Hi BP and Thanks so much for all of you on their, previous, current and future helpful information,
I purchased a very small 2 bedroom 1 bath 850 sq ft ranch,
Fixed up entire house inside-out.
Had in a span of less then 2 months about 35 showings!
All potential buyers/brokers say, the layout of the house is not good, please see below, the problem is i can not change it as all the plumbing is only in front of the house.
What will make this house sell?
Reducing the price? (all say price is OK) Staging? Open house -Auction off with minimum reserve? increase buyers agent commission? PLEASE Help, Thanks in advance!
Front entrance
Hallway - washer dryer on the left
Bathroom
Kitchen
Living room
Bedroom
Bedroom
Hi Jacob,
First you need to know what people buy in the area you are targeting before purchasing a property for a rehab: you price points, house size and type and any other information that a good real estate agent should be able to provide. But that's for your next project. Also find out the average DOM for the houses like this in your area and get a better idea what to expect. If the av DOM - 180 days, than you are still fine. But normally that's another thing to learn prior to getting into a project!
Normally 2 bd/ 1bath is not the best deal for a family, of course it depends on your market but usually people want 3 bd/ 1 1/5 - 2 bath.
Also keep in mind that it's always good to have a 2nd exit strategy in case the house doesn't sell!!! What is yours? Maybe you should target landlords (other investors) or even keep this property as a rental yourself or do a lease option on it...
In terms of increasing the agent fee, I don't think it will change anything. You have enough showings. But the question about dropping the price, is the one only YOU can answer. Can you afford that? How much did you spend? How much are you loosing each month by letting the house sit on the market? How much longer can you let it sit there?
And can you afford to spend anymore on fixing the layout? And will it give you the results you want... No one knows, so consider 2nd exit strategy, I think
Looks like may be a case where "fix-and-flip" ("lipstick on a pig") won't cut it.
You may have to bite the bullet and fix the layout.
You didn't mention if it's on a slab or a crawl space. So, I'll assume slab since you made a point of mentioning the plumbing. Some creative remodelling could fix that issue, but may price it right out of the market by the time you're done.
Ideally you'd want the living room and kitchen near the front, the bathroom nearer the middle and bedrooms can stay in the back. You didn't mention furnace or water tank; so, I'm guessing those are up front also. That and the laundry could all move toward the center of the house. (Remember - I can't see the current layout; so, I'm guessing a good bit here.)
Might make a good rental, even laid out as it is now.
Sorry - I know, this doesn't help much. Wish I could...
David J Dachtera
"Success is not a destination. Failure is not an event. Success is a process, failure is a choice."
- DJ Benedict
Hi Jacob,
First you need to know what people buy in the area you are targeting before purchasing a property for a rehab: you price points, house size and type and any other information that a good real estate agent should be able to provide. But that's for your next project. Also find out the average DOM for the houses like this in your area and get a better idea what to expect. If the av DOM - 180 days, than you are still fine. But normally that's another thing to learn prior to getting into a project!
Normally 2 bd/ 1bath is not the best deal for a family, of course it depends on your market but usually people want 3 bd/ 1 1/5 - 2 bath.
Also keep in mind that it's always good to have a 2nd exit strategy in case the house doesn't sell!!! What is yours? Maybe you should target landlords (other investors) or even keep this property as a rental yourself or do a lease option on it...
In terms of increasing the agent fee, I don't think it will change anything. You have enough showings. But the question about dropping the price, is the one only YOU can answer. Can you afford that? How much did you spend? How much are you loosing each month by letting the house sit on the market? How much longer can you let it sit there?
And can you afford to spend anymore on fixing the layout? And will it give you the results you want... No one knows, so consider 2nd exit strategy, I think
Some times when you flip homes you lose money. In this case you need to decide if the cost of improving the layout out weighs the loss of lowering the price. If it's a wash, or an unknown gamble, then you are wasting your time to do any more to the property.
It's a tough decision only you can answer but right now it's costing you more money to hold.
Personally I would simply want to unload it as is and move on to the next one.
