For sale by owner

The house is the picture is not a ranch.

It's all about PRICE!

It's been on the market for two years because it's overpriced.

He should have listed it for $75K less to start with, rather than trying to chase a falling market.

Price it right (and market the heck out of it) and it will sell. It's that simple.

The right price solves every negative, including a slow market, poor school system, noisy neighborhood, termite problems, wet basement, and so on.

It would appear, for Royce and many other buyers, that it is not "all about price." It is about time.

While it may be possible to sell any home at any moment, if you're completely flexible on price, it is clear that many sellers are willing to spend time -- that is, to wait at a price of their choosing -- instead of saving time and accepting a lower sales price.

No wonder it is selling at the price it is listed for they are out of there minds.

Look...

If you're "serious" about selling, then it's all about PRICE.

If you're waiting for the "price of your choosing," then you're not serious about selling, now are you.

A couple of things. The picture has a date stamp on it. Basically calling out that the house has been on the market since at least May of 07. Even if this is not true, most buyers assume it is.

It is a ranch, but more specifically, it is a raised ranch. They are plentiful and not too inspiring for most buyers. The layout though can be good for setting up an in-law or au pair suite in the lower level.

Agents may not have buyers today, but they can advertise it, send notes out to other agents, conduct broker tours and spread the word actively versus passivley just putting it on MLS. And if they do have buyers, your property will be the first they see.

Limiting showings to only on the weekends limits how many buyers will see it. One could have bought it already, but couldn't get in to see and saw something else in the meantime.

And lastly, I am no expert on NH real estate but the price seems high for being so far from Boston. The same style home in the Boston suburbs are selling for the same price, in some communities more and some less.

IN THIS MARKET YOU NEED A 24/7 PRO TO SELL YOUR HOME. SELLING WITHOUT A BROKER IS EXCEPTIONALLY TOUGH ESPECIALLY IF THE BUYER WANTS REPRESENTATION.
PRICES ARE STILL DROPPING SO, YOU NEED TO BITE THE BULLET AND HIRE A FULL TIME BROKER!

Try listing on ForSaleByOwner.com, Owners.com, or BrokerFreeRealEstate.com

Binyamin, I'm not sure I agree. Sellers are willing to spend time, but there isn't much evidence time is actually moving the house. Whereas price would.

I agree that most sellers have yet to realize its all about price, and won't even do so this year - my guess is still summer 2009. Until it happens, prices will continue to drop.

We basically get to take the medicine slowly or quickly, but will take it either way.

"Everyone that sees it loves it,..."

Note to Royce and other FSBOs:

If buyers honestly loved your home (and it were priced competitively), they'd put in an offer.

Because you're the owner, you will rarely get any genuine feedback. I've done my share of FSBOs and I've never heard a bad word about a property (and it's certainly not because I was selling perfect places). The truth is, buyers feel too uncomfortable to say anything negative directly to the owner. Instead, they say something pleasant like, "lovely place," then they leave and you never hear from them again.

Moral of the story: It's not what you say, it's what you do.

And in this case, "real love" equals "offers."

It is about price and Broker fees. Friend of mine listed his house with a broker, started at $579k with 4% (2% buyer/ 2% sellers) in the brokers fees by the end they had dropped it to $519k, no luck. Dropped the sellers agent, went with a MLS listing service, dropped the price to $499k and offered 2.5% to buyers brokers and got 3 offers in one weekend.

You can EASILY sell a home without a realtor, if it is A) priced right and B) properly staged. I recently closed on my condo sale in Arlington, FSBO, and sold for roughly 5% more than lazy local RE wanted to list for. Also, there were 5 other units in my building, all being sold by local agents, that were listed PRIOR to mine. I sold before all of them, and at a much higher price. Realtors will soon go the way of the dinosaur. Thank God....

Seems to me that Royce may end up leaving the home to his second wife if it takes much longer to sell! Yikes!

