Damn it! Someone buy my house!

[mrrman]

thats one old house

 

[flot]

Originally posted by: timswim78
OK, a few more thoughts after lloking at the realty posting.

1. If you really want to sell the house, I would reshoot the pictures.
2. The description in the listing is almost non-existent. You really have to talk about the homes features, and really make a good sell. C'mon, who wants to buy a house that sounds this bland, "Single Family Property, Area: FIVE POINTS/NORTHTOWNE, County: LUCAS, Year Built: 1923, Two story, Basement, Dining room?"
3. Three months and no bites? May be time for a new realtor.
4. Is there really a housing slump in Toledo, OH? If so, that really stinks because real estate markets in the rest of the country are en fuego!

Some comments about your comments...

0) your comment about "get a new agent" - the house is listed in the MLS which means EVERY agent in his area is trying to sell it for him. You have no idea how his agent is doing.
1) The pictures are not great, but not awful
2) This looks like a simple fill-in-the-blank MLS form. The realtor probably does not have much leeway. People do not buy houses on froofy desriptions, no matter how much sellers want to think they do.
3) See #0
4) Real estate is extremely variable from area to area. RE might be ridiculously hot 20 miles down the interstate from him, but dead in his location. It is all about supply and demand.

Having said that - the things that would turn *me* off about the house are:
1) Built in 1923. That's pretty old. Has anything (for instance, wiring/plumbing) been updated since? If so you may want to try to get that in somewhere.
2) As above, roof age might also be a good data point to add if it is relatively new
3) It is a 1300 sq ft 3/1. This is a little on the small side and short 1 bathroom for many families to be comfortable.
4) The room sizes seem a bit small - 13x13 is not much of a master bedroom. Then again, $99,000 is an awfully afordable house.
5) What would it cost to rent a similar house in the area? Is it close to the mortgage amount?
6) Is this similar to its neighbors in design and construction?

Now, having said that, the same house here in S. Florida would probably be worth $300,000 and sell in a week. 🙂

The important thing is, how is it priced compared to other comprable houses in the area? Have you considered having an actual professional appraisal (will prob cost you $200-$500) done on the property? If you're in a hurry to sell and confident you're priced under market value, that's will make any potential buyers feel better about the house.

If no one is even looking at it, then there must be other cheaper houses they are seeing first, (or slightly more expensive houses with improved amenities) or there really are just no buyers looking in your area.

 

[kermalou]

in los angeles that would me a million dollar home....wow

 

[Slacker]

Located in City: TOLEDO

:roll: uh yep, I think I see the problem...

 

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: Kilgor
I'd buy it if you would move it here, who wants to live in Toledo.

Holy Toledo!!

LOL

I was unable to sell my house,3 years ago,
i went to a lawyer,and the lawyer helped me to get the bank to take
the house "In luie of payment"

 

[Muadib]

If you are getting people checking the house out, but no offers, you should watch A&E's, Sell This House, with Tanya Memme. Tanya is quite hot, and you might learn something too.

 

[timswim78]

Originally posted by: flot

Originally posted by: timswim78
OK, a few more thoughts after lloking at the realty posting.

1. If you really want to sell the house, I would reshoot the pictures.
2. The description in the listing is almost non-existent. You really have to talk about the homes features, and really make a good sell. C'mon, who wants to buy a house that sounds this bland, "Single Family Property, Area: FIVE POINTS/NORTHTOWNE, County: LUCAS, Year Built: 1923, Two story, Basement, Dining room?"
3. Three months and no bites? May be time for a new realtor.
4. Is there really a housing slump in Toledo, OH? If so, that really stinks because real estate markets in the rest of the country are en fuego!

Some comments about your comments...

0) your comment about "get a new agent" - the house is listed in the MLS which means EVERY agent in his area is trying to sell it for him. You have no idea how his agent is doing.
1) The pictures are not great, but not awful
2) This looks like a simple fill-in-the-blank MLS form. The realtor probably does not have much leeway. People do not buy houses on froofy desriptions, no matter how much sellers want to think they do.
3) See #0
4) Real estate is extremely variable from area to area. RE might be ridiculously hot 20 miles down the interstate from him, but dead in his location. It is all about supply and demand.

