pricing our house?

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runner540
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by runner540 »

gips wrote: Wed Jun 09, 2021 11:04 am
- the house needs work! We put off about $30k of renovations due to covid, most noticeably, the jacuzzi in the master bathroom doesn't work and needs to be replaced. We have an estimate which we received right before the pandemic to replace with a soaking tub.
-

thanks again, updates to follow!
You have a mismatch in your expectations: you mentioned upthread that the one offer had an "out" of inspection, but you know your house needs work. Would you spend $1MM+ for a new house without an inspection??
Don't throw out a good offer because they want an inspection, unless you have other offers without.
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

runner540 wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:35 am
gips wrote: Wed Jun 09, 2021 11:04 am
- the house needs work! We put off about $30k of renovations due to covid, most noticeably, the jacuzzi in the master bathroom doesn't work and needs to be replaced. We have an estimate which we received right before the pandemic to replace with a soaking tub.
-

thanks again, updates to follow!
You have a mismatch in your expectations: you mentioned upthread that the one offer had an "out" of inspection, but you know your house needs work. Would you spend $1MM+ for a new house without an inspection??
Don't throw out a good offer because they want an inspection, unless you have other offers without.
we didnt throw the offer out, they rescinded within two hours of making the offer.
Outer Marker
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by Outer Marker »

BogleFan510 wrote: Wed Jun 02, 2021 9:15 am Any negotiation of commission rates? Curious.
Absolutely. Everything is negotiable. That said, you want to negotiate the selling agent commission down, and keep the buyer agent commission at 3%. The buyer's agent is the one who brings the buyer and enables the transaction. On my current house under contract, I negotiated a 1.5% seller's commssion and 3% buyer (4.5% total). Several years ago, I negotiated a 1.25% seller's commission, 3% buyer (4.25% total). I paid a little more this time around, because it wasn't a seven-figure property and had to sweeten the pot a bit.

I would start with an online inquiry to "Clever" and "Ideal Agent". The referrals you will get are to selling agents who are already willing to accept a 1-2% selling agent commission, so there's less haggling involved.
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

0 for 5 this weekend, price reduction coming...
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hand
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by hand »

gips wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 3:05 pm 0 for 5 this weekend, price reduction coming...
Bummer... consider that a very common realtor marketing technique is to promise a high price to get the listing / commission and then pressure the seller to reduce the price.

I'd suggest taking more personal ownership of the pricing - make the realtor show you all pending and sold comps for the last 3-6 months so you can make your own decision.

Also, if you suspect the agent wasn't pricing in good faith, consider working with another agent, or having them devote more time and energy to selling at your original listing price ( open houses, broker open house, marketing materials, website etc.) or even to cut their commission. This failure to sell at the agreed price shouldn't be your pain exclusively.
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dogagility
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by dogagility »

gips wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 3:05 pm 0 for 5 this weekend, price reduction coming...
Good idea, Gips.
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

our realtor suggested moving from 1.2 to 1.15, we have a person looking tomorrow who is renting in the community, we'll see what they're feedback is like but we're thinking 1.1 will get us under market. What's bizarre is that our market feels stuck, no inventory, no offers and no price reductions to date. If someone wants to move into our community at our price point, our house is the pretty much the only game in town...
stan1
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by stan1 »

gips wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 6:00 pm but we're thinking 1.1 will get us under market. What's bizarre is that our market feels stuck, no inventory, no offers and no price reductions to date. If someone wants to move into our community at our price point, our house is the pretty much the only game in town...
I think your instincts are better than the realtors. I know she is a family friend but does she work full time and is she successful at what she does? The house is clearly over-priced at $1.2M if the measure of value is what someone is willing to pay for it at any given time. I'd go with $1.1 not $1.150. Multiple offers will get it back to what people are willing to pay for it. You need to draw the people who walked through and did not buy because it was over-priced.

Personally I would also fix the items that need repairing. Maybe you are hoping for a no contingencies offer, but if the house presents itself as needing repairs buyers will be hesitant to offer that. Go back to some of the tried and true basics like making sure the house is fully decluttered (move out most of your belongings if it is in any way crowded or dated). If there are pet odors or smoking odors I'd pull it off the market and get those taken care of.

