When All Else Fails…
Throw money at your problems? While reading through the Philadelphia Inquirer online the other day I saw an article entitled “Want to sell? OK - first, spend $50,000” It is about a couple struggling to sell their 5,884 square foot lakefront Wisconsin home. Dick and Diana Ritter placed their home on the market almost three years ago and have turned down the only offer they have received. That’s right; one offer in three years and it was unacceptably below their $1.9 million asking price. And that is with two brokers listing the home and a one-year listing on a FSBO (for sale by owner) website.
Last year they decided to buy a condo and move. So what could have gone wrong? Why were Dick and Diana Ritter having so much difficulty selling their 11-room lakefront home? The original asking price of $1.9 million was reduced to $1.7 million. They spent $9,000 on removing all of the old wallpaper. To no avail. Then they hired Laurie Flatt, a professional home stager, to see where they had gone wrong. Her suggestion, about $50,000 worth of improvements and a staging to re-introduce the home to local Realtors, yacht club members and local residents. Click to read this article and see what improvements they have made.
But why make improvements, when the sellers would be more than happy to drop the asking price by that much or double even. Because these days, many buyers just don’t want to see potential in a house or what it “could” look like after. There are too many homes on the market. Many buyers want something more modern where they could see themselves living right now.
I have been guilty of placing a lot of emphasis on pricing a home properly and preparing it so it will stand out. In a buyer’s market it just may be the best way. If you are thinking of selling your house you may want to read this article and see if you can extract any new ideas or strategies. Good luck.