<p>1moremom I want your house!</p>
<p>mathmom, It could be yours, though the commute would be a bear!</p>
<p>I like my current commute. About 20 feet from the dining room table. :)</p>
<p>Lucky! I have to walk all the way downstairs!</p>
<p>Sigh. I just drive to another state and stay there all week. Paying rent. :(</p>
<p>Selecting the agent</p>
<p>We’ve narrowed our agent picks down to 2 people, and it’s a really tough decision. The agent I like is a middle-aged mom of 3 who really “gets” our house, which is most likely to appeal to a family or someone who needs an in-law or nanny unit on the lower level. She is very positive and seems like she would make an effort to promote the house enthusiastically. DH thinks she’s just very good at figuring out what sellers want to hear, in order to get the listing. (Last year she and another agent came through, and her price estimate was $100k higher than the other agent, so that may be evidence that she’s overly optimistic.)</p>
<p>The agent DH likes is an older guy, no kids, who takes a more hard-nosed, “it’s all about numbers” kind of approach. To say he’s not effusive about the house is an understatement. DH thinks he will be able to appreciate and promote the house, but that his meeting with us was entirely aimed at making sure we would be realistic about pricing. DH has known him for 40 years, so we know he’s a good, hardworking guy.</p>
<p>Any experiences with either of these “types”? I guess a cynic can still be a good salesperson - and this guy has been successful - but I can’t help wanting to sell with someone who loves the house!</p>
<p>and pricing the house
I am curious about how you all come out on the psychology of numbers in the home’s price. Are you inclined to scoff at a price that ends in 999? Would a number like 489,000 seem markedly better (more honest) than 499,950? Do you like prices that are obvious cut-off numbers - like $475,000 or $550,000?</p>
<p>FauxNom … Pricing isn’t about the people seeing the price so much as the COMPUTERS seeing the price. People hunting for houses will say, I can afford x00,000 so put in a search for houses between x00,000 and y00,000. You want to make sure your number falls in that search. Even experienced realtors do this. And some web sites promote it by giving you prices to click on. So if you want about $400,000, you are really better off with the price of $399,999 to pick up everyone that says the upper limit is “less than” $400,000. </p>
<p>And people seem to make their cuts at about $1000 intervals, so I wouldn’t worry about $50 in the pricing. </p>
<p>Very FEW people look above their “bracket” with the thought of talking the price down. Maybe more do now than in the past since housing prices are “soft”.</p>
<p>My realtor discouraged us from using the 999 or 950 approach. She said it looked silly, like you think the buyers are too stupid to round up. 
We usually round to the nearest 1,000…as in 349,000 or if you are close to the next 100k, use $395,000.</p>
<p>As for the agents. I think there are several things in play here about the pricing:</p>
<p>1) the market is so difficult right now that you practically need a Ouija board to figure out the correct price</p>
<p>2) Some agents (like the second one) are looking for a quick sale and he knows your house will move quickly at the lower price. </p>
<p>He might have a point. If you price it right, it could sell fast. If you price too high, you need up come down anyway but now you have the stigma of possible desperation, which will entice buyers to send you low-ball offers. Even this early in the season, in our area we are seeing a few new to market houses move quickly and it’s starting to look like the rest will languish on the market for most of the summer and beyond. I can see where some neighbors are taking a ‘low price, quick to sell approach’. A lot of it depends on your objective - high price or sell quickly.</p>
<p>Also, I don’t think the realtor has to ‘love’ your house. They just need to be able to give you good advice on pricing, repairs, the market, negotiations, the wording on the listing, etc. The selling agent can only do so much to ‘sell’ your house. I believe a high volume realtor tends to be better than one that sells a few houses a year because they have more hands-on more experience. JMO.</p>
<p>^^^That last point is key. How many houses has each realtor moved in the last year or so?? A bigger number is better than a smaller number.</p>
<p>I think another question is in what price range are the realtors sales. We have realtors who specialize in the high end market, for example, and are more familiar with it. They don’t sell as many houses in a year as those who are selling in the low to mid-range, but they are earning more. I’d look and see what other listings the agents have.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughts. I guess it’s true you can sell a house without loving it. Both agents do pretty well, but the guy probably has more listings, and he has had plenty in our price range.</p>
<p>And of course we want a high price and a quick sale 
Both agents said our part of the city - if not specific neighborhood - is very active this spring. There have been several houses with multiple offers recently, which is what makes them think the lower price strategy is effective. Not that this creates a run-up in price as it did back in the day, but the sales records I looked at suggest that the multiple offer houses are ones that sell quickly, and at or just above asking.</p>
