Ashyukun, I hope you changed that blown bulb in the dinning room fixture. The new pictures are way better than the old ones. Your old MLS was still up, lifted the pictures from there. You need to change the outlets and switches in the kitchen for 100% Hong approval!
Cool, thanks! It's even more striking when you see them side-by-side. I'll have to check on the dining room bulb when I'm there tomorrow (have a shrub to massively trim back)- we rarely had that fixture on when working on stuff, so it may not have been changed.
One thing I wish the new pictures showed better is the new light over the sink, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with them.
To my surprise, there was actually a showing of the house yesterday! Haven't heard if there was any feedback from it yet, but I was mostly surprised because I was THERE from about 1-4pm finishing cleaning up after essentially cutting down the wildly overgrown shrub on the corner of the house. Hopefully the showing went well and we get more today- we went out yesterday to an open house being sold by the owner and for the first time think we've actually found a place that meets all of our critera and then some.
I realize a canoe brought this thread back to the top. However, I'm just seeing the changes you made to the place. They came out awesome.
Did you sell the house?
Thanks! Amusing a canoe bumped it up- wish they'd give me a boost in selling it too. 
Nope, still hasn't sold. Unfortunately it went back up not too long before the whole shutdown fiasco during which almost nobody could buy a place even if they wanted to and that also drove interest rates up. Things are supposedly normalizing more now and the realtor is getting more calls in general. Though we've heard fairly mixed opinions on their usefulness, the new realtor is doing an open house at the place this Sunday. Hopefully someone will see it that wants to buy it!
At least there is more action, which is a big change.
A bit over a month later- and still no offers on the house. Hadn't had any showings of it since early November, so dropped the price a modest bit a few weeks ago. Had a showing on Black Friday, but I'm not wholly convinced they actually came by or went into the house. 
Have another scheduled for this afternoon, hopefully it will go well...
It's rapidly approaching the point where I'm not going to be able to float both the house and paying the portion of the rent at the fiancee's place. If this stretches out too far into next year, we're not going to have much choice but to move back into the house so we're not paying for two residences (or more accurately, I'm not paying for one and a half...). It's quite frustrating. 
The market usually picks back up after the holidays it seems, but I'd really like to just have it sold NOW...
I probably missed it, but what are your reasons for not renting it?
Ashyukun, When my wife and I sold our house in Georgetown, a few years ago, we used this lady. You've probably seen billboards with her face on them around Lexington:
This was still in the thick of the "downturn" and our house sold within three weeks. Yeah we lost some equity but so did everyone else and we didn't have to write a check to get rid of the house like many others did. Alma was a real go-getter and got the job done, so I recommend her in case you decide to change realtors again.
PHeller wrote: I probably missed it, but what are your reasons for not renting it?
Biggest one being that we'd not have the money for a down payment on a house of our own- the fiancee's place is too small and has no garage. Next would be that my family has had some bad experiences with renting places in the past and I'm a bit gunshy as a result. It's still an option though... I may be able to get a gift from my grandmother that would cover the downpayment on a place, but I'd really far prefer to not be dealing with two houses if I can get away with it.
JamesMcD wrote: When my wife and I sold our house in Georgetown, a few years ago, we used this lady. You've probably seen billboards with her face on them around Lexington: This was still in the thick of the "downturn" and our house sold within three weeks. Yeah we lost some equity but so did everyone else and we didn't have to write a check to get rid of the house like many others did. Alma was a real go-getter and got the job done, so I recommend her in case you decide to change realtors again.
I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I still have a good ways that I could drop the price and still be above-board on it, but I never know exactly what's going to happen. The current plan is to stick with where it is now through the end of the year and then drop the price again a bit after the new year.
Also planning to talk with some people I know that have rental properties as well as to our realtor who himself has some about the possibilities of renting the place... it's not ideal, but I suppose we should adequately exploring the option.
