Advice on how to sell our house?

**FrugalMomof3** · 08-26-2008, 12:41 PM

Yes as my title says, I need help learning how to sell my house. Who pays closing costs, what options I have as far as who pays what? With the market the way it is, how low should I go?

DH and I really want to move, for reasons I dont want to share but other reasons being nosy neighbors, loud neighbors, cussing neighbors all night long including their 3rd grader son! Let alone the neighborhood has gone to heck and I dont care for any of this anymore... good thing is DH is totally agreeing with me.

What type of options do I have as far as looking at another home but only being able to purchase it IF my house is sold? My old neighbor who was attached to me and sold her house to a bunch of people who now have another bunch of people living in there (2-3 families in a 3 bedroom house) but she sold her house but put an offer in on another house even before it sold but said something about she wouldnt be obligated to purchase the new house if her current house didnt sell, dont know the term used for this.

Any advice?

**Greebo** · 08-26-2008, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by FrugalMomof3

Yes as my title says, I need help learning how to sell my house. Who pays closing costs, what options I have as far as who pays what? With the market the way it is, how low should I go?

Depends on the state somewhat. In MD, taxes are split 50/50, the buyer is responsible for the rest. Your local realtor can help you with this.

Go to www.zillow.com - look up your property - get an estimate. That's free. Check on recent sales in the neighborhood. Again, your realtor can help get you comparable data to use as a basis for judgment. Of course, you want to get more than you owe, otherwise you're looking at a short sale situation.

DH and I really want to move, for reasons I dont want to share but other reasons being nosy neighbors, loud neighbors, cussing neighbors all night long including their 3rd grader son! Let alone the neighborhood has gone to heck and I dont care for any of this anymore... good thing is DH is totally agreeing with me.

Then you should show that in your asking price.

What type of options do I have as far as looking at another home but only being able to purchase it IF my house is sold? My old neighbor who was attached to me and sold her house to a bunch of people who now have another bunch of people living in there (2-3 families in a 3 bedroom house) but she sold her house but put an offer in on another house even before it sold but said something about she wouldnt be obligated to purchase the new house if her current house didnt sell, dont know the term used for this.

That's called a contingency offer. Sellers don't like them, but in this market, they have little choice. I would not, however, put any offers in on a new home until you have an offer on yours. Why? Because you're a seller - and the market IS soft right now.

Find a BUYER first - while you look at homes you're interested in, but don't put in an offer until you have an offer.

Any advice?

Not a word.

**Moor** · 08-26-2008, 01:01 PM

Tracy,
I am a real estate agent. I can help you a whole lot, but I don't have my license in your state, but can offer a lot of advise.
How much do you owe on the house?
As to who pays what, that can be decided by both parties.
I would not go so low that you don't make some sort of profit, unless you are really anxious to move.
If it was me, I would start looking at school's, I would start looking at neighborhoods, I would look at how close shopping is, where parks are, I would find out everything I could about neighborhoods in areas that you are looking.
The more informed you are about a community, the better you can make a decision.
Think long and hard about what you are looking for in a house.
You may not be able to find everything in one house, but make sure you can live without something, until you can change it.
Most people in the market to sell now, WILL go lower if given a good solid offer. So make sure that you are ready to buy when you make an offer.
If you want to ask more, just pm me. I will be glad to help, to answer any questions.
If you want, you can send me info on what you are looking for, where you are looking at, and price range, and I can start looking for you.

**FrugalMomof3** · 08-26-2008, 02:42 PM

We owe $108K on the house, we want to sell it for $155-160K even though the zillow estimate gave me $141K, we recently updated tons of stuff in the house to include:

Brand new handcrafted kitchen w/kitchen island which houses a dishwasher and storage
Brand new heating system (summer/winter hookup)
Brand new 50 gallon water tank
Brand new back sunroom
Brand new upstairs bathroom window
Brand new roof (rubber)
Brand new front glass storm windows
New weatherstripping around front door
Newly added attic crawl space blown insulation and above front porch area
Newly redone hardwood floors on entire first floor and hallway upstairs as well as the stairs
We have entire house central air system, except basement
Ceiling fans in 2 bedrooms, living room, dining room & kitchen
Finished basement
Brand new gutters on entire house including the garage
Fenced in yard
Concrete patio
Newly refinished solid wood 5 panel doors original to house
Newly remodeled back bedroom
Newly added carpet in middle bedroom which boasts 2 closets
New front full view glass/screen door
New back 1/2 view glass/screen door
New cellar door
New laundry room window
Brand new 1/2 bathroom in finished basement
New french doors that separate dining room to living room
Basement back room workshop, complete with tables and pegboards on wall for hanging tools, etc.
Newer 2 year old deck in back yard

Other stuff to include refinishing the vintage doors that are original to the house and refinishing other vintage woodwork original to the house, we have hardwood floors throughout the entire 1st floor and in upstairs hallway and on the stairs itself. We spent over $30K on fixing up this house.

with us owing $108K and selling it for $158K that would give us a $25.5K profit after paying the city back as well for their rehabilitation loan which was $14.5K.

