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farmhousegirl_gw

12 showings and one bad offer

farmhousegirl
10 years ago

Hi All,
We've been on the market for 21 days. We've had 12 showings and one lowball offer with a house sell contingency. Our house is totally remodeled with a lot of custom grade quality, new mechanicals, new roof, siding and windows, nicer than most in the area. It's a charming home with front porch, huge addition we added, gourmet kitchen (wolf range). People in this area seem to want the big Mcmansions with cheap builder grade kitchens, 9' ceilings, pallium windows, and cheap flash, etc. A lot of people don't seem to appreciate the quality we put into this home. We are 3011 square foot with a finished basement (in addition). The only poor feedback is that the kids bedrooms are too small. We are asking 50k less than we have put into the house and are aligned in price with what is on the market. 4 people have come back for second showings and produced no offer. Is this par for the course? We have sold houses before and I never remember this many second showings that did not produce an offer. We are in the Philly suburbs. I am exhausted and worry we will never sell this place.

Comments (13)

  • LuAnn_in_PA
    10 years ago

    Only 21 days?
    You need to be more patient... it can take weeks or months!

  • marie_ndcal
    10 years ago

    It could take a bit of time. Walk thru the house as if YOU were going to buy it and make a list of what You like and don't like. That might help. Also make sure it is not cluttered, and also make sure nothing private is out where people can get informaton. Prescriptions? Lock them up. Jewelry? Lock up also. There are other good informaton on many sites on this forum/

  • debrak2008
    10 years ago

    Post your listing here and be prepared for honest feedback.

  • live_wire_oak
    10 years ago

    12 showings in 21 days is extraordinarily good. I'm not sure what you expected, but many people take years to sell their homes! Yes, you should post your listing to get more feedback than most potential buyers will feel free to give you.

  • stolenidentity
    10 years ago

    "4 people have come back for second showings and produced no offer. " - I would find out what is keeping them from submitting an offer.

    Do let us see your listing if you want more feedback from the forum.

  • Linda
    10 years ago

    Farmhouse girl, I can tell you that this seems pretty typical of buyers in this market. The market is definitely improving, but the buyers havent caught up to it yet. Im willing to bet you will have more than one offer at a time. Its the buyers in this case, not the house. They are just taking their time. Sit tight, I'd put money on it that you will have an offer within a few weeks.

  • gyr_falcon
    10 years ago

    ---We are asking 50k less than we have put into the house and are aligned in price with what is on the market.---

    50K less doesn't tell us much without knowing the price range for your neighborhood and the total dollar amount of the upgrades: 50k off of $300,000 worth of upgrades is much different than 50K off of $125,000 in upgrades. And maintenance (reroofing) is going to have a different return than upgrades (gourmet appliances). If most houses in your area are not outfitted with custom upgrades, sometimes you will get even a lower percentage for work that has been done.

    Being aligned with what is on the market isn't always the way to go. How long has the crop of houses you are surrounded by been on the market? If they are overpriced, you could just end up sitting around, unsold, with them. While they are the homes buyers are going to be looking at, it is more important to look at what the prices are for homes being sold in your area.

    That said, three weeks is a short amount of time. That people have come back for second viewings shows interest, which is a good sign. How active is the market in your area right now?

  • nightowlrn
    10 years ago

    Can you do something to "make" the kid's rooms look bigger? Change out the blinds/curtains? Get out the toys, dressers, etc? Put a few big mirrors on the walls? Clean out the closets.

    Good luck - I hope it sells soon.

  • dabunch
    10 years ago

    I would empty out the kids room and leave only a bed and a nightstand. Make sure the rooms are BRIGHT/LIGHT.. Change your window treatments to white or off white if you have to.
    If your kids need "stuff & toys" while the house is for sale, devise a system where the realtors need to give you a call 1 hour before showing, meanwhile you pack the stuff up quickly and place it in storage/basement neatly for the showing. THAT is part of staging a house for a showing.

    It is more difficult to sell houses in a certain price range in different regions of the country. In my area the toughest sell is houses ranging 350k-650k. The buyers in that range are a PITA. Starter homes go quickly without any extras or gimmicks. Homes above a 700k are purchased by people who don't have to watch their pennies as much as the middle class.

  • christopherh
    10 years ago

    "...Homes above a 700k are purchased by people who don't have to watch their pennies as much as the middle class..."

    People are able to afford those houses mainly because they do indeed pinch their pennies.

    There's an old saying: "Nobody ever got rich by spending their money".

  • dabunch
    10 years ago

    o
    RE: 12 showings and one bad offer

    clip this post email this post what is this?
    see most clipped and recent clippings

    â¢Posted by christopherh (My Page) on
    Mon, Nov 11, 13 at 7:40

    "...Homes above a 700k are purchased by people who don't have to watch their pennies as much as the middle class..."
    People are able to afford those houses mainly because they do indeed pinch their pennies.

    There's an old saying: "Nobody ever got rich by spending their money".
    *****************************************************************


    LOL. I agree there.
    I was trying to make a point that RE, buying/selling attitudes and clientele is a regional thing.
    Money is relative. You have to pinch pennies, no matter what you make. However, I've observed in my area that buyer expectations are different in certain price brackets....In my area you would NEVER sell a house over 700k without granite. Yet, in the 350k-650k the purchase (granite or not )may go either way depending on many variables.

    Bottom line: You have to know your market and your buyers, regionally. If you hire a realtor, he/she better have a pulse on these variables, or you're wasting your money on a listing. Also, patience is the key in selling a home. There is a right buyer for every house. You cannot get discouraged by a few negative comments. I also believe in STAGING a house, no matter what the price. Even a "handyman special" should be made presentable. We are visual creatures ;)

    Doesn't a Christmas present look appealing with a beautiful wrapping? If you had 2 identical boxes, one wrapped professionally, the other one sloppy, which one would you choose?

  • weedyacres
    10 years ago

    One of the most useful things our agents did was keep in contact with every single agent that showed our house, until we knew for sure that the buyer had ruled us out. Our showings were relatively few because our house was at the upper price range in the area, so that wasn't too arduous to do. It wasn't always about bugging the agents with a special phone call every week. It was more, when the buyer's agent called to schedule a different showing they'd say "what about the buyer that saw XX house?" And they watched the MLS to see if that agent had something go pending in our price range that might indicate the buyer had bought something else. There were several people in our initial spate of viewings that said it was still a maybe, and our agents kept those somewhat "live" until & unless they knew they bought something else.

    In your case, I'd make sure your agent knows what happened with each of those second showings. Did the 2nd showing make it cross them off the list, or is it still in the running? If it's still in the running, see if they can glean what their concerns might be (you might be able to answer a question or suggest a solution for a perceived issue) or what it would take to push them off the fence.

  • kats_meow
    10 years ago

    If your house is 3000 SF and other houses priced similarly are 3500SF or 4000 SF then people are more likely to buy those houses even if your house is better quality so long as the other houses seem of average quality.

    When we were selling our last house I remember seeing a house that had been listed for a high price, much higher price per SF than other houses in the area. It looked beautiful from the listing and had quality finishes and reportedly other high quality construction. This was a nice neighborhood - prices in the top 5% for the area, but this house was considerably more per SF than the norm in the area. People just weren't interested in paying it in that area.

    People may more attention to amount of space than just about anything. If you need 4 bedrooms because you have kids at home and I look at your house and it gets to 4 bedrooms because the secondary bedrooms are tiny then I'm not likely to buy your house regardless of its quality.