We recently sold our Brookline condo by ourselves. We priced it right, and found that despite listing on craigslist, Google base, zillow, and a bunch of others, it was the open house ad in the Globe and boston.com that alerted the largest number of buyers to come and see the place. Our place was a bit unique as it was a beautiful place in a fantastic location with nothing else in the same price range for several blocks. That said, if I did it again, I would likely list it on MLS to make sure it received wide coverage.

To those of you screaming that you need a full service broker try this on for size: We had two offers, one from a buyer well educated on similar places in Brookline and another with a broker. We accepted the offer of the non-broker seller because he was willing to negotiate in a reasonable fashion while the broker was 10x more concerned with making sure we would honor his commission than whether or not his client's offer was attractive. (We said we would in the listing)

Finally, my wife and I have both had marketing jobs, so we have a clue about what it takes to market something. I will say, some of the marketing services offered by the "Full Service" brokers we interviewed would be fine if the Internets are a scary place for you, but otherwise pathetic.

Look at K.FITZ having to scream to (try to) make his point.

Craigslist got me more hits than any other FSBO site combined. Like I said earlier, price it right, stage it, market it properly, and reap the rewards of your diligent efforts.

Then you can post your successes to the blog and laugh at bitter RE agents.

I've been looking at homes in NH... in the whole seacoast and merrimack regions. This seems like a lot of money. It may be a lovely home but you can get something comparable for a lot less. I've been seeing things like this for $250,000.

I agree that most people can successfully price and sell their own home, and I have done so twice. That said, I bought my first home with a buyer's broker who was invaluable due to my and my husband's then lack of experience. Perhaps a future topic should focus on the potential benefits of hiring a realtor in this age of computer access?

It is all about the internet marketing and pricing it right. If you are savvy and can market your home well you will do fine. I sold my condo in charlestown in one day! There are alot of crazy people out there right now that are trying to sell their homes for 100k over assessed value. That won't work in this market.

Have a local appraiser do an appraisal on the house, spend the $300 and stop wasting time. If he is really serious about selling, then he should hire a professional Realtor and get real on the price. For example, who would sell a Rolex watch faster and for the highest price, this guy or someone at the Jewlers Building...enough said.

I have to agree with everyone who said it's all about the price. My parents just sold their 4500 sq ft McMansion in central Mass in less then a week. The key? Price. Compared to similar homes in the area, it was priced very competitively. The buyers recognized the value and scooped it up. Maybe my folks could of held out for few extra grand, but who knows how long it would of sat on the market.

Owner’s response:

Thank you for your responses to this “For Sale by Owner” story.

I honestly don’t believe “price” has much to do with a sale of any property – at least not for me (and I expect others would feel the same when it comes to thinking seriously about a purchase).
(1) I need to want (like) a property
(I have owned this property twice – You can read about the “History”
on our Web site www.RoyceFamily.com/77).
(2) Do I want to live in this location?
(3) Does this property meet my family’s needs?
(4) What can I do with this property? (I am always making improvements)
(5) Only when these questions are satisfied (and maybe others) would I even
care what the price is – I would have paid any price in 1997 when
I purchased this property the second time.

I asked a mortgage company owner, “Why do Realtors keep saying, “lower the price”?

He said, “Price is the only thing they can bargain with”.

You see, owners don’t have those limits.

I am not against hiring a Realtor. I have had Realtors for this property but they have not provided me any service that I can’t do myself. I have offered every Realtor that contacts us (around 30 or so by now) 3% commission (around $12,000) when they sell our home. Even the condo where we want to move to – she says the offer is very generous and is more than she has made this year.

I do believe the people that commented about “price” would think differently if this was their home they were selling – It depends if you are buying or selling !!!!!!!

