OT....How to sell a house........

kellch
kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
Ok so we are really wanting to sell our house so we can move back home. But we don't have the money to fix anything up (nothing major just a dent in the wall by the door....someone opened it to hard :grumble: and when Steve was weed wacking he put a little hole in the siding by the garage) We can't afford to put anything into it. And we just bought it two years ago. So not much equity in it. It was built in 2007. 3 bed 2.5 bath with fireplace and a 2 car garage. It's in a subdivision. We got an FHA loan and we were told that when we sell it....if the people that buy it get the same type of loan....they can get our same interest rate which is 6%. Not too bad. Realitors take up way too much of the profit...and we're not sure that we'll get any profit anyway with the market the way it is. We've thought of posting pic on the net, running ads in the Sunday paper, and putting a for sale by owner sign in our yard. And just hope someone wants it. If that doesnt work, go to a realitor, and if we get really desparate check with one of those "we buy your house in 7 days" things. As long as they check out ok with BBB, I'm thinking it'd be ok. We just won't make anything.......

Sooooo I guess my point with all of this is....we don't know where to start....how do people with no extra money (shoot we can barely pay the bills and make it to work anymore with him laid off) make their house presentable to sell (we're already clean people...we have old furniture but it's kept up nicely and we're both neat freaks) and how do you make your house attractive to homebuyers without putting money into the house? How do you get started? Is it wise to sell it yourself? Or is a realitor worth it? Has anyone worked with those "we buy your house in 7 days" things? do they work?

Any advice anyone could give is much appreciated....I wanna go home :sad: :sad: :sad: I hate only seeing my family once or twice a year...my neices and nephews are growing up, my friends kids are growing up, my grandparents are getting older, everyone is growing older, I miss my friends, my family, I wanna go home :sad: :sad: :grumble:

And yes I'm the dum dum that decided to move away. But we never really talked about having kids before. Now we are. After the wedding we wanna have some babies :bigsmile: And I wanna be near my family and friends for that (so does he):flowerforyou:

That is all....:bigsmile:

Replies

  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    Ok so we are really wanting to sell our house so we can move back home. But we don't have the money to fix anything up (nothing major just a dent in the wall by the door....someone opened it to hard :grumble: and when Steve was weed wacking he put a little hole in the siding by the garage) We can't afford to put anything into it. And we just bought it two years ago. So not much equity in it. It was built in 2007. 3 bed 2.5 bath with fireplace and a 2 car garage. It's in a subdivision. We got an FHA loan and we were told that when we sell it....if the people that buy it get the same type of loan....they can get our same interest rate which is 6%. Not too bad. Realitors take up way too much of the profit...and we're not sure that we'll get any profit anyway with the market the way it is. We've thought of posting pic on the net, running ads in the Sunday paper, and putting a for sale by owner sign in our yard. And just hope someone wants it. If that doesnt work, go to a realitor, and if we get really desparate check with one of those "we buy your house in 7 days" things. As long as they check out ok with BBB, I'm thinking it'd be ok. We just won't make anything.......

    Sooooo I guess my point with all of this is....we don't know where to start....how do people with no extra money (shoot we can barely pay the bills and make it to work anymore with him laid off) make their house presentable to sell (we're already clean people...we have old furniture but it's kept up nicely and we're both neat freaks) and how do you make your house attractive to homebuyers without putting money into the house? How do you get started? Is it wise to sell it yourself? Or is a realitor worth it? Has anyone worked with those "we buy your house in 7 days" things? do they work?

    Any advice anyone could give is much appreciated....I wanna go home :sad: :sad: :sad: I hate only seeing my family once or twice a year...my neices and nephews are growing up, my friends kids are growing up, my grandparents are getting older, everyone is growing older, I miss my friends, my family, I wanna go home :sad: :sad: :grumble:

    And yes I'm the dum dum that decided to move away. But we never really talked about having kids before. Now we are. After the wedding we wanna have some babies :bigsmile: And I wanna be near my family and friends for that (so does he):flowerforyou:

