We recently listed our house with a new agency and new realtor. Our house sat on the market with our first realtor as he cut his fees to do us a favor ( he sold us the house three years ago ) but he did more damage than good. We have now listed with a high seller, but we dont feel we are getting the goods she "promised". Then there is the neighborhood. We live off of a street with a duplex next door and nicer houses across from us. Everyone who sees the house has shared that the neighborhood is somewhat daunting, meaning the crap at the duplex is the reason I am not buying. We have also come down in price from first listing it, by $50,000. What seems to be the issue. All the feedback has been good on the house, indoors and out. It is a fairly newer home with a lot of room and space. In reading all those blogs from others who have the same issues going on, the general feedback is again all the same. SO WHAT TO DO? We cant afford to drop the price too much more and we have listed that we will pay closing up to $3000. We recently had our second open house, two families came through. A couple who are doctors shared interest, but is it our realtor isnt convincing enough to their realtor? How do you know the deals are being worked? I feel at this point it would be better to get out of contract, post my own listing and drop it to bare bottom, $400,000. I HATE THE POSTITION I AM IN.. and its getting worse. WHAT TO DO?My Listing

I'm curious - why doesn't your listing come up on realtor.com? Is there still a military presence in Bremerton? I used to be a Navy brat, but been away from it for quite a while. I remember there was a Naval Base in Bremerton, but that could have changed. I ask because it would seem that there is a possibility of people moving to your area, but your house doesn't show up on a national listing "service".

Okay a few suggestions for your beautiful home:

Exterior - The wood facia boards .. up near the roofline needs painting. While, with a closer look, may be docorative.. looks unfinished from a distance (to drive-by buyers).
I would paint it the same color of the home.

I would put black shutters on or something to dress up the exterior.

As far as the duplex that you say is unkept, I would notify code enforcement. That is the only thing you can do.

That's why many people buy in subdivisions, because those neighborhoods are not mixed use zoning. Never buy a home in a mixed use zoning neighborhood...single family residential, duplex, quads, sixplex, smaller and larger apartment complexes. In this case you say duplex next door.


The interior..some rooms are great... .. the bonus room and some bedrooms need some staging.

Not familiar with your market so not sure about your pricing but I would throw bonuses, etc. into reduction of price.

Remember... the Realtor is selling a product - your home... the better the product..the better chance of sale. Advertising brings the buyers to the product. It has to stand out from the other choices in your price range.

Good luck to you.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: real estate lady,

Many potential buyers will drive on by if a property has no curb appeal. It looks like no one lives there. Can't make out any window treatments. Only two colors on the exterior, both neutrals. The unpainted wood in eaves looks like the painter went home for lunch and forgot to come back. The front door needs a "Howdy" color to jazz it up and say welcome.

Even if a person is not a gardener, they appreciate good landscaping. The long bed that is supposed to lead you down the garden path, is dismal, sparse, and without color.

There are concerns re: the drive way. It dips in the middle. What are the drainage issues in the landscape? What's with the end of the driveway where the concrete seems to stop just before the end of the picture frame?

Remember, it's the first impression that makes the biggest impression. A quick trip around to the backyard before entering the home reveals no landscaping except for grass fence, out of sight/out of mind bed, no patio, screened porch or any extension of the home to the outdoors. You say you have a deck. Where is it? Potential buyers want to see a lovely place to entertain.

I don't recall seeing an inviting picture taking me through the entry. So, I'll start in the MBR, don't know how I got there first. Remove the curtain on the wall at the head of the bed. Nothing above the bed would be better than the curtain. Remove the crosses and anything personal. Depersonalize. Wicker furniture is way out of place with the heavy dark wood. What's with the cushion on the floor at the foot of the bed? Is that where you sleep or hubby?

Master Bath: Streamline counter to give it a more spacious look. Some folks would die for a double bowl vanity and lots of space. Capitalize on it. Remove the robe. That's personal.

Kitchen: Remove table chairs as they take up too much visual space. If new owners feel the need for such a setup, let them figure it out or realtor can add that tip on a tour as a selling point that the kitchen is soooo large a breakfast table could go here. Declutter top of cabinets. Fake flowers are out.

In photo selection list, you show Great Room & Family Room. They look like the same room. What's with that?

The columns in the diningroom blew me away. You list your home as a contemporary and there are classic columns. Big ones. These could be a turn off. They take up space and are an architectural nightmare in this home that has so much potential.

I am a business professional. I need an office. No picture. That could be good and bad. I want to know if there are built-in bookcases and something about the high tech electronic capabilities in the room. Someone else may think, "Oh, an extra bedroom."

Bonus Room is dismal and not inviting. Does not appear to be a bonus. Remove the pictures by the windows and clutter in window sills and in corner. Without seeing the focal wall, it's difficult to envision anything in the room except the windows and furniture which offer no appeal.

Other bedroom pictures. 1st bedroom looks like someone stole a pillow. Put a couple matching red pillows on that bed to complete the bedding. Or better still, finish making the bed. The purple/green room is a major turn off. It needs to be neutralized with neutral wall paint. The decor is too personalized for you and, I assume, your child. Makes me dizzy thinking about swirling purple and green sherbet together. Yuck!

Yes, the neighbors in the duplex may be a problem, but you have other problems that may be turning potential buyers away. Have you attended open houses in the neighborhood to determine what others have to offer and at what price. You are on your second realtor and no one has come clean and told you anything you need to do to help move the property. Many realtors will not because they don't want to hurt your feelings. The realtor who says, "Hey, you want to move this property, then we need to do 1,2,3. Or, I know nothing about homestaging, but here's a card of someone I know who can do come bang-up work within a limited budget."