For what you don't repair plan on needing to negotiate down to lift the buyer's contingencies (such as for the spa tub).
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by Outer Marker »

gips wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 6:00 pm our realtor suggested moving from 1.2 to 1.15, we have a person looking tomorrow who is renting in the community, we'll see what they're feedback is like but we're thinking 1.1 will get us under market. What's bizarre is that our market feels stuck, no inventory, no offers and no price reductions to date. If someone wants to move into our community at our price point, our house is the pretty much the only game in town...
Sit tight and don’t signal weakness or desperation by lowering your price a trivial amount. If a buyer wants to bid 1.15 they’ll come up with that on their own based on days on market, etc.
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LilyFleur
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by LilyFleur »

Is your house staged well and completely decluttered? You can do this yourself--watch the videos online. If the market is slowing, the house needs to be staged and pristine. Residential real estate can be emotion-driven. If they LOVE your house, they'll pay more. Even fresh mulch from Walmart in the flower beds gives it a new, clean feel. When I sold my big house, we had never landscaped the back planters. I hauled mulch from Walmart and covered those planters, and it looked way better. :sharebeer Go get three bouquets of flowers from Trader Joe's, arrange them creatively, and place them in several rooms.
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

LilyFleur wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 6:35 pm Is your house staged well and completely decluttered? You can do this yourself--watch the videos online. If the market is slowing, the house needs to be staged and pristine. Residential real estate can be emotion-driven. If they LOVE your house, they'll pay more. Even fresh mulch from Walmart in the flower beds gives it a new, clean feel. When I sold my big house, we had never landscaped the back planters. I hauled mulch from Walmart and covered those planters, and it looked way better. :sharebeer Go get three bouquets of flowers from Trader Joe's, arrange them creatively, and place them in several rooms.
thanks, we've done all this and quite a bit more. I'm guessing if I shared the zillow video most of you would be scratching your heads on why it hasn't sold other than to point out 1.2 is a lot of money.

On repairs, we're hesitant to start ripping up the bathtub in the middle of june and missing the spring season. I met with a plumber this week who had some suggestions that I'll investigate. we've spoken about repairs repeatedly with our realtor and her advice is to sit tight.

let's see where we are by the end of this week...
Normchad
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by Normchad »

This is a great thread. Thanks for updating it so frequently. From your original post, it doesn’t sound like you need to be in a big hurry to sell it. So you can be patient.

Personally, I am getting a sense though that just in the last month, the market here in NOVA has changed. I can’t put my finger on it, but maybe people are coming to their senses, and are thinking more rationally. Not in a frenzied rush to buy. But that’s just a feel I have, nothing concrete.

I might sell next year. So I’m spending time this year, looking at the house like I think a buyer would. If I see something small that might catch the buyers eye and turn them off, I address it. But I’m going to do any high dollar items. So far I’ve replaced some exterior light fixtures that had rust on them, fixed a crack in my basement ceiling and repainted the basement, washed the outside of the house to remove mildew and spider webs, etc, cleaned up the landscape quite a bit, etc. just making it look very clean and no deferred maintenance. I think around here, people really don’t want to do much of anything after they move in…..
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

Normchad wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 8:21 pm This is a great thread. Thanks for updating it so frequently. From your original post, it doesn’t sound like you need to be in a big hurry to sell it. So you can be patient.

Personally, I am getting a sense though that just in the last month, the market here in NOVA has changed. I can’t put my finger on it, but maybe people are coming to their senses, and are thinking more rationally. Not in a frenzied rush to buy. But that’s just a feel I have, nothing concrete.

I might sell next year. So I’m spending time this year, looking at the house like I think a buyer would. If I see something small that might catch the buyers eye and turn them off, I address it. But I’m going to do any high dollar items. So far I’ve replaced some exterior light fixtures that had rust on them, fixed a crack in my basement ceiling and repainted the basement, washed the outside of the house to remove mildew and spider webs, etc, cleaned up the landscape quite a bit, etc. just making it look very clean and no deferred maintenance. I think around here, people really don’t want to do much of anything after they move in…..
this has been our approach too, we typically allocated $10-$20k/year to remediate problems with the house. We were teed up to replace mbr bath tub but then the pandemic. In the end, we rushed to market to take advantage of the bubble, but now that the bubble seems to be bursting, we may pause, take it off the market, and take our time on repairs. otoh, we'd be thrilled to get a deal done at $1.1, so we'll probably give it a another month or so.
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by Outer Marker »

gips wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 10:17 am
Normchad wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 8:21 pm This is a great thread. Thanks for updating it so frequently. From your original post, it doesn’t sound like you need to be in a big hurry to sell it. So you can be patient.