    That is all....:bigsmile:
  • Juliebean_1027
    Juliebean_1027 Posts: 713 Member
    Have you tried posting your house on ebay? Or on Craigslist? I know a couple different people who have done this. A friend of mine posted her house on ebay and then she even got a yard-sign that said 'House featured on Ebay' so people could take virtual tours, and they didn't have to be home every time someone wanted to see the house. Also, when you do have people coming to look at your house bake a batch of cookies beforehand. The smell of cookies makes your house more inviting to prospective buyers. Good luck kellch! :flowerforyou:
  • emikarls
    emikarls Posts: 1,058 Member
    11_2_104.gif

    sell as is. or say seller will pay _____amount of closing costs to cover small repairs.....:flowerforyou:
    I wubs you
  • Anna_Banana
    Anna_Banana Posts: 2,939 Member
    We're kind of in the same boat. We have a realitor right now (and for the last 18 mo.) We currently rent it out for half the morgage payment and are renting a different house. I would love to get rid of it.
  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    Have you tried posting your house on ebay? Or on Craigslist? I know a couple different people who have done this. A friend of mine posted her house on ebay and then she even got a yard-sign that said 'House featured on Ebay' so people could take virtual tours, and they didn't have to be home every time someone wanted to see the house. Also, when you do have people coming to look at your house bake a batch of cookies beforehand. The smell of cookies makes your house more inviting to prospective buyers. Good luck kellch! :flowerforyou:

    Good idea..........never thought of Ebay :drinker: Thanks....uh oh......cookies.....me likes cookies:bigsmile:
  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    11_2_104.gif

    sell as is. or say seller will pay _____amount of closing costs to cover small repairs.....:flowerforyou:
    I wubs you

    Yeah I already plan on putting in there that we will pay closing costs (I'll just add it to the price though :wink: :laugh: J/K)

    Awwwwww....me wubs you too Emikins :smooched: :love: :flowerforyou:
  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    We're kind of in the same boat. We have a realitor right now (and for the last 18 mo.) We currently rent it out for half the morgage payment and are renting a different house. I would love to get rid of it.

    I would rent it out but I don't want to rent it out when we're planning on moving out of state.......who knows what the people would do to the place, ya know?:ohwell:
  • Skittles6617
    Skittles6617 Posts: 247 Member
    I am a realtor....I will just say, it is very hard in the market right now to sell anything!! But not impossible....you need to make the home look as clean and spacious as possible. Don't make your spaces look cluttered. The cleaner it looks, the less people will scrutinize and look for things to fix. If you can paint, then paint, that is the cheapest thing you can do. If you have wallpaper, remove it...no one wants to deal with wallpaper anymore. Make it look as homey as you can. Candles, rugs, plants, fresh flowers when people come by to look. Always bake cookies right before an open house. It makes the home smell good and creates a comfort zone. Outside apeal is EVERYTHING! If you can make sure that is as organized and easy on the eyes as possible. Accent the best areas of your home.

    How many homes are for sale in your subdivision? What do you owe on the home and what are the other homes selling for? It is a good idea to visit the other homes for sale to get an idea of your competition to see what you need to do to be able to compete.

    Never and I mean NEVER talk to the people who will buy your home in 7 days. They will screw you!!! Pardon my french...:o)

    If you have any questions at all, I don't mind giving you my advice. :o)
  • I watch ALOT of those homemaker shows and know a little bit. I know that you should always make the bathrooms look like a spa. Have rolled towels in baskets so you can see them, wash clothes stacked neatly on shelves. At least 2 plants somwhere in the bathroom. Also, they said that one of the best things you can do for your home is convert a half bath to a full bath, they said that really helps sell your house. Also, PAINT! Re-painting can be pricy but it pays in the long run. Paint nice neutral tones, or just freshen up old paint, this really helps make your house presentable. Also, for the bedrooms, make them look like hotel suites, you can do this just by adding bright, big pillows or folding your blankets on your bed a different way, or even buying new items such as a picture to go over your bed or side tables, but you don't have to get that extreme. Another thing they recommend is to completly change your furniture around to make your house look bigger, (unless the furniture is already in a good spot). All these are simple, small changes that don't seem like anything but these are things that people look for. And when they come into your home, they want it to feel comforting as if it were their own house. Hope this helps!:happy:
    Good luck selling!!:flowerforyou:

    -Danielle
  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    I am a realtor....I will just say, it is very hard in the market right now to sell anything!! But not impossible....you need to make the home look as clean and spacious as possible. Don't make your spaces look cluttered. The cleaner it looks, the less people will scrutinize and look for things to fix. If you can paint, then paint, that is the cheapest thing you can do. If you have wallpaper, remove it...no one wants to deal with wallpaper anymore. Make it look as homey as you can. Candles, rugs, plants, fresh flowers when people come by to look. Always bake cookies right before an open house. It makes the home smell good and creates a comfort zone. Outside apeal is EVERYTHING! If you can make sure that is as organized and easy on the eyes as possible. Accent the best areas of your home.

