buyers agent bonus, appliance contract, assistance w/ closing costs and even willing to give up our brand new powerful generator.
the only bad thing is we have two large dogs and i care for my husbands 95 yr old grandfather so we have to stay home during the showings but hide in the back yard to give them privacy, then move the dogs into a room when they want to go in the yard. but we try to stay out of there way as best as we can under the circumstances.
not much more we can do but give our house away lol
your advice is very true...and i agree...if there is anything i missed...please i am open for suggestions
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frustrated and desperate
