Why wont my flip sell?
Flipper · belleville, NJ · Member since 2015 · 23 posts · 6 votes
Hey guys, Long time listener first time caller. I have the same issue that others on BP are having. My flip wont sell. I got the house pretty cheap but dumped a boat load into it. I know i know. Mistake. But the house looks great but isn't staged. Do you think that's the problem? The neighborhood is nice but does board,( down the block from) an area that isn't the best but not the worst either. I'm in a town Orange new Jersey about 10 mins from Seton Hall U. If staging is the answer how long do you do that for? Any other cheaper options that can help?
Overall, the pictures where the house looks done, it looks amazing!!! It's a gorgeous house, and I can see all the hard work! I can 100% see why it hasn't sold, it looks unfinished! People paying top dollar are looking for perfections, not having to hire someone to check or fix something. I mean this in the nicest way, but it looks sloppy... exposed outlets, dumpster!? unfinished fireplace, dumpster, hanging electrical, holes in the closet, and the tile in the bathroom doesn't match the house at all, and the kitchen, which should be your masterpiece is lacking a dishwasher, and it looks like there is a hole behind it, which makes me as a potential buyer question it..
I think if you fix the things below, and get a professional photographer, you'll get it sold in no time!!! Remember-- people pay $$ for perfection, and move-in ready, so it might also be good to have a few realtors, and OCD friends do walk through to make sure everything is good!
Also, hire a cleaner-- again professional cleaner, to dust and make sure it's spotless!
Do the finishing touches, and then higher a Home Stager. They can down play the negatives and sometimes make them a selling feature. Don't guess on what to do next, have someone with experience guide you. If your home sits, your loosing money. They can move a house quicker, and save you big in the long run.
I agree with Rebecca McKenna - I don't need full staging but put some logs or plants in the fireplace, towels in the bathroom, a few fancy dishes/vases/what-have-you in the kitchen. I am great at looking past mess and seeing potential. But, if you are going to show me a great vaulted ceiling you better have the light fixtures in. And, yes, clean up the floors, etc. Looks like it is an awesome, beautiful place but not ready for market. Also, some curb appeal is essential.
Where I live, this house would be selling at $1million, depending upon the neighbourhood. But, not unless it's clean and the walk up to the house is appealing.
Its a beautiful home but you only get one chance for a first impression. I would clean it, finish the fixtures and other small things. Remove the dumpster, and take new pics. A couple hours of work would make a world of difference.
I don't think a real buy would care that you didn't cover your outlets. Your house looks great.
I also do not think it's your marketing. Buyers nowadays are smart, they do not listen to stupid ads to get to know that you are selling. Leave it on zillow, redfin and local metrolisting, you should get enough buyers.
Buyers nowadays are also smart enough to look beyond your minor imperfections.
Your only problem is pricing. There are way too many houses around your area that is being sold for less than 200k. So It is likely that you over remodeled the house.
In order to maximize your profit margin, a house that is located in a neighborhood that is worth 1million, you should not spend more than 100k to remodel it. A house that is located in a neighborhood that is worth 100k, you should not spend more than 10k to remodel it. I usually will not spend more than 5% to remodel the house UNLESS I am the person who is going to live in it. I don't like to apply a specific percentage in this situation only because there are apartments that only worth 70k and you would have to spend 10k to remodel it in order to move renters in. But percentage curve should be log curve. =)
@Helen Zhang I don't agree with those percentages at all. I have never spent only 10% of ARV on a remodel. If I waited for those properties I would have never flipped a house. You can spend $70k on a house that ARVs for $150k, assuming you buy it right.
My feedback is similar to those who have already posted. From the photos it looks as if you're selling a project, despite what the actual text might say. There are buyers out there who are 100% adverse to having to put any work into something, and many will skip from the photos alone. I do it myself. When I pull up an ad the first thing I do is go to the photos, THEN I read the ad itself. It's your first chance to grab them, and I just see photos of dusty floors, unfinished fixtures in some areas, and some rooms that look like they weren't touched in the reno. The refinished stuff looks great, but it comes across as 30% unfinished, even if that's far from the truth.
@Brian Pulaski you are welcome to spend however much you would like and you will always make money with the ARV calculator. What I am saying is to maximize your profit margins. You could buy a house that is worth 10k and you spend 30k remodeling and sell it at 50k, or you could buy a house at 300k and spend the same 30k to remodel and sell at 400k. All I am saying here is, some houses, are not worth the effort as much as other houses.
