Looking for Additional Advice to Help Sell Our Condo

Profile picture for M_Chap
Hello all, my wife and I have been trying to sell our condo for almost two years now. We have had it listed with a couple of different agents and both were unsuccessful. We have tried the usual approaches to selling. If you have any additional advice I'd love to hear it. Let me fill you in with what we are are currently doing to improve the condo. We updated the kitchen cabinets by extending the current cabinets to the ceiling for additional storage. Put new handles and pulls on the cabinets and drawers, new dishwasher, and taking up the vinyl flooring replacing it with ceramic tile. We had it listed at $100k but now are thinking of lowering it to $95k. Hopefully these improvements will entice someone come on in. Any other comments or questions are welcomed.
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November 30 2010 - Saint Louis

Replies (21)

There are many reasons our properties are not selling today.  Most often, it is price or condition, but also the market is saturated with bank owned properties at reduced prices. 

Ask your agent to do a market analysis every 3 months, giving you area wide information on condos.  For the condos most like yours, it is helpful if you actually go see some of them to see how yours compares or at least ask your agent to send you photos.

Many agents are now posting their listings to Craigslist and getting more responses, that might be a suggestion.  

Without an address and doing some homework, it is difficult to answer your question.  I hope the suggestions above are helpful.


Chris Richards, GRI
Broker/Salesperson
Prudential Patterson Realtors
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November 30 2010
Profile picture for sunnyview
It sounds like you are making smart improvements. You did not mention your bathrooms, but those are often a sticking point for buyers also. I recently updated one bathroom with a prefabricated granite countertop with undermount sink for about $250 plus about $80 for the new Moen faucet. It took that bathroom from ick to slick.

People cannot believe the difference and what I would gain in a sale would be more than I put in. The faucet was easy to install and since the old counter and sink came out in one piece and the new one went in one piece, it was literally no more than a few hours to make the change.

The other thing to look at is your photos. Be critical. Photos are the door that you use to get people to come and look at your house. Good photos of a clean, organized and spruced up house will get you many more lookers that might turn into buyers. Price is key, but if you can't get them to look, it won't matter. Make sure and try to get a even small price reduction posted at the same time on your MLS with your new photos of your new floor/kitchen redo. That sometimes gets people's attention.
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November 30 2010
Have you thought about paying a years worth of condo fees in advance for the buyer? You can also offer to pay a certain amount towards the buyers closing costs. Those things might make your condo stand out from the other ones that are for sale.

If 10% of the condo market in your area is selling, you need to be in better condition and priced lower than 90% of the other condos for sale. Ask your real estate agent to give you an updated market report so you can see where your condo is positioned.

Wishing you good luck on the sale.

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November 30 2010
Offer to pay the condo fees for one year may set set your condo apart from the rest.
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November 30 2010
Profile picture for SE Florida broker
You got some good tips here, but you have not mentioned for how much similar condos in your area are selling for.
If your price is competitive you should be able to sell your condo.
Giving extra incentives to buyers or buyers agents won't help much if you offer your condo for sale for much higher price than the others.
How the property appeals to the potential buyers is also very important.
Most of the clients begin their search online, so make sure that you have good photos (highlighting the best features of the condo or/and complex), well written description of the property, for showings-keep the condo clean, allow easy access to property(preferably lockbox,if allowed),get feedback from potenital buyers and agents so this way you can determine better why your condo is not selling.
Good luck!
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November 30 2010
Profile picture for sarastl
You should try to market your condo to as many buyers as possible.  These days buyers are very educated and are doing their research before leaving the house.  I would advertise your condo on as many websites as possible, craigslist, zillow, trulia, etc.  

Also, have an Agent Open House, get feedback from agents who work in your neighborhood.  They might even have a buyer that's needs fit your condo.  
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November 30 2010
Profile picture for moloans

From a financing stand point for the borrower, offer to pay discount points to permanently reduce the borrowers interest rate to a below market rate on the property. 

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November 30 2010
Profile picture for phil hunt
here's the fact, when you own a condo you are buying into a community and your price is based on the direct value of the community, so that being said the only way to sell a condo which in fact you are only selling space, is to be the best , cleanest, best decorated, and the lowest price of those offered, and at that if the community is not selling then yours will not either until you make your a deal woth having.
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November 30 2010
Sounds like you have been really proactive in listing your home.


It's hard to say what the reason might be?  What was your feedback from your Agents on your listing?  That's what I would like to know.


What was the reason your Agents thought it didn't sell? 

You could go with a creative approach, and pay toward buyers closing costs, or property taxes, or even the HOA dues.  

If your priced to high, that could be the problem too.  Only you can answer those questions and figure out why your home did not sell.

I wish you the best, and I hope you get it SOLD.













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November 30 2010
Profile picture for jal74
Drop the price until it sells.