Personally, I am getting a sense though that just in the last month, the market here in NOVA has changed. I can’t put my finger on it, but maybe people are coming to their senses, and are thinking more rationally. Not in a frenzied rush to buy. But that’s just a feel I have, nothing concrete.

I might sell next year. So I’m spending time this year, looking at the house like I think a buyer would. If I see something small that might catch the buyers eye and turn them off, I address it. But I’m going to do any high dollar items. So far I’ve replaced some exterior light fixtures that had rust on them, fixed a crack in my basement ceiling and repainted the basement, washed the outside of the house to remove mildew and spider webs, etc, cleaned up the landscape quite a bit, etc. just making it look very clean and no deferred maintenance. I think around here, people really don’t want to do much of anything after they move in…..
this has been our approach too, we typically allocated $10-$20k/year to remediate problems with the house. We were teed up to replace mbr bath tub but then the pandemic. In the end, we rushed to market to take advantage of the bubble, but now that the bubble seems to be bursting, we may pause, take it off the market, and take our time on repairs. otoh, we'd be thrilled to get a deal done at $1.1, so we'll probably give it a another month or so.
If you'd be thrilled to get a deal done and you decide to do the price reduction to $1.1, do it all at once, and don't "nibble" at it $10 or even $50K at a time. You need a big move to generate new interest. In the meantime, your agent could be calling everyone on the sign-in sheet for the open house, getting their "opinion" on the house and trying to scare up an offer.
imsomeguy
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gips - any luck

Post by imsomeguy »

wife and I are looking for a large house in bergen county - feel free to email me if you have any specifics you feel comfortable sharing imthatguybbi@gmail
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

^ bergen country is lovely, we're in NY
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

we dropped to 1.1 today.
ras4250
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by ras4250 »

If it makes you feel any better an accepted offer is not what everyone thinks elsewhere. In NYC nothing is agreed until contract is signed. Even if you say yes I accept offer, a good realtor will continue to shop the offer while the contract details are worked out.

So even if you accepted they still could have back out before the contract was signed.
02nz
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by 02nz »

This thread is a good reminder of why it's better to price your house too low rather than too high. Generally, the market will "find" the right price for one that's priced too low, while one that's priced too high will also find the right price, but it will take longer and almost certainly be lower. Also, $1M is a big threshold. Buyers use filters for pricing (among others) as they do searches on Redfin.com and the like, and OP would've gotten a ton more eyeballs at say $999K. Not all of those eyeballs would've been able to afford say $1.1M, but a lot would've been able to make the stretch.
WhyNotUs
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by WhyNotUs »

Thanks for letting us all ride along on your home sale journey. Best wishes on a fair and timely transaction.
This has been a dynamic and hard to predict market.
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hightechburrito
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by hightechburrito »

02nz wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 5:44 pm This thread is a good reminder of why it's better to price your house too low rather than too high. Generally, the market will "find" the right price for one that's priced too low, while one that's priced too high will also find the right price, but it will take longer and almost certainly be lower. Also, $1M is a big threshold. Buyers use filters for pricing (among others) as they do searches on Redfin.com and the like, and OP would've gotten a ton more eyeballs at say $999K. Not all of those eyeballs would've been able to afford say $1.1M, but a lot would've been able to make the stretch.
I recently went through this, but from the other side. Listed just under 1M (to make sure tons of people saw it), then over the course of the week my agent had it listed, he got people bidding about 25% higher than that. I was a little nerve-wracking to not sign an offer for 1M on the first day, but the market 'found' the price for my house.

Obviously we can't go back and redo it to see, but I assume if we listed at 1.15M or something like that, it may have sat for a while until someone decided to offer.
neo_ny
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by neo_ny »

Any further updates OP? Would you do it any differently knowing what you know now? We are getting ready to put our house on market (not in NYC burbs but our house is in the same price range) and this thread has been of particular interest. I know real estate is local but we are also running into this issue that with recent comps the "suggested" listing price is coming up higher than what we would've listed it at pre- this housing market madness. I wish you good luck and hope your house sells quickly!
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

we received an offer today at 1.07, i’m guessing we end up in the middle at 1.085, we have an open house and 4 other showings this weekend which will occur while we negotiate so the possibility of a better offer exists.

in terms of what we’d have done differently, hindsight is 20-20, and the correct listing price was lower than 1.2 However, i’m not sure we’d have had a better outcome starting at 1.1, it’s unknowable. i have no idea how people can state with certainty “let this be a lesson, dont overprice your house…”.

in the end. we engage real estate agents for their expertise, it seems ludicrous to hire a top agent and then state “i have a better understanding of the market than you”

best,
neo_ny
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by neo_ny »

Thanks for the update, glad to hear you have received an offer! Hope things move quickly/smoothly towards ratification/closing!
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Re: pricing our house?