Good points on renting it out. Some renters don't care the layout only about the price. Can you make it cheap enough but still with positive cash flow? Or where does it sit on the land, if you have funds you could add to the front of the house. making a new entrance, living room or such.
Hi BP and Thanks so much for all of you on their, previous, current and future helpful information,
I purchased a very small 2 bedroom 1 bath 850 sq ft ranch,
Fixed up entire house inside-out.
Had in a span of less then 2 months about 35 showings!
All potential buyers/brokers say, the layout of the house is not good, please see below, the problem is i can not change it as all the plumbing is only in front of the house.
What will make this house sell?
Reducing the price? (all say price is OK) Staging? Open house -Auction off with minimum reserve? increase buyers agent commission? PLEASE Help, Thanks in advance!
Front entrance
Hallway - washer dryer on the left
Bathroom
Kitchen
Living room
Bedroom
Bedroom
Can you post a diagram of the layout? There might be some cheap/easy fixes to the layout you haven't thought of.
Hi Everyone,
Thank you such for taking your time to reply on my question and providing me with helpful tips and information
First of all here is a link to the pictures and property information.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/941-Birmingham-A...
in regards what most of you mentioned, it will be a positive cash flow as a rental, but not my preferred option.
In regards to fix up the layout of the house is a very old house that i would not alter too much as you never know what could arise
It is listed on the MLS
It does take usually 60-120 DOM before it sells in this neighborhood, i just see i get a bunch more visits then the regular in this market in a short period of time so i was like hey , what do i do next?
I bought the property very low so i can afford to Hold on so that is a big plus for me
Thanks again for all your helpful information, God bless you all to continue being successful!
If after you see the link and got other helpfull ideas, i will greatly appreciarte it!
I helped a flipper sell a 1 bedroom in my market and everyone told me the same thing, to small or layout doesn't work. The one and only thing that worked to sell it was to lower the price to where I told him it should be. Once we lowered it to where it needed to be it sold in two days. Changing layout is to costly, maybe you could get a tenant in the property at top market rent then market it as a investment property but personally just lower the price and see what happens. Every house will sell for the right price.
@Jacob F. I agree with @Jake Thomas
Let me ask you have you learned anything for next time yet? Besides getting your money out that is one the most important things....too learn as you go and not make the same mistakes twice. I looked at the neighborhood looks like yours is the least expensive and smallest within a few blocks.
I bought a too small house and flipped it last year. I did an addition and put a lot of money into the project which I later realized was not the way to go. I'm more of a buy and hold but if I ever do flip I plan to buy the right sized house for that market and do cosmetic stuff instead of spending 6 months doing dormers and foundation work.
Keep in mind there is a nut for every bolt. You have a problem and it's your job to solve it.
I agree with the previous posts. Price will cure a number of ills. Depending on your area, I'm thinking that it being a 1 bath hurt it as well.
Having seen the listing & pictures...
Hhhmmm... Small house with what looks like two additions, apparently on a crawlspace. Corner lot. Baseboard heat - didn't see any A/C. Fair sized yard, no garage (?). Two former windows to back addition?
I like that stove is on an outside wall. The front(?) wall of the kitchen is one I would take out.
My first impression is that a lot of value could be added by knocking walls out and opening it up. The one picture of the bathroom isn't very helpful, but that also looks like something could be done with it.
Price wise, I think Zillow's "Zestimate" is fairly close to what it could fetch had you done more remodeling to make it more open. Your current asking price would have been fair if you had gotten into the crawlspace and moved the plumbing to improve the layout and added a 2-car detached garage.
As it is, the $110K range is probably a better guess as to where it would sell quickly as-is.
My $0.02...
David J Dachtera
"Success is not a destination. Failure is not an event. Success is a process, failure is a choice."
- DJ Benedict
Price is too high! First telling factor is the amount of people who have gone through and not made an offer. Your upfront purchase price should accommodate odd factors such as layout so that you can re-sell at an attractive price relative to other homes in the area. Hopefully your spread is large enough to lower the price and attract buyers through again.
it is a crawlspace, no AC but tons of windows very airy, most of people in this neighborhood have no AC
I would remove the kitchen wall, but the height of the ceiling doesn't add up, so i cant actually do it,
where would you do a detached garage?