Its really not that hard a concept to understand.  You are competing against distressed properties.  Sorry, but there is no other answer.  If you can't drop the price, then I suggest you stop waisting time and take it off the market.

Realize that it will be a decade or possibly even more before we see 2005/2006 prices again

Regards
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November 30 2010
Have you tried a real estate show.  I can get you on mine.
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November 30 2010
2YEARS is too long; if you cant keep dropping the price to meet the market then consider a short term rental to someone if it is vacant; or just take it off the market til buyers return to buying condos if you are living in it currently.  The lenders report that the fha rules for condos have changed so dramatically...that 100k condos are sitting unsold very long.....there are no buyers for those condos as they dont have cash or substantial down payments in most cases or if they have cash, then they are buying the cheapest units in area.... since no lender wants to be stuck with a condo they cant sell; therefore they wont issue mortgage insurance and therefore a buyer cant get a fha loan... its simple.  so reduce the price below the lowest priced distressed condo on the market in the area... and it will sell. It has nothing to do with finishes or features at the price point of 100k; according to the buyers i represent.  decision is price driven.
good luck.
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December 01 2010
Is your complex FHA approved? That is a big selling point if it is and should be on all your advertising. The buyers would need a minimum down payment of 3.5% verses 5% to 20% on a conventional loan.

I looked at your photographs and would suggest painting the purple room. You want to make sure everything is as neutral as possible.
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December 01 2010
Profile picture for M_Chap
Thanks to everyone that gave their input. We have thought about paying for a few months worth of condo fees, it would be too expensive to cover them for the year. We want out but and understand that we may have to pay some out of pocket expenses to do that. However, we really don't want to pay in the thousands to get out. We have thought about paying some of the closing costs as well.

Someone asked about pricing. Well, I just checked with some of the pricing and apparently in the last two months there has been drastic reductions. We were around the $100k range and that last one sold for around $90k. We were okay with that. Today I just checked and now they are going for $70k. WTF. This is not good for us. It looks like we will just have to make it work for awhile.

We will make some more changes. The bathrooms are mostly updated. After this kitchen project we will see what to do next. We thought about new carpeting through out but may renovate a bathroom. I don't know, this is all very depressing though.

Thanks again for your comments.
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December 02 2010
Profile picture for tedwight
Your kitchen improvements sound perfect.  I would revisit the feedback that you have gotten from people that have viewed your condo.  Find out why you were not "asked to dance" with them.
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December 06 2010
A number of sellers I'm working with are offering a flatscreen TV with a full price purchase.  In MO this has to come from you the seller, not the agent.  You may also include some months of cable to enhance it even more.  TVs are cheap now so it's less to pay $400 for a flatscreen than $2000 in condo fees.  My 2 cents.
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December 06 2010
Profile picture for CulverCityRealtor
Hi Chap,
I would recommend you work with a local Realtor. They will know exactly what the problem is..things we cannot uncover without actually being in your city, and in your property.
Please..Do take their Advice. Realtors are professionals at what they do and many of them are Expert Salespersons and Marketers with Years of Experience selling.
They will help you and you will sell your property!
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December 07 2010
Profile picture for An OrderLee Home
(a) we are in a time of year where prices and the number of sales always drop.  Do some internet searches on house sales and house prices.  Even during bubbles, this is the slow season.

(b) don't blindly make changes (and spend money) while you chase the market down.  if you have a listing agent, try to find out as much as you can about the condition and appearance of condos that sold.  go to open houses and really examine your competition.  If you don't have an agent, interview several about the local market. 

(c) I encourage you to interview several local stagers, choose one and ask his/her advice about how to enhance the presentation of your condo.  On my website there is a page called the science and art of staging.  it has a link to a word doc that covers a lot of advice about preparing a property for sale.  feel free to download a copy.
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December 07 2010
Profile picture for M_Chap
Thanks for the continued advice. I'm looking into a lot of the options you all posted.
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December 07 2010
I am responding to your question with hopes that it is a moot point and that you have sold your condo.
Of course, having it priced right and marketing it aggressively are two major strategic steps to getting your property sold.  Any agent in the St. Louis area will tell you that condo sales are very soft.
Have you taken a look at your competition?  How are their photos online? Are you possibly losing buyers before they even head out the door to visit properties?  I am a very strong proponent of staging.  Enlisiting a staging partner can make the difference between sold and not sold. 
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February 17 2011
It seems like your condo is in pretty good condition. Since you've been updating things, it should be more appealing to potential buyers. I would recommend an extensive advertising campaign (craigslist, backpage, trulia, zillow, etc). In addition, purchase a home warranty for the buyer. Ask your Realtor about it and they should be able to provide you with any necessary information. Besides that, make sure that your property is priced correctly. All of these things should lead to a successful sale.
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February 21 2011
 
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