home selling tips

Numerous Showings, Great Price & Feedback, But No Offers...What Gives?

Dave,

Our house is priced right, it has received great feedback, great staging on the reviews and 19 showings in 2 weeks. No offers…what now?

Art, location withheld


townhouse-for-sale

Art,

AWESOME question! First, hats off to your real estate agent…19 showings in 2 weeks during Christmas and New Year is incredible. You should really take a minute, if you have not already done so, and thank them for their work. I am honestly a little afraid to print this question as some of my clients may wonder what I am doing wrong and wonder why they are not getting 19 showings in 2 weeks. Generating traffic during that 2 week period is not easy! That being said, you have a couple options and some things to ponder.

It is clear from the traffic that your home shows well and is appealing to online home buyers, so you can feel confident that the online pictures are doing their job. It is also clear that your price must appear very reasonable, heck even a pretty good deal, or you would not have the revolving door syndrome that you are currently living through. I do wonder if you have had any 2nd showings? If you have, then that would change things a bit…for the better. It sounds like your feedback has been very good, bordering on complementary and that is typically a wonderful sign. From what limited information that has been provided, everything pretty much smells like roses and if EVERYTHING smells like roses you would have received a contract, right?

Statistically speaking a home seller should receive an offer after somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-12 showings, on average. I have always evaluated our listings using about 12 showings as the bar for an offer, but sometimes as few as 8 or as many as 15 depending on the feedback. From your feedback I would say you are right to be pondering your next step. I have heard this said, and I have since repeated it many times, you can control three things in real estate….condition, marketing and price. After those three things, there is not much you can control in the home selling process so I would do my best to focus on those three things and let everything else sort itself out. It sounds like your home is being marketed properly or you would not have had 19 showings. Your home must be in good condition or you would be hearing things like “deferred maintenance”, “dirty”, “cluttered” or “needs a little TLC”. It is clear you are not hearing this, so the condition of your home must be very good. This leaves price as the only other thing you can control!

Ugh…the dreaded price discussion. I know…you said your house is priced right! Typically knowing what little you have told me I would battle you on this, but honestly with 19 showings in 2 weeks over Christmas and New Year, it must appear to the consumer to be “priced right” or they would not come like lemmings marching to the cliff. If it’s in good condition, it’s showing 1.5 times a day over the slowest 2 weeks of the year and is “priced right” why is it not selling? Actually that is a very good question! I would guess that you have a specific property feature, whether it be floor plan obsolescence, too many stairs, a busy road, un-kept/ugly neighbor, barking dogs from neighboring yards or whatever odd thing you can think of that is holding your home back and ultimately none of these are easily fixed. All of these items boil down to one of two things…price or patience.

At this juncture I would encourage guarded patience and if you have had one or two second showings, I would feel even better that you just need to find the right butt for the saddle.

At this juncture I would encourage guarded patience and if you have had one or two second showings, I would feel even better that you just need to find the right butt for the saddle. If it’s a busy road, then you need a buyer from a big city. If it’s barking dogs, you need a dog lover or someone hard of hearing.  If it’s too many stairs, you need people who see stairs as a fitness aid. I hope you see where I am going. You just need the right butt for your saddle and sometimes it just takes a little more time than we would anticipate or want. If you do not have the time or the patience, then adjust your price and get it sold!   My bet is you are not very far off and your buyer is closer than you may think. Hang in there a bit longer and I bet you find the perfect fit for your saddle.

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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Would converting my garage to another living space increase my home's resale value?

garage-conversion

Dear Dave,

I own an older home, built in the 1980’s. I’m doing some upgrades this spring and am considering adding on to it. I recently saw a home that was a similar age and when they remodeled they turned the 2 car garage into a living room and opened up the adjoining wall into the house.  Something like this might suit our needs perfectly.  What are your thoughts on this? Is it good for potential resale or would I be better off leaving it as a small garage and not adding living space.

Thanks - I would appreciate the advice.