The thing is, we are “down sizing” to a $300,000 condo.
(1) A condo has no land – we have 1 / 2 acre
(there is no land in our area but if there was, it would go
for $125,000 or more).
(2) We have 400 sq. ft. more livable space
(at a modest $100 / sq. ft. that’s $40,000).
(3) The condo we want has a 1-car garage – we have a 2-car garage
(that’s another $25,000 for a total of $190,000 difference
on just those 3 items alone).
(4) Plus, we are leaving everything that we will not use at the condo
(all furniture, garden tractor and accessories, ladders and
equipment, snow blower, hot tub, etc. (some pictures are on
our Web site www.RoyceFamily.com/77))

– If the condo is priced right, that makes our home worth $490,000 plus.
– So, asking around $400,000 looks like a good deal to me.
– Could we find a cheaper condo – absolutely !!!!!!!!
– Would we want to live there – probable not !!!!!!!!!!

Also on our Web site, I compare other properties on our street:
(1) 10 Auburn asking $599,900
(SOLD – 01/2008)
(2) 25 Auburn asking $592,900
(3) 30 Auburn sold for $640,000 and renovated for another $250,000
(4) 35 Auburn asking $540,000
(5) 37 Auburn asking $570,000
(6) 79 Auburn asking $399,900
(right next door – they have dropped to $375,000)

We are open to offers.

The housing market is not really all that bad, IF your home is priced well. There is a lot of demand out there. People still need houses. But it isnt 2005 anymore. My guess is that the home is overpriced.

Hi MIke,
The problem is that you are emotionally attached now and when you bought it in 1997 and at $250k I am going to guess you overpaid then. You HAD to have that house, that's just not the case for many buyers. Especially for a cookie cutter ranch that they can buy in almost any community (I grew up in exactly what looks like your house in the Boston area). In your comps, you are comparing apples to oranges. You have a raised ranch vs colonials and a cape. Some of which look significantly larger than yours. I work with quite a few buyers and the bottom of their lists are ranches and raised ranches. It also needs a fair amount of updating for that price. You need a new kitchen and new bathrooms if you expect to be competitive with premium properties, which it sounds like you are trying to do.

Mr Royce,

I looked at your web site.
You can't compare your home with other homes on your street. You must compare sales of homes very like yours in Concord in the last 3 months to arrive at a good asking price. You must realize that today's young buyers are looking for a more current and fresh decor. I strongly suggest you totally de-clutter and take away all personal effects and re-photograph using only natural light, no flash, especially into a mirror. I'm sorry, but your photographs are not flattering of your house.
I suggest you lower the price to $339,000 and it will sell.
Best of Luck.

All I know is, if I had anywhere close to $100,000 of equity built up in my house, I'd take any profit (any) and run.

This is no time to be playing games.

If you have had an offer over $325,000, I would suggest you just say "yes, when can you close," and move on.

One of the reasons that people give for not using a real estate agent is that the agent doesn't have his/her best interests at heart. If this family had used a broker, no doubt the broker would have quit in frustration! They simply don't want to sell!

Dina (and all Realtors with this point of view - which is most all),

Your attitude is exactly why so many Realtors are going out of business or combining with other offices (at least this is happening in our area).

I have owned many homes and look at our “down sizing” as our last move. I have always used a Realtor with no problems at all. Two years ago, preparing to retire and prior to making the decision to “down size”, we had problems with Realtors showing us condos we would want to buy. We finally had to do it ourselves.

If our property was the only one in America that has not sold, this would be our problem. This problem is all across the country.

All Realtors need to provide the service of selling properties that their clients have. It is okay to offer advice, but none the less, they still need put forth the effort to sell properties even if they feel they are over priced.

Everyone knows that all selling prices are “What a seller is willing to sell for and what a buyer is willing to pay” (seems very simple and fair to me). I honestly would not care about market values to sell again or doing upgrades to sell. All I care about is do I feel my family will be comfortable in this home for this price (again, very simple). All of the junk stuff that is talked about in the news is just “junk stuff” that keeps properties from selling (just to create more NEWS !!!).

