<p>interesteddad, good luck! Sounds like you’re well on your way.
Oldfort and suzy100 - good luck to you too.</p>
<p>With regard to no-shows: Is it possible that the agent does drive the buyers to the house, but the buyers are turned off by something or other, and elect not to go in?</p>
<p>We are so discouraged with our house that is for sale in the Seattle area. It’s been for sale since Oct. 1. We had an independent appraisal, priced house $10,000 below that, lowered price once by $12,000. We have had 25 or so parties look at the house, several more than once. </p>
<p>The house is very clean, staged by a professional, unoccupied so realtors can show at any time. Low maintenance yard, no grass, huge deck + gravel in the fenced backyard. Many comments when our realtor contacts showing realtors that the backyard is too small.</p>
<p>We did about $50,000 of upgrades getting ready to sell: granite tile counters in kitchen, all new windows and outside doors, hardwood floors on main floor, all lighting fixtures and faucets replaced, some carpet replaced, all main floor doors and cabinets refinished, fresh paint. </p>
<p>It has many nice features: 3,800 sq, ft., 4 bedrms., 2 1/2 baths, two family rooms (one off kitchen, one larger one on lower level leading to deck), bonus room, office, two storage rooms with built-in shelving. Would be good for mother-in-law or extended family. It’s in an excellent school district, near one of the best elementary schools, very desirable suburban town. </p>
<p>We just got our first offer, which was $51,000 below asking price. That is $84,000 below appraisal. We said no.</p>
<p>Very discouraging. We have moved and are still paying two house payments.</p>
<p>Hmmmm…bookiemom…</p>
<p>You did not counter?</p>
<p>Did the potential buyer have financing?</p>
<p>How many foreclosures are in that area?</p>
<p>Appraisals work on what has sold in the last 6 months. If you had it done end of Sept/early Oct, basically that number is now 1 yr old.</p>
<p>Foreclosures slowed down for a while due to the legal issues and now the flood gates have re-opened. Your appraisal may be off.</p>
<p>Real Estate rule of thumb is 12 showings you should have at least a nibble if it is priced competitively.</p>
<p>Dstark is right asking about did you counter, or did you take the offer as a personal affront because it was so low?</p>
<p>As a realtor I remind my sellers don’t be so busy jumping over the nickels to pick up the pennies.</p>
<p>The house is vacant, how much does it cost every month to hold onto it? Mtg. taxes, and insurance? I am guessing even in the tax situation it is several hundred, add in insurance and you might be hitting a grand, electricity, gas, water, etc, another 100. If a mtg pmt exists we could be at 2-3K a month in total. </p>
<p>You have covered those costs for @6 months, in 6 months from now when you sell at 65K below the appraisal, can you say you are walking away with more money compared to countering 70K below the appraisal today? NO.</p>
<p>bookiemom, my buyer low-balled me on the first offer. I just countered with a figure a bit below asking, and they came WAY up the second round. As I said previously, purchase price ended up being 95% of asking price. (Note that I did price it to sell.) Just food for thought.</p>
<p>My neighbor across the street from the house we have for sale just listed his for $30K less than ours- same age and floorplan. Everyone on the block is pretty POd because it is really too low. I can’t understand it. I don’t think they are in a huge hurry- empty nesters just wanting to downsize. The online pictures are awful- it really looks frumpy (and I am NOT Ms. Decorator). Ours has some features that his doesn’t have, but not $30K worth! We have an incredible deck and nicer backyard (more privacy). </p>
<p>That said, we got a very lowball offer on ours last night and I could use some input from you wise people on this forum. That offer was$40K below our asking price and also asked for us to pay upfront closing costs up to $9500. We rejected the offer without countering, but the realtor conveyed that we would entertain a reasonable offer. They came back with an offer $28K below asking (we reduced price once by $10K and knew we started high) but still with the $9500 in there. The offer is just over the neighbor’s price. This is a young couple that has a loan pre-approved but doesn’t have the cash for the closing costs, so that is important to them. We are looking at some comparables right now, but H gets stubborn and the market really is heating up around here. They also want to close in mid-April, which would be great. I want to try to reach a deal and not have to screw with this any longer, but I don’t want to give it away. We bought high in 2006 and are not coming close to what we paid. We are in our new house and I would like to eliminate this house payment (although about half goes to principle every month).<br>
