nice old house w/acreage is not selling..its been 7 months..understand the market is soft...is it better to rent it out for a year or 2..or keep trying to sell?
2007-03-04 06:44:52 · 5 answers · asked by maine is home 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
General question does not give many specifics.
You need to know a couple of things. What is the inventory in your zip code. Inventory is the number of total houses available for sale, which includes houses marketed by realtors, for sale by owners and distress sales like bankruptcy auctions, foreclosures, other court ordered sales and sales of closely related parties.
Next remember that the last 6 months historically was the worst time to sell a house (September thu end of February). If you live in an area there was bad weather for the winter then that and the holiday period (Thanksgiving thru New Year's) is not a good indication of true demand.
Second, do you know what you can rent the home for? You can find out two ways. One, from a realtor or multiple listing site. Two, by calling similar houses for rent ads or looking at the previous couple of months in the local newspaper of for rent ads (presumably these houses have rented. Ask the owner what he got for rent.)
Next, contact three local realtor agencies and ask for the broker or assistant broker (not the duty agent who answers the phone). You want a comparable market analysis from the "best selling" agent in the area for your subdivision. Get both sell comps and rent comps.
Next, I would use that list and interview buyers who have bought in the last 180 days. Visit them if possible after perhaps speaking with them on the phone. Ask those new owners in your neighborhood, why they bought the house? Ask them how they found out about the house? Ask them how your home compares. Ask them what they think of the price? Finally, ask them if they were still looking for a home (if they were not aware of your house) what would convince them to buy your property.
Yes, this is work, but what you need is market intelligence and if you follow those steps then you will have the answer to your own question.
It could be that in your area the supply is overwhelming and there are simple more houses than buyers. It could be a defect in your home (curb appeal, etc.) Your price could be too high. Are you getting traffic to the home? There are simply too many variables to give you an answer and you need to let the market help you with your decision. Is the house vacant and you are unable to carry it? That may make the rent option stronger for you.
Consider a rent with option to buy format where you rent to cover the mortgage and other costs yet have a future possibility of a sale.
I hope this helps.
Good Luck
2007-03-04 07:07:31 · answer #1 · answered by teenriodoll 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It will sell, anything will.
It is priced too high and you probably are in denial about the actual value of your home.
Ask your Realtor to do a current market analysis being 100% honest, not puffing up the price like he probably did to get t he listing. Have him be honest with you, and you be honest with yourself. If you price the home right it will sell in any market no matter what the market is doing. I bet hundreds of homes are being sold in your county every month. I know they are here, but yet people keep saying the market is soft. Well its not soft to the people pricing correctly.
Good luck,
RE Agent,
Remax
2007-03-04 09:09:03 · answer #2 · answered by frankie b 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would say to hold hold on to it and either rent it out until the market demand picks up...of course that may be a few years but nevertheless, you can still gain equity. Also keep in mind the tax write off benefits. The other option is to do a lease option to buy - a temporary contract to rent it out w/ the option for the renter to buy at a later time. Good luck!
-mtg specialist
2007-03-04 06:56:36 · answer #3 · answered by cnet2k 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it would depend on what it is costing you to keep it and what your opportunity costs are for that money that you are paying monthly or have tied up in the house as a whole.
Is it paid for? Are you making payments? Are you paying taxes? Is your Realtor charging your to keep it on the market? Is there something you want/need to do with the money tied up in the house?
These are questions that you need to answer personally and make a decision based on.
If you are fine with the money being tied up in the house, then keep it on the market.
2007-03-04 06:56:07 · answer #4 · answered by Matthew M 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sell for less. Get out from under it. Go on about enjoying your life.
2007-03-04 06:47:31 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