The real estate business seems wide open to me. I am leaning from all Realtors (even you) and trying to find combinations of processes that work so that when I do retire, I will have a selling procedure for all clients and economies.

Not considering price an issue, as a buyer or as a seller, just seems quite foolish.

I don't think this blog is about an FSBO as much as another unrealisttic seller who thinks his house is magical compared to all the other glut of homes on the market.

Your house is only worth what others are willing to pay for it. The market value is not determined by how much you HAD to have the house a decade ago.

Market value is not about being priced below the other unrealistic sellers on your street it is about looking at what has actually sold, not what is currently on the market.

Sounds like Mr. Royce was a completely emotional buyer and is a completely emotional seller. Emotion should never be the main drive behind a major financial choice, whether buying or selling.

To the owner - As a buyer, and NOT a real estate professional in any way, I will echo Sally's comments above. As a potential buyer, I can tell you I would not make an offer on your house. Reasons:

- Too much information. Your story is a nice story, but the first thing that jumped out at me is that it means you are WAY too personally attached to the house, and though you might say you are open to negotiation - you are not! Save the story for after you have a personal contact...

- A raised ranch, though a very nice one, does mean that you are looking at a "value" buyer. You are right - someone will need to "want to live" there before they buy, but as a young family in this area, you don't always get what you want - hence you go for what you can live with. Trust me when I say this - a 70s home that looks like my Mom's is not going to be my first choice. It is something I might get myself to live with, though - if the price is right.

- You say you are leaving everything that you won't need behind. Umm... some poeple might interpret that the wrong way. If they were in the market for older furniture - they would go out to Craigslist. List out some items (like snow blower and lawn equipment) and say these are negotiable - a lot of people take "free" to mean "junk".

I assumed since you replied here that you are looking for feedback... and yes, if I did go out to look at your house, I would not say any of this to your face.

Good Luck!

Clydo - I'm about to list my Charlestown condo and would love to know what marketing resources you used. Don't worry, I'll price it right! Would love your guidance as sell it in one day sounds perfect to me!

Thanks!

I really do think this house would sell if (like a previous poster said) it were freshened up a bit into this decade and had more flattering pics taken of it.

Clutter, cheesy green leather furniture, life stories, and awful wallpaper mean to a potential buyer- messy, dirty, dingy, it smells, and people are too attached to it to realize that they are priced too high.I don't want to see your picture on a website when I'm looking at a house. I don't want to know your memories in the house or the history of a split level ranch.

Home sales are business transactions, first.

(and lose the wallpaper and the furniture and maybe get some sunlight in some pictures)

Not to quibble, but the house is a split entry, sometimes call split level. It is NOT a ranch or raised ranch.
Mike, your analysis comparing your home's value to the condo is irrelevant. You're comparing apples and oranges. People saying they love the house has nothing to do with it being priced appropriately.

Maybe nobody is selling (listed or not) because all of the Realtors are online bashing FSBO's instead of out showing property?

Well Tim, you're quibbling, and you're not entirely right. Coming from someone who has lived in one and whose family has built many. It is a raised ranch. You are right too, it is sometimes called a split entry. But most people in construction and real estate call it a raised ranch. If you are unsure, there are about 200,000 google images of raised ranches to help you out.

I have a friend who is a realtor. She told me as soon as the first time buyers get forced out of the market then it will stall and prices will come down.

This is a perfect example. They are selling their house downsizing to a Condo and adding $100k to their retirement account. The reality of the situation is a young family isn't going to afford this house. It looks like Mr Royce is trying to make up for some short comings and cash out.

People buy based upon emotions. It is how it is. That is the first rule of any sales. Housing values are relative. Look up the meaning of the word retail. If you feel your house is worth $400k then list it for $400k and after a year if no one buys it then you need to take a relaistic look at what the value really is. If you can afford to have both properties then do it.