Any thoughts are appreciated.</p>
<p>$9500 in closing costs??? Why are the closing costs so high? Is that typical for your area?</p>
<p>Pre-approval means just about nothing…imwould be very concerned that these purchasers are stretching to buy your home…NO money for closing is a big red flag…when they have a home inspection,they WILL nickel and dollar you to death…i would not give up on a deal, ut proceed with caution…good luck</p>
<p>JMPO, the biggest problem with sellers is they forget this is an asset. Buyers are not buying a HOME, they are buying a HOUSE.</p>
<p>They don’t care about the wall paper or paint, they are going to paint/rip it out the 1st weekend! They are looking at the bones of the home.</p>
<p>I.E. Cabinets refinished/fresh paint.</p>
<p>AKA Buyer…$$$ to replace antiquated cabinets. G forbid there are soffits because that equals bigger bucks~</p>
<p>I.E. Gravel no grass </p>
<p>AKA buyer with children = scraped knees, and placing grass down, equals truckloads of dirt and energy to get rid of that DANG gravel.</p>
<p>Same if you have dogs!</p>
<p>I am only illustrating when you say great school district how a parent with children are seeing KAA CHING to getting it up to a family home.</p>
<p>People also love to talk about built in shelving. The fact is unless it is wire racking or closet design, it is out dated, and again, 1st thought to the buyers mind is KA CHING, as a woman that crap has to go!</p>
<p>Now, take that and ask yourself how long you could live with that kitchen, granite tile, not granite countertops, and re-painted cabinets?</p>
<p>Have you looked at how much even Lowe’s sells cabinets for?
Again appraisers don’t give money for appliances and newer cabinets.</p>
<p>Have you looked at that shelving and said, LOVE IT?</p>
<p>Take a look as a buyer. Contact your agent ask to see the competition before you toss any offers.</p>
<p>MomofWildchild…what do you think the house should really sell for? Really sell for…</p>
<p>That first buyer is usually the best buyer…</p>
<p>Now you have competition with the other house for sale.</p>
<p>Somebody can buy the house that just came on the market…fix it up…and own a house cheaper than yours?</p>
<p>The closing costs are a deal breaker for the buyer…so I would say…np problem to the buyers…we accept the closing call part of the deal…</p>
<p>That will help you because other sellers may not accept that part of the deal…</p>
<p>If you do that you may not have to drop the rest of the selling price that much.</p>
<p>Maybe you counter that you will pay for closing and not reduce the asking price…or just reduce it a little…</p>
<p>The more the buyers want your place…the less you have to reduce. Any idea how much the buyers want your house?</p>
<p>In our area, 6% in closing costs are typical.</p>
<p>MOWC, my situation is similar. I am in my new house, and my old/other house was just a monthly drain. My buyer also wanted me to pay closing costs (but up to $3500). For me, I just treated the closing costs as that amount less than their offer, and evaluated it that way. Then, I calculated the cost of keeping the house on the market (and thus paying the mortgage) for the additional “x” months that I thought it would take to go through the process with another buyer, assuming I had another buyer within a month, and made my decision that way.</p>
<p>I will say that it’s still very much a buyer’s market, and I ended up having to contribute some more after inspections. (I feel like I got out OK after inspections - they asked for things that I thought were silly, but didn’t ask for a big-ticket item fix, which surprised me.) In the end, I was just ready to be done with it. I know it’s a difficult decision and I wish you luck.</p>
<p>6% in closing costs? Wow.</p>
<p>Can you break that down? Is there some sort of massive transfer tax or something?</p>
<p>MoWC,</p>
<ol>
<li>Your neighbor has a realtor that uses the premise of lowballing will create more foot traffic, thus a bidding war.</li>
</ol>
<p>Do not be ticked. If anything be happy your realtor is placing your home on target.</p>
<ol>
<li>The closing cost issue is always the big negotiation. They will ask for the sun and the moon. </li>
</ol>
<p>Think about countering with the sun (4500), and writing in the contract home warranty and any inspection issue will be covered this way. Warranties cost about 500, cover the buyer for a yr, so if there is an issue you are both covered from different perspectives.</p>
<ol>
<li>Ten will get you twenty if you reject the offer they will go next door. Most likely because of the realtor playing the low ball game they will reject the 9500 immediately and not agree to an inspection or warranty.</li>
</ol>
<p>Let them do it!</p>
<p>Now here is where your realtor comes into play. She will say to their realtor, I get the neighbor is 30K below, but in mtg terms, 5% int. we are talking about 150 a month. They get the neighbors home for the same amount, and they are already cash strapped, it will cost them 2x that amount to bring it up to your home. My sellers will not go below this X.</p>
