Why has this house been on the market so long?

A buyer said to me the other day they liked this one house.  I looked it up.  They then asked how long it had been on the market. As a realtor I can see this on the MLS (Multi-listing Service). I said, 4 days, which is what it said.  My buyer said, “oh no I have seen this house before. I am sure it has been on the market before.”  So, I checked the history and sure enough this particular house had been on and off the market 3 other times over the course of the last year.  My client then wanted to know what was wrong with the house.  She wasn’t sure she wanted to waste her time actually going to look at the property.  She just wanted to know what was wrong with the property because someone would have, should have bought it if it was a good house. 

In the course of my career I have heard this same scenario play out several times.  If other homes are selling in 45 to 60 days or less and the very best homes are sold in less than 30 days, why has this house been on the market for a year with three different realtors attempting to sell it. Or the other question I get is, it’s been on the market for awhile, do you think the owner will take a low offer?

As a seller you want it to sell quickly and for the most money.  The very best offers are those that come quickly.  If the house is just sitting there and not selling, buyers are going to be asking questions just like my client.  

So what is a seller to do?

Your house should look like it is the best house on the market.  You can do that by making sure it is clean and move in ready and priced correctly.  If you don’t want to make repairs and want to sell it as is, then price it accordingly.  Everything sells for a price.  If the house is priced correctly and marketed effectively, it will sell.  Overpricing the house will always cause it to sit and become stale.  Homes priced at market value or slightly under will cause buyers to make offers.  An underpriced home will cause people to see the value and create a bidding war to bring the price back up.  You cannot underprice the house provided it is listed for the market to see in the MLS and is marketed effectively.

If the house isn’t selling, it is for one of two reasons—price or condition. Feedback is a good tool to know if there are items you need to fix. And remember, price fixes everything.  Although, I still contend it is sometimes less expensive to make repairs than to drop the price so that someone else is willing to do the repairs.

If you are interested in getting your house sold, please contact me to find out how I get homes sold for the most money in the least amount of time.  Sandi Walker  405-213-2992  or www.equityhomesteam.com

I don’t want to give my house away.

Sellers seem to always want to list their homes for the most money possible.  They tell me, we can always come down, but you can’t go up.  Let’s start several thousand dollars higher than what the comparable homes are priced at and if we don’t sell it in a few weeks we can come down. Unfortunately, the sellers often don’t want to come down because at that point they have associated this inflated price as the value for their home.  The seller may decide to remain at that higher price for much longer than the realtor would suggest—holding out for the price they want.  Eventually the listing contract may expire and the seller feeling defeated and irritated with their current realtor who couldn’t get them the inflated price may employ another realtor.  Surely the second or third realtor will be able to get more money for them.

I tell sellers two things are true. First, something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. Regardless of what you believe it is worth or what I believe it is worth or what the comparable say, the consumer will eventually decide what the value of a home is worth.  An experienced and educated realtor will be able to advise the seller where to price the home to sell in a reasonable amount of time.  Second, you cannot underprice a property.  If you list a property slightly below market value (I am not talking about listing it at 50 cents on the dollar) and market the home effectively you will have multiple offers on the house.  The consensus will be market value.  There have been times when I have listed a home slightly under list price and then marketed it to the public in a way that causes multiple offers and a majority of the offers are for the exact same price. 

Recently, I had a home that was listed at $130,000. It needed some cosmetic work however the bones of the house were good.  The house would have been worth more money if it was updated.  The seller did not have the money to do the repairs.  I listed the house and held it open that first weekend. The seller instructed me they would look at offers after the open house.  We had 4 offers.  One was a low offer, two were identical and the one we took was slightly higher than the two that were identical.  The seller closed the house at $123,000 with no closing costs or repairs.

Another time, I had a house which we listed for $ 50,000. It also needed work.  We received 17 offers on the house and sold it for $60,000.  We had several offers at or around $60,000. We accepted the one that was willing to take the house without any contingencies.   

The point is you cannot under price a house.  The market will correct for that.  You can overprice a house and the market will respond with it sitting there unsold. Regardless of condition or location, there is a market value for all homes. My job as a licensed realtor is to help you determine accurate value so you can get the house sold for the most money in the quickest amount of time. 

If you are looking for an experienced realtor to guide you through the buying or selling process please contact me at 405-213-2992  or visit my website:  www.equityhomesteam.com

Pictures are worth a thousand words

I believe in todays market that having good pictures on the web advertising a listing can cause people to look at a house, while not having good pictures could cause some people to not  look at a house. The Oklahoma City multi listing services allows a realtor to put 20 pictures on it. So many times I see a listing with only one or two pictures or just pictures of the outside. It often makes me wonder what is wrong with the house. Does it need work or updating. These pictures should be of good quality, not fuzzy or blurry. They should show you the house from various angles and give you a feeling of being inside. I personally take pictures of the backyard as well as the front so buyers can see the size of the backyard and if it has any extra features like a covered patio or pool.

It is sometimes hard in a small house to find 20 different angles to photograph especially of a 2 bedroom, 1 bath house. In that case, I still take multi angles of the living room, kitchen and bathroom. I may take pictures of the central heat and air unit to show age and condition.

In an extremely large house, I may find that I need more than the 20 photos allowed to show all the rooms especially if I want multiple angles.  Fortunately, there is software that will allow me to stitch photos together so I can get more than the 20 photos on the MLS.  I did this with a home that had a safe room as a pantry. I wanted to show the safe room all the way open and then with the door partially closed. It gave buyers an insightful view on the house.

When I am marketing a house for sale, I am going to list as much information as I can that will cause it to sell. This includes large room dimensions, amenities, school information, and photos with descriptions.  If you are interested in learning more about how I get houses sold, please feel free to contact me at 405-213-2992 or visit my website. http://www.sandiwalker.com

Paint is cheap

Sprucing up the paint in your house with a nurtral color can help it to sell faster and for more money. 

Owner occupant buyers looking for homes generally fall into two catagories–those wanting a a deal and are willing to paint, carpet, and make some repairs and those wanting a move in ready home.  Most sellers want the maximum value for their home but also want to outlay the minimum cost, which is understandable. Generally, the buyers looking for a move in ready home are willing to pay a little more than those willing to do some repairs and updating.

In order to get the maximum value for the house, it should be clean and decluttered. Freshly painted homes look cleaner and fresher. In addition, sellers will want to take personal pictures off their walls and minimize the number of art work on the wall. In doing so, sellers need to pull nails and picture hangers, putty the holes, and touch up the paint as needed. If it has been awhile since the walls were painted the touch up paint will most likely not match. You don’t want the wall to look spotchy. So go ahead and paint the wall.

Wild colors of paint can make buyers cringe thinking of the number of coats of paint it is going to take to cover the purple or red rooms. In addition, white walls show all types of dirt and imperfections that otherwise might not be seen. White walls are also cold and feel like you are in a rent house.  I suggest that sellers paint a taupe or beige color. This way it is nuetral for the next buyer and yet makes the room warm and inviting.

A gallon of paint is about $25 and is well worth buying if you are trying to sell your house.  For other tips and questions, please feel free to contact me at 405-213-229 or visit my websit www.sandiwalker.net.