I personally do not think Realtors are worth 4-6 % in this case $16k to $24k . There are always personal reasons behind every decision. Mr. Royce is not telling you the whole story. Frankly I think this whole article is a waste of everyone's time. I think the Globe should charge double for the banner ads on this page.

The problem is that it's in Concord, NH and not Concord, MA.

Simply put: you're asking Concord, MA prices in a Concord, NH location.

To paraphrase Grandpa Simpson:

"One way to get rid of buyers is to tell 'em stories that dont go anywhere. Like the time we went over to Nashua during the war. I wore an onion on my belt....which was the style at the time...you couldn't get those white ones, you could only get those big yellow ones.................now where was I........oh yeah, the important thing was I was wearing an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time.You couldn't get those white ones..."

When people buy a house they are not looking for a collection of someone's rambling memories. They want a house they can make into their own. They also don't want all your old furniture-- they either have their own or will buy what they like. Not everyone has your taste.

You wanted the house and paid for it because it was already "home" for you. It isn't home for anyone else, it is just a raised ranch. For the same money they can be in a better location in a much nicer house. No one will volunteer to pay for less because you have fond memories.

If it truly isn't about the price, as you say, would you sell it if someone gushed over the place and offered $250,000 and said they just *had* to have it?

I think reading the article and comments has been incredibly insightful to the minds of a typical seller and a typical buyer as I see it.

I went and saw a home like this in Boston. It was the same problem except it had special 70s paneling, chocolate brown and orange wall papering, no wax floors, shag carpeting...it was a colonial on the outside but by the time this family had gotten their hands on it 30+ years ago they tried to turn it into some kind of a contemporary Patridge family house.

I'm a 27 year old home buyer. My hubby and I make 110K a year. We can't stand split levels or ranchers--although I grew up in a handsome red brick rancher with a much prettier layout and much brighter with skylights.

The hunter green, dusky blue, and salmon I see in these photos says that the decorating was done in the 80s. Its dated, stale and cluttered. It has tons of carpeting, a pink kitchen, and worst of all--ceiling panels. Heavy use of wallpaper. Looks to be some florescent lighting too. I'd take the $399 one over yours in a heartbeat--the cape and the others homes on your street are historical and quaint and timeless. I want a Victorian or a Colonial or Cape to fix up with hardwoods--luckily, pretty easy to find in Eastern Dorchester where we're looking. I don't want to commute, especially with the cost of gas rising....so no burbs around Boston regardless of those places.

Mike, you need to update the interior. And the exterior--the minty green has got to go. Seriously. Or you will be staying there. The only thing I like is the exterior--which is beautifully landscaped.

I, too, would tell you that's its lovely. And then I'd be out of there...sorry.

http://realestate.msn.com/Improve/Article2.aspx?cp-documentid=7460063

http://boards.msn.com/RealEstateboards/thread.aspx?threadid=665045&boardsparam=PostID%3D18276275

Owner’s response #3:

To “Comment #39” and others,

Yes, we too find these comments “incredibly insightful”.

Decorating:
Yes, we like carpeting (warm, quiet & comfortable). Even the condo we are buying will have carpet & tile floors (no hardwood). As for wall colors & decorating – I could not even guess what a prospective buyer would like – If a buyer does not want to paint, I will paint the walls any color they would like.

There are two models at the condo complex we want to buy; a plain & fully decorated. We have decided to purchase 100% of all wall colors ($250 a room). These are not any colors we would have picked from a color chart but they do look good in this condo setting.

We watch HGTV and are amazed at the discussions about wall colors. The walls that are colorful; need to be white – walls that are white; need color (no sense at all). You can paint walls (wallpaper – paneling – etc.) any thing you want. All of these “update concepts” are gimmicks to get you to buy something. Watching the HGTV “open houses”, I knew they had to be “staged” because, as depicted, they are not how typical “open houses” work. I have found, yes, they are “staged”. Even we have been approached by “stagers”.

