Investor · St. Louis, MO · Member since 2009 · 153 posts · 44 votes
So here we go. My rehab is complete, had it on the market for about 3 weeks, and no showings. We have 1 open house with 7 or so couples coming through.
So here's the question, what do I do to increase traffic, better yet, what would you do in this situation?
I'm guessing all the responses will be lower the price, but I am curious if there's any other advice.
Thanks again BP, I could not have reached this point with out this site and J Scott's site. Now we just have to sell this place!
Multifamily Investor · Toledo, OH · Member since 2008 · 296 posts · 308 votes
15y
Put it up on craigslist in the For Rent section and advertise the payments. You are still looking for someone who can get a loan, but this opens you up to people who think they can't get a loan or who just need a house that's nice enough or a deal that's good enough to push them along.
Here is a link to one of my craigslist ads for your reference: http://toledo.craigslist.org/apa/2521071494.html.
Note the big, bold, red letters that say you must have a 600+ credit score to qualify. That is Wells Fargo's minimum. Make sure you have a contact there or with another L/O that can offer a low credit score loan.
Real Estate Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2009 · 339 posts · 126 votes
15y
George, first of all, the house look really nice. Seems you did a good job on the rehab.
Unlike J Scott who seems to sell everything in a cinch :D I have “been there done that”. I have had the house that everyone loves but no one makes an offer on. Long story short, it’s almost always the price. I know that is not what you want to hear but it would have saved me a lot of time if somebody would have said it to me when I was trying to figure out why the house was not selling.
Otherwise…
Like everyone else says: the pictures. I pay $75 for a professional photographer to take 25 pictures of my house and then I put all 25 pictures on the MLS, you only have 22 and not great pictures.
The house is a 2/1 and although I would not touch a 2/1 in my area unless I could make it a 3/2 since I don’t know your area that might be ok where you are. If you think being a 2/1 is a short coming in your area then all you can do is make up for it with price, terms and/or incentives. Have you thought about selling through lease purchase, owner financing, offering a 2d mortgage or something similar?
Curb appeal. The picture of the front of the house does not make me want to get off my couch and want to go and look at your house. If people don’t like the pictures they will not go see the house.
Has anything gone under contract or closed recently in the area? If so, give that agent a call and be honest, just say you have a similar property nearby for sale and are having a hard time getting traffic through the door and would like to know the other agents opinion. Don’t ask them about their listing, ask them about your listing, what they think, what would they do, what do they suggest and then…shut up. Let them talk and see what they say.
I know it sounds counter intuitive to call up your “competition” but you would be surprised what you can find out. Some agents are going to be jerks but some will be nice.
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 17k+ votes
15y
Originally posted by Luis A.:
Unlike J Scott who seems to sell everything in a cinch :D I have “been there done that”.
We've had a couple that have sat for a few months, but generally for us it has to do with the neighborhood, not the house condition or the price (we're VERY conservative on our ARVs and tend to over-rehab). But, there are some neighborhoods where Buyers will drive up and say, "Neah, I don't even want to look at this house..."
In fact, there are some neighborhoods where we'll buy houses in the winter but not the summer, as we know the neighborhood looks much worse when all the teenagers are outside mulling around and looking ready to get into trouble.
But, like Luis and others have said, if you can't pinpoint the problem to marketing or location, you'll probably have to drop the price.
Just remember, this is an investment, and there's no reason to get emotional about it. If you suddenly realize that you need to drop the price to a break-even point (or even a small loss), don't hesitate -- waiting a couple months could mean an even bigger loss...
Realtor, General Contractor, and Developer · Redding, CA · Member since 2009 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
15y
I'm in California, and a licensed agent and contractor. We work mainly construction,so aren't actively involved in MLS. I advertise on craigslist, AND send out emails to agents that SELLER WILL PAY % COMMISSION TO SELLING OFFICE. I usually pay 1 percent higher than standard agents commission, to entice agents that get better commissions if they sell their own offices listings.
USE COMMISSION AMOUNT IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE!! You may need to just list it.