Vacant Re-sale - Disadvantage????

[cool_mommy]

Originally Posted by SmokyMtnGal

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for posting in this thread and especially to the OP. We have an extra house on the market that is empty and I have been considering staging it. Incidentally we have the A/C set on 75.

I was wondering if you have had any feedback from agents stating that the house is harder to sell empty? Our master bedroom is pretty large and we have a king size bed so you can see that there is plenty of room. One thing is for certain, I will be taking the bed and my bedroom furniture. I can forsee the bedrooms as being the biggest problem since people often sense their belongings are larger than they really are. Another thing that I have heard is that some people just can't visualize what the room will be used for. We have a formal living room, a formal dining room and a den which are all on the first floor and are very similar in size, I do have concerns that people will walk in and think "what will I do with this room?". Have you had any such comments with any of your showings?

On the other hand I have had friends say that the rooms should appear much larger when they are empty. I feel it may be somewhat of a "catch 22" and in this market I really don't want to leave any room for errors!

Good luck with your sale!

[cool_mommy]

Originally Posted by southernlady5464

Your lawyer, unless he/she is a very good friend, may charge a fee to do that. Liz

I'm very fortunate that my lawyer is a good friend and neighbor!

[cool_mommy]

Originally Posted by kturbe

Who is taking care of the outside, lawn, curb appeal is very important especially if you are moving further away, you don't want the home to look vacant from the outside or distressed. I would recommend having a neighbor have a key or ask a Realtor to help you out possibly by holding open houses for you and co-op with them if they bring you buyer. I often bring my own items to stage vacant home when I represent the seller and I also take care of the lawn, etc.

Wow, you stage vacant homes! We need more agents like you in the world We are moving about 1,000 miles away. I plan on hiring a lawn care company to take care of the yard work, my neighbors daughter to weed and keep on eye on my flowers and we will be closing the pool early. (I'm hoping that the closing of the pool doesn't have a negative effect but we are in the Northeast and the season will be coming to an end within the next couple of months anyway).

[cool_mommy]

Originally Posted by Will Kelly

As a realtor in this market I look for vacant homes for my clients but for a different reason. Vacant homes=Motivated sellers. I find that the best deals can be had in this market on vacant homes.

My advice would be to rent it and list it for sale at the same time. Tell the tenants you are trying to sell it and if you find a buyer then you will pay them $1500 if they have to move early. These funds should be available since you are selling it FSBO.

How are you going to do a by owner sale from 1000 miles away? It's tough to sell your home when you are living in it but man I could not imagine trying it long distance. What a hassle!

All the best.

We've considered renting it but our lawyer (and others) have told us to perish the thought, especially since we will be so far away.

It's funny that you mention the fact that trying to sell it as a FSBO when moving so far away may be a nightmare. I have given this considerable thought. I contemplated putting a lockbox on and hoping for the best but in the end I think we will be better off putting it on with an agent.

Thanks for the well wishes!

[southernlady5464]

Thankfully my neighbor does the lawns in the area and is doing ours. I just send him money once a month to keep our property neat and clean. He also has all my extra keys to give to the realtor for us to close. He's our neighborhood "watchdog" And the other next door neighbor use to work with my husband. Liz