I asked a Realtor about current buyer attitudes – He said their attitudes changed 10 years ago (Why !?!? – They are missing the whole purpose of buying a home for the family).

A lady from Germany liked our house on the Internet and sent us an E-mail. Come to find out, she lives within a mile of our house. I invited her over for a visit. She told me the people in America are “stupid”. I smiled and asked why. She said the people in Germany are concerned about “bones” (and rightfully so). Hence, my comments about “bones” on our Web site www.RoyceFamily.com/77.

Price:
On Public Radio this week there was a story about foreclosed homes in Cincinnati selling for $500. People are buying them and selling them on eBay for $2,000. (Can you imagine trying to sell your family home in Cincinnati competing with these prices?) There is no “top” or “bottom” to the housing market – You will always find a cheaper house (BUT, will you want to live there?).

A neighbor, 5 houses up the street, came to our yard sale and asked our selling price. He thought the price would be $500,000 or more. He said he moved from TX and hates his house he bought for $475,000.

In Summary:
If you would like a solid comfortable home (no flooding, quiet, low maintenance and cost of living) in the Concord, NH area, our home is for sale.

Your comments seem to come from a place that only ranchers or split levels are sturdy and have good bones.

Trust me, since the housing stock in Boston area and in New England is older, you find things all the time that they just "don't make it like they used to." Built in wooden hutches, built in book cases, window seats, crown molding. There are tall ceilings, solid pocket doors....these are also signs of good bones and characteristics and what a lot of people want.

You aren't competing with new construction--you're competing with other existing homes. If they add the cost of your home and having to do things like pull up carpeting, put down new carpeting/hardwoods, remove ceilings tiles, peel off wallpaper (painting over it creates seams), removing any popcorn ceilings (these collect dust, allergens, and often have asbestos), updating bathrooms, etc...they are going to buy the more expensive home that time has been kinder too in terms of aesthetic and simply move in and enjoy.

You talk about families raising kids. Families don't have a lot of time today. Or money. Its more expensive to raise kids--from day care to college. Most families can't afford to be on one income. That makes evenings and weekends precious--not time they want to spend improving a property--time they want to spend with each other, their kids, who are probably in a myriad of activities.

Carpeting, while it is your preference (and it is my mother's who just sold her rancher in PA), is not the preference so much these days. Carpeting also holds smells, allergens, sometimes has stains...to me, carpeting only belongs in bedrooms and even then I'd pick a neutral berber or medium pile. If you have pets, carpets constantly collect hair and accidents are harder to clean up.

You don't have to be a mind-reader to know what to do make the home more appealing--you paint neutrals which allow the buyer to envision themselves there with their stuff. You should stay away from dark colors because the home appears dark already. Think taupe, beiges, ecru, light gray, slate blue...in general, the colors found in nature.

If they can't see themselves there, they aren't going to buy it. Its much easier to find another place they can envision themselves then to sit down and brainstorm how to make this workable/livable. No one is going to make that kind of effort unless the price is a sick good deal.

Hello Home Owner,

I am afraid to say, but price has to do with everything. If bread & Milk is $5.00 in one store and takes nothing for you to go to another and buy it for $2.00, you buy it for $2.00.
Your raised ranch is among many on the market. Price it accordingly and it will sell.
As far as some that are disliking the agents, you must have had a bad experience but not all agents are just money hungry. Of course anyone working wants to make sure they get paid but that is not the bottom line.
Real Estate agents do take classes and must be licensed by the state. There is alot to maintain one's license.
If your home is listed with an agent, the chances of it getting seen sooner are much greater. There is so much on the market, who really has time to look for FSOB sites.
If you can not show your home at during the week, after people are off work, it will cut down your showings and offers. You are eliminating many possibilities. If you want to sell the house - sell it.
There are discount agencies as well. You don't have to pay 12,000 in commission. Check out Assist 2 Sell. They are discount commission with Full Service Benefits.
Pay a professional and sell your house.

Good Luck!