Waiting for house to sell ! Frustrated... (Phoenix: short sale, foreclosures, renting)

[songstress]

I too live in Michigan and houses are not selling here.
My husband is already out in Phoenix working and we plan to move sometime in the spring to join him.

The solution I came up with was to rent to own my home out.
This way I won't be one of the many michigander's just walking away from their homes. Part of the market problem here!
The tenants are putting down 5 grand and making my payments, taxes and insurance, plus will agree to buy my home 5 years from now at todays agreed upon price. They are also coming up with an extra 3 grand a year to put with the 5 as a down payment, paying off part of my mortgage.
If they back out and don't buy I get to keep all the money! Sure I will have to find someone else, but it's gives me time and money to do that.
In this market we have to do what we can do and there are a lot of people out there with not so good credit who can't finance right now, yet still want a home.

Of course, This puts me in the prediciment of having to rent out there also, but I look at this as a plus. The market is Phoenix isn't so hot either and looks like it's going to bottom out soon, so why buy a home there now?
I personally will wait a few years. it's not what we wanted and we have kids, so we have to plan on staying in the same area, but we will buy again.

Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and go. Staying isn't going to fix anything. We will not make a dime off our home, but at least will be even and right now that sounds good!

[Axiom]

Originally Posted by LVGAZ

COngratulations Axiom that you sold
where you on long?
That really is lousy if the builders are undercutting (or overpaying I should say) to the realtors vs us home sellers...
Maybe that is the route to go with our next realtor(hopefully not!!) offer a higher a commission
wouldn't that be interesting
where are you off to? out of state?

Our house went on the market the day after Father's Day, we got the offer 7/7 and closed 7/31. Can you imagine trying to push a closing through that quickly in a normal market?

I think we probably did everything right, but we were still prepared for a much longer time on the market.
No doubt some folks would feel we gave the house away, but in our situation a quick sale was worth more than trying to hold out for a higher price months and months down the road.
We still feel REALLY lucky to have sold, even at the price we did.

We were doing an out of state relo and we are now renting for the first time in years because we feel prices where we are are way overvalued and the market is far too volatile to buy right now.



songstress, sounds like you found a good solution! You're lucky the rent covers your payment.
We looked at several lease opportunities in our area where folks were trying to do something similar. Except unfortunately for them; they bought at or near the top of the market, and I can't imagine anyone paying as much in rent as they needed to make it work.




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[KarinKarinKarin]

If your house isn't selling, you probably have the wrong agent. Also, your price is too high, and there are Staging issues. Google "Staging." Mainly, get all your photographs out. Rent a POD and unload the bulk of your furniture. Paint the house in neutral colors, and landscape. Don't go by what people are selling their houses for, go by what price the SOLD houses in your neighborhood sold by.

[shadow91]

I rent my home here, it is a wonderful home in a wonderful neighborhood. I don't think I would have been able to get it for the price I did if it weren't for this awful market. It makes me want to buy a home here, but prices are still way too high. By the way, I rent my home out in IL because I don't know how long I will stay here.

[Axiom]

Originally Posted by KarinKarinKarin

If your house isn't selling, you probably have the wrong agent. Also, your price is too high, and there are Staging issues.

In a normal market I might agree; but current conditions being what they are in many places, I'm not sure that's a fair statement.

[KarinKarinKarin]

Well, that depends. Where we sold our house prices have dropped $100K since 2005. Maybe more. And they're still dropping. But if your price is right, you should be able to sell. It won't be for the price you want, but that's what makes the house stand out. If all the comparable houses in your neighborhood that went on the market at the same time have sold but yours, it's your agent. You also probably need to Stage the house. It's not a matter of a major overhaul. It could be a matter of a piece of furniture here and a picture there. Take all the appliances off the kitchen counters, empty your closets of everything but the bare essentials. You're going to have to put stuff in storage. Paint the house in neutral colors. Fix up the drywall. You might have to replace the flooring, depending on the condition. The house has to be toothbrush clean. Literally. Every morning vacuum and mop, Windex the windows and all glass surfaces, empty all the trash, the sink should be shining, the dishwasher empty. All drawers should be dejunked. People who are looking at your house are also looking at empty builder's models. They have a higher standard of cleanliness in your house than they have for themselves. It's a full time job having your house on the market. But if your house isn't selling, the price is just simply wrong.

