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Karla

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Houses
Aug 7^th, 2008 at 4:00pm

I really don't understand todays housing market and am getting really frustrated. Our 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, house has been on the market now for 7 months. We originally listed it at 20,000 above the assesed value and right on the appraised value. We are the original owners and have lived there for 10 years. We had new carpet put in and the whole house painted. Anyone who looked didnt feel the house was worth the asking price. So we lowered the price to the assesed value. We have had tons of lookers but no takers. Three families have come to where they liked our house and one other and picked the other one. One family loved it but couldn't get the financing. One family liked it but changed their mind and backed out of the deal. We are getting despirite to sell the place. The bank made us pay 6 months interest on the house in July at the 6 month loan mark before they would renew the loan for another 6 months. We are very frustrated and loosing sleep over this. The house is empty and should sell better that way I thought because then people can messure and use their imaginations without all our junk in there.
Anyone have any suggestions?

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Karla&&suffer chronic ch &&ch.com groupie since 1999&&Proud Mom of Chris USMC Semper Fi

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Paul98

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Clyde, NY USA
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Re: Houses
Reply #1 - Aug 7^th, 2008 at 4:16pm

Sorry that you haven't sold it Karla. This really is a bad time to be selling. Many folks are honkered down financially.

I had heard that full houses sell better than empty ones because they are more "homey" looking as opposed to the sterile look of a vacant house. Some folks bury a statue St. ? (forget the saint) upside down on the property for good sales luck. Wink

Wishing you good luck.

-P.

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Kimmie CH.com Veteran Offline OW!! Posts: 187 US Gender:	Re: Houses Reply #2 - Aug 7^th, 2008 at 4:19pm Do you know and trust your realtor well? I know and understand this is the worst time to sell a home- how often is your realtor showing the house? Have you posted it on Craigslist and other homesearch sites also?
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Em CH.com Alumnus Offline I wanna go... Posts: 830 St Peter Port, Guernsey. Gender:	Re: Houses Reply #3 - Aug 7^th, 2008 at 4:27pm It's Saint Joseph. My parents buried one under their house when selling it. I think homes with some comforts in them do sell better than completely empty homes. Not all people can visualise how rooms work without some furniture in there. Good luck for selling your home! Em
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Melissa CH.com Moderator CH.com Alumnus Offline Don't give up! Posts: 7238 Central WI, USA Gender:	Re: Houses Reply #4 - Aug 7^th, 2008 at 4:37pm Here you go Karla: Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to or
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Kimmie CH.com Veteran Offline OW!! Posts: 187 US Gender:	Re: Houses Reply #5 - Aug 7^th, 2008 at 4:50pm People are different. I like to see a home empty so that I will be able to mentally picture my belongings in there.
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Charlie

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Jamestown, NY
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Re: Houses
Reply #6 - Aug 7^th, 2008 at 6:12pm

I wish I had something good to say but it's national. Real estate is in trouble. My town has about the lowest value housing in the country but it's very hard to get what you ask. One of the best houses on my street started out at $130,000 and got down to $112,000 before they gave up. (only one or two here are worth that kind of money)

It's not good Karla. Rats.

Charlie

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There is nothing more satisfying than being shot at without result---Winston Churchill

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Bob P CH.com Hall of Famer Offline Shut up Bob! Posts: 4573 Clio,California Gender:	Re: Houses Reply #7 - Aug 7^th, 2008 at 6:32pm My son-in-law and daughter are in escrow to buy a house. 2 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath in Santa Monica $1,375,000.00 What's wrong with this picture?????????
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Lizzie2

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Boothwyn, PA
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Re: Houses
Reply #8 - Aug 7^th, 2008 at 7:42pm

Karla,

Sorry to hear this - it really is a difficult time to sell right now. My grandparents just moved up here at the end of June to a 3-stage retirement community, and they are trying to sell their condo in Sarasota. A year or so ago, another friend sold theirs for over a million. My grandparents are not asking that, but still trying to get something out of the place. The realtor called them today and suggested they drop the price by 150 grand!!! I know they bought it cheap years ago, but this is really devastating to them - they have to sell soon because they can't afford to live in their new place for long without the benefit of sale of the condo. It's very frustrating...

Hang in there! I hope it sells soon!