As far as telling the new home owners about the neighbors, that is for them to find out.... I personally will not add that info to potential buyers... maybe to them they would think differently about the neighbors than I do.

**rachelj** · 08-26-2008, 02:50 PM

Our house that we bought almost 6 years ago is one of the oldest houses in our subdivision and probably the least in retail price. That is fine with me b/c all the work we put into it we will get out of and these newer houses around us just raise the price on our home.

Someone just put in a new house in our subdivision that is about $175K (give or take) more than my house and about $$100K more than the rest of the subdivision - I doubt they will get their asking price.

I write all of this to say - I wouldn't put any more money into your house as it doesn't appear that you will get your money out of it. If houses in your neighborhood are selling for $140-150K you probably won't get more than that for your home.

KWIM?

**FrugalMomof3** · 08-26-2008, 02:56 PM

The weird part is last year 6/2007 the attached neighbor sold their house for $160K and they dont even have as many features as we do they have: less 1/2 bath, less central air, less deck, less patio, less small sunroom, less hardwood floors, less workshop in basement, less storage above garage yet their zillow price is $10K more than mine, even when they sold the house the zillow estimate was $154K yet they got 160K???

**ChristopherJ** · 08-26-2008, 04:18 PM

WOW, I wish I could make money like it sounds like you'll still be able to. We're pulling ours off the market this week because we are asking exactly for what we owe, and it's highly unlikely we'll get anywhere near that even if we did get an offer (5 months on the market and only one person came through to look at it).

What's your peace of mind worth to you. Sounds like at Zillow's price you're still up over $30k. If you want $155-160, but that's not what the market is dictating, you can't fight the market. You'll just have a for sale sign out there forever. If low 140's or high 130's is where the market is at...but you're dead serious about getting out and finding someplace better to live...maybe dropping it $10k below what the market is dictating to make it move for sure is worth it to you then. Again, how much do you value peace of mind?

**Greebo** · 08-26-2008, 04:27 PM

Spent $20. Go to www.homeprice.com and get an estimate from them. I used them when researching for my rental purchase and found their data to be more complete and on target.

**ChristopherJ** · 08-26-2008, 04:37 PM

Not that I'm trying to plug my own company or anything, but:

Quizzle.com may help you out with things as well. More than just your house value too.

**leezza** · 08-26-2008, 05:22 PM

Tracy,

Is it worth it for you to have a pro inspector/estimater come take a look and tell you what they think its worth??? They give you the estimate in writing and you could tell them everything you did to the place.

Just an idea : )
leezza

**stinkbug** · 08-26-2008, 06:08 PM

Interview a few agents. When we sold, we called and had an agent give us a market assessment/analysis of our home. That is the only way you are going to know what pricing is in your area. You said the neighborhood is failing....others (buyers) will notice that as well, and it will have to be taken into consideration. We only decided to sell and look at other options AFTER we knew what our value in our home was at that time. What your neighbor sold for last year is no real indication of what the market for YOUR home is today. Zillow and others are not accurate and in no way can keep up with the changing market. Get the facts and then weigh your options in the current market.
BTW, our home sold for exactly the asking price (first day on the market) but that was 6 years ago. Accurate market information is key.

**FrugalMomof3** · 08-26-2008, 09:43 PM

I am having 2 realtors come on Saturday, both at different times, they sound promising and DH and I are willing to lower our asking price as long as we make enough profit to put a $15K down payment and have some left over.

**frugalfriend** · 08-27-2008, 02:58 PM

I hope it goes well, Tracy! Are you planning on staying in the area or moving away? Maybe it's time for your dream location with chickens and goats, etc. out back!

**Teresa T** · 09-10-2008, 07:44 PM

Good luck with your home sale. Mine is going on the market soon. As good as it is to get out of a home you do not enjoy, it is still a very frightening experience. I have been feeling sick since making the final decision to sell.

I had 2 agents out and have already chosen which one I want but I'm not wanting to make that call to get things rolling. I will tomorrow. I have to.

In spite of what we see on HGTV you do not have to have everything pristine. I'm missing a gate to my back yard. Fell down. Both agents told me not to put up a new gate. Or buy a new stove, or dishwasher etc. All the things I thought I would have to do before putting the place on the market. Both said you can reflect an allowance to the buyers and then let them repair or replace as they please. Works for me.