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gips wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:12 am in terms of what we’d have done differently, hindsight is 20-20, and the correct listing price was lower than 1.2 However, i’m not sure we’d have had a better outcome starting at 1.1, it’s unknowable. i have no idea how people can state with certainty “let this be a lesson, dont overprice your house…”.

in the end. we engage real estate agents for their expertise, it seems ludicrous to hire a top agent and then state “i have a better understanding of the market than you”
The market almost always finds the right price. If you start out too high you're going to sit and/or get lowball bids (which may be at the right price). If you're too low, it will get bid up, assuming a competitive market such as today. I think you're better starting on the low end of reasonable which enhances your odds of multiple offers and bidding up the price. Interestingly, studies show that real estate agents' own houses tend to be priced the higher and have more days on market.

Hiring a "top agent" on the seller side adds little value to the transaction. They put it out on MLS and hope for the best. Even a novice agent can tell you to declutter, pick up the yard, and put a fresh coat of paint on well worn walls. I would think that Bogleheads don't need too much help "negotiating." Selling agents care little about the final selling price, since it doesn't affect their commission much. They'll try to talk you down to get the deal done. In shopping for selling agents, my number one issue is to get the lowest possible commission, in the 1% range. That buys you the price of admission to the "club" since FSBOs often aren't taken seriously. And, and agent can handle the grunt work of setting up the listing, getting photo's etc.

A "top agent" on the buyer's side can add real value. I used a good one several times, who visited nursing homes, kept an eye on the obits, drove around looking for properties in nice neighborhoods in disrepair. He found me some good deals and was worth his commission.
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

neo_ny wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:56 am Thanks for the update, glad to hear you have received an offer! Hope things move quickly/smoothly towards ratification/closing!

good luck w your sale!
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

Outer Marker wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 12:19 pm
gips wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:12 am in terms of what we’d have done differently, hindsight is 20-20, and the correct listing price was lower than 1.2 However, i’m not sure we’d have had a better outcome starting at 1.1, it’s unknowable. i have no idea how people can state with certainty “let this be a lesson, dont overprice your house…”.

in the end. we engage real estate agents for their expertise, it seems ludicrous to hire a top agent and then state “i have a better understanding of the market than you”
The market almost always finds the right price. If you start out too high you're going to sit and/or get lowball bids (which may be at the right price). If you're too low, it will get bid up, assuming a competitive market such as today. I think you're better starting on the low end of reasonable which enhances your odds of multiple offers and bidding up the price. Interestingly, studies show that real estate agents' own houses tend to be priced the higher and have more days on market.

Hiring a "top agent" on the seller side adds little value to the transaction. They put it out on MLS and hope for the best. Even a novice agent can tell you to declutter, pick up the yard, and put a fresh coat of paint on well worn walls. I would think that Bogleheads don't need too much help "negotiating." Selling agents care little about the final selling price, since it doesn't affect their commission much. They'll try to talk you down to get the deal done. In shopping for selling agents, my number one issue is to get the lowest possible commission, in the 1% range. That buys you the price of admission to the "club" since FSBOs often aren't taken seriously. And, and agent can handle the grunt work of setting up the listing, getting photo's etc.

A "top agent" on the buyer's side can add real value. I used a good one several times, who visited nursing homes, kept an eye on the obits, drove around looking for properties in nice neighborhoods in disrepair. He found me some good deals and was worth his commission.
all things being equal, I'd prefer to have a top agent because it says something about their approach and knowledge. we've bought and sold 4 houses over the course of our lifetime, our agent has sold 100s. if you think you've amassed knowledge equal to an agent that has sold 100s of homes in your community and that knowledge allows you to sell your home at the best price and pay an agent 1%, congrats, but we don't and I don't think we're in the minority.