Having said that - the things that would turn *me* off about the house are:
1) Built in 1923. That's pretty old. Has anything (for instance, wiring/plumbing) been updated since? If so you may want to try to get that in somewhere.
2) As above, roof age might also be a good data point to add if it is relatively new
3) It is a 1300 sq ft 3/1. This is a little on the small side and short 1 bathroom for many families to be comfortable.
4) The room sizes seem a bit small - 13x13 is not much of a master bedroom. Then again, $99,000 is an awfully afordable house.
5) What would it cost to rent a similar house in the area? Is it close to the mortgage amount?
6) Is this similar to its neighbors in design and construction?

Now, having said that, the same house here in S. Florida would probably be worth $300,000 and sell in a week. 🙂

The important thing is, how is it priced compared to other comprable houses in the area? Have you considered having an actual professional appraisal (will prob cost you $200-$500) done on the property? If you're in a hurry to sell and confident you're priced under market value, that's will make any potential buyers feel better about the house.

If no one is even looking at it, then there must be other cheaper houses they are seeing first, (or slightly more expensive houses with improved amenities) or there really are just no buyers looking in your area.

You make some good points. However, if the market is a little soft, you want to do everything that you can to make the house sell.

For example, you can put descriptive elements into the MLS: all of the things that the seller has said in his posts are good points and should be included in the posting. For example, close to schools and shopping, near nice parks, and etc.

About nice descriptions not selling homes, I'll have to disagree with you somewhat. While a nice description may not sell a home, it will sure increase the possibility that a home buyer puts it on their list of homes that they want to look at. It's just like looking at cars. If someone puts an ad in the paper that says "2003 sedan for sale." I won't even bother calling them; however, if the description says something like "2003 Acura CL for sale. meticulosuly maintained. New tires. 34,000 highway miles. Garage kept," then I am much more likely to contact that person.

You are right, I don't know what kind of job this realtor is doing, but I never told him to get a new one. I just said that he may want to consider it. There are so many things that can be done: such as open houses, flyers in a mailbox in the front yard, a MLS description that makes it sound like a place where people want to live. Maybe the realtor has done them, and maybe she hasn't. I guess that I am just a bit cynical because I know so many lazy realtors who are just riding the housing boom in my area.

In Baltimore, there is a nast section of the city formerly known as Pigtown. Realtors started calling it "Washington Village" and "Federal Hill West" to attract DC commuters. Within months, homes that speculators once sold at tax sales for $15,000 to $30,000 were going for over $300,000.

 

[Chaotic42]

That's a nice house, but an incredibly small lot.

 

[bubbadu]

Parents just sold our house here in Vermont and are moving to Ohio at the end of the month. My mom is already out there working at tOSU. Toledo is a bit far away 😛

 

[Mermaidman]

I did a search for houses around $100K in your ZIP. Looks like you have some stiff competition.

I like the rental or lease ideas mentioned above.

 

[Afrotech]

OP, I live in BG... The feeling down here is that anything in North Toledo is a bad purchase. All the new construction is going on in P-burg or West Toledo (Holland, Maumee, etc..). I really wouldn't want my daughter to go to Start HS... and we both know how well managed Lucas County is right now... maybe when Carty gets elected Toledo will turn around...

I hope you sell it man...

So where you building the new place?

 

[Anonemous]

Originally posted by: kermalou
in los angeles that would me a million dollar home....wow

I think in CA the land is worth more than the home.

 

[Afrotech]

This is why I bought in BG.

Weekly Crime Maps

 

[Brazen]

My realtor told me, few people look to buy a house in the fall/winter. Sprint/early summer is the best time. At this point, it looks like you may have to be patient.

 

[Slew Foot]

There are two houses on my parents street in Orange County CA, taht have been on the market for 3 months. Asking around 800K for a 1700sqft house, last year, it would have sold FAST, but it looks like the market is slowing here as well.

 

[MoPHo]

You should put a thread up in FS/FT. you could probably get a decent 7800GTX/A64X2 rig for the house. 😉

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: Fritzo
C'mon! Our new house will be done in a few weeks, and nobody's biting on our old one :| Stupid housing slump. 3 months and not a single bite. I don't understand it, it's a nice neighborhood, the house is decent, it's underpriced by nearly $9000, you'd figure it would go right away. Two houses up the street are having the same problem. Nobody's buying, but everyone is selling 🙁

Move on in!

For those that sold their house recently, how long did it take?

"Stupid housing slump"

You have to be kidding me.

