Rehabber · Orland Park, IL · Member since 2013 · 34 posts · 2 votes
This is my first flip and I think it turned out great, the problem is I can get it to sell. I have done "for sale by owner" and now with an agent. Had a bunch of showings when I started with the agent but it has now died off.
The house blows everything out of the water in oak forest IL, so I cant understand why it will not sell. I am losing money every month having it sit around any suggestions on what to do? Places to post, marketing ideas, agents that want to show it.
It is listed all over the place this is the one on craigslist.
Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
12y
Another thought: If you aren't getting feedback from your real estate agent, do not use that person next time. Your agent needs to be giving you good advice and helping you in your business. For example, if your house is overpriced (which seems to be the case), the agent should be telling you that. They should also be probing potential buyers, getting feedback from them, and relaying it to you. If the agent is looking at you and shaking their head saying "It's a beautiful house, I don't know why it's not selling", you need a new agent.
Real Estate Broker · Lakeland, FL · Member since 2011 · 305 posts · 181 votes
12y
Not sure about your market .. But the #1 reason houses don't sell is price..
Market the crap out of it.. Lots of foreign buyers. Try www.postlets.com
Good luck
Gavin
Flipper/Rehabber · York, UK · Member since 2013 · 895 posts · 453 votes
12y
You've probably answered your own question with "it blows everything else out of the water". With the disclaimer that I do not work in Illinois but do invest there, a quick look at market stats show your $/sf to be significantly higher than the median for the zip code ($163 vs $123), and that's just for listed homes. The median for solds in the past 90 days is $101. What is the average days on market for that area? The greater Chicago market, while seeing movement, is still saturated with product and sales take time.
Huntsville, AL · Member since 2013 · 66 posts · 11 votes
12y
It's a beautiful house, I don't think anyone will dispute that.
How is it priced relative to the comps? One thing someone told me a while back was that things like stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops don't necessarily add value, they just make the home sell quicker (I'm sure that's a statement that could be debated at length). If you're priced too high above your comps, that may be a big part of it.
Other than that, I'd say hang around at the open houses and ask for input from the people looking at the home without sounding too pushy. Also, maybe get your realtor to talk to any of the buyer's agent that he/she may know pretty well and see if they have any feedback on why buyers are passing on the home.
Real Estate Professional · West Palm Beach, FL · Member since 2012 · 23k+ posts · 13k+ votes
12y
It seems like you're getting plenty of exposure, assuming there is nothing weird or obsolescent about the house, your problem is that it's over priced, whether you want to believe that or not.
Real Estate Investor · Saint Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 951 votes
12y
Looking at the properties in the immediate area it looks like you way over improved for the area. I don't see anything that neighborhood to support your $/ft asking price. Most of the properties in the same price range as yours have almost double the sq ft but obviously aren't as fixed up. My guess is you spent way too much on your rehab for the area to support and now you're stuck looking for the perfect buyer that wants those exact finishes.....and will probably have to pay cash because I don't see the comps that would support an appraisal for a mortgage.
Also if you don't have it on MLS your showings will probably be limited.
Nice looking property. Doing all the work yourself should be a source of pride for you. However, this is a business. If the property is properly and adequately advertised and it has not sold, its the price. It looked like there were other cheaper houses in Oak Forest. How does your property compare to other properties listed for sale and ones sold in the last 6 months. You should not be above the rest of the market or your wait for a buyer could be a long wait.
On HUD repos they drop the price 10% every month until sold. Very seldom does a HUD house stay on the market for 100 days, as the price is dropped every 30 days. I know that this is an aggressive pricing strategy, but it does work.
Flipper/Rehabber · Greeley, CO · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
I agree with the rest the posts. If you are priced too high, all the marketing in the world won't sell the home. We drop our prices on our flips every three to four weeks. Our sweet spot for selling a home tends to be right in the three week range If we have it priced right. I have not idea why that is, but that is always when we tend to get the best offer. If it is over priced we wont have an offer the first month, under prided and we get multiple offers the first week.
Aurora, CO · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
It looks like you did really detailed and quality work. However, it does perhaps look a bit too personalized? meaning that unless you find a buyer with the same interior design taste as you, you may be out of luck.
For example: to me, the ceilings- impressive as they are- look a bit oppressive/busy with that two-tone paint job. And I'm sorry, but I really don't dig the big clock thingy, or the walls with the diamond pattern (are those tiles? if it's a fancy paint job it would be no big deal for someone to redo, but if they're tiles, and they don't like it- well, that becomes an issue.)
Also- those chairs that I see peeking out of the dining room are totally at odds with the style of the room. You might be better off without them, staging wise. Perhaps a consult with a design person/stager would help?
These are my thoughts, please take them with a grain of salt, as I am neither a designer nor a flipper.
Orlando, FL · Member since 2013 · 165 posts · 62 votes
12y
If you will remove the picture of the toilet from the pictures, the house will be sold in two weeks. If that doesn't work raise the commission to eight per cent. Instruct the Realtor to put the selling commission to four per cent to the selling office. Realtors will drag people to look at it. The house is beautiful. If it gets shown, It will get sold or you will get offers.
Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
12y
For every area there is some expected level of finish and features. If a property isn't up to snuff or is missing something common in the area, it will sell at a significant discount vs. others. So, fixing it up and adding the amenity will gain you a lot of payback.
Going beyond what's expected, though, very often returns little, if anything. It might make the property easier to sell, but it want bring you more money. Even if you get a buyer that will pay a premium, their lender won't make the loan. An appraiser won't given any value to the over improvements.
You've done a beautiful job on the house. Those are some very high end finishes. I wouldn't expect those in $200K houses around here. Is that what's expected in that area?
Also what you paid and the amount you've invested is absolutely irrelevant to what you can sell it for. You need to set those numbers aside, take a hard look at the comps and get it priced right for the area.
I didn't bother looking at the pictures because to be blunt it doesn't matter. Everyone has indicated you did a great job so that isn't your issue.
Others have also looked at your area and have indicated it is quite expensive for the area. That is clearly the issue then.
It is one thing to sometimes hang out for a surprisingly long time without getting an offer, or at least a reasonable one, but you indicated that you aren't even getting many showings after a little flurry to start.
If people aren't even asking to see it then you are priced WELL above what people want to see. For flipping you want to be able to be the nicest house available (Sounds like you have gotten that) AND the most affordable (Or at least close to it, you don't have to be priced better then junkers). Seems like you are nice but overpriced and frankly if you only choose one be the best price and not as nice as you could be.
What is the spread you are looking at with the current price and how much are your monthly holding costs? You pretty much have a month to sell it before it will get tough until the new year so it might be worth putting in a BIG drop to move it.
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
12y
Aside from price it is very taste specific. The kitchen and to some extent the baths are not as taste specific so that is good they are big ticket items that I think would appeal to most people. However if what I am seeing in the bath is leaning mirrors I suggest you attached them to the wall, that is not good for showing and it makes the space look unfinished. If you are advertising to families that is just one thing they will see and think , got to take care of that right away. The coffered ceilings and diamond pattern wall are something you like or don't and that could really limit your buyer pool. If the diamond pattern is wallpaper I really would undo it, sorry to say. Good luck!
Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
12y
Another thought: If you aren't getting feedback from your real estate agent, do not use that person next time. Your agent needs to be giving you good advice and helping you in your business. For example, if your house is overpriced (which seems to be the case), the agent should be telling you that. They should also be probing potential buyers, getting feedback from them, and relaying it to you. If the agent is looking at you and shaking their head saying "It's a beautiful house, I don't know why it's not selling", you need a new agent.
Durham, NC · Member since 2012 · 498 posts · 48 votes
12y
I'd guess you did the pricing, not the agent, or you had chosen an agent to support your pricing. Since you have had difficulty selling the house, you probably should try to talk to your agent again to ask his opinion on the price.
Another problem is as many said here that building a palace in a ghetto is usually a bad idea.
Residential Real Estate Agent · Cookeville, TN · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 948 votes
12y
I clicked on this discussion because I have a similar problem. I have a rehab on the market that I thought for sure would go very quickly. I've done many rehabs in this price range, and this is the nicest house of them all. We've had 13 or so showings and no offers. I've dropped the price twice. I am also a Realtor, so I have MLS access and courthouse retrieval to look at comps. I may have been 5% or so too high when we first listed it. After the first price drop, I was confident that we were right on target. After the second price drop, I am confident that we are on the lower end of the comps. Still, no offer. I've never had a listing with so many showings in such a short time with no offers. It's about to drive me crazy. I honestly think that Zillow (spit) is to blame, because they show the price that I gave for the house. Sometimes people won't buy a rehab if the think the seller is "making too much". Drives me crazy. Anyone else have the same thought about the previous purchase price on Zillow?
Real Estate Investor · Saint Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 951 votes
12y
The other thing I noticed while tracking it down on Zillow....you've had it listed for almost 4 months and you've cut the price a grand total of $100. It's pretty obvious you're well over due for some price cuts.
Residential Real Estate Agent · Cookeville, TN · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 948 votes
12y
I have a theory. If you are getting traffic, but no offers, it may be that buyers are thinking to themselves "he only paid 127 and now he's asking 229 - sure it looks great, but there's no way that he spent 100k fixing it up".
I have one of my own on the market and I suspect that a similar situation is happening to me.
Real Estate Investor · Saint Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 951 votes
12y
@Bryan L. I think that's more of an investor mentality to look at what the previous person paid and try to see if you can get the margin down. For most owner occupants they are more like oooooh look at the shiny stainless appliances and granite. In the end though it comes down if they're getting a good value and if they can't have their shiny finishes at a price that's competitive with the rest of the neighborhood then they'll move on.
I like to put granite and low end stainless appliances in my middle class neighborhood flips and price them the same as the houses without any bells and whistles. They go under contract quickly.