Still hasn't sold, though there have been two showings since the last post. No interest from the first one, second was a week ago and haven't gotten any feedback yet. Currently fretting over the extreme (for here) cold snap and trying to make sure the pipes don't freeze. Despite my efforts it looks like the front outside faucet has frozen- here's hoping it didn't damage the pipe (again, I had to replace that section of pipe in the last few years).
Got lucky with the cold snap and had no damage to any of the pipes- looks like those newer-style outside faucets were worth it.
Had another showing over the weekend that I've not gotten any feedback from; finally got feedback from the previous one and they simply said they weren't interested at all.
Will be getting a bit of relief on the financial side of things starting in February as at least one of SWMBO's good friends will be living there and paying rent while she works out a more long-term place to live. If it's just the one she'll only be able to pay about half of what the mortgage is, but it's far better than nothing and if the second friend ends up moving in too their rent will at least offset the mortgage (and they'll be paying the utilities). Our realtor is actually all for this, as he says that often houses that it makes it look like you're not as desperate if the house looks occupied. Had to resist reminding him that I didn't CARE about looking desperate after not getting a single offer on the house in approaching a year of it being for sale.
SWMBO also had an interesting talk with a friend of hers who is actually looking for a house as well over the weekend. SWMBO asked her if she'd seen the listing for my house and what she'd thought of it, and when she hadn't she pulled it up on her phone and showed it to her- and the friend immediately said, "Oh, of course I didn't see it- we assume that anything under $135k is going to be a dump." After looking through the listing though her comment was that absent a price on it she'd probably have thought that it would have cost TOO MUCH for them to afford because of how nice it looked and wondered what was wrong with it that we had it priced so low. This has only made SWMBO more interested in bumping the price back up to near where it originally started at (around $10k more than where it is now). I imagine she'll ask about it when we go out to look at a house this evening. I'd not at all complain about selling the house for a good bit more money- but at the same time, I want it sold PERIOD and am not sure how raising the price now is going to look (though we could take it off for a week or two and put it back on much more strongly highlighting the renovations we did along with a price increase).
Well, the leases are now signed with SWMBO's friends who will be renting the house for a few months (or until it sells in the case that it sells before they plan to leave) and they'll be moving in around the start of the month. Not getting close to what the house SHOULD rent for were it just a normal rental, but it will still cover the bulk of the additional costs I have due to being in SWMBO's place & having most of my stuff in storage.
The showings continue to come in- we've had at least one per week for the last month or so, but unfortunately we continue to have the same problem: simply getting people in the door. Half of the agents who make appointments to show the house never access the key box, meaning they most likely drove up, their clients saw the apartments, and they drove off without ever going into the house.
I talked with the realtor, and he strongly advises against raising the price back up and thinks that for now we're priced fairly well- we'd have to lower it a good bit to really get an advantage over anything else in the area that I'm not already lower than. So, for now I'm going to keep it where it is.
An interesting thing though I learned this last weekend- I went out to a number of open houses and talked with all the realtors at those houses for a modest bit. Of course my stock answer as to whether I'm interested in a house (assuming I'm not REALLY interested in it, which I was in one of these...) is that I can't do anything until my own house sells. Several of them asked more about the house and thought they might have clients who'd be intersted in it- so I've taken to viewing going out to open houses not only as an exercise in finding a new place (and things we do and don't like) but ALSO as another way of advertising my house by talking about it with other agents. At the least, it can't HURT any...
If you're getting traffic and it hasn't sold yet, a price drop is likely your best option. You've taken care of the pain points inside the house with your renovations, so I think what's hurting you is your neighborhood (the lack of people actually going through the house backs this up). You can't change your neighborhood, but you can change your price.
Basically, you have to price it where it's a better deal than anything else out there. You want the buyers to be fearful that if they don't move NOW, someone else will snatch the place up. If you have it priced just right or even too high, potential buyers have more time to evaluate the house and its flaws.
My wife and I have been through this personally, as we took about a 20-30k hit on our old house compared to other locations in town. On the flip side, it was the same amount cheaper when she purchased the house. We priced it aggressively, and had it sold in 3 days for over 99% of the asking price. Had we started with a higher number, it would have taken longer to sell, and I don't think we would have gotten any more money.
