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Thanks. Yes you found it. Our RE agent IS coming Friday to retake outside photos now that the snow is gone. We started sweeping out the barn last fall, but then it snowed, got too cold, and that was it. The hay was in a pile. The chickens spread it out over the winter, so we will start that again. And yes we were thinking of painting this spring if it ever stops snowing or raining, and going from 65 degrees to 30 degrees.
I don't know that you even need to paint the barns and other structures. The hay on the ground didn't bother me, either. My eyes were more drawn to things like the full trash cans and empty bags on the floor and pile of boxes in a corner. Those are much easier (and cheaper) things to make an immediate difference before new pictures are taken. Did your new agent just use the old listing photos or did you still have snow on the ground last week? If those are old photos, I would have to say your new agent did you an injustice by listing your property prior to new photos being taken, especially because you can take pretty decent photos with most phones these days. So even though now you show as only a few days on market, which is a plus, most people looking for properties like yours may write off your property right away based on the current photos. Real estate sites like Realtor, Zillow, and Redfin don't push email updates for new photos.
As far as the interior, I noticed the doors and some flooring could use a touch up before new photos are taken. It might involve just wiping them down with some kind of cleaning agent to brighten them up and get the hand marks off them without having to resort to repainting, but that's something I would definitely suggest taking care of before any new pictures are taken. Maybe throw up some cheap, white curtains in the salmon-colored bedroom to freshen it up.
I also felt your own description of the property was much better than what the agent has used, so you may want to suggest she update her description to include things like the mining and Beekman references. There's also a new show coming to ABC called "Bless This Mess" which seems to be about city people moving to a farm so it's possible you could get some renewed interest in your property based on people wanting to copycat the idea. Maybe throw in something about people wanting their very own farmhouse "Fixer Upper" to capitalize off of that show's popularity. I'd also mention the possibilities in the listing of using the property for boarding horses, renting parts of the property out as you currently do, homesteading, bed & breakfast, etc. to help people "see" the possibilities of this property. You or your agent might also want to find Facebook groups that list homestead properties for sale and try posting the listing there for wider exposure. Best of luck in selling your home!
I also think I found your home. The walls and such look fine, however, I think the trim needs some work especially if I have the home right the doors around the glass needs to be cut better. Might be hard because of the age and probably the amount of paint on them but see if you can clean them up a bit so that they are crisp and sharp. The floors that are painted are a bit roughed up but that is the nature of painted floors but the baseboards could be more crisp and less scuffed. Another poster mentioned the snow but I think you still have snow right? Can't do much about that. Given the nature of the market for this type of property and that you aren't in an area where subdivisions are sprouting up you may just need to wait for the perfect buyer. Basically take a close look at all the trim including in the kitchen and touch up anything that looks shabby. No need for a repaint, just touch up and clean up so that nothing sticks out at you that it needs some tlc. Afterwards retake the house inside pictures. Don't paint anything outside just yet, too cold.
I lowered the price three times until ours was the lowest priced house of it's kind in the county. We had 57 visits and finally sold it for $16K below our lowest asking. There was a $40K price difference between our initial asking price and what it sold at. I think at a low enough price, any house in good condition will sell.
The other thing I would consider is if the acerage is a liability. We saw a house with acerage that had a creek in it. When the creek was low it turned into a steep ditch. I felt if any neighbor kids fell in we could be blamed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by countrykaren
My home has been on the market for 3 yrs. Changed real estate offices 3 times, and lowered price 4 times. Now we are one of the lowest homes in the area. I feel good about the agent we have now, but...
What did you do- that you felt was what your house needed to sell?
We have landscaping, and de-cluttered inside. Tho we painted a few years ago, would repainting inside and outside help?
I don't know that you even need to paint the barns and other structures. The hay on the ground didn't bother me, either. My eyes were more drawn to things like the full trash cans and empty bags on the floor and pile of boxes in a corner. Those are much easier (and cheaper) things to make an immediate difference before new pictures are taken. Did your new agent just use the old listing photos or did you still have snow on the ground last week? If those are old photos, I would have to say your new agent did you an injustice by listing your property prior to new photos being taken, especially because you can take pretty decent photos with most phones these days. So even though now you show as only a few days on market, which is a plus, most people looking for properties like yours may write off your property right away based on the current photos. Real estate sites like Realtor, Zillow, and Redfin don't push email updates for new photos.
