I need house selling stories and advice ITT.

gotta get rid of my house.

11/26/2009 10:18:36 AM

i, too, need this advice

11/26/2009 10:23:23 AM

I was looking at Mydogtess.com --they'll list and arrange things for 1% fee, or just help list for $500.

Or I could get a real estate agent and pay 6%

Or try to sell on my own and end up paying ~3%

hmmm

11/26/2009 10:35:37 AM

I'm in the process of selling a house.
Shit is fucking complicated !!

11/26/2009 10:55:45 AM

Stage it.

11/26/2009 11:04:59 AM

^^ are you using a realtor? what stage are you at?

I dread the most trying to clean the place up and keep it clean

11/26/2009 11:17:12 AM

Quote :

"I was looking at Mydogtess.com --they'll list and arrange things for 1% fee, or just help list for $500. Or I could get a real estate agent and pay 6% Or try to sell on my own and end up paying ~3% hmmm"

Talk to Barry (Barry Slobin I think) from MDT if you go with them...That guy is really good. I'll see if I can dig up his contact info.

[Edited on November 26, 2009 at 11:37 AM. Reason : k]

11/26/2009 11:23:40 AM

^ how do you know him and why do you recommend him?

11/26/2009 11:53:07 AM

I worked with him when I was buying a house. I ended up doing a FSBO instead. He is one of those people who is on top of everything...Very well organized, very willing to make things work regardless of schedule, and very knowledgeable. I was quite impressed and plan to work with him again in the future.

11/26/2009 4:33:13 PM

^ do you think you'd try to do a FSBO if you were selling?

11/26/2009 7:45:03 PM

Quote :

"I was looking at Mydogtess.com --they'll list and arrange things for 1% fee, or just help list for $500. Or I could get a real estate agent and pay 6% Or try to sell on my own and end up paying ~3%"

I work at My Dog Tess effective Dec 1st.

11/26/2009 9:16:10 PM

This is a good time to sell a house. Existing homes sales are wayyy up. Put it up sooner than later as the tax credit ends by midyear. Also price it fairly and see if you can start a bidding war.

11/26/2009 9:24:59 PM

Quote :

"Also price it fairly and see if you can start a bidding war."

11/26/2009 9:50:22 PM

you're fucked

11/26/2009 10:02:33 PM

Quote :

"This is a good time to sell a house."

ahaha

11/26/2009 11:21:53 PM

^^^^ yeah, when exactly do the tax credits end?

11/26/2009 11:24:28 PM

midyear

11/26/2009 11:29:38 PM

april somethinganother. i'm sure google knows.

11/27/2009 12:01:20 AM

Quote :

"ahaha"

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=arr4Lh2eWW5s

Quote :

"Sales of existing single-family homes rose 9.7 percent, the biggest gain since 1983, to an annual rate of 5.33 million. Sales of condos and co-ops increased 13.2 percent to a 770,000 rate. "

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/faq1.php

Quote :

"The tax credit now applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify."

[Edited on November 27, 2009 at 1:02 AM. Reason : f]

11/27/2009 12:59:21 AM

Quote :

"This is a good time to sell a house. Existing homes sales are wayyy up.[/quote [quote]Sales of existing single-family homes rose 9.7 percent, the biggest gain since 1983, to an annual rate of 5.33 million. Sales of condos and co-ops increased 13.2 percent to a 770,000 rate."

sales percentage is up, but with the negatives we've had in the recent past, that doesn't mean sales are exceeding what they were 3-4 years ago. Also, that says nothing of price. Sales can be up because people are getting desperate and selling for less profit or even at a loss.

Still, depends on how you look at it. You can sell your house fast but you may not get top dollar, or you can try to get top dollar and be on the market for 6 months or more.

11/27/2009 7:41:56 AM

I wouldn't be surprised to see housing prices continue to drop, so if you can actually sell your house, it might not be a bad decision. The market is flooded with homes, but that probably won't improve much over the next couple years. You've got way more homes than people that can afford the homes, so prices will have to drop to reflect that.

11/27/2009 12:27:09 PM

Quote :

"you can try to get top dollar and be on the market for 6 months or more."

Worst strategy ever, more often than not it sells for the same thing it would have originally, except you made payments for another 6 months on a house you did not want anymore.