There are no jobs in Ohio. Where have you've been??? 😕

We're pretty well employed here actually.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Carbo
Set it up as a lease purchase and you'll move it a hell of a lot sooner, for top dollar,and without needing the services of a Realtor. That translates into more cash for you.

How does that work? Never heard of a lease purchase.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: flot

Originally posted by: timswim78
OK, a few more thoughts after lloking at the realty posting.

1. If you really want to sell the house, I would reshoot the pictures.
2. The description in the listing is almost non-existent. You really have to talk about the homes features, and really make a good sell. C'mon, who wants to buy a house that sounds this bland, "Single Family Property, Area: FIVE POINTS/NORTHTOWNE, County: LUCAS, Year Built: 1923, Two story, Basement, Dining room?"
3. Three months and no bites? May be time for a new realtor.
4. Is there really a housing slump in Toledo, OH? If so, that really stinks because real estate markets in the rest of the country are en fuego!

Some comments about your comments...

0) your comment about "get a new agent" - the house is listed in the MLS which means EVERY agent in his area is trying to sell it for him. You have no idea how his agent is doing.
1) The pictures are not great, but not awful
2) This looks like a simple fill-in-the-blank MLS form. The realtor probably does not have much leeway. People do not buy houses on froofy desriptions, no matter how much sellers want to think they do.
3) See #0
4) Real estate is extremely variable from area to area. RE might be ridiculously hot 20 miles down the interstate from him, but dead in his location. It is all about supply and demand.

Having said that - the things that would turn *me* off about the house are:
1) Built in 1923. That's pretty old. Has anything (for instance, wiring/plumbing) been updated since? If so you may want to try to get that in somewhere.
2) As above, roof age might also be a good data point to add if it is relatively new
3) It is a 1300 sq ft 3/1. This is a little on the small side and short 1 bathroom for many families to be comfortable.
4) The room sizes seem a bit small - 13x13 is not much of a master bedroom. Then again, $99,000 is an awfully afordable house.
5) What would it cost to rent a similar house in the area? Is it close to the mortgage amount?
6) Is this similar to its neighbors in design and construction?

Now, having said that, the same house here in S. Florida would probably be worth $300,000 and sell in a week. 🙂

The important thing is, how is it priced compared to other comprable houses in the area? Have you considered having an actual professional appraisal (will prob cost you $200-$500) done on the property? If you're in a hurry to sell and confident you're priced under market value, that's will make any potential buyers feel better about the house.

If no one is even looking at it, then there must be other cheaper houses they are seeing first, (or slightly more expensive houses with improved amenities) or there really are just no buyers looking in your area.

The house has been totally redone. Siding, roof, windows, plumbing are all 3 years old, furnace is 9 months old. It's about the same size as all the other houses in the neighborhood. An appraisal two years ago put it at $103,000. Other houses in the area are selling from $90K-$130K.

There are just too many houses for sale and not enough buyers is what it's coming down to.

 

[bandana163]

I couldn't buy one like that for 100K in Eastern Europe. Since when are housing prices in America so low?

 

[Ornery]

1. Prices are reasonable, where people aren't packed like sardines.

 

[Carbo]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: Carbo
Set it up as a lease purchase and you'll move it a hell of a lot sooner, for top dollar,and without needing the services of a Realtor. That translates into more cash for you.

How does that work? Never heard of a lease purchase.

You've got PM.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Afrotech
OP, I live in BG... The feeling down here is that anything in North Toledo is a bad purchase. All the new construction is going on in P-burg or West Toledo (Holland, Maumee, etc..). I really wouldn't want my daughter to go to Start HS... and we both know how well managed Lucas County is right now... maybe when Carty gets elected Toledo will turn around...

I hope you sell it man...

So where you building the new place?

Start is actually one of the nicer high schools in Toledo, but yeah, I know what you mean. I'm actually building in Whitehouse heheh. There's no doubt Carty will get re-elected, I just hope that he can keep the city from turning into Detroit.

 

[flot]

Originally posted by: Fritzo
The house has been totally redone. Siding, roof, windows, plumbing are all 3 years old, furnace is 9 months old.

This is the kind of info I think you'd be wise to ask your realtor if she could update the MLS with .. as for the appraisal, wow, sounds like the market has been pretty flat there.

 

[DainBramaged]

I'll give u fiddy cent