Our historic home (built in 1926) in an affluent area of Baltimore City has been on the market for 15 months. We followed the advice of our agent and listed at $625K. We're now down to $499K and we haven't had one offer. It's priced well under the competition in the neighborhood... $200K under homes on our same street.

We had to relocate for work and have been floating two mortgages for almost 10 months and we're running out of financial resources.

We've had very little negative feedback on the propery. The house was furnished and staged the first 7 months on the market. The only comments then had to do with decor and formality. It has been empty and clean since then. However, now that it's empty buyers can see every flaw.

Given it's age, it needs some work (2 bathrooms need remodeling), new windows, and landscaping. We already put $10K into it preparing for market and we don't have cash to make any additional improvements at this time. It has a completely remodeled gourmet kitchen.

Our agent has been aggressively marketing, but we're just not getting anywhere (we're on our second agent, btw).

We just don't know what to do to get the house sold... and at this point, we're going to have to sell the house we're in b/c we have to rebuild our financial situation.

Oh and I forgot to mention it's also been for rent or lease purchase.

Welcome to the club. I am showing a property today that started on the market at 600K 2 years ago it is now priced at 424K.

Do you have any photos on line that show the property. Perhaps if we "see" the property someone can offer some help.

Sure!

[link]http://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?zp=21218&ml=3&mnp=30&typ=1&sid=d50624df296b44fe9825ffa515d51904&lid=1079055648&lsn=2&srcnt=20#Detail[/link]

Lot size is very small but nothing you can do about that unless there is some vacant land next door you could buy to create a bigger lot size.Your driveway from the picture definitely needs a power wash-very dirty.Back yard looks ok but could have more outdoor living area and or maybe some flowers to induce some color to go along with the grass.

The landscaping upfront definitely needs some help.


Since I am not your agent/Broker I can give it to you straight.

You made the classic mistake almost ALL sellers make!!!!!

You start rehabbing the house and then QUIT because the repairs were more than you thought or you ran out of money.It would have been better to have left the house ALONE and not do anything to it then to not finish it.

Kitchens and baths are where people spend most of there time.If there are old outdated baths which I assume aren't very big because of the age of the house compared to today's standards that is a big negative.In the listing you say the house has been updated,it hasn't.

With all of the listings on the market your agent needs to preview the competition in the area and keep a list of the ones that have sold.What was different were they completely remodeled?Was the floorplan better?Was the property modernized to today's times?

A house of that age replacing windows and possibly electrical,plumbing,abestos,and lead paint not to mention radon cause for serious concern.

Get with your agent about what similar properties have SOLD for in the last few months,not what people are listed for.Residential is in a down cycle and with foreclosures hitting an all time high and fewer buyers available there is an oversupply on the market compared with demand from buyers.


You need to either finish the remodel on the house,or lower it fast to get rid of it,or move back in and work on remodeling until the market turns back around and then sell it.The market is slated to turn in about 12 to 18 months but it sounds like you can't hold out.


Have your agent hold a huge broker/agent open house with food,prizes etc.Have everyone tour the house and then write on abck of a business card or piece of papaer what they would pay for it in it's current condition.Take all of those and average them together to get a price and for a fast sale be at the low end of that average.

I would get rid of the red in there it's to strong.You want nuetral colors to appeal to as many buyers as possible.

It's important that you do thes ethings immediately as the winter and Christmas and New Years are coming around the corner and it will be dead for months.It sound like you will hit bankruptcy or foreclosure before then.

no legal advice

"You start rehabbing the house and then QUIT because the repairs were more than you thought or you ran out of money."

That is actually not the case. We bought the house with every intention of living there until our family was grown. My husband was transferred/promoted and we saw this as an opportunity to capitalize on a very good investment while futhering his career. We started working from the interior ground and were moving up when this happened.

I appreciate your suggestions and we will do what we can. However, moving back in is not an option since we're now living 600 miles away.

Look at cost to renovate the bathrooms and repaint the house compared to what has sold and a fast sale.Do the business card/paper thing I mentioned to get to a price people are willing to pay.The top people will be people who don't know values/the bottom price will be buyers/agents who want to low ball no matter what.The middle prices/average will be what the majority are willing to pay.

Just curious how much are you offering the buyers agent?You already dropped the price 125k.Instead focus on an ad in the paper with the fact you will pay 5 percent to the buyers agent.

Agents have already screened the buyers and know if they are serious and have the ability to buy.Money talks and with a higher paycheck to the buyer over what other sellers are paying your property will get shown first.Showings will convert to offers if the price is right.

We have a broker's open scheduled for next Wed. Am calling the agent now to discuss your suggestions. Thanks!

Hello,
While Super realtors heart is in the right place,real estate is very regional and the things he's suggesting do not work in our area.
We just listed a home in Baltimore that was rehabbed beautifully...the agent that had it prior didnt understand how Baltimore neighborhoods/pricing ...also the marketing lacked...only a few pictures.
We got a virtual tour done on the property,are putting it in a full color glossy magazine,full color professionally done brochures,downloading to Google, Yahoo classifieds, Craigslist,Trulia, etc..
Nowadays its about exposure both in marketing and views of the house.People need to see your home inside before they ever step foot in it..Your first picture isnt even of the house.
Bribing other brokers with food doesnt sell your home..they just compare menus and go to whichever has what they want to eat and dont look at the house!
Im curious what "marketing" you agent is doing?
What kind of activity/ feedback are you getting?
What other incentives have you discussed?
Would love to hear more,
Paul

JustDey everyone has an opinion.