It doesn't matter if everyone on your street has their house priced at $350,000. If the houses aren't selling, $350,000 is the wrong price. Go check what the houses that sold sold for. And make sure that there aren't seller's concessions in that price. If everyone who sold sold for $295, then the problem isn't the market, although that's what's driving prices down, it's your price.

[JosephTeastmoriches]

My house in Long Island, NY has been on the market since March. I have lowered the price 20K it is a sprawling unique home with an indoor swimming pool. and I have not even received one offer- not even a low one. If some one was really interested, I would have received at least a ridiculously low offer but I haven't. I dont think the price is as much a factor as the house requires a very unique buyer..... HELP!!!! Any suggestions???
Joe

[joninaz]

My suggestion is for the local realtors and the city govts. to fund an ad campaign in LA, the Bay Area and NY showing comparative housing costs in AZ. Despite a national slump in sales, house/condo/apt. prices in these markets are still WAY high and out of reach for a huge number of middle class potential buyers. Meanwhile we look like a bargain.

I convinced my NY-based employer to let me move from their L.A. office and work from home in AZ (where we have no people). They reluctantly agreed at the time. Now they actually encourage it among many employees as they've been able to downsize pricey office space in expensive cities while retaining good people. We've also opened up operations centers in smaller markets for the folks who need to come into a workplace. The pay is the same and they can afford to buy something rather than eat ramen in a tiny studio in San Fran.

The main point is that there a lot of people in much more costly cities who are currently renting and who want to buy. We need to get them to look here. It would be nice to see some more opportunites open up for them to transfer here. Intel, BofA, Wells Fargo and others have a good presence here, and maybe others would be open to do the same if they were pitched. Or, like me, individuals who can telecommute are given more leeway to transfer themselves.

So yeah - run some ads in the papers, the biz journals, etc., planting seeds in the minds of potential decision makers. And when it's really cold in NY, also run some pics of people playing golf in Jan. on a pretty green course under blue skies. Pop a note to your city council... it's in their interests as well.

[Axiom]

Originally Posted by KarinKarinKarin

It doesn't matter if everyone on your street has their house priced at $350,000. If the houses aren't selling, $350,000 is the wrong price. Go check what the houses that sold sold for. And make sure that there aren't seller's concessions in that price. If everyone who sold sold for $295, then the problem isn't the market, although that's what's driving prices down, it's your price.

I do agree with a lot of what you posted. The reality does seem to be that you have to be the best house AND at the best price to sell right now. Too many folks are still thinking in terms of either/or.

We sunk a ton of $$$ into our house getting it ready to list, you know... all those HGTV type upgrades where they fix up a bit and then sell for top dollar; except we did all that and more, and still sold for the 3rd lowest price per sq ft in the neighborhood YTD.


But I still think you can have the right realtor, be staged beautifully, priced correctly, and sit on the market given current conditions.

The sales numbers in our former neighborhood were dismal (and it's one of the places that gets mentioned often here when folks ask where the good areas are) Yes, some folks were holding onto pie in the sky prices, but certainly not all. I think average DOM was somewhere around the 200 mark. With that much inventory and as few sales as were taking place, I absolutely think you could be doing everything right and still languish out there.

Trying to sell in this market is discouraging enough; it just seems a bit harsh to say that either your house must not be clean enough, or staged right, or priced right, or you have a crummy realtor or you would have sold.

I've been the one with a really great house just sitting on the market when everything else around seemed to be selling overnight in the past.
I have to say I'm a believer in timing and flat out luck as well as expertise and doing everything right when it comes to selling a house, especially in a buyers market.

Have you all buried your St. Joseph statue?
Our realtor resorted to that in my example above.


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[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by joninaz

My suggestion is for the local realtors and the city govts. to fund an ad campaign in LA, the Bay Area and NY showing comparative housing costs in AZ. Despite a national slump in sales, house/condo/apt. prices in these markets are still WAY high and out of reach for a huge number of middle class potential buyers. Meanwhile we look like a bargain.


So yeah - run some ads in the papers, the biz journals, etc., planting seeds in the minds of potential decision makers. And when it's really cold in NY, also run some pics of people playing golf in Jan. on a pretty green course under blue skies. Pop a note to your city council... it's in their interests as well.

That sure sounds better than my idea- standing on a street corner in CA with a sign referring them to Phx where the cheap homes are.