All Forum Posts by: Gena Moore

Your house is for sure priced right. 

It's all about affordability and the average household income is only about $75,000 in Ferndale. This means their income is $6250 a month.  The mortgage for the home you selling at is a monthly payment of $6,350 a month. That's more than most people can afford. 

  Just be patient and it will sell. I just got a new buyer pre-approved at 6.43 interest last week so we are close to this market getting very busy.

Without land, you can get a slightly bigger house for around 550k in Ferndale 

FHA USDA and VA loans all have the best rates right now.

Using a Real Estate agent and brokerage with a large network of buyer agents helps a lot. A company like Compass or Keller Williams will expand your network to the whole brokerage. 

www.compass.com/listing-presentation/view/cma/cma-141d7401-f...

Aloha,

Your Agent should be able to provide you with all kinds of statistics on the local market from the MLS, including Days on Market, number of available units, list vs selling price of solds, neighborhood activity, and much more. The Agent should also be able to provide you the specific comps being used to price your property. Maybe go take a look at one or two in person to really compare finish and overall "feel".

For marketing, be sure you have, at a minimum, high quality photos that lay out the "story" of the home. Videos and other media offer more creativity, but not everyone spends the time to watch them, and they can be poorly done just as easily as poor photos.

The biggest thing that helps sell the house? The House! Make sure it is fully functional; VERY clean, including windows and screens; and a fresh coat of interior paint if it is at all tired or multi-colored or just "lumpy". The pics look generally good, but some areas are somewhat cluttered. Not all buyers can "see through" occupants current use of the space. Even furnishings can affect their impression...everyone has different taste in colors and styles. Consider staging with a different and less "full" style. Be sure the listing is available through the MLS to other sites that many cooperate with, to maximize eyeballs. Open houses, although "old school", can generate local interest through the neighborhood lookey loos, and get some people in that might not otherwise.

With Holidays fast approaching, and school in session, most markets are slowing down and will likely remain slow through February or March. If you decide to rent while you wait, be sure you do not commit the rental to ANYTHING beyond your target date to relist, and be very clear with prospective Tenants of your plan. Do NOT be one of those Seller's that wants to have their cake, and eat it too! Once it goes back on the market for sale, you want it as absolutely easy as possible for others to Show the property. It should be vacant if at all possible. I've seen many deals pass by because a Seller couldn't meet a showing time window.

If your Agent suggested only offering under cash, and conventional loans, they hopefully explained their rationale, which is typically "faster, easier" closing. I do not keep up with loan products, I let the Lenders handle that, and refer my Clients to several preferred Lenders. Your Agent should be able to connect you with one that can update you on current offerings.

@Gena Moore

Your listing is 3 weeks old…. What’s the average listing for that price point in that area?

I think more and more we are heading back to the norm even with low inventory that houses will take longer to sell - especially if it’s higher end in that area because who are the buyers? Entry level are people who haven’t yet bought but most people are not upsizing right now. If it was on market 3 months then I would start to look further but 3 weeks. Be patient

1) Main thing is interest rates are high right now so unless the property is in an very desirable area and at a great price, then it doesnt make sense to buy when rates are 8-9% right now. 

2) Marketing platforms, MLS is the best way to go followed by social media group (Facebook groups, etc)

3) what makes a house sell comes down to location and price, but above all price. You could give me the best location but if your house is way above what I could afford, I wouldn't want it. 

4) you can look into renting it out if the numbers make sense. I can help you take a look at if MTR would be good, could you do STR?

Hope that helps!

@Gena Moore what part of Washington?

Anyone can assume a VA loan. Also this is for primary residences. Also this may take anywhere from 3-9 months. It can be done, but you and the sellers need to all be on board.