11/27/2009 4:04:36 PM

Quote :

"Worst strategy ever, more often than not it sells for the same thing it would have originally, except you made payments for another 6 months on a house you did not want anymore."

i didn't mean it as a strategy. if your house is priced for the area correctly then it will sell quick. When I say priced correctly, I mean correctly for todays market.

You are correct. If someone is holding out for the top dollar before the decline, then the house will be on the market for 6 months or more, meaning 6 more mortgage payments and still potentially not getting that top dollar figure.

11/27/2009 4:29:37 PM

I just sold mine this past summer.

I have a great agent if anyone needs a referral.

We listed in July 08 with Agent #1.

We averaged a showing a month until April 09.

We re-listed with another agent in June 09 and had an offer inside 2 weeks. If the first couple had not left feedback in our showing log, then we would have had a second offer that day.

The worst part of selling is having to be able to be ready to show in 10 minutes or less and then the people stand you up.

11/27/2009 9:16:11 PM

tried ebay?

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

11/28/2009 12:20:33 AM

oy, I don't even know where to start. So much crap to get rid of!

12/6/2009 10:14:29 AM

Quote :

"The worst part of selling is having to be able to be ready to show in 10 minutes or less and then the people stand you up."

This probably the worst part, for most of us it is a struggle to keep our home looking like a model home and still live in it at the same time. If there are pets involved its even more of a pain.

12/6/2009 11:11:44 AM

i bought my house because of their ad in classifieds on tww

seriously

12/6/2009 11:38:26 AM

I got lucky and sold mine to my roommate.

The best part really was that we didn't have to hassle with a realtor, so he actually got a great deal on it. I actually made a bit more than if I'd listed it at full value with a realtor, since I got to keep all of the profits.

12/6/2009 11:56:39 AM

I will be listing mine @ the end of January. I looked into "My Dog Tess" and may go with them. I have a hard time paying a 5 or 6% commission to a "traditional" agent. I am stressing already about getting it/keeping it ready to show...esp with 3 dogs and 2 roommates.

12/7/2009 10:50:22 AM

Sold mine a few years ago with a traditional real estate agent, who has been a friend of the family for a few decades. The sign went in the yard on a Sunday and it was sold Tuesday morning.

Which was great, with a new kid and two dogs.


I'd consider how hard your particular house will be to sell when you decide whether ot get an agent or try it yourself. Our was a 3BD/2.5 bathroom newish suburban house with appeal to a wide pool of buyers. We went with teh agent because a) we knew her already and liked her personally and professionally, and b) even with a currently popular house, we didn't want to eff up the paperwork or anything like that trying to do something we didn't know anything about.

12/7/2009 11:19:04 AM

Quote :

"we didn't want to eff up the paperwork or anything like that trying to do something we didn't know anything about."

the paperwork is ridiculously easy...i did all of mine without the aid of a lawyer until the actual signing, which HAS to be done through a lawyer

my suggestion: pay to list the house via MLS on your own and see what you can get from that...that opens you up to be found by all real estate agents

between that and craigslist, you should have a pretty solid start without an agent

12/7/2009 12:36:03 PM

Some fantastic anecdotal arguments ITT!

This thread should be proof that you need to work with a Realtor.
There are exceptions to every rule, so yes, you might score a sweet deal through luck of the online draw. By and large however, you will move your investment more effectively and quickly by working through a professional real estate agent.

12/7/2009 3:37:04 PM

Quote :

"This thread should be proof that you need to work with a Realtor. There are exceptions to every rule, so yes, you might score a sweet deal through luck of the online draw. By and large however, you will move your investment more effectively and quickly by working through a professional real estate agent."

there are lots of landmines you can step on doing FSBO.

12/7/2009 3:53:10 PM

Quote :

"there are lots of landmines you can step on doing FSBO."

this is very true...it's also dangerous to drive my own car, so i should probably play it safe and hire a driver and an armored car, just in case

yes, yes, there are advantages to a real estate agent...and if you don't mind forking out significant amounts of cash to sleep better at night in ignorance of a simple process, then i would encourage someone to just pay the money

i'm glad my sellers and myself avoided agents, though, because it saved both them and myself thousands of dollars

*shrug*

12/7/2009 3:59:51 PM

DaBird touting realtors?!?!?

12/7/2009 4:51:11 PM