<p>That realtor will come back to the buyer and say:
Talked to the seller’s realtor, this is their bottom line. Remember that home listed 30K below will require $$$$ you need seller assistance, can you say you will be able to live in that home for months without going deeper in debt to make it comparable?</p>
<p>Again, I am a realtor, and I have a unique view. I tell my clients buying new construction not to upgrade the fridge, because the fact is the upgrade costs just as much as if they bought it at Lowes, and now they have 2 fridges for the same price.</p>
<p>It is all about keeping the money in your pocket, and not looking at the frills they throw.</p>
<p>Thanks, guys. I don’t know what closing costs run. I haven’t really paid attention to it. 6% would be HUGE, though.</p>
<p>I think they really want the house. They are a very young couple. Realtor pointed out that there will be more inventory coming on the market as we move into spring. Right now inventory is low and our area is very desirable. It has moved to “seller’s market” status, which does NOT mean you get your price or what you paid, but does mean inventory is low. That helps us. One negative with our house is that the driveway is incredibly steep (i.e. don’t try to open your car door on the slope…) although not long. This bothers older folks more than younger ones. Other negative is that the pre-finished hardwood floors have some scratches from our giant dog. We’ve done everything you can do, but there are still some scratches. Bothers some people. Obviously, not these folks.</p>
<p>We looked at some comparables (unfortunately, one of the comps is a divorce situation where they guy told me that he told his realtor to sell at any price because he wasn’t making one more payment…) and are going to drop $6K plus agreeing to the $9500 this round. I did take out the $370 for the home warranty. </p>
<p>I haven’t mentioned how much I hate this whole thing. I appreciate all the comments! This whole moving thing was H’s idea. I love the new house, but I was not wanting to sell in this market, and losing my job in the middle of it all didn’t help my stress level. (I have another job- not as good- but a paycheck…)</p>
<p>Sounds like a good offer…</p>
<p>Good luck…</p>
<p>MoWC</p>
<p>Do the math. If in 3 months from now is it worth it if you get 10K more?</p>
<p>Think emotionally too.</p>
<p>If you take it now, have you found a home you MUST have and are you willing to lose that home?</p>
<p>How long do you want to play this game of exiting your home when they want to see it? What is your personal needs?</p>
<p>Get out now or play the game for 3-6 more months.</p>
<p>Emotionally, especially with a new job it may come down to, 10-15K is not worth it if we don’t get that new dream home.</p>
<p>One other thing to discuss is ask the realtors to ante up. I would assume you have a 5-6% agent commission. I don’t know the house price, but have you thought to say to them knock the commission rate down?</p>
<p>A sale is a sale, and if it means they go from 3% each side to 2.5% they are still making a nice chunk of change.</p>
<p>Honestly, even when the market was hot, I did this because I knew my paycheck would not be cut until they closed. I through in anything to close the deal, warranties, dryers, professional cleaning, etc. </p>
<p>600K and 3% = 18K commission, minus 25% to Broker, and a 600 buck dryer was worth it if the other home was 550K.</p>
<p>We moved into our new house Jan 9, so the showings are no longer a problem. All that’s left over there (we moved less than 2 miles away is too much of H’s garage stuff). </p>
<p>Also, we are about to get another contract (in a week or so) and it will be a contingency contract. The people are empty-nesters and have a house to sell in the town just north of us. It is also a nice area and the house should sell, BUT it will take some time and we will lost a lot of showings since there will be a contract on the house, even though we can create a bidding war with another contract. So- we would probably lose more than a month or two.</p>
<p>I want to make this work. H gets his back up more than I do about the low price.</p>
<p>I would never take a contingency unless there is a KO (kick out) clause.</p>
<p>Never ever IMPO!</p>
<p>Yes. We would have a kick out clause, but the listing still shows that there is a contract and some people don’t come to look. </p>
<p>Realtor gave us a little bit of a break up front. She is a friend and helped us buy the first house when I was moved here in 2006. We didn’t murder her during the listing/staging process, but it was close. After looking at the pictures in the listing of the competing house across the street, I have a new appreciation of what she made us go through!</p>