Running Out Of Ideas

Samw profile photo

I recently bought a house and rehabbed it a www.bit.The house by itself is very good in a great neighbourhood and having a acre lot and all..
My asking price is also about a few thousands under the FMV.
I have had so many calls and people coming and seeing www.it.I have had about 4 different people show interest in it but finally I am not able to close
There has been no single complaint on the price
I have put out in the flyer that I can work with buyer on easy terms and financing
But it just does not seem to close...
Iam runing out of ideas on how to make a fast sale
I thought probably have an open house
or go through realtor or put it up the 5 day sale method as my final options

Any ideas?

Comments(21)

  • SolutionsKid20th January, 2004

    Not trying to belitte, but have you actually sat down with the 4 interested parties and found out what they are trying to do and if they have any roadblocks? Let them know that you have a great deal of experience and contacts in the real estate world, so if they needed any help or advice with lenders, etc you would be able to help. Something along those lines?

    You will have to take the time to listen to what these people are really looking for and how you can accomodate them. Sometimes they love the home but can't get a mortgage, etc but they would never tell you that. By you stepping in and really showing help and interest, you are going to create a trust relationship that will help you sell that home.

    Best Regards,
    [addsig]

  • InActive_Account20th January, 2004

    Invite the 4 interested parties back for an appointment at the same time there is nothing better than competition to motivate buyers.

  • InActive_Account20th January, 2004

    I think along the lines of what Christian was saying lies the answer to your problem.

    If you really have zero, ziltch, nada, absolutely no single shred of an idea why the 4 buyers didn't close, you need to simply ask them.

    There is no one more qualified to shed some light on what the problem is other than those 4 people. Take a short cut and simply ask them what the problem was, and always ask any new buyers the same thing if they balk.

  • OnTheWater21st January, 2004

    You could Lease Option it for a year.

    Have'em give ya 5k down, add 500 to your mortgage payment and tell'em that you'll put 200/mo toward their down payment. In the mean time, go find a mortgage broker, tell you have a customer that needs a loan, and introduce the two.

    The broker pulls their credit, tells'em what they need to do, and in a year or two, they'll be good to go.

    Now, you've made 5k up front. 200/mo and the best part is you raise the selling price 15k so you get an additional 15k over you current asking price as you're holding a note for a year.

    Let's see what you just make.

    $3600 ($300 x 12mos)
    $5,000 down
    $15,000 at closing
    $x. What's x? The ARV (After Rehab Value)!

    So, we've just put an additional $23,600 in your pocket over and above the ARV!

    Thanks,

    OnTheWater

  • JohnLocke21st January, 2004

    Samw,

    A question out of curiosity, did the four people who were interested show up at the property to view it?

    John $Cash$ Locke

  • JeffAdams21st January, 2004

    Take a more aggressive approach:

    -List the property with one of those
    MLS listing companies which
    charges $300-$500 flat fee to list
    and they put your number for the
    contact. Offer 5-6% to the selling
    agent. You will see how fast your
    house will be shown. I would also
    ask at least FMV of the house. I
    usually get 110% of FMV when I
    am offerring 6% to the selling agent.
    If they come down a little, thats ok.


    -Make up a flier and deliver multiple
    copies to all the real-estate offices
    in your area offerring 5-6% comm-
    ission to the selling agent.

    -Put an ad in the paper

    -Tell your neighbors you will give them
    $1000 if they bring you a buyer.

    -Hold an open house every weekend

    Best of Luck <IMG SRC="images/forum/smilies/icon_smile.gif">
    Jeffrey Adam
    [ Edited by JeffreyAdam on Date 01/21/2004 ]

  • MrMike21st January, 2004

    IMO if it is only a few grand under fair market value then you are just going to have to sit for a while. FMV houses don't go exceedingly fast in Lakeland FL.

    FMV is a guesstimate anyways so if you are off by 3% then the price could be perceived as being AT FMV or even above.

    You are asking basically top dollar and will have to sit for a while.

    I checked your profile for the house you are talking about. You don't list the address which I would suggest you do so if someone is interested they could look at it. You also don't list the sq footage but IMO it better be a REALLY nice place if you are asking 180K in Lakeland.

    Houses with direct lake access are going for 130K all day long. While they are probably smaller houses you know how people LOVE lake acess and you are asking 50K more.

    How many days have you had it up for sale? I have been fortunate in that every house I have sold I just put a sign out front and with in a month or so it was gone. But that comes from buying correctly and doesn't really help you at this time.


    [ Edited by MrMike on Date 01/21/2004 ][ Edited by MrMike on Date 01/21/2004 ]

  • Samw21st January, 2004

    Thanks everyone for taking time to post replies to help me

    A little bit more back ground into my www.house.I bought it over a month and a half www.back.I have been running ads in the paper since then.
    When I first put the house up for sale the first two guys who showed interest were investors( ) the first investor offered me around 155 and said he needs a bit of margin on the deal and probably he will also put it up for sale in the 180s www.range.I had bought the house at www.130.Maybe I should have taken the offer then and www.run.I could not reach him again.
    The other investor was saying that he wanted to lease option it from me by giving a sizable option www.money.I agreed to that and he offered lease option after he had actually taken a look at the house but for some reasons when we were planning to meet again and discuss the terms he did not come back.