John - Grand Junction, CO


converting-my-garage-space

John,

home-resale-value

This one is a tough one. If you need extra living space, it does not get any more convenient or inexpensive than to convert the garage to a new living room or couple of bedrooms. Keep in mind that the conversion does come at the expense of valuable resale space, the garage. I am one of those who believe the garage is sacred space! Where would one put his duck decoys, bikes (motor of pedal), ATV’s, kayaks, canoes, dog kennels, gun safes, hunting gear, tool boxes, work bench etc.? I am sure you see my point. A garage, especially here in Western Colorado, is valuable space and hard to replace. Oh, and I nearly forgot, you might even have enough room to park your car!

For resale purposes I am of the belief that the conversion will generally cost you money and not increase your value. That being said, if you convert and add 2 bedrooms and go from a 3 bedroom home to a 5 bedroom home, you might find someone who has a large or blended family that has a specific need for the extra bedrooms. In this specific scenario I could see the possibilities of the conversion adding value.  Outside of this specific situation I think the loss of the garage outweighs in cost and function the addition of added living space.

The last thing to consider is to go ahead and make the conversion, but do so in such a way that you will be able to easily convert it back when/if you sell in the future. By doing this you will have a cost effective addition and keep the flexibility to convert it back easily. This is a common practice and is easy to remedy when the time comes to sell.

As you can see, I am a fan of garages and believe that having a garage is an important and valuable feature.

As you can see, I am a fan of garages and believe that having a garage is an important and valuable feature. I will close with this, if a conversion will fit the needs of your family perfectly, then go ahead and do it and enjoy living there with the added living space. Converting and then converting back in the future will surely be less expensive than selling and buying. If the rest of the house fits your needs, just convert and do so in a way that leaves you the flexibility to easily convert back if needed. Hope this helps!

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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Would owner financing on the sale of our home benefit our retirement portfolio?

Dave,

My wife and I wish to sell our home and retire to Arizona. We are in a position that we would  consider doing “owner financing” when we decide to sell. Our money market investments are a lousy return and doing owner financing with the sale of our home appears to us as an opportunity to earn 4% - 6% with minimal to moderate risk. The way we look at it, if the buyer fails to make the payments, we simply get the house back and reassess our options. Is this right? What experiences, good or bad, have you had with sellers who have done an “owner carry” with the sale of their homes? Any advice would be appreciated, Merry Christmas.

Jim and Marybell, Grand Junction


owner-financing

Jim and Marybell,

Great question! The move to Arizona sounds like an excellent idea, as we near the dog days of winter. Please remember, I am not a financial adviser and will only be providing an opinion that is based on my personal experience. Should you decide to move forward with an owner carry on the sale of your home, I would urge you to discuss any ramifications with your financial adviser or accountant. If done correctly, this can be wonderful addition to your retirement portfolio.

There is no doubt money markets are not a high yield investment, actually they are a terrible rate of return at this point in time, but they are very safe, with virtually no risk. Money markets also provide you a high degree of liquidity that you will not receive if you do “owner financing”. Prior to stepping into an owner financing option with your buyer, you should first consider how important liquidity is in your retirement plans. Also, consider the fact that you will still have a home in an out of state location and this can prove difficult and burdensome, even under the best of circumstances. Let’s assume that you decide this is the route for you, then I can say the success of your owner carry sale is determined by the terms set up at the time of sale.

owner-financing

You need to decide on an interest rate that will work for you. As I am sure you are aware, current interest rates are hovering around 4%, so I would expect it realistic to get somewhere in the 5.5% - 6.5% range. You also need to decide if it will be an interest only payment or if some of the monthly payment will go towards the principle amount owed. To make things cleaner, I would suggest an interest only payment with a balloon on the full amount owed.  After coming to terms on the interest rate, you need to decide what length the loan will be, more often than not I see a 3-5 year balloon. You can get your attorney to help you work up the note and deed of trust that will spell out the exact terms of the loan and where the payments will be made, what happens in the case of default, etc. Accuracy on this document is of vital importance.