Yeah, a price drop is something that will likely have to happen before too long. I've just been waiting for the market to pick up a bit overall before doing that so it will get noticed as much as possible. When I asked our realtor about the price, what he said was:
I would argue that placement is more important since people look at houses in a list sorted by area, then price. In area 4 there are 5 homes for sale at 129,900, so ours is higher on the list at 129,500. You'd have do drop below 125K to move up another 5. I think we have already established that we are below market which is attractive, but we have and will continue to have buyers drive off because of the apartments. They are not bad apartments thank goodness, and you know that well. People have this vision of their perfect life, what kind of neighborhood, cute little brick house, big back yard, white picket fence..... Eventually most buyers compromise on something to stay within their budget. That's why I think your kitchen is a home run. I want them to see something nicer than your competitors at this price point. We can't change the location, we just have to find the buyer that doesn't mind and sees the upside.
There's a showing tomorrow afternoon- SWMBO is betting that since we just signed the lease for her friends renting it that this will be the showing that results in a cash offer wanting to close ASAP.
I have a different view on pricing. I have had to sell a few homes (6) in my life and my perspective is from that.
What does the MLS LISTING show for days on market? If that is more than 100 or so buyers and agents will wonder what's wrong with it at move on to the next one without ever looking. Take it off of the market for a month then realist it with a new MLS #.
What are houses like this really selling for? Are you in that range? You should be. To get showing based upon price you will have to make a pretty steep cut. What I have done is to price my house fairly and if it takes too long I bump up the selling agents commission. Most buyers work through an agent so you want everyone every potential buyer who is in the market for a house in your price range to see your house. If you are paying 3 percent on $135k that is $4000. If you bump that to 4 percent it is now $5400. It's only $1400 more for you but you are more likely to get every $135k buyer to see yours. The agent will get $1400 more than any other $135k house if they sell yours. As they are takin buyers around they know if they sell your house they get a bigger pay check.
You would easily drop the price $1400 to get a buyer so why not offer that as a commission.
That's an interesting idea, Scott, and something we'll have to consider going forward.
One of the girls renting the house moved in yesterday instead of next weekend... I can't say it doesn't make sense given her lease ends on the 31st and has to be out before then. But if you're going to have to move in a full week before the beginning of the month, it's kind of a dick move to post-date your security deposit check to the 1st February. Just moving her stuff in they scuffed up some of the newly painted walls... the good thing is that I know most of it will just wash off, but it's still a bit annoying.
We had a really good snow over the weekend that unfortunately scuttled a planned showing of the house, but I did get some really nice pictures of the exterior with the snow that I forwarded on to our realtor so he can update the pictures to be season-appropriate if he wants.
So, SWMBO's friends are all moved in and largely settled in to the house, and hosted a small (it ended up just them and SWMBO & I) Super Bowl party last night. Which while I was there for it I got a request from the presumably the people who looked at the house on Saturday for a second showing late this afternoon. They'd left feedback that they were very interested in the house but thought the price was too high- probably the easiest to deal with, depending on what their idea of 'too high' is. This will be the first time we've had somebody come back to look at the place- and we're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll get an offer out of it.
Of course- that would ALSO mean that the friends who are currently renting the place would have to be out of it much quicker than they might have hoped. I'll obviously be making sure the closing date gives them as much time as possible and they understood it was a risk going in. I can't say it's wholly unexpected though- we've been joking ever since the prospect of them renting the house came up that we'd get an offer as soon as they were settled in...
WE GOT ONE!!!! 
(wish I had a big buzzer like the Ghostbusters to slam my hand down on)
The 2nd showing yesterday apparently convinced the potential buyer they wanted the house and they put in an offer. It was lower than I wanted and had a number of expensive terms/conditions (closing costs, warranty) but not outside of what is likely workable. Countered the offer, and am waiting to hear their response. SWMBO has been bouncing around since the offer came in last night... I can't do that because I'm at work, but I'd like to be doing the same...
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