    How many homes are for sale in your subdivision? What do you owe on the home and what are the other homes selling for? It is a good idea to visit the other homes for sale to get an idea of your competition to see what you need to do to be able to compete.

    Never and I mean NEVER talk to the people who will buy your home in 7 days. They will screw you!!! Pardon my french...:o)

    If you have any questions at all, I don't mind giving you my advice. :o)

    Thank you......that's a good start :flowerforyou: Yes painting was about all we were going to do. Or able to do. Our yard is very well kept up. I must say I did very well on the flower garden this year :bigsmile: And my fiance keeps the yard nice, mowed, and edged. The outside looks great. We do have some other homes for sale in the subdivision. Some forclosed :ohwell: I think people jumped into the houses not realizing the expenses that come with them . We did, kind of, but we'd be ok if my fiance wasn't losing his job. I'll check the prices nearby. Thanks.:flowerforyou:

    And thank you for the 7 day advice. So I mean even if it comes down to where we absolutely can't make the payments, we should stay away from them? I mean if they give you the money and sign the dotted line, there's not much else they can do, right? I know we would probably lose money one em...but I'm talking last option?

    Appreciate your help :flowerforyou:
  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    I watch ALOT of those homemaker shows and know a little bit. I know that you should always make the bathrooms look like a spa. Have rolled towels in baskets so you can see them, wash clothes stacked neatly on shelves. At least 2 plants somwhere in the bathroom. Also, they said that one of the best things you can do for your home is convert a half bath to a full bath, they said that really helps sell your house. Also, PAINT! Re-painting can be pricy but it pays in the long run. Paint nice neutral tones, or just freshen up old paint, this really helps make your house presentable. Also, for the bedrooms, make them look like hotel suites, you can do this just by adding bright, big pillows or folding your blankets on your bed a different way, or even buying new items such as a picture to go over your bed or side tables, but you don't have to get that extreme. Another thing they recommend is to completly change your furniture around to make your house look bigger, (unless the furniture is already in a good spot). All these are simple, small changes that don't seem like anything but these are things that people look for. And when they come into your home, they want it to feel comforting as if it were their own house. Hope this helps!:happy:
    Good luck selling!!:flowerforyou:

    -Danielle

    Yes it does........we can do some of those things......not all but some :flowerforyou: Appreciate it:flowerforyou:
  • Skittles6617
    Skittles6617 Posts: 247 Member
    I am a realtor....I will just say, it is very hard in the market right now to sell anything!! But not impossible....you need to make the home look as clean and spacious as possible. Don't make your spaces look cluttered. The cleaner it looks, the less people will scrutinize and look for things to fix. If you can paint, then paint, that is the cheapest thing you can do. If you have wallpaper, remove it...no one wants to deal with wallpaper anymore. Make it look as homey as you can. Candles, rugs, plants, fresh flowers when people come by to look. Always bake cookies right before an open house. It makes the home smell good and creates a comfort zone. Outside apeal is EVERYTHING! If you can make sure that is as organized and easy on the eyes as possible. Accent the best areas of your home.

    How many homes are for sale in your subdivision? What do you owe on the home and what are the other homes selling for? It is a good idea to visit the other homes for sale to get an idea of your competition to see what you need to do to be able to compete.

    Never and I mean NEVER talk to the people who will buy your home in 7 days. They will screw you!!! Pardon my french...:o)

    If you have any questions at all, I don't mind giving you my advice. :o)

    Thank you......that's a good start :flowerforyou: Yes painting was about all we were going to do. Or able to do. Our yard is very well kept up. I must say I did very well on the flower garden this year :bigsmile: And my fiance keeps the yard nice, mowed, and edged. The outside looks great. We do have some other homes for sale in the subdivision. Some forclosed :ohwell: I think people jumped into the houses not realizing the expenses that come with them . We did, kind of, but we'd be ok if my fiance wasn't losing his job. I'll check the prices nearby. Thanks.:flowerforyou:

    And thank you for the 7 day advice. So I mean even if it comes down to where we absolutely can't make the payments, we should stay away from them? I mean if they give you the money and sign the dotted line, there's not much else they can do, right? I know we would probably lose money one em...but I'm talking last option?