As far as the interior, I noticed the doors and some flooring could use a touch up before new photos are taken. It might involve just wiping them down with some kind of cleaning agent to brighten them up and get the hand marks off them without having to resort to repainting, but that's something I would definitely suggest taking care of before any new pictures are taken. Maybe throw up some cheap, white curtains in the salmon-colored bedroom to freshen it up.
I also felt your own description of the property was much better than what the agent has used, so you may want to suggest she update her description to include things like the mining and Beekman references. There's also a new show coming to ABC called "Bless This Mess" which seems to be about city people moving to a farm so it's possible you could get some renewed interest in your property based on people wanting to copycat the idea. Maybe throw in something about people wanting their very own farmhouse "Fixer Upper" to capitalize off of that show's popularity. I'd also mention the possibilities in the listing of using the property for boarding horses, renting parts of the property out as you currently do, homesteading, bed & breakfast, etc. to help people "see" the possibilities of this property. You or your agent might also want to find Facebook groups that list homestead properties for sale and try posting the listing there for wider exposure. Best of luck in selling your home!
I'm always cleaning up feed bags- thanks Hubbie...the boxes need to come into the house and put away...saving them for packing. We listed the house in December so there was snow, so now she'll take pix outside w/o snow, but still winter landscape.
I also need to touch up on some painting, and was also going to do that. I just need to be out of pain long enough to do it.
Thanks for your suggestions. Will definitely mention them to the RE agent.
I'm always cleaning up feed bags- thanks Hubbie...the boxes need to come into the house and put away...saving them for packing. We listed the house in December so there was snow, so now she'll take pix outside w/o snow, but still winter landscape.
I also need to touch up on some painting, and was also going to do that. I just need to be out of pain long enough to do it.
Thanks for your suggestions. Will definitely mention them to the RE agent.
Trust me, I totally get it. I made the mistake of letting my husband be in charge of readying the place for our listing and I regret that all this time later with his lack of straightening out couch cushions. Come on, man! That, and the apparently drone-happy photographer we got stuck with.
With the boxes, you don't even necessarily need to remove them, just have the picture taken from a different angle or move them back once the picture is taken. When we had photos done for a different property when I was home, I moved so many things around from room to room to hide all the cat stuff. That guy filmed a video tour so the cat that wasn't hiding also got to hang out in the laundry room full of cat trees with me.
Also, if you haven't already claimed your home on Zillow, you may want to do that as there's a "What I love about the home" section where you can add to the listing for those seeing it on that platform so you can share the property's highlights aside from the listing agent's description that goes on the MLS. Zillow is nice because it has a keyword search, too, so that's why I suggested trying to incorporate as many things as you can into your listing so if people happen to be searching for something particular, your property will come up front and center.
I agree with not bothering painting the barns. I think thats a lot of effort and money that wont help you make a sale. As a "horse person", I would be looking at things like how much it would cost to put safe fencing in, and fixing up the barn, such as putting stalls in. I think anyone buying it as a horse property, or even a cattle property, is going to be looking at putting a lot of money into fencing and barn work. I would tidy up the barn, but dont bother painting. The house looks fine to me, but as a degenerate horse person, Im more interested in the fields and barns than the house.
Old dog dairy farm, showing its age. That's just the reality. No offense meant.
Don't fuss with upgrades or painting or even messing with price. When you find a buyer, price at your level is NOT going to be an issue.
Advertise where the potential buyers are. Not locally, as there are already plenty of other properties which a local buyer, of which there are NONE, might choose.
Get spring pictures up there. Green, lush, happy animals in pasture sort of thing. Put it in the NY and other metro markets and you at least have lookers. Maybe even buyers who have money (your $360 price is nothing to them) in hand and are looking for a lifestyle change.
I don't have any real input as that kind of property is outside of my realm. But I did just want to say that I'm sending good luck - I hope new photos and an updated description with some of the great features you've mentioned here will do the trick. It sounds like it's been tough for you to not just keep things going but also work on making the improvement to get it sold and I hope that you get a good offer and can move on to the next, somewhat less demanding, phase of your life very soon!
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That, and the apparently drone-happy photographer we got stuck with. 