I tend to agree on your sense that a lower listing price may end in a higher price because people act irrationally in an auction. Having said that, in a crazy, bubble-driven market, it's difficult to pick an asking price, especially when we were the only house in our price range in what realtors described as the hottest market in our county and one of the hottest in the country. again, hindsight is 20-20, I suspect we'd have had an higher offer if we'd started at 1.1 but I'm not sure 1.2 was the wrong initial ask given the data. and given the dearth of inventory, honestly, I'm not 100% sure we should have reduced our price.

best,
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by Outer Marker »

gips wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 2:55 pm all things being equal, I'd prefer to have a top agent because it says something about their approach and knowledge. we've bought and sold 4 houses over the course of our lifetime, our agent has sold 100s. if you think you've amassed knowledge equal to an agent that has sold 100s of homes in your community and that knowledge allows you to sell your home at the best price and pay an agent 1%, congrats, but we don't and I don't think we're in the minority.
If you think you got good value for the commission paid, that's great. You look to have a successful pending offer, and that's what counts. That said, at the end of the day, this "top agent" priced the house too high - and you knew that better than her. Trust me, its not rocket science. My ex was a part time real estate agent for a while, and a former law partner of mine quit the firm to open a real estate brokerage and tried to get me to join him. Easy money. I'm quite sure I'm a better negotiator than most agents. At the end of the day, you make the decision on the selling price. The agent acts as a go-between and handles the mechanics of the listing. Being a "top agent" is just about networking and self-promotion. Rick Eddleman had a lot of clients and made a lot of money with books, radio shows, and self-promotion in his wealth management business. I guess some might call him a "top financial advisor." Not me.
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

^fair point on “top financial advisors”.

we countered at $1.09 and they accepted, next major hurdle is inspection next week, as i mentioned upthread, the house is in solid condition but we are engaged in making some repairs, hopefully no major surprises.

our agent said a lot of deals have fallen apart in this market, it’s not a cash deal, they are pre-approved and our agent checked with their lender, still, fingers crossed…
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Post by Outer Marker »

gips wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:52 pm we countered at $1.09 and they accepted . . .
Congrats! :beer
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dogagility
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Post by dogagility »

gips wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:52 pm we countered at $1.09 and they accepted,
Good to hear, Gips. Thanks for continuing to update.
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neo_ny
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by neo_ny »

gips wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:52 pm ^fair point on “top financial advisors”.

we countered at $1.09 and they accepted, next major hurdle is inspection next week, as i mentioned upthread, the house is in solid condition but we are engaged in making some repairs, hopefully no major surprises.

our agent said a lot of deals have fallen apart in this market, it’s not a cash deal, they are pre-approved and our agent checked with their lender, still, fingers crossed…
Awesome, congrats! Good luck with closing! The offer was with all standard contingencies I assume? Our agent has been trying to nudge us to arrive at a pricing that would bring in atleast a second offer (fingers crossed that we actually do get offers!) likely resulting in waived/limited contingencies for a smoother closing. Decision time this week as we are looking to hit the market some time after 4th of July weekend..
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by smitcat »

gips wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:52 pm ^fair point on “top financial advisors”.

we countered at $1.09 and they accepted, next major hurdle is inspection next week, as i mentioned upthread, the house is in solid condition but we are engaged in making some repairs, hopefully no major surprises.

our agent said a lot of deals have fallen apart in this market, it’s not a cash deal, they are pre-approved and our agent checked with their lender, still, fingers crossed…
Congratulations - other than an inspection are there any other contingencies? Mortgage qualifier, home sale, job dependent, etc?
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

thanks all, there is a mortgage and inspection contingency, our broker spoke with their mortgage lender, they are pre-qualified and they said all the right things. Zillow reflected some recent price drops in our area, a littler nervous, inspection tomorrow, should be in contract by friday and then I suppose appraisal.

nerve wracking, fingers crossed!

best,
smitcat
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by smitcat »

gips wrote: Mon Jun 28, 2021 9:18 pm thanks all, there is a mortgage and inspection contingency, our broker spoke with their mortgage lender, they are pre-qualified and they said all the right things. Zillow reflected some recent price drops in our area, a littler nervous, inspection tomorrow, should be in contract by friday and then I suppose appraisal.

nerve wracking, fingers crossed!

best,
When the home sells where will you live?
OldBallCoach
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by OldBallCoach »