Remember this "NO AMOUNT OF MARKETING IN THE WORLD WILL SEL LAND OVERPRICED LISTING!"

A smart broker/agent knows this.You get alot of exposure it's overpriced and you get no offers.What you are trying to establish is a baseline of what people would pay for the home.

Try my suggestions it certainly would not hurt.I disagree about the broker opens and them just eating the food.

Think about this you have an open house for regular buyers and 10 buyers show up.You don't know if they have the ability to purchase,if they are criminals scoping your house,the nosy neighbors next door,etc.

A buyers agent might have upwards of over 100 buyers in there pool or more.Worst case they have a couple to 10 and you know for the most part they are qualified or the agent wouldn't be working with them.

Listen to opinions and make your own choices.I would definitely try my suggestions/you have nothing to lose.

Georgia Super Realtor:The difference is that you're in Georgia and last time I looked it wasnt Maryland,not even beside Md. I would think youd be open minded enough to admit when you may not know how things work in this particular area.In theory it sounds good like a million other things but that doesnt always equate to reality.
In Georgia that may be the way to go but in this area its giving a seller false hope that it may accomplish something.
Any good agent is monitoring whats available for his clients and would surely show it to them if it matched their needs...not only if he was getting a free lunch.Its more a social gathering than anything.
Around here we send updates thru our mls so the client is actually right on whats availabe too.
Its an outdated archaic notion WAY past its time anywhere if you ask me.
By the way, are you insecure in your skill level that you have to name yourself super agent?
Yours in Maryland real estate

No it's just a name I picked years ago when I joined this board.

Opinions are like butts everbody has one.No I am not in Maryland.

I don't believe it's false hope for a seller to try an activity for one day and track the results.All things being equal if it is in perfect condition,priced in the 50 percent or under for solds in the area then more marketing will get it shown faster.

I beleive it's false to convince sellers that MORE MARKETING will get them top dollar and more money than the home is worth.This is simply not true,buyers aren't idiots and won't overpay,pricing it realistically is the most important step.


I disagree if it fit's the clients needs most will show it.Nationally agents have about an 85 percent dropout rate the first year in real estate.Most of these agents are buyers agents when they start out.The cold hard truth is that money talks and if there are 10 homes to look at in the area but they can show the buyer only 6 the ones that are offering a bonus or pay a higher co-op to the buyers agent will get shown first.

A majority of the real estate industry agents,mortgage brokers,appraiser etc. are looking for the quick buck to survive before they fizzle out.

There is only a small percentage of people who make it in this business.

I say to the seller try it for one day,it can't hurt.
The agents/buyers visiting it before and saying the house was lovely is a bunch of bull they were just being polite trust me.

It is funny that sellers really think that their home is being marketed well, while in reality, it stinks! I have reviewed your listing on Realtor.com and I would like to point out that the description your agent has on there is terrible.
Here is what is says: "There is nothing wrong with this property. DOM reflects over 100k in reductions from a previous agent. Please show and be pleasantly surprised by what you get for the price. Renovated and well maintained very large 5 bedroom 3.5 bath. Check out the gourmet kitchen with high end finishings-Stainless appliances. One car garage- beautiful yard and patio. One year Home Warranty."

This stinks! He should not be referring to DOM (days on the market) at all in your Realtor.com description. Maybe in the MLS, which I assume this is drawn from, but not here. Your agent has the ability to log into his Realtor.com control panel and edit this at any time. The description should point out all of the features of your home, upgrades, location, ect. He should also include more photos of your home.

Aside from Realtor.com, his web site is basically NON-EXISTANT.

Agents will tell you that marketing is not important, well I am here to tell you that it is very important and almost vital in a slow market. Yes, the home MUST be priced CORRECTLY! But it must also be marketed correctly and your agent is clearly not marketing it well. At least not on Realtor.com.

I would also like to point out that your agent is NOT a listing agent. He only has FOUR active listings on Realtor.com and one is a rental. You really need to consider an agent with 15 plus listings active listings and/or several more PENDING listings.

While your current agent may be a nice person and may be plugging your home into the computer here and there, I doubt it is being advertised locally in print and you should really inquire about the marketing efforts being used. Give your agent a call and discuss the price, marketing and get a plan together to get your home sold. GOOD LUCK!

<< You really need to consider an agent with 15 plus listings active listings and/or several more PENDING listings.>>

I disagree with you on this one. Let me play the devils advocate:
1. An agent with 15 homes listed has too large of an inventory on his hands and may not be helping his/her sellers price correctly.
2. Maybe the listing agent sells homes so fast that he/she can't keep 15 listings active?

I have friends with 15 or more listings. They've been on the market for over 100 days. So what does THAT tell me? Not enough buyers.

Anyway... I agree with you on the rest