<p>In our neighborhood, when the market was “hot” and again more recently there have been several price-wars on lower priced homes so that were priced slightly below market so that the eventual selling price was above list and helped set the new market. There is very low inventory in our neighborhood and the prices have remained fairly stable throughout the popping of the housing bubble. I don’t believe there are many (if any) upside down houses, with the possible exception of folks who spent a ton on renovations with huge original mortgages.</p>
<p>I would be more inclined to go with the low-price strategy in hopes of getting asking price or maybe spark a bidding war. I think buyers are looking for what they perceive to be bargains. In previous years, sellers had the upper-hand but things ave changed. In the last few months, I’ve been shocked at how low some houses around here are priced and not only that but appraisals. My next door neighbor had their house appraised a few weeks ago (for a home improvement loan) and it came in less than what they bought it for five years ago. We had ours appraised 6 months ago (for a refinance) and it came in 20% higher than what we paid for it 5 years ago. We did, however, make some major improvements (the neighbors had not).</p>
<p>We chose the agents that were more enthusisastic about the house over the number crunchers.</p>
<p>They are selling and I think the fact they love the house helps the sales effort.</p>
<p>So…we have been doing a lot of remodeling…and yesterday, our agents came to look at the house…and one was teary eyed…she had a vision of the house…and she just loved what we did…</p>
<p>The buyers will have to do very little when they move in…
So…we are almost ready to go…</p>
<p>The downside is the real estate market is terrible…</p>
<p>Buyers are having a hard time getting jumbo loans…</p>
<p>A really hard time…</p>
<p>I don’t know…</p>
<p>And I am so sick of spending money getting the place ready…</p>
<p>I can’t wait for this to be over…</p>
<p>I really don’t want to do this again…</p>
<p>Good luck, dstark. If you do this right, you won’t ever have to do it again.</p>
<p>I made a major error yesterday. I thought I had paint left over from painting the hall and the DR about 12 years ago. I took what I thought was the matching paint and touched up numerous spots.</p>
<p>Guess what. It’s not the same paint.</p>
<p>We will now need to paint the entire hallway and DR. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. :mad:</p>
<p>veryhappy…thanks…</p>
<p>yeah…having to repaint is annoying…</p>
<p>I don’t know if I want to own a home again…</p>
<p>When I tell people this…they think I am crazy…</p>
<p>People really love their homes where I live…I guess they do in most areas since homeownership is over 64%…</p>
<p>The last few years…I think homeownership is a hassle…</p>
<p>Of course…I haven’t rented for 26 years…:)</p>
<p>^^I am not convinced owning a home makes sense anymore for most people. I’m thinking about this a lot lately because I just sold and bought in an unprecedented market, and because our children will probably be at the home owning stage in a couple of years.</p>
<p>I think it can be an entertainment or luxury and that is just fine we acknowledge it for what it is.</p>
<p>Good Luck to everyone about to go on the market!!</p>
<p>dstark - You couldn’t ask for a better reaction than teary eyed! Congrats on making good decisions in your house prep. </p>
<p>I agree - I am so ready to be done! I can’t believe the amount of money and time it takes to make the house look perfect. This week, we enter into step two of the yard-taming phase, and I really don’t look forward to paying what we have to pay to get it done quickly.</p>
<p>I think owning a home makes financial sense for a lot of people with some caveats: </p>
<p>1) It needs to be a home you can afford, right now, not one you that you can only afford with an adjustable interest rate or only with two salaries. And definitely not one that stretches your budget to the max.</p>
<p>2) You need to take into account the additional out-of-pocket expense of owning and maintaining a home (and it can be considerable).</p>
<p>3) You’re not buying it as an investment but as a place to live, period. If you’re lucky you will realize a modest appreciation over a decent length of time.</p>
<p>4) You aren’t going to need to move next year. To me, this is a very important point with young people who tend to be more mobile. There’s no sense in buying a house and then having to sell it in two years to take a job elsewhere. These days, that is likely to result in a loss of money.</p>
<p>FauxNom…thanks…</p>
<p>" I can’t believe the amount of money and time it takes to make the house look perfect. This week, we enter into step two of the yard-taming phase, and I really don’t look forward to paying what we have to pay to get it done quickly."</p>
<p>yeah…me neither…</p>
<p>I am going to be 15 to 20% over budget…</p>
<p>Most the changes are good…</p>
<p>And we were delayed…</p>
<p>But it is coming together…we aren’t quite finished…but yesterday is the first day…where I thought…we could sell the house today…</p>
<p>MomLive…those are good points…</p>
<p>I’m tired of owning a place and maintaining a place…I’m not a woman…so I guess the built in nesting gene doesn’t exist in me…or maybe it is because my kids are grown…</p>
<p>If I have to see one more plumber…</p>
<p>My wife wants one more house…and then we would sell that in 10 to 15 years…</p>
<p>I’m going to be in my 60’s then…and I don’t think I will have the energy to move …or put up with people in the trades…and the people in the trades…most of them are very nice…I am just sick of having people in my house…</p>