    Appreciate your help :flowerforyou:



    The Seven Day Buy is not that simple....alot of sneaky stuff in the paperwork. Most of the time they want to make the payments for you and try to rent it or sell it themselves and then if they can't sell it or they sell for less than you owe(at that point you have no say as to how much they sell it for) you will owe the balance. Don't even give them a call. You are better off trying to rent it as bad as that sounds.

    I completely understand, my husband lost his job and it took him 4 months to find one. We lived on credit cards and now are in debt again. If all else fails, I would try to stay until he finds work again and at least stay afloat so you can sell in a few months. It is easier to sell in the spring. The holidays are horrible to sell...everyone is so focused on Christmas.
  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    Gotcha :flowerforyou: Thank you:flowerforyou:
  • Two years ago when we moved from Texas to Arkansas due to job changes we were in the same boat as you. We were hesitant to rent our house because of being 6 1/2 hours away. We were very fortunate to find a leasing to buy company that had our home leased within 10 days of it being put on the market. The people moved in, signed a year long lease, and had to purchase the house within that year period. They were required to put down a decent chunk of change upfront which would go towards their closing costs at the end of the lease term which would be non-refundable if they did not purchase our house. We felt confident that if someone was willing to part with $5000 up front that they would purchase the home at the end of the lease and that they would maintain the house also. Our leasing agent was local, so he would make a visit to our house once a month and take pictures for us thereby alleviating our worst fears that the house was ruined. After living in our house for 10 months, the buyers were able to qualify for a mortgage on their own and purchased the house. For us it was a great experience, I would only suggest that if you do go this route, throughly check out the leasing agent, there are some disreputable ones out there.
  • eyescatchfire
    eyescatchfire Posts: 257 Member
    Last option idea: My friend is doing a short sale. Basically, you sell the house for less than you owe--my friend is going through a divorce, and this is what she is doing. I don't know the details, but it might be worth looking into. Basically, you lose money, but you won't have to foreclose and ruin your credit totally (even if you weren't intending to foreclose, I figured you'd want to hear about this...)The tricky part is that you have to get the bank to agree to take less than they owe--but in a terrible market like this, something is better than nothing? Also, sometimes you may still owe the bank what's left--I think it depends on your situation.

    http://homebuying.about.com/od/4closureshortsales/a/shortsalebasics.htm


    Good luck!!
  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    Thanks all......for the good advice I appreciate it very much :flowerforyou:
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
    I've never sold a house, don't even own one (yet:happy: ) but I too watch a lot of HGTV, so one tip I can give you is to make it look less like "you" and more like a generic house that anyone can picture themselves living in. If there is too much clutter or personal stuff, they will focus on those things rather than the house itself.

    If you have pets, try to either take them away for open houses or put their stuff in the basement. Many home shows say since not everyone likes pets, they could form a bad opinion of the house based on that. Also make sure there are no pet odors as that would turn almost anyone off.

    Do you have anything in the house that could be a cool focal point, like a fireplace or a bay window or something? Even if it isn't something you use or say the TV is best viewed by another angle, rearrange your furniture to show off the focal point. You could do some minor improvements for really cheap, like my last apartment had a bay window consisting of three windows. Each had a set of blinds and it looked ok, but for 5 bucks per panel (5 X 3 windows = $15) from walmart I got these really pretty sheer white curtains. It made a HUGE difference and made the windows look gorgeous. Also walmart has some nice framed pictures for cheap, or maybe make a pretty centerpeice with a candle for the dining room table.

    Also don't forget to remove personal items like family photos, any kind of sports stuff or basically anything that reflects your personality. They say it's tough for people to envision themselves living there when all of your personal effects are stamped all over the house.

    Good luck!
  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    Thank you..:flowerforyou: Yes I have a fireplace :drinker: And I'll work on the other things too. I know there are cheap decorations. So far paint and decorate but not too much and not personal :drinker:
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