If I went into a house with no outlet covers I would think yikes if they couldn't be bothered spending $50 and 20 minutes what is lurking behind the walls they cut corners on
i buy and flip in Orange. You may be priced a bit aggressively for the area. You did a nice job with the reo but most people who can afford to spend 345K can alrealy afford to buy in West or South Orange which is way better. Id consider a a price cut at this point. That will also make the listing pop up on the MLS again and get in front of other agents.
@Linda S. RE: the highly patterned floors you commented on in the powder room (bathroom?) photo above: Maybe you were already aware of this, but those look like the one of those "encaustic tile" floors that are very on-trend in the design world and interior "blog-o-sphere" right now. However, judging from your comment, we can all deduce that the vast majority of folks aren't even aware yet that this is very "cutting edge" design, LOL! Though I am not, in general, a big fan of encaustic tiles, I actually personally really like this floor. However, I would NEVER have picked such a strong, "fad-of-the-moment" tile for my own home, much less for a flip, where you have to appeal to the masses of potential home buyers. It has such a very strong, busy pattern that I am sure must fall into the "you either love it or hate it" category. It would be so expensive to replace when you grow tired of it, which you surely would. I personally would select more timeless finishes that would stand the test of time a bit better, and have universal appeal, even if a bit less "interesting." Maria Killam (designer and color expert and blogger with a HUGE blog following) has a saying that I think is so true: "Boring now equals timeless later." She also says that she's never met a homeowner who likes the former owner's "interesting" backsplash! I think the same could be said of "interesting" tiled floors, LOL.
@Joshua D. I really think that BP could use a "home decorating and staging" for investors section to the website especially for all those clueless male investors! Maybe they could invite color consultants (like Maria Killam) and home stagers onto the podcast to discuss choosing finishes and colors, staging, etc. for investors?? From what I've seen from the listing photos of flips, in my area at least, most of the flippers don't have a clue about what is current in design trends or how to select colors to enhance, not clash with, the fixed finishes. Just my 2 cents.
@Andrew Stair, let me begin by telling you, the house looks good. A lot of the feedback here has been great. From a real estate agent/investor's perspective I must say, there are a few reasons why a house doesn't sell, but the most important one is... The price. Talk things over with your real estate agent and get his feedback, he should be able to do a comparative market analysis (CMA) and give you a good range to price the property at, and price it at a price that will cause it to sell - (Not giving it away of course). Aside from all the smaller details, my personal view about staging is the following - I don't think a great looking property would stop from selling based on staging, as long as it's priced correctly; however, I'm not saying don't stage. Best of luck, hope you sell it soon!
Hey guys, Long time listener first time caller. I have the same issue that others on BP are having. My flip wont sell. I got the house pretty cheap but dumped a boat load into it. I know i know. Mistake. But the house looks great but isn't staged. Do you think that's the problem? The neighborhood is nice but does board,( down the block from) an area that isn't the best but not the worst either. I'm in a town Orange new Jersey about 10 mins from Seton Hall U. If staging is the answer how long do you do that for? Any other cheaper options that can help?
For me, the house doesn't have good curve appeal.
TIP-
the rockwork near the window does not look good from a distance. If I were you I would stain the rocks different stains
for the stairs, I would add brickwork to make it pop, same with the pillar near the garage
I would concrete or a brick paver walkway leading up to the stairs
I would also remove the flood light above the garage because for me personally, it makes me worry about how safe the neighborhood is
(this is just my personal opinion, and I could be wrong)
The style of the updates look great, however the lack of professional photography is not allowing all of your updates to shine. I think you did great selecting finishes that will appeal to a wide range of clients.
Some problems I see are:
Lack of curb appeal. Dull yard, dumpster in picture, etc.
Why are the 2 windows above the garage different styles?
Pictures are choppy, out of order, and don't give any clue to the layout of the house.
All the small stuff inside that everyone else mentioned - clean, light fixtures, switch plates, etc. Looks like you're trying to sell a project that's 90% done instead of a "turnkey" property.
What is that red stain on the master bathroom countertop? It really stands out and just looks bad.
No pictures of backyard.
No dishwasher. Are you including one? That empty space in the kitchen is ugly and again makes it look unfinished.