Suggestions to promote fast sale of house?

Question

We are trying sale a house in Neosho Missouri and relocate to Arkansas. I already have a job and am in Arkansas, but my husband isn't. Its not a fancy house, but it is a nice house with a lot of possibilities. The market is slow and so far we haven't had any luck. We've had it up for sale by owner for about 6 weeks. We had it up for sale with a realtor for about 3 months last spring. Does anyone have any suggestions at all as to how to hurry along the sale of this house? We're desperate....We'll try anything.....

Answer 1

Have you tried "staging" the house? Or making improvements?

With the market being what it is right now, you might have to rent it for a while. At least you'll have that income.

Answer 2

As a real estate agent, I would say that there is really only one thing that prevents a house from being sold... and that's price.

If your market has cooled down, which seems to be the national trend, you'll need to adjust the asking price or offer some seller concessions.

What are seller concessions? Here are some examples:

Offer to pay the buyers points. Generaly 1 pt. is equal to 1% of the selling price.

Offer a general monetary concession of say $2,000 towards closing costs and prepaids.

Offer to replace carpets or upgrade appliances.

Be creative, and realize that you can base these concessions on whether you get a full price offer or not.

...and consider this, If you currently have a mortgage on the property then you are still making payments and depending on how long you've been making your payments, more or less is applied to the principle. So consider that if your payment is $800 and $500 of it is going on interest you're losing money that could otherwise be used towards your new home.

I hope this is helpful.

Good Luck,
Bill

Answer 3

Do not try FSBO (For sale by owner) If it's listed FSBO right now, get a Realtor.
PRICE, PRICE, PRICE... It's a buyers market and price is all you can control. Buyers are not going to even look at a house if they don't think it's a good deal. There are homes in this area (MI) that have been listed for months, even years, with no activity because they are priced too high. Be sure your agent is advertising your home in lots of different places, (Internet, newspapers, real estate guides, etc...) If they aren't, find someone else who will.
Stage your home, if there is anything there that isn't necessary, move it out... pull down personal photos, clean out the closets, remove any furniture that you can... so when a buyer walks into your home, they can see themselves in it, and not you & your family.
Offer buyers "seller concessions" In all of the advertising and mls remarks, your realtor should say, "$3,000 towards buyers closing costs" or $4,5,6,000, whatever you think is fair and you can afford.
Good Luck

Answer 4

For one, FSBO'ing it is going to take 3x as long.

Here's what do do before the agent:

1) take down ALL personal items and extra furniture that clutters the rooms. Put it in storage if you hvae to.

2) Fresh paint? If your walls aren't looking so cheery, invest in $100 worth of paint supplies-- nuetral colors are best.

3) CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. Walk around your house like a prospective buyer and look at everything with a keen eye.

4) Go get an agent-- and price it 2-5% BELOW what they say you should list at. Underpricing will get much more interest. Then, go online and look at the listing they created-- you'd be surprised how some agents just are blah like, "3 bedroom, 2 bath, 17000 square feet"

What about that bay window? XL garage? new carpet? etc. Highlight the good stuff. Offer buyer incentives like you pay closing costs up to 5K.

Answer 5

I've heard of people "staging" homes with nice furniture and a few decorator touches. Is there furniture at the old place? I have heard of people actually renting nice furniture to show the house. If the house still contains your stuff, make sure it's clutter free and clean as can be. Check out how it smells and get candles that have a cookie or gingerbread smell. Make sure that all repairs have been made - all the visible ones. Get a friend to go thru your house and be brutally honest to you about how it looks. The market looks slow right now - the very best of luck to you! Hang in there!

Answer 6

Curb appeal is a huge selling factor. I worked in a small town Coldwell Banker for 4.5 years. I know slow markets. When some one is looking to buy they almost always judge by the cover. I have no idea what your home looks like but curb appeal is huge. Put out bright nice lawn decorations, do any repairs. That gets them in the door, inside make sure that evrything has a place and everything in its place paint is an inexpensive way to add to the value of your home. Colour is very popular, stay away from drab white. Get some magazines and look thruh them and implement any ideas you can...

Answer 7

The first impression of a home is the landscaping. Make sure everything in neat and clean around the outside of the house. If it is already landscaped consider adding some new shrubs or prune the ones you have.

I don't know what the inside looks likes but a gallon of paint per room goes a long way.

You do have to spend a lot of money to do a quick fix up. And Empathize the key points of your hone.

Answer 8

Sounds weird but invest in the house finish all the silly little jobs which dont cost much, if its a bit tired looking paint it fresh with some cheap white paint. Store some of your furniture and stuff at friend houses, the less furniture and clutter you have will make it look bigger. Advertise yourself as well as through your agent, give friend brochures to take to work and put up for you. When showing people around point out the potential of the house. Make sure it looks clean. Do the usual like bake bread or brew coffee whn showing people around to make it smell nice. have few people as possible in the house when showing it (it feels like your intruding if loads of people are there). Good luck!

Answer 9

Curb appeal is everything. Does the home look inviting from the outside? Set out some plants. Do you have a front porch? Make sure it looks inviting etc....
If the realtor is not showing the house, consider getting another one. I have a friend that changed realtors 3 times before selling her home. It was on the market for over two years.

Answer 10

Fix anything that is broken
Paint the entire interior white - makes it look bright and smell clean
Paint the exterior if it is wood or aluminum siding. If it is brick or vinyl - have it power washed.
PUT AWAY ALL CLUTTER... NOTHING sits out - no knick knacks, make sure the entire kitchen counters are free from ANYTHING and EVERYTHING - no utensils, no paper towels, nothing.
take down ALL FAMILY PHOTOS - get YOUR personality out of the house so that anyone interested in buying it can try to imagine THEIR personality in it.

do some landscaping - clean up the yard, edge the lawn, plant some flowers, make it clean, bright and cheery. Trim any bushes or branches away from windows.

Ask your agent for advice, they will help you. have open houses, have agent showings, and make sure the house is priced in comparison to other houses like yours that have sold recently.

everything must be pristine. This is a buyer's market. You have to set the house for THEM. Just because you like it doens't mean anyone else does... so clean it up, fix it up, and keep it clean and clutter free at all times.

Answer 11

From 6 bad experiences with &&*((^#$ realtors,
"OPEN HOUSE". Every day you can, from about 10-11:00 AM to 3:4:00 PM.
Signs at corners with arrow directions, flags in the front yard.
I even placed a sign in the yard with my bottom asking price. Really pissed the Realtors with other listings in the area.
A pain but it works. "I sold three houses", listed with "Realtors who sit by the phone" and collected commissions through my efforts.
You'd be surprised at how may drive by lookers do not go immediately to Realtors.