    I was supposed to meet two of the interested buyers during this www.week.I had not met them earlier but I had asked my friend to show around the house and I talked to them over www.phone.They both showed a lot of interest in the house after taking a look at it,infact both wanted to meet me to discuss the terms of the sale like how much of deposit I wanted and how soon we can have the close and all www.that.One of them had excellent credit too from what he told.But when I tried to call them back I have not got any response from them and its been nearly a week now and I was supposed to meet them both last thursday .

    But Iam still having the flyers going out and everyday get about 10 calls or so from the flyers

  • thomasgsweat21st January, 2004

    Time to get creative.

    Give something away with the house. Something people want but would not buy for themselves. Like a Plasma TV or something.

    The parties that showed interest...send them each a gift with a note that you would like to talk to them about the house...Maybe send them a copy of a deed with their name on it along with pictures of the house.

    Do something different because whatever it is that you are doing isn't getting the job done.

  • blizken22nd January, 2004

    I'v sold houses in two week's by putting an ad in the paper saying " sell this house for me win a trip to cabo mexico" in which I utilize a time share I purchase through trendwest. costs me around 375 for airfair

  • bgrossnickle22nd January, 2004

    I do not think that one month and half is a long time to try and sell a home FSBO.

    Brenda

  • skyhigh22nd January, 2004

    Skyhigh here,

    I don't know much about rei but people are pretty much the same. When learning to sell to people, even people that initially wanted something I had, if I seemed to eager to sell to them, they would turn and run. That's just human nature. The opposite is true as well. If you tell someone they can't have it, they want it all the more. Try some kind of take away close next time someone comes in to see the home and be calm, try not to visibly excited to see them. As they look through the house mention there is alot of interest in the home and your not sure how long it is going to be available and if they are interested they should let you know. Ask qualifying question while having some chit chat with them. IE... So, do live close by? If you have any questions just ask me I'll be over here. (Let them walk through by themselves). When they finish the walk through ask them, "so how are interest rates looking?" (What you're really asking is, have you spoken to a lender yet?) Then go from there.

    Hope this helps in some way.

  • MrMike22nd January, 2004

    Quote:
    On 2004-01-22 00:03, bgrossnickle wrote:
    I do not think that one month and half is a long time to try and sell a home FSBO.

    Brenda


    Agreed

  • makingaliving22nd January, 2004

    "-List the property with one of those
    MLS listing companies which
    charges $300-$500 flat fee to list
    and they put your number for the
    contact. Offer 5-6% to the selling
    agent. You will see how fast your
    house will be shown." quote

    If you offer 5-6%, you may as well list it with an agent and let the agent put your property in the MLS at no additional cost to you, plus they will do your advertising for you.

  • Neill722nd January, 2004

    If you are only a few thousand dollars below the FMV then you are marketing with every other seller out there and it is possible it will take 4-6 months to sell just like everyone else. Unless your house has some outstanding difference, why should anyone buy yours? And right now listed homes get more views because many people dont use the newspaper and go straight to a realtor. They arent paying, the seller does, so buyers use realtors.

    If you want to reach the INVESTMENT COMMUNITY, you have to cut the price. And if you want to sell to homebuyers you may consider doing some creative financing so that a person can buy who couldnt buy any other way.

    In the latter case you RAISE THE PRICE and provide someone with sub par credit a way to own a home where they which they would never be able to do with traditional financing.

    You can do Agreement for Deed, or Land Contract, Lease Option, etc.

    Hope this helps.

    Good Luck,

    N.

  • JeffAdams22nd January, 2004

    Quote:
    On 2004-01-22 00:30, makingaliving wrote:

    If you offer 5-6%, you may as well list it with an agent and let the agent put your property in the MLS at no additional cost to you, plus they will do your advertising for you.


    I disagree. If you were an agent,
    which house would you push everyone,
    the house on Main St. offerring 3% to the
    selling agent or the one down the street
    offerring 6%?

    I think the answer is simple. The agents I work with know I pay 6% so I rarely even have to list houses anymore as they are sold before the rehab is even done by agents off my list I fax out.

    You have to do what works for you.



    Best Riches,
    Jeffrey Adam

    _________________
    "The only place success comes before work
    is in the dictionary."[ Edited by JeffreyAdam on Date 01/22/2004 ]

  • EUREO22nd January, 2004

    Based on what I know about number of REI courses sold in Florida, what MrMIke and Samw sad, it appears that there are more credit less and cash less option-investors in that part of Florida, then so needed buyers.

    I am also under the impression that your price Samw might be a bit off. Did you try speaking with several realtors in your aria who do specialize in selling this type of property? You do not need to sign the sells contract but talking with them would definitely get you clue if your price is to high.

  • makingaliving22nd January, 2004

    Jeffrey...that's my point. Someone suggested offering a realtor 5-6%, pay $500 to get in the MLS and produce some flyers. All I'm saying is that an agent can do all of that for just the 5-6%. (most likely 6%)

  • thomasgsweat1st February, 2004

    However, if you list with an agent at 6% then half goes to the listing agent and half to the selling agent.
    Pay $500 flat fee to get on MLS and the 6% goes straight to the selling agent. That's a pretty good incentive.

  • Samw1st February, 2004

    Quick Update on the www.house.I finally managed to convince one buyer on the merits on my www.house.LOL.He is faxing in the contract tomorrow.Hopefully! we Have agreed to a price of $178500.I also have a investor who has agreed to do a lease option from me worst case.So next week I should hopefully sell me house

  • InActive_Account2nd February, 2004

    I agree with makingaliving!

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