The last detail, but the most important, is the down payment.  The owner carry deals I have seen be successful are the ones where the buyer puts some “skin in the game”, meaning that they bring a substantial amount of down payment money.

The last detail, but the most important, is the down payment. The owner carry deals I have seen be successful are the ones where the buyer puts some “skin in the game”, meaning that they bring a substantial amount of down payment money (10-20%). The down payment encourages the buyer to stay in the deal and gives you some cushion should things not work out as anticipated. The down payment acts as your insurance policy. Another option is to charge a higher interest rate with lower down payment and this will provide you with more monthly income, if the highest rate of return is your primary goal. With this tactic there is more risk, but you get a greater rate of return. In the back of your mind, always be prepared and understand what will need to be done should your new buyer fail to perform at some point down the road. Prepare for the worst and pray for the best! : )

All things being equal, owner carry terms can prove to be a wonderful vehicle for income and quite possibly could fit in perfectly to your retirement plans. Set it up right and it should provide a good source of revenue! Merry Christmas.

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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Decorating for the Holidays When Selling a Home

staging-your-home-during-the-holidays

Dear Dave,

We have had our home on the market since the beginning of October. Now that the holidays are upon us, we would really like to be able to decorate for the holidays – but we don’t want to scare away potential buyers. We would typically set up a couple of holiday blow-ups in our yard, as well as decorate our house with Christmas lights – our kids just love this. Do you think that is too much? What do you recommend when someone is trying to sell their home during the holiday season?

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas!
Jack and Linda, Fruita, CO


staging-your-home-during-the-holidays-1

Jack and Linda,

I say, decorate and enjoy the holidays. In my opinion a home never feels more like a home than it does during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. I don’t believe you will scare anyone away, but remember to decorate tastefully and try to err on the side of too little rather than too much. Believe me, if your kids love the way you decorate the likelihood is the families that come to look at your home during the holidays will love it also.

Remember that buying a home is still very much a “feel” thing for most buyers and the more senses you get involved and the more “like a home” you make your home feel the better off you are. I can tell you that more often than not, when a buyer gets a feel about a home and they can picture themselves or their family living there, your chances of them making an offer go up significantly. Also, don’t be afraid to bake some cookies, pies, a cake or at the least light a candle that plays up the season. Also note that a little Christmas music will not hurt your cause either. We purchased our cinnamon pine cones this weekend for less than 5 bucks and they smell wonderful. This is the greatest time of year to have fun and get immersed in the season, enjoy it because it will be gone too soon.

The key take away here is tasteful and not overdone, yet have fun and enjoy the season. 

The key take away here is tasteful and not overdone, yet have fun and enjoy the season. The spirit of the holidays is contagious and my bet is someone will catch the spirit at your house this season. Have a wonderful Christmas and don’t be shocked when your home sells because it looks so good!

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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Do open houses really work to sell homes?

Grand Junction Real Estate Advice

open-house

Dave,

Do open houses really benefit sellers? Our home has been on the market for a few months and we’ve had four open houses per our realtor’s advice and still no offer! We understand that we should be as accommodating as possible if we want to get our home sold, but it’s a lot of work planning a day away from home with our three young children so an open house can happen.

Our realtor says each open house has had a lot of traffic, but just no luck on an offer! We’re starting to wonder if open houses really work to sell homes or they’re just a way for neighbors to come check out our home and compare it to theirs!

Brittany, Grand Junction


Brittany,

The age old real estate question, do open houses really work? I hear this question at virtually every appointment I go on and this is what I believe to be true about open houses. I can reiterate what you already experienced, statistically they are not effective at selling houses. A number somewhere in the vicinity of 2% of homes sold are sold as a result of an open house. If you are one of the 2% they are awesome, but if your one of the 98% they are far less awesome and quickly become very disappointing! In my opinion 2% is far too low to make it a staple of any “true” marketing plan. I understand having an open house every once in a while, however they certainly should NOT be the backbone of any marketing plan that you should take serious or think will prove very effective.

I do not believe the open house is a necessary tool. For selling homes, a solid and consistent marketing plan is far more efficient and far more productive than having you displaced every Sunday afternoon.

