What are we doing wrong?!? (RE agent, listings, percentage, sale)

[StJoeFanatic]

Originally Posted by SmokyMtnGal

You've already gotten "professional" advice on here. I just wanted to add my comments that your house is gorgeous and one of the best bungalows I have seen in a long time. Well done!

Thank you for the comments

[StJoeFanatic]

First off, thank you for taking the time to reply!

Originally Posted by Sgoldie

I thought the house looked great. Maybe some flowers along the front yard? And did I see I sign in front of the house? Didn't care for the flags, balloons would be better. Are you baking or have scented candles or the like going? I noticed a dog, any noticeable scent from him (you might have to ask someone else)?.

There are flowers along the front, they are just not in bloom right now (we had a very hard freeze late in the season this year, and everyone had flower/plant loss...luckily, ours are hardy and will come back (iris, lilly, etc) Yes, there is a sign in the front yard and in the side yard (since we are on a corner lot) the one on the side is also lit at night. The flags stay up all the time to draw people's attention. We put balloons on the open house sign on open house day. Our dog passed away, so no odors there and we know there is no smell, but a good smell. Almost every person in the door has commented on how nice our home smells...I use glad plug-in fans.

Originally Posted by Sgoldie

The house across the street from me has been on the market for over a year, so I find it odd when people panic over a couple of months. Do you have a write-up that people could take with them regarding information/picts of the house, also showing the lesser assessment? Is there a possibility that you could have a mortgage person there when you have an open house, or at least info about what payments/down/closing costs would be written out for them? The only other thing I can think of is to pay for and provide a house inspectors report so people can see that nothing needs to be done.

We are in a panic after 90 days, as we have already put the down payment on the new house and only have until November 1st to get out of this one... I realize that it is our own fault, but it is, what it is at this point Oh yes, we have a write-up in a bin on the sign in the yard. We have a professionally designed brochure with photos and a comprehensive listing of all the improvements to the home. We even have paperwork from a lendor that will work with our buyer as well as blank contracts.

[StJoeFanatic]

Thanks for replying!

Originally Posted by mrsengle

About how long has it taken for other listings in your neighborhood to sell? What are you doing to market the home, besides open houses and the AOK website listing?

It is all over the place in our neighborhood. Prices & time to sell. Ours is the hardest neighborhood in all of town, as we have million dollar houses and small 4-square cottages. All of which are nice, but the prices and selling time are compeltely unpredictable. In fact, when we have gotten appraisals on the home... they cannot use our own neighborhood, as there is nothing like ours around...and even when they go out further, they have trouble finding a true "comp" and just end up going with a semi-close fit.

Besides open houses and AOK, we are in our local paper with an ad daily, we are on-line with Craigslist, BackPage, Lycos Classifieds, PennySaverUSA, OLX-USA, American Bungalow Association, etc.

[StJoeFanatic]

Thanks for replying!

Originally Posted by Northwoods Voyager

Just another thought here. One of the BIG reasons property owners use the services of an agent is that they do not like the idea of having to deal with the public themselves. I have noticed that when I show a FSBO, and the owners 'hang' around during the showing, it tends to turn the potential buyer off. Sometimes in our anxiety to show others what we have to sell, we become overly, oh how should I say this? Maybe too forward? Maybe too gushy? Maybe too attentive? You know, in trying to point out the extras, the upgrades, the super, new whatever?

I have seen sellers follow around and attempt to duck in the conversation and in trying to be helpful, turn the buyer off. Understand, please, please, I am NOT saying that this is what you are doing. BUT, and maybe but, you are showing your anxiousness in the methods you are using when showing your home. You would think that such a lovely place would sell its self.

But when you insert the human factor, things can and do get messed up. Buyers look around and mostly what they remember if the owner is 'helping' with the showing, is the owner!

As far as price goes, yes, a price reduction usually helps, as does paying all the closing costs. You are in a bind. I really do wish you Good Luck. You have a beautiful home.

Let me put your mind at ease. We welcome them at the door, ask them to sign in and take some literature, inform them there are 3 floors and tell them to let us know if there are any questions. That is it. We NEVER follow them around. We then sit in the formal living room and read. The items I really want them to notice have a tastefull sign attached... for instance, we have an extra deep 2 basin sink and instant boiling water dispenser in the kitchen. Something most people would not notice. Over the items we have a sign that states "Extra Deep Sink & Instant Boiling Water Dispenser". We do not have TOO many signs... just on a few details that I know people will miss on an initial walk-through. I have heard tons of comments about how nice & helpful the signs are.

I really wish we could reduce the price more than we have. As it stands, we might not be able to sell it and loose our new house and deposit if we have to go much lower. (and when I say "much lower" I mean, we have less than $5,000 to work with, which we are going to need for closing cost at this point.

[StJoeFanatic]

Thank you so much for your comments.

Originally Posted by AnimalLover

We can't work for free - and agents are the ones selling the most homes. Offer a 2.5 - 3% coop commission instead of helping the buyer with closing costs. I believe that would be more productive use of your $$. Paying for an agents services is an expense, but so is sitting on a house that hasn't sold.
It looks like a great house to me, wish it were in Springfield Il!

Thank you for the suggestion. I will forward your comments on to my husband for futher discussion!

[StJoeFanatic]

Wow...thanks for the comments!

Originally Posted by Gretchen B

Hi StJoeFanatic - Great home! Great pix, too (except you don't have one that includes the garage, so maybe some folks don't realize you have one since it's not the typical attached or detached kind).

I can adjust the one with the back of the house to include the garage. Thanks for the tip!

