Our House For Sale - Not Selling!! - Posted by Lu

import · November 23, 1998, 10:51pm

Posted by Jim on November 23, 1998 at 23:59:23:

What kind of existing financing is on it? Is it assumable, and does it have a “due on sale” clause in the mortgage. Also, what about Notes? will you take notes with some money or no money down?
Remember that flexibility will produce results faster. don’t hold out for cold hard cash if all you want to do is sell.
Good luck, I’m sure the REALLY experienced people on this board will give you alot of GREAT ideas. Who knows, maybe someone here will buy it.

import · November 23, 1998, 10:51pm

Posted by Lu on November 23, 1998 at 23:51:19:

We have had our lakefront house for sale for a couple of years now & I feel rather discouraged. Everything else is selling - ours is equally as nice. Price is low, kept nice, etc. Any ideas??

import · November 25, 1998, 7:11pm

Re: Our House For Sale - Not Selling!! - Posted by JPiper

Posted by JPiper on November 25, 1998 at 20:11:28:

Lu:

I think it’s time for a reality check.

Properties don’t sell because they’re priced too high, or they’re in poor condition, or some combination of both. If your property has been for sale for a “couple of years”, and other properties in the area are selling, you’ve had time for a buyer to buy. Time to reevaluate your situation now.

Your property has to be priced right according to actual sales that have taken place recently. This doesn’t mean adding a couple of thousand because your property has a new widget, and your neighbor doesn’t. Along with this, the more lenient you are in what terms you will accept, the easier the sale will be.

Letting people know that your property is for sale is important. This goes well beyond a sign in the front yard. Newspaper ads written in a manner that they’re noticeable and attract attention help. MOST of the properties every year are sold by Realtors, not by owners. Realtors charge a commission for this, but in return they expose the property via the MLS system to all the other brokers in the area. If you’re trying to realize top dollar, with no terms the MLS is indispensable.

Only you know the status of your property. But 2 years on the market tells me something is wrong. You’re going to have to observe your property with a sense of reality, or have a professional observe it for you.

JPiper

import · November 25, 1998, 5:33am

Re: Our House For Sale - Not Selling!! - Posted by Richelle

Posted by Richelle on November 25, 1998 at 06:33:43:

Don’t know if this will help, but we advertised as willing to take a small truck, RV, etc. on trade for the downpayment. It worked! The house was in our weekly paper once, and it sold the following week. We’ve now got a motorhome (anyone here interested?). We took less cash for our house, but we got our asking price, and we’ll probably sell the motorhome in the spring. We live in a small Canadian town of 5000, with the 2 main industries here closing down. Not a great time for realestate.

Just an idea,

Richelle

import · November 24, 1998, 9:17pm

Re: Our House For Sale - Not Selling!! - Posted by Rob FL

Posted by Rob FL on November 24, 1998 at 22:17:24:

Take a look at how you are marketing the property.

Are you using a Realtor? If not then you are losing about 80% of the market if you are selling at retail price with no special financing. The main thing about Realtors is that they will place the property in the multiple listing service where all other Realtors can know about it.

How is the house being advertised? A yard sign? Newspaper ads? Signs around the property? The key is to get it exposed to as many prospective buyers as possible.

Lastly this time of year (the holidays) is typically the slowest time of year for sales. You may need to do something extra to get it sold right now.

How that helps some.

import · November 24, 1998, 12:19pm

Re: Our House For Sale - Not Selling!! - Posted by diamond

Posted by diamond on November 24, 1998 at 13:19:38:

Where is this property located?