I do not believe the open house is a necessary tool. For selling homes, a solid and consistent marketing plan is far more efficient and far more productive than having you displaced every Sunday afternoon so your agent can look busy and meet new clients. With the proliferation of the internet and the amount of information at our finger tips the usefulness of the traditional open house is not what it used to be. I would not worry one bit about missing out on the Sunday open house. I am not saying it will not work, just saying that it will not work very often. Hope this helps.

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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Is it awkward to use an agent to help us buy a home, but not to sell our current home?

Grand Junction Real Estate Advice

real estate agent

Dave,

My wife and I are getting ready to put our home on the market, but we’re considering not using an agent. We actually have two different sets of friends who have expressed interest in buying our home once it’s up for sale.

Finding a new home is a different story though. We’d love to hire an agent to help us as we believe they’ll add a great deal of value to our home search/buying experience. Is it weird or rude to hire an agent to help us by a home, but not use them to list/sell our home? Thanks in advance for helping us avoid an awkward situation!

Grant & Molly, Grand Junction


Grant & Molly,

As long as you are up front with the agent you choose, I think you will avoid any awkwardness at all. It is not unusual to not use an agent if you already have potential buyers who are interested in your home. When you approach an agent about working with you to find your new home, just let them know what your situation is and I am confident they will understand and be supportive in any way they can. If your agent does not understand or makes it awkward at all, find another agent.

I have always found if you are up front and honest about your situation or what it is you need, you will most likely avoid most awkward situations.

What you might find is that if neither of your prospective buyers actually come to fruition, you might need some help in getting your home marketed and sold after all. Keeping this in mind, I would recommend you evaluate agents knowing that there is a chance you will need them to not only help you find a new home, but potentially also help you facilitate the sale of your existing one...if your current prospects flame out. I have always found if you are up front and honest about your situation or what it is you need, you will most likely avoid most awkward situations. Things get awkward when people make assumptions and don’t communicate, in this case you will be eliminating assumptions by being very up front in directly communicating your needs. Best of luck and hopefully your friends come through!

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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Should we remove old furniture before getting a house on the market?

old furniture

Dave,

About 2 months ago, my dad passed away and my brother an I are in the process of trying to figure out what to do with the house and all his belongings, as we are finally in the frame of mind to go through everything. We know we are going to sell his house, but the question is, should we leave all his furniture in it or pull everything out? Most of his furniture and decor are old and not in very good condition, as he lived alone and has been using the same furniture for the better part of 25 years. My brother thinks we should leave all the furniture in it, because a couple of his friends told him that it would show better furnished. I want to get rid of everything and show it as a vacant home. Can you provide some clarity on which way we should go? I always enjoy reading your advice.

Sherri, Grand Junction


old-chair

Sherri,

Sorry to hear about your loss. I know it is an emotionally draining process to weed through the belongings of a loved one that has been lost. You did not ask, but I think it is perfect that you have waited a few months to get a clear head and hopefully you are emotionally ready to take on the task of going through his belongings, as the emotions can be raw and time can be such a wonderful healer! 

From what you have described in your question, it is hard to provide a totally informed answer, but I will give it a stab. I would first recommend that you discuss your options with your real estate agent, as they should be able to offer some good ideas after seeing his existing decor. Keep in mind an opinion of decor that is not in good condition, can be relative. What I mean is, just because you would not have it in your home or do not appreciate it, does not mean that the average buyer in his home’s price range will see it the same way. Are the furnishings in line with the home’s price range and the buyers expectations in that price range? Also, does the furniture drag down the overall feel and quality of the homes interior?  After you assess these questions, you can start to make your decision. Many times the elderly have stuff everywhere. It is not, necessarily, that they are pack rats, but that it is more difficult to put things away and they have a hard time getting rid of non-essential items, thus things start piling up. I feel very confident that I can recommend a whole home cleaning and de-cluttering session to get things started and then move on to the furniture, because after you de-clutter and clean, things may take on a whole new look and feel.