Originally Posted by Gretchen B

So, Problem #1 - You're marketing almost exclusively to local buyers. What are you doing to market to an out-of-town buyer? A relo buyer? A retiree looking to sell out of CA and move to a cheaper market?

Besides open houses and AOK, we are in our local paper with an ad daily, we are on-line with Craigslist, BackPage, Lycos Classifieds, PennySaverUSA, OLX-USA, American Bungalow Association, etc.

Originally Posted by Gretchen B

Problem #2 - No co-broke to an agent that brings a buyer. Am I correct on this? If that's the case, while the agents may have liked your home, they're not going to show it to clients that they've worked their tails off for and not get paid. As much as they may want to help you out, real estate agents don't work for free. They've got mortgages to pay, too.

Oh, we are not trying to get something for nothing. We are just trying to sell our place without going bankrupt...We have put ourselves into this position and have no one else to blame...we just can't give any more money away.(see previous post on us "overimproving" our home.

Originally Posted by Gretchen B

Problem #3 - In a "down" market, the odds are not in your favor to sell FSBO. That's just the statistics. Over 80% of buyers use a realtor to purchase a home. Especially out-of-town buyers do because it would be almost impossible for them to drive neighborhoods, pick up local newspapers, etc looking for FSBO's. Instead they hire an agent to do the legwork for them. Even most local buyers feel more comfortable having an agent represent them, negotiate the best price, give them comps to show them whether the home they like is priced right, handle coordinating inspections, etc. So just that statistic alone, leaves you with less than 20% of the market to tap into. Selling FSBO in a "hot" market is much easier. You have far fewer houses to compete against, and buyers will snap up any available house that comes on the market. In a slow market, it's a different story.

You know, if the AOK site wasn't posting on average 2-3 FSBO's in town selling A DAY... I might agree...but the FSBO's in this town ARE selling. Just not ours... or maybe we really are just jumping the gun?

Originally Posted by Gretchen B

Potential Solution - Figure out a way to market to the out-of-town buyer. This means Internet. Realtor.com is the #1 website for buyers. To be on Realtor.com, you need to be on the MLS. You might try raising your price enough to cover a flat fee MLS listing.

Also, you might try interviewing 2 or 3 agents. I've personally known of sellers (including a close friend of mine) try the FSBO thing for a while and not get their home sold (my friend actually had a contract on his that fell through). In the case of my friend, I listed his home for $40,000 more than his previous deal, got it sold within 2 weeks for full asking price (which, btw, it was priced slightly below market value - he had been WAY low as a FSBO), and ended up netting him $16,000 more (even after commission) than he would have made as a FSBO. In fact (and here's another one of those blasted statistics), FSBO's average 14%-16% less profit than sellers who list with a realtor.

Just some things to think about. However you do it, the best to you on getting your home SOLD!

Will definately take under advisement. Thank you for the good wishes!

[StJoeFanatic]

Also, just wanted to note to those who are worried about people from outside the immediate area not knowing about our house... we have had interest/calls/visits, etc from California, Alabama and western Kansas.... So, the marketing is working somewhere

[VillageLife]

You need a realtor who can negotiate for you. Just putting it on the market,and not getting it sold for so long?
About the commission,Realtors work hard,I know in our office we work very hard for the commission.
Buyers will say "it's so pretty" They also don't tell you what you don't want to hear,Why would they want to offend you.
That's why you need a realtor to listen to all the crap and negotiate for you

[Sunnydee]

I absolutely love your house! The pictures are great and you've really made your home beautiful and modern. It's just lovely and a great deal at that price. I believe you are doing everything right, but it's a tough market.It may be time for a strategy change because this strategy is not working.

I'm going to suggest something that may sound crazy, but might work for you. Take your house off the market, hire a real estate agent, and jack up the price. Make sure the new price is enough to cover the cost of the agent and give you a profit.

Why? First, some people won't even consider FSBO. Second, agents like to work with other agents. Third, if something seems too good to be true people are leery about it, and your house, at that price, seems too good to be true with all of your upgrades. Fourth, summer is coming to an end and most people buy houses before school starts, so you need to be proactive and get this thing done soon. Fifth, you have enough on your plate, let a realtor worry about how to get your home sold in a timely fashion.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

[Northwoods Voyager]

Originally Posted by StJoeFanatic

Thanks for replying!


Let me put your mind at ease. We welcome them at the door, ask them to sign in and take some literature, inform them there are 3 floors and tell them to let us know if there are any questions. That is it. We NEVER follow them around. We then sit in the formal living room and read. The items I really want them to notice have a tastefull sign attached... for instance, we have an extra deep 2 basin sink and instant boiling water dispenser in the kitchen. Something most people would not notice. Over the items we have a sign that states "Extra Deep Sink & Instant Boiling Water Dispenser". We do not have TOO many signs... just on a few details that I know people will miss on an initial walk-through. I have heard tons of comments about how nice & helpful the signs are.

I really wish we could reduce the price more than we have. As it stands, we might not be able to sell it and loose our new house and deposit if we have to go much lower. (and when I say "much lower" I mean, we have less than $5,000 to work with, which we are going to need for closing cost at this point.

Please accept my apology if I have in any way offended you. That was NOT my intention. My comments were just that, comments. As I did state, they were some of the things that HAVE happened in the past. Not to imply that this is what YOU were doing. Just as an observation. You have done about everything possible to get your home sold. I agree with almost all of the previous posts.
The advice that you received from Gretchen B is perhaps the most thorough.
Again, please do not think that my comments were insulting. Just a reminder that some of us do push a little too much. But it appears from your reply that you have done the right things.

I do wish you well and Good Luck