WWYD: Real Estate Listing

[egeiger]

Our house has been on the market for a little while.  We weren't in a hurry to sell, as we are building our new house.  Now, we are 60-90 days out from the completion of the new house, and its time to get serious. 90% of the feedback has related to our basement access.  You get to our basement inside the garage, instead of inside the house.  We never intended to finish the basement, and use it as a workshop, so its been fine for us.

We could make it so that the steps are inside the house, fairly easily, by building an extra wall, but then, you wouldn't be able to get any furniture or anything down the stairs, because of the awkwardness of the new corner around the stairwell.


The WWYD:  Would you add a comment to the listing about where the basement access is?  I say yes - I get tired of being show ready for people that aren't interested.   My realtor says no, as it will deter traffic. 

[Pom]

It seems odd to me that people are so turned off if it's an unfinished basement. Could it simply be a price point issue? If people are expecting more usable space due to price, it could be why the basement access is such a big deal. I say this based on my conversations with realtors this week as we set a price on our own house. I hope you get the right buyer soon.

[egeiger]

Jan 31, 2016 10:43:26 GMT -5 @domerjen said:

You wouldn't need to get furniture down that staircase if you will still have access to it through the basement, right? I'd just build the wall if that's really what is bugging people. I doubt it' be more than 2k.

You're right, we wouldn't need to, just the buyers.  I anticipate (maybe unfairly) that if we built the wall, people would complain they had poor access to the basement.

[egeiger]

Jan 31, 2016 10:45:15 GMT -5 Pom said:

It seems odd to me that people are so turned off if it's an unfinished basement. Could it simply be a price point issue? If people are expecting more usable space due to price, it could be why the basement access is such a big deal. I say this based on my conversations with realtors this week as we set a price on our own house. I hope you get the right buyer soon.

That's how I feel too. But, I guess they are considering being able to finish it?   Most have said the house is priced reasonably, and if it were a matter of price, I would think we would at least get a low ball offer or two, but that has not happened, either.

We will lower the price next week, and see what happens then. When we do that, would you add commentary about the basement access being in the garage?

[scout8]

Do you think it might help to offer a credit to buyers so they can make the changes after closing? You could give it a try to see if that helps.

[egeiger]

Jan 31, 2016 10:48:40 GMT -5 @domerjen said:

Jan 31, 2016 10:45:50 GMT -5 egeiger said:

You're right, we wouldn't need to, just the buyers.  I anticipate (maybe unfairly) that if we built the wall, people would complain they had poor access to the basement.

I think if you have a door from the basement into the garage that is straight-on, people will realize that they can still get stuff in there.  I'm imagining the staircase between the garage and basement, at the bottom, on one side of the stairs would be the door (or opening more likely) to the basement.  directly opposite would be a door to the garage.

I'm not sure I follow. The stairs are built in concrete, so I can't move them.  I think that we would wall in over where the railing currently is, then move the door that connects the kitchen to the garage straight out 3 feet, so its on the new wall we build.

[egeiger]

Jan 31, 2016 10:51:26 GMT -5 scout8 said:

Do you think it might help to offer a credit to buyers so they can make the changes after closing? You could give it a try to see if that helps.

As a buyer, would you rather see a $2k credit for cosmetic changes, or a $2k lower price?

[scout8]

Jan 31, 2016 10:52:44 GMT -5 egeiger said:

Jan 31, 2016 10:51:26 GMT -5 scout8 said:

Do you think it might help to offer a credit to buyers so they can make the changes after closing? You could give it a try to see if that helps.

As a buyer, would you rather see a $2k credit for cosmetic changes, or a $2k lower price?

I think a credit tends to work better. It is actual cash that a buyer can use to make changes. $2000 lower purchase price barely makes a difference in the mortgage payments. 

[aprilsails]

Assuming you build the wall and relocate the kitchen door to the garage, is there room to open up the doorway from the kitchen to the stairs into an arched doorway or are there cabinets, etc, in the way?

If you can open it up into an archway do it now. If you can't, offer the credit. I can 100% see what you mean about getting furniture around the corner. I just think a lot of buyers expect to someday finish a portion of the basement and are looking for it to be moreso a part of the home.

[Balki.Bartokomous]

I agree with Pom. It is very strange that basement access is the main deterrent. How many people have actually said that? And no one else listed any other reasons for not liking your home?

How long has your home been on the market? What is the average DOM for your neighorhood? I'd look at this and your list price to see if it's reasonable.