Back to the neighbors in the duplex. I assume these are rental properties? Do the folks own their units? Check with local Zoning Board to confirm that this neighborhood is zoned single family housing or both single/multi-family. Perhaps there is something that could be done, if zoned single family. Some towns don't have zoning, so anything goes.

If you give your home the curb appeal that is needed to get the potential buyers inside, they will not notice that there is a duplex next door. Good luck!

I wanted to thank you all for your onstructive criticism, great feedback, and support. I have contacted my realtor and will be working on ways to improve. Always looking for suggestions and comments. Again, Thanks for taking the time to respond. Kathy

concerning the duplex.....i live in a neighborhood w/ 3 doubles in the area and the landlords take careful consideration of who they put in there. There may be times that they misread people, but then it becomes the responsibility of the neighbors to keep the tenant in check.

Reality is the first line of defense is to be a neighbor to these people...Try to welcome them...we can always be nice and cordial and polite.....If they don't cut grass, know who does cut grass......call the property owner and complain....Call the cops if the neighbors are loud, call the city if there is trash and the property is unkempt....

Our experience is that when the neighborhood steps up and sets the standards and insists on those standards being maintained....the undesirables tend to move on to somewhere else....

Concerning your home....I don't see anything setting it apart from anyone else who may be selling....The window treatments aren't there, the walls in most of the rooms appear to be white......The pictures of your home don't look appealing.....Can the realtor take them again - get someone else to help take more appealing pictures...

People are visual....they will remember things by "Oh, I liked that home w/ the beautiful flowers leading up the walk..., or the beautiful hanging baskets, I loved the green walls in the LR...." Color can be tasteful.....White sometimes can be cold and sterile....

again - just my opinion...Good luck!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: out on a limb,

What I think, is that you need to go through a depersonalize and neutralize.
1. Repaint the purple bedroom. Try Antique white. It is more of a tanish color, very nice.
2. Remove the extra chairs in the corners of the dining. You want the room to seem "flowy"
3. Have your Realtor remove the title family room, and put up another shot of the "great room"
4. For 400k I would expect Stainless steal appliances.
5. Remove the tiny table in the kitchen and put up bar stools.
6. Clear the bathroom counter, and robe
7. I agree with the wicker and wood=doesn't go. Also, Do you have a dog? If so, does your home smell of dog? That could put off buyers. I know I won't buy a house with pet fur/dandur.

I gave the same ol' advice I think other posters replied with. (Great minds think alike)
I wouldn't paint the shingles on top. think if you balance the color, say, with mulch in the flower beds...it will be fine.
I will never buy a home with any outside wood painted...EVER. (Our deck was painted previously, and I just had to redo it this past summer-a pain) Put some potted plants, with color of course, in the front. I know this pic was after a rain and looks gloomy..but you need something that draws the eye in. The house looks cold and not lived in.
Good Luck, and I would DEF. Drop the price to your lowest, below comps. I am sure if you have a duplex next door, then your house isn't going to appreciate like you want it to. Drop the price and sell this house!

Realtor dot com is a huge selling tool in our area - why isn't your home listed? I agree that there is absolutely no curb appeal....it is a garage with a house attached look that does not appeal to many.

I can't add anything to the advice you've already been given but I want to share a comment I heard yesterday at the Broker's Open House held at my house.

They were all standing around the kitchen chatting and one of the Realtors said "It's all about the price. Anything will sell if the price is right".

Simple statement but probably the truest statement ever made.

There are lots of great features about your home. One thing I noticed was the display order of the photos. Your two least attractive interior photos come up first...the spare bedroom and then the bonus room. I think your great room, kitchen and dining room should come up first. I disagree with removing the kitchen table & chairs...I think people would expect to see an eating area there. I think the light fixture above it is too high, can you lower it? I would get rid of the pot rack. It takes up visual space and it screams "not enough storage"...JMHO! How long have you been on the market at the new, lower price? That's a healthy price reduction and it should generate some interest. As far as your realtor goes, I don't know whether or not she is doing an adequate job. She has 28 other listings, so don't expect too much personal attention.

According to Zillow the house sold in 2005 (at the height of the bubble) for 320K. Why would it be worth 100K more, 3 years later?

I think you have a nice home - and I tried to put myself in the position of a buyer.... A mixed neighborhood would be an issue for me (too much inventory on the market - why would I buy there, when I can buy in a great neighborhood at about the same price). Also, some of the layout in the house wouldn't work for me (always personal taste) - like the master tub that I would absolutely hit the vanity every time I stepped into it (and I'm a tub person).... The outside does seem sterile. I don't know about painting or shutters - but I think if there was beautiful landscaping with some larger trees around it, it would be very helpful... I'm hoping you don't have to sell, and you just want to - because if you're looking for a specific price - and the market doesn't bear that - you sometimes have to just wait a couple years for the market to catch up.... Sadly, the price is determined by the market - and not by the seller/realtor any more...... Good luck - it's never fun, is it.....

or you could do what my lucky SIL did, and list her house where her bottom line was and it sold in 1mth. She didn't even try to sell it. Her house was messy when showings went on, had no curb appeal and there were dishes in the sink. But it sold in 4wks!!!!!! Crazy, I know. Made me really jealous, until we got our offer. lol

Drop the price, that is the best thing you can do...below comps.