Take care,
Carrie

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~~"Don't know much about your life. Don't know much about your world, but Don't wanna be alone tonight on this planet they call Earth."~~

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cash5542

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Re: Houses
Reply #9 - Aug 8^th, 2008 at 12:02am

My post is going to be depressing, just adds to all of the bad stories. When my son Ryan graduated from college in Sarasota we kept our condo for rental property, no problems renting it the first year however last year we went 8 months at least without a renter and dropped the price $250. The rental market in Sarasota is so full because people can't sell so they rent to buy.

My son is in the same situation as you Karla. They had an offer on their house in Savannah contigent on the buyers sale. Well it fell through and the house has been on the market for 18 months at least. The realtors suggested they go to a rental company that comes in and furnishes it just to make it look lived in. Still didn't help although they now have renters in there.

Any realtors please jump in to this thread. Any idea how much longer this may go on??? It's a mess!!

Charlotte

I just read Melissa's site about home staging. That's just what Ryan did. His relator was sure it would help but it didn't......

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« Last Edit: Aug 8^th, 2008 at 12:07am by cash5542 »

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BarbaraD

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Douglasville, TX
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Re: Houses
Reply #10 - Aug 8^th, 2008 at 8:22am

We have a down market right now. After the election it will probably turn, but will be slow in coming back.

Right now it's a BUYER"S market. It does this periodically. The banks have "overloaned" on overinflated prices and are now trying to compensate. This happened back in the 80s and a lot of people took a bath back then.

Most of the time a house shows best with "some" furniture in it. A couch in the living room or just something.

I told my kids two years ago to SELL their house, but they didn't think Mom knew anything (Mom sold her house at an "inflated" price at the time) - they waited and now can't get the "loan" value out of it. If they hold on (and they bitch every month about the payments) it'll probably be worth what they owe on it, but they missed the chance to MAKE anything on it. Of course Mom has only been a real estate broker for about 30 years - what the hell does she know?

Wish I could be more positive, but this is just a leveling off time in the economy. Buyers are picking up "deals" right now and people that are selling are loosing. Best advice - if you can break even or make anything - sell.

Hugs BD

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What don't kill ya, Makes ya stronger!

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kevmd CH.com Hall of Famer Offline Who needs a hypothalamus anyway? Posts: 524 x0\|philadelphia\|USA\|\|0\|0\|PA,Pennsylvania Gender:	Re: Houses Reply #11 - Aug 8^th, 2008 at 9:04am 3 houses on my street up for sale for about a year. 1 just sold and at very reduced price, below the value of what most houses in my neighborhood sell for. I hope this situation changes as I plan to move in just under 2 years from now. Starting to wonder how soon I need to put it up or sale. Good luck
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echo CH.com Alumnus Offline Chronic and still alive --- I Win! Posts: 4544 Overland Park, KS Gender:	Re: Houses Reply #12 - Aug 8^th, 2008 at 12:15pm Had a friend who had basically the same problem selling his empty home. He rented some cheap, nice new furniture and stocked some of the shelves with empty boxes and cans. It cost him a grand but the place went in 30 days. He had even raised his price back up so he had some bargining leverage. I'm sending buyers vibbes you way.
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Cathi_Pierce

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Re: Houses
Reply #13 - Aug 8^th, 2008 at 1:38pm

OK, just vwrote an entire diatrbe on selling in the current market, and with 2 alterations, this site STILL told me it looked like Spam to them, so, I'm trying again.........
What do you need to sell right now?
Competitive price (everyone has a budget) Make yours the BEST house at the lowest price-within reason, of course!
Curb appeal(make them WANT to look inside)
Conditon-Clean, fixed, fresh paint(neutral colors)
Competition(have you SEEN the like-priced homes in your area? In other words have you seen what you're competing against?)
A licensed agent-hire a professional-a full-time agent who KNOWS your area and communicates with you
Anything and everything.....have that agent do anything that puts your house in the forefront...... opens, print ads, internet agent networking.....
St Jo.....well, he worked for me!!
Staging, especially if you have features which might go unnoticed.....be sure the fireplace is visible, accent lovely tile in the master with towel colors that bring it out.
In order to aviod going to 'spam hell", I'll stop here......just know, it is a tough game right now...do EVERYTHING, then hang on tight, coz it's a bumpy road...when you DO get an offer, if it's low, don't be offended-just counter.they gave you THEIR perfect world, now give them YOURS!
Excellent time to buy, however.all conditions point to purchasing. It is rare when both prices and interest rates are down!

As for you, Karla, maybe this is a good time to rent your house out??

Good luck, one n all!
Cathi

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