DD just sold her house and her " expert realtor " told her to list it at 799,000 and expect 925-950K. They had it open for 10 days with a date and time that offers would be accepted and that really seemed to work pretty well. She got 985K all cash offer if they could close in 21 days which they did...she had already bought and moved into new home and left the house slightly staged...bottom line seemed to work out pretty well over all. Some parts of the country are hot market some not as much so I think you have to do what works best in your part of the world. I was realllllyyyyy impressed with the photo work that the listing agent had done...about 150 pics and all were really well thought out.
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

smitcat wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 10:57 am
gips wrote: Mon Jun 28, 2021 9:18 pm thanks all, there is a mortgage and inspection contingency, our broker spoke with their mortgage lender, they are pre-qualified and they said all the right things. Zillow reflected some recent price drops in our area, a littler nervous, inspection tomorrow, should be in contract by friday and then I suppose appraisal.

nerve wracking, fingers crossed!

best,
When the home sells where will you live?
we have a coop in nyc and a beach condo in fl.
fanmail
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by fanmail »

OldBallCoach wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 11:25 am DD just sold her house and her " expert realtor " told her to list it at 799,000 and expect 925-950K. They had it open for 10 days with a date and time that offers would be accepted and that really seemed to work pretty well. She got 985K all cash offer if they could close in 21 days which they did...she had already bought and moved into new home and left the house slightly staged...bottom line seemed to work out pretty well over all. Some parts of the country are hot market some not as much so I think you have to do what works best in your part of the world. I was realllllyyyyy impressed with the photo work that the listing agent had done...about 150 pics and all were really well thought out.
150 pics lol that’s at least 100 too many.
OldBallCoach
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by OldBallCoach »

fanmail wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 5:59 pm
OldBallCoach wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 11:25 am DD just sold her house and her " expert realtor " told her to list it at 799,000 and expect 925-950K. They had it open for 10 days with a date and time that offers would be accepted and that really seemed to work pretty well. She got 985K all cash offer if they could close in 21 days which they did...she had already bought and moved into new home and left the house slightly staged...bottom line seemed to work out pretty well over all. Some parts of the country are hot market some not as much so I think you have to do what works best in your part of the world. I was realllllyyyyy impressed with the photo work that the listing agent had done...about 150 pics and all were really well thought out.
150 pics lol that’s at least 100 too many.
Well I dont know...the person that bought the house lives on the other side of the country and had never stepped into the house..they bought based on pics, no inspection, no nothing...LOL...for them the pics of everything were key...I guess it depends on how serious you are about buying? I dont know that I could do that...
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by fanmail »

OldBallCoach wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 8:11 am
fanmail wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 5:59 pm
OldBallCoach wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 11:25 am DD just sold her house and her " expert realtor " told her to list it at 799,000 and expect 925-950K. They had it open for 10 days with a date and time that offers would be accepted and that really seemed to work pretty well. She got 985K all cash offer if they could close in 21 days which they did...she had already bought and moved into new home and left the house slightly staged...bottom line seemed to work out pretty well over all. Some parts of the country are hot market some not as much so I think you have to do what works best in your part of the world. I was realllllyyyyy impressed with the photo work that the listing agent had done...about 150 pics and all were really well thought out.
150 pics lol that’s at least 100 too many.
Well I dont know...the person that bought the house lives on the other side of the country and had never stepped into the house..they bought based on pics, no inspection, no nothing...LOL...for them the pics of everything were key...I guess it depends on how serious you are about buying? I dont know that I could do that...
cross country, fair point I guess.
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

we are through inspection part 1 with no surprises, still have septic and pool on friday. can't get to contract this week, will now have to fade holiday weekend...
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

we are through all inspections, no surprises, hopefully contract this week
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

finally, today, in contract!
mtmingus
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by mtmingus »

gips wrote: Fri Jul 16, 2021 2:24 pm finally, today, in contract!
Congratulations!
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gips
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

and today our house appraised at sale price, 2-4 weeks until close.
Normchad
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by Normchad »

gips wrote: Mon Aug 16, 2021 8:26 pm and today our house appraised at sale price, 2-4 weeks until close.
Good luck! Crossing my fingers it’s go off without a hitch.
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Harry Livermore
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by Harry Livermore »

