Hi, I’m new here… trying to get feedback to of course, sell a house, “In This Market”. If I never hear that term again in my life I’d be OK… I promise…

Well, in a nutshell, we are trying to sell our home in Suffolk County, NY, where real estate has been Booming for years… but of course not now… 4BD/2.5BA Victorian, .75 Acre, Prestigious Schools, Asking $635,000… (Which BTW would’ve been UNHEARD OF 2-3 yrs ago… and is still priced lower than current comps.) We are also offering tons of “Buyer Incentives” like Cash Back towards closing costs… We are “Hearing All Offers”… And “Willing to Negotiate” … Additional Selling Agent Bonus’s… We’ve been on for 41 days, only a handful of showings, none serious.

Bottom line is we need to be in contract no later than June 30. So my question is… If we “Must Sell” is using that term so bad? And if so what is the negative impact it has? I mean at this point I’m saying Isn’t Bad Publicity Better than No Publicity?? At least an Offer is an Offer…

Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

Must sell will bring in lowballers.....if you're prepared to deal with that then go for it. Some lowballers are just throwing anything out there in hopes an offer will stick, they're in it to get a bargain, not the perfect house, and will probably be less open to negotiating an acceptable offer for you. Other lowballers are just trying to get a deal on the perfect house. These lowballers will be more open to negotiating. Whatever the case, try to work any offer you get. Good luck.

Are you considering Lowering your price? That would be the thing to do if you Must Sell by June 30th. justmy2cents

How about a buyer's bonus/incentive if closing by June 30th. Say....1st year's homeowner's insurance paid for. Or homeowner's dues if you are in a neighborhood with a homeowners' association? Extra percentage of commission to the realtor?

Any of incentive you choose for closings by June 1, June 15, and June 30...obviously, incentive percentage is less the later in the month it gets.

If you MUST sell within 2 months - forget what you write in an ad - lower the price.... What is your realtor saying? I think with everything else you have written, you've already said you're in a really big hurry to sell. Unfortunately, if people aren't even coming to the house - you've got to have something to get them in... Rereading your note - you aren't trying to sell this yourself, are you?? I think that's fine, as long as you're not in a hurry - but if you don't have a realtor - I'd get one, and if you do - I'd get a marketing plan from them on how to get more people into the house - and I'd drop the price. Give us your MLS link, and maybe some of the folks here will have some good ideas for assistance with staging. Having fresh eyes is always helpful. Good luck....

Add the estimated buyers closing costs plus the cost of those extra incentives to agents, and then lower the price by that amount. If you are really and truly underpriced by a considerable amount (let say: 5-10% below current sold comps) already, this will make you stand out that much more.

I wouldn't tell anyone you need to close by June 30. Saying "must sell" is redundant, because no one in their right mind is on the market just for the h e c k of it right now. But I don't think it hurts to say "owner will carefully consider all offers" or "owner is eager for an offer" - or something to that effect that indicates you are flexible and can't/won't be easily insulted.

Our buyer gave us what I thought to be a bit of a low offer... and then he came up over $50K and the deal was made.

Best of luck!

Hey guys, Thanks for the input, I guess well see what happens this weekend at the open house... and go from there...

My thoughts are the same, I just need to get them in the door, Price hasnt even been an issue yet b/c we haven't even had anyone serious... We are OK with lower... we have to be...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jessica314,

The link isn't working.

not for me either...funcolors

MLS Link


Try Again... sorry... it worked for me at first...

I think I know that area. Thing is, once you get that far east on the island, you can build new for same sq. ftg., maybe more, and of equal quality for almost $100K less right now. You're competing with a brand new kitchens with stainless, granite in KT and BTHS, and darker woods throughout the house.

You have done a lot and it's on a nice sized lot. Pool, igs, fence, established lawn and landscaping and it is all very lovely. Can tell it was all done well. Interior is lovely too.

I'm not afraid of paint by any means, but I gotta say all the red you have thru that house is intense and there's a lot of it - even a red counter top in the MBTH. Between the red and the wallpaper, a buyer is looking at several thousand dollars and several weeks, whether DIY or pro, to change the look if your taste isn't syncing up to theirs.