If people want a usable basement with interior access, creating this wall will not solve your problems. Having construction going on while your home is on the market sounds like a nightmare.

What does your REA think?

ETA: BTW, I agree with your REA re: no comment in the summary. Driving traffic is key.

[tealblue]

I wouldn't spend the money to reconfigure it nor put anything in the comments. 90% of people won't read it anyway. We had a very clear picture of the staircase in our old house. So many people came to showings and it was their main complaint even though it was very visible in 2+ of the pictures. I think people will just find something else to say they dislike. I doubt it's the only reason they aren't making offers (no offense but sometimes there's nothing "wrong" with a house but it's just not one to make an offer on).

[fallriverjenn]

Is the washer and dryer in the basement? If so, I could see people wanting access to the basement from the house.

[thatgirl2478]

I get it. I turned down a house when I was first looking for a similar layout issue (not the only problem, but one of many). To me, it's a little creepy for lack of a better word to have to go to the garage to get to the basement. I would let getting the furniture down there be the new buyers problem. If you wall it up and move the door, people can't complain about it being in the garage any more.

[ECB]

Jan 31, 2016 16:28:17 GMT -5 tealblue said:

I wouldn't spend the money to reconfigure it nor put anything in the comments. 90% of people won't read it anyway. We had a very clear picture of the staircase in our old house. So many people came to showings and it was their main complaint even though it was very visible in 2+ of the pictures. I think people will just find something else to say they dislike. I doubt it's the only reason they aren't making offers (no offense but sometimes there's nothing "wrong" with a house but it's just not one to make an offer on).

A- 100% agree - people are just finding something to say.  I HIGHLY doubt that anyone is giving up your house simply over stairwell access.  There are other reasons but perhaps not as tangible.  This may just be the easy excuse.

B- We had which kitchen cabinets which were VERY clear in the pictures.  No surprises there.  But we had a couple people say that they don't like white kitchens.

If that's REALLY a deal breaker, why even come look at the house?  If I saw anything in pictures that I knew was a deal breaker, I didn't even bother to go look at the house.

The point being - people will throw out an easy thing as to why they aren't interested.  But chances are that's not really it or it's not the only thing.  

[egeiger]

Jan 31, 2016 16:32:40 GMT -5 fallriverjenn said:

Is the washer and dryer in the basement? If so, I could see people wanting access to the basement from the house.

We have them on the main floor, not in the basement.

[egeiger]

I appreciate the feedback, ladies. I agree we are still priced a little high, but only by $5k. So, we will be bringing it down or offering a credit.

The rest of the feedback has been fairly neutral to positive. I get where its just not "the house" for everyone. I would say that 80% of the showings have commented on the basement being the thing they didn't like. But, when I try to look at it from a buyers perspective, it does have older appliances, carpet, blinds. They are all in good condition but they aren't new. Maybe I will go with the cosmetic allowance and see if anyone bites.

We are also going to start moving things to a storage unit so that it is closer to empty.

Thanks again!

[my3boyz]

Hopefully lowering the price will do it. The goal is for your house to be the nicest one in a given price point. People set limits, mostly in 25k increments. So they search up to 225k, 250K, 275k and 300k. Look at the price point you're in. Are you the nicest house on the market? If not, get to the next price point or spruce up the house to be the nicest (painting, clean/new carpet, staging, whatever it takes).

If the basement is unfinished I can't imagine the placement of the entry is that big of an issue. What I'm imagining people are having an issue with is the fact that it's not finished/usable space. Do the other homes in your price range have finished basements? In my area people want a finished basement and trying to sell a single family without one is very hard. I'm guessing your area may be similar.

If you are deciding between doing the updates/lowering price or offering credit I advise against the credit. People need to see it "move in ready" or it needs to be in a lower price point.
Good luck! House selling is so stressful.

[womet]

When we listed our house, we got strange comments from people about stuff we couldn't change. Our house was on the corner and faced our street but our driveway faced the other street. And someone said they didn't like that the first part of our house that you saw when approaching was the driveway.

We obviously couldn't do anything about the placement of the house on the lot, so we ignored them. I wouldn't add a wall or offer a credit. Make sure that your house is priced well and you'll find the right buyers.  

[msmerymac]

I have seen people who have houses with layout issues have an architect or builder draw up blue prints to change it, maybe with an estimate. If you did that, you could leave it on the counter during showings, tell your realtor, and make sure it's communicated to buyers, "Here are some plans for switching the basement access to the kitchen. It will be really easy and cost about $2k."