I completely understand why your brother’s friends say “it will show better with the furniture in it.”  I also watch HGTV and it is rare that you hear a home shows better empty than furnished, but it does happen. I see it with some regularity, some homes would show better without the owner’s furniture than with it. Listen, it is like clothes, sometimes the style just does not work with the person and furnishings can be the same way, they just don’t fit with the house. More often than not, your brother’s friends are right on, homes generally show better with furniture as it allows people to “see” how rooms set up, feel and live. Two other advantages of furniture are, it typically makes a home feel warmer and keep in mind that empty homes may be interpreted by buyers that the seller is “extra” motivated, which may encourage lower offers.

My suggestion is to get some outside advice from your real estate agent and have an open and honest conversation about your options and which one will help bring the highest value or help it sell quickest, whichever is your main objective.

My suggestion is to get some outside advice from your real estate agent and have an open and honest conversation about your options and which one will help bring the highest value or help it sell quickest, whichever is your main objective. You can get a professional stager or someone with some home decorating experience to come in and re-arrange the furniture he does have, as I have seen this have a dramatic effect on the overall feel and appearance of a home.  You have many options, but consider all these questions and angles as you make progress and the solution will come clear.  Hope this helps and I bet if you clean, de-clutter and re-arrange it will present in a different and better light.

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team


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Will unattractive concrete on my driveway hinder the sale of my home?

Dear Dave,

My company is transferring me to a new location and I am going to be selling my home in the coming months. I own a fairly new home, about 6 years old, in a nice north area subdivision. My driveway and front walkway don’t melt off well when we get snow and ice, so I’ve resorted to having to put some salt down. Now, I’m noticing the concrete is looking chewed up, flaking off and is no longer smooth in a number of spots. Is this something that I should have fixed prior to listing my house? I don’t want to invest too much if it’s not going to be worth it or isn’t going to make that big of a deal on the sale of my house. I would appreciate your advice.

Michael, Grand Junction


Michael,

What you have is called concrete spalling. It is generally quite common in colder climates where you get repeated freeze and thaw cycles and it is exacerbated by deicing chemicals used to help overcome ice buildup on driveways and sidewalks. Even though you are guilty of using salt, I hear this quite often from people who have never used salt or other chemicals to melt ice that has built up on their driveway.  Even if you don’t use them directly, your car will pick them up from the roads and especially the highways and when it melts off your car or truck on your driveway….well you get the picture. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to avoid this issue you still inadvertently fall victim of chemicals on public roads and highways.

This is primarily a cosmetic issue and it would be rare for the structural integrity of your driveway to be compromised. Although the structural integrity has, most likely, not been compromised, it is unsightly and does not help make a good first impression. Depending on the severity, I would probably not recommend re-pouring your entire driveway and would just make sure to sweep it clean and as presentable as possible. If you repeatedly hear feedback on the driveway and it appears that the unsightly finish is costing you the sale, then you may have to rethink this position, however the cost will be significant. I have heard of people having a skim coat of concrete applied to the surface of a spalling driveway, however the results have been temporarily satisfactory, but has not proven to be a good long term solution.

If you repeatedly hear feedback on the driveway and it appears that the unsightly finish is costing you the sale, then you may have to rethink this position, however the cost will be significant.

Get a quote from a local concrete company, before a sign goes in your yard, so you have a baseline cost in case it does become an issue for a prospective buyer. This way you will have the cost already figured out. If needed you can make a concession should your prospective buyer make an issue of it. My advice would be to not replace it now and see how the process of selling goes. With a quote in hand you will be properly armed to negotiate the new driveway, should it become an issue.

When trying to sell, it is easy to get hung up on a less than appealing aspect of your home, like a spalling driveway. Try to focus on all the great characteristics of your home and make sure to play up those positive features and many times those unique characteristics will overshadow one less than savory feature. Selling a house is a lot like life. Try to keep your focus on the positives and many times those positive features will help overcome obstacles. Hope this helps. Good luck and I am sure it will work out fine.

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team