What about town/location amenities? How far to the LIRR? Beach access & how close, school district rating, anything like that to add to the listing? That could help. What about the basement? Anything done to it to make it useable space like storage or play area?

Definitely play up how much homey finish work and additions have been added to the house because that is your advantage over new builds in nearby towns that aren't so far east.

Your house is beautiful. The red is - as previous poster said - really strong, and there are alot of people that are still afraid of color. Since I have cinammon colored walls - I know it takes quite a bit to cover those red walls - so as any buyer is looking at your house, they're figuring out the cost to repaint all your walls, and take down the wallpaper in the kitchen (wallpaper is tough - it eliminates houses off my list, but even wallpaper people are picky because it is so taste specific - much easier to paint over those red walls).... If you weren't in a hurry, I would still say you need to at least get rid of the wallpaper. If you are in a hurry - I'd paint those red walls, too.... It doesn't have to be white (in fact, I hate white), but some color that is not quite so strong (yes, people should be able to see past that, but many don't - and those that do figure the cost for THEM to do it to be alot higher that it would cost YOU to do it - and they take that off the price to start with, and bargain from there..... Good luck - I was faced with this exact issue last time I sold... When I sell my current house (which has different strong colors in every room), every room will be some kind of neutral.....

I suggest repainting the red walls ASAP to maybe a little darker tone of the lighter walls you have. The lighter walls look great, and although I personally like the red.. many don't.

I would put all the incentive money into a price reduction to $599,900. I think you will pick up more buyers in that range, when they pull listings 550, to 600,.

Good luck and happy selling ...


"Always live on the positive side of life"


REL

what does "grieving taxes" mean?

Beautiful home and lot!! But I must agree that the dark walls and kitchen and NBA wallpaper have to go. You say price hasn't been an issue yet, but lookers could have decided that it would cost too much to have the place repainted. And if you could reduce it to $599,000, you'll get all the buyers whose range is only up to $600,000. Of course, I don't know the comps, but if new homes are available for the same price, those will go first. Good luck!

Skinny, on LI the taxes and local governments have some issues. The way property tax is assessed is complicated and a little strange if ya ask me. Since there has been a significant down trend in LI housing values, there's a need for a process to reassess existing taxes. They call it grieving taxes.

If the process has already been done or started it's a good selling point. It also shows that the seller acknowledges that housing values from 2001 to 2007 were a due to the bubble and not *real* and that taxes are simply one item on a long list of things that need a fresh evaluation.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: funcolors,

Thank you all for your comments and valuable input! We have taken in the consideration of the "dramatic" colors through-out the house.... We have verbally told potential buyers we are offering either Sellers Contribution towards Closing Costs, or "Redecorating Allowance"...

As far as the taxes, I will begin the process on May 20th. Thats the date in Suffolk County. I have all my paperwork in order and am expecting a reduction of $1,000 - $1,500 in our 2009 taxes. Always a good selling point...

We had a pretty busy Open House yesterday... 9 People showed up... (2 Potentials out of that) Weather was beautiful, people were out driving around... Spring is in the air!!! Trying to stay Positive!

I would repaint the rooms with the strong colors. Those colors are very taste specific and will appeal to fewer buyers.
At this stage in my life offering me a painting allowance would not be enough to sway me to your house all things considered the same.
I would be adding the time to prep and repaint and clean up to my moving in time.Even if were to have it professionally done it will take some doing.

Wallpaper is a must to change ASAP. It will appeal to almost no one. Add that to the 'to do' list on top of the paint and I would definately walk away unless the house were drastically reduced.

I would also do a price deduction to under $600,000 to attract a segment of buyers that wouldn't have considered your property in a previous search.

As usual - what Crazymaggiemay said... Your issue is your need to sell immediately. As a buyer - I'm going to have a list of things I want to do anyway - and you've just added to the list (I now need to paint over red - which is a pain - AND I need to rip down wallpaper). For me - wallpaper is a reason to walk away. I really don't like wallpaper - and the house would have to be at the bottom of the price scale to even consider it... If speed is necessary - don't make the potential buyers have to do the work.....