I thank you again!
The wall with the pass-thru (shelf mounted on brackets) can probably go. Cut it off at the doorway height and leave it looking like a beam.
Not sure what you mean that "the ceiling doesn't add up". I see it is slanted toward the front of the house. That wall could also be cut off at the doorway height and left looking like a beam. That would give a very large open space and would grab attention upon entry through the front door. The laundry area could be partitioned off with louvered bi-fold doors to ease appearances.
You could possibly take down the wooden shed between the trees and build a garage with extra storage space right behind the "patio", if that would withstand being used as part of a driveway.
David J Dachtera
"Success is not a destination. Failure is not an event. Success is a process, failure is a choice."
- DJ Benedict
I will add a small comment here... Maybe its only me that this bothers, but for a small 2-bed, 1-bath at only 811 sq ft, I feel that every inch here counts, especially the kitchen...
The pass-thru window in the kitchen with the countertop on it... Those 3 brackets you have underneath to hold up the countertop look like a "rig job" to me. I think it detracts from the look of the kitchen. Looks like it was tacked up there as an afterthought. I'd cut a smaller countertop and have it look like a little ledge without those obtrusive brackets.
Can you add attractive hardware on the cabinets? Some nice pullbars will make them look more "finished." The price does seem high at this point.
@Jacob F. First, the paint colors are really nice and I think the kitchen looks great as far as appliances and back-splash and counters, as well as the siding and the wood railings outside. And I like the light fixtures. And the laminate flooring.
Before I forget, once you make some changes, get some better photos. The photos make the floors all look off-kilter, like they're all un-level.
First, to curb appeal. It looks off-kilter with the longer side to the left, as you're facing the front door. How about buying a big full plant or tree or three and put them in big pretty pots to put in that space. Black pots would be good, as they'd go with the shutters. It would deter from the fact that it's not symmetrical. All of a sudden, the front looks symmetrical and there just happen to be some pretty trees/flowers to the left side.
Here's an idea, only with black pots. And I'd put some overflowing flowers in the pot, too:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/24/95/49...
The tile on the kitchen floor should be fixed. Including where it goes into the room with the washer. That seam looks bad.
What is to the left of the stove and microwave on that wall? It looks like some sheet of some sort is peeling away. Needs to be fixed.
The pass-through should be completely removed. It's already in the dining area. There is no need for a pass-through into the living room. And it's in the way. Picture a kitchen table in that space and people bumping into that pass-through.
The white recessed areas in the living room, that apparently used to be windows. I'd remove them and just patch that space and paint it, so you just have a plain wall there. They don't work as built-ins of any kind, and it just puts the fact in your face that those used to be windows. It's off-putting.
In the bedrooms: I think you need to move the floor heaters. Picture a bed and furniture in there. Where would it go, without being next to a heater, which you wouldn't want to do? I'd take those out, and just put one on the wall just inside the door instead. One that is flat on the wall, and doesn't take up any space in the room, like this:
https://www.grainger.com/product/BROAN-Electric-Wa...
In fact, it might be a good idea to replace all the floor heaters to wall heaters. It would give people more usable space in all of those little rooms.
I couldn't see the laundry area, so can't comment on that.
Clean up the fence out back. And the fence sections that are laying around and don't match. Even if you just patch it up without putting in new fencing, there should be a way to make it look nicer.
Paint the shed in the back white to match the house.
I think that ledge in one of the bedrooms is really weird. I hate to lose those inches in floor space, but you might consider just filling it in and making the wall flush, if you can't cut away the bottom part.
And then, I think you should consider paying someone to stage the house for you. The functionality of it is weird. But, I think if someone was to see that space across from the washer, as a little office space with a desk, and could fit beds and bedroom furniture in the bedrooms - the closet in the one at the back of the room is problematic. I'd assume that would have to have a twin bed, so you could get past the bed to the closet. And a cute dining set. My daughter got one like this for a little dining space in her first little house:
http://mydiningtables.org/corner-booth-dining-tabl...