Gips, I only just found this thread, glad it worked out.
When you started out and thought it was a $900K house, but the realtor thought it might sell for $1.2, I was surprised that you guys chose to market it at that price. I thought the modern wisdom in the hot market is to price it low and generate a bidding situation.
It's funny, when you first started talking about a reduction somewhere in the thread, my first thought was "make it big", like over $100K big. I thought $1.08 would maybe make a few folks come for a second look, and you still might net $1.09 or $1.1 if you had enough new interest. Especially in this market.
I agree with some others that outstanding repairs may have hurt you a little. I think the higher end of the NYC suburban market is a little bifurcated- houses are either DONE, and happy folks just move in, or it's a scraper. It's amazing how bunged people get over the prospect of a few repairs...
Anyway, sounds like you navigated it well enough.
Cheers
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by gips »

Harry Livermore wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 7:11 am Gips, I only just found this thread, glad it worked out.
When you started out and thought it was a $900K house, but the realtor thought it might sell for $1.2, I was surprised that you guys chose to market it at that price. I thought the modern wisdom in the hot market is to price it low and generate a bidding situation.
It's funny, when you first started talking about a reduction somewhere in the thread, my first thought was "make it big", like over $100K big. I thought $1.08 would maybe make a few folks come for a second look, and you still might net $1.09 or $1.1 if you had enough new interest. Especially in this market.
I agree with some others that outstanding repairs may have hurt you a little. I think the higher end of the NYC suburban market is a little bifurcated- houses are either DONE, and happy folks just move in, or it's a scraper. It's amazing how bunged people get over the prospect of a few repairs...
Anyway, sounds like you navigated it well enough.
Cheers
our realtor feels there is a generational divide on house repairs with younger people, moving out from the city, much less likely to purchase a place in need of updating. Luckily, we found a couple one town over who are older, have a house and are willing to make repairs (actually, we're doing some and they're doing some). The house sits on a beautiful 2 acre wooded property with stone walls, a pool and protected land behind the property. I'm guessing the couple would have paid $1.2 had they seen it during the initial listing period...

thank you for the kind words :sharebeer
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by barnaclebob »

RickBoglehead wrote: Tue Jun 08, 2021 6:57 pm
gips wrote: Tue Jun 08, 2021 4:03 pm we hadn't accepted their offer, instead our realtor contacted other realtors whose client's had expressed interest to see if they wanted to make an offer. Had we accepted, I doubt we'd have gotten to closing with these buyers.
Think about that.

You wanted $900s. Realtor said $1.2 million. You got $1.2 million and went looking for more.. :oops:

Had you accepted, without contingencies like so many are posting about, you at least would have kept earnest money ($36 - $60k) if they didn't close.

As I said prior, you need a new realtor.
Its SOP for realtors to try to drum up other offers before the first one expires. Until the buyer puts down escrow buyers can walk away anyway.
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Harry Livermore
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Re: pricing our house?

Post by Harry Livermore »

gips wrote: Wed Aug 18, 2021 9:47 pm
our realtor feels there is a generational divide on house repairs with younger people, moving out from the city, much less likely to purchase a place in need of updating.
I agree 100% with your realtor. The "HGTV Effect".
I debate this with a buddy when I talk of renovating our current house, either for our own enjoyment, or to sell.
I'm of the "down to the studs" approach, having done this once before to our previous home. Not a pipe, a wire, nothing mechanical gets reused.Then you have peace of mind for the next 20, 25, maybe 30 years. No more pinhole leaks in the pipes. No more stopped drains. No more mystery dim light. You know where the doorbell transformer is. Etc., etc.
My buddy says, "That's a waste of time. Make the kitchens and baths gorgeous, those people will fall in love and buy on emotion. They will 100% ignore the home inspector talking about older wiring and plumbing"
I chuckle and think that I have the high moral ground. But if there is a whole generation who only buys based on "open concept floor plan", who am I to judge? Put lipstick on the pig* and go!
* When I say "pig" I mean my house. It's in a terrific location, close to town but super private and wooded, a solid 1959 colonial. The best of the old world (still all solid wood products, no OSB, LVL, minimal plywood) and the new world (modern construction standards, 16" centers, oversized joists, etc.) It could be a "great" house. But it needs everything. On Monday, I tore out a section of the kitchen ceiling (which I paid someone to install just a couple of years ago after tearing it out for a leak) and repaired yet ANOTHER pinhole leak in the pipe that I chose not to replace when the ceiling was last open. I would love to rip it all out and put it in a dumpster. It may not ever happen though...
Cheers
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