Here's a tiny office in a tiny space that looks great:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/dd/d0/9d...
But, I think some classy, simple staging would really help, too.
For what it's worth :-)
@Jacob F. Layouts are a pain to do and you'll be re-doing all your work, I would think not worth it. One thing I kind of question is to you have a some issues with finishes that are causing people to doubt the quality of the work in there. Some things that sort of stand out is the tile has big huge grout spacing that looks strange from the pictures and then their is the hatch or what ever the cut out is. I'd be concerned the tile will pop. Fix the toe kick under the dishwasher. The backsplash next to the stove is already falling off. The bathtub surround looks like the plastic sheet goods at a McDonalds' bathroom in the 90's. There is paint on the one cabinet, I see a few weird drywall things. The tile back spash looks to have a 1/2" gap at top under the cabinets when looks like that wasn't necessary. A woman mentioned the brackets earlier which I have to agree with. Also why is there all the old fencing laying around, looks sloppy. The new deck looks nice and so would a quick seal coat on the driveway. Is the lawn an issue (may be just because it is spring) and the guy who said get some flower pots is probably making some good sense. Also I would have someone taller take the picures or hop up on a stool, they give the wrong perspective (ie I would have noticed the tile back splash). I don't want to be mean or negative but I have a feeling that the realtors didn't want to say that lacked confidence in the work. Clean up the details and I have a feeling you'll get a better response. It may still be too expensive, wrong layout or more of a rental - but I think these details would be cheap/easy to try first.
Obviously the price isn't fine or it would have sold. Reducing price will make it sell. It is just a matter of how much you need to reduce it. I would drop it every 2 weeks until you get an offer. Dropping price motivates buyers on the fence. I am guessing you will end up with multiple offers right after one of your price drops.
Bad news. A quick look not to far away brings up 5 properties close to the same SF either for sale or sold recently. $55k to $65k maybe more. You can fix one up but you'll have a tough time getting more than 20 to 30% more in the same size range. One although larger sold in the $90 plus range.
The second problem, the house sizes and ages in the area are eclectic. A buyer is more likely to move up into the middle range for a very small change in monthly payment. Some had golf course access include or available as well.
Who is the end buyer for this home? First time home buyers who can't see the space used correctly? Staging that shows a bed can fit with the second bedroom and office or nursery? The kitchen is the ledge ment to be a bar? Maybe add stools to give an idea. A small couch and TV.
Comments on the listing it says forced air/ lino and carpet that doesn't seem right. If it really says that have the agent fix it.
Does it require flood insurance in that area of toms river, that could hurt you.
As for the house, what is the storage like? You have to make this seem adequate, closets etc.
Bathroom- to the right of the pedestal looks like it should be a closet, why isn't it, use a bifold door and make it a closet (a pedestal sink with no storage not a good choice for the only bath)
The extra window spaces should go unless they lend themselves to putting some built in shelves. The one above the heater you can put shelving in if you don't eliminate, the other should be sheetrocked as part of the wall so you can put furniture against it.
For the long bedroom move the heater on the door wall to one up by the ceiling, makes the room much more spacious. For the other bedroom at least one heater needs to go towards the ceiling.
Loose that counter extension, just make it a small ledge or loose the wall if you can.
The front hall wall should be gone. Can you put a closet in there if you don't make it gone, that would at least give it a purpose.
Lose the lattice under the deck, it just looks poorly done.
Some of these are more expensive fixes but some are simple. I would do the simple ones to see if it helps. What do the viewers say? Oh and put a couple of nice potted planted in the patio and yard, make it look inviting, it is just a little barren looking.
Good news! that the comps you found are a whole different animal, as they are located in a 55+ community with HOA and other fees that is not the case with this house.
I just hope you don't decline/buy a deal with such due diligence
Thanks again and i apologize if i am to blunt but this nothing personal all business :)
That is in my list of options to stage the house like you mentioned! Thanks again!
You are right, The listing has to be modified.
The 2 Bedrooms have closets.
No flood insurance needed.
Thanks for all the helpful tips, after all of the above suggestions, i will have to make a list of what to do and what not will keep you all posted!
Thank you!