Selling a home ? (Update with offer and now contract)

[boiler717]

We are getting ready to list our house and move back into the city. We had 2 listing appts yesterday and I’m stressed because we got dramatically different opinions on pricing and comps. So far I haven’t found a good 3rd opinion.
I get the difference because we have a somewhat unique situation (I realize everyone says that but agents did say it was hard to gauge exact comps because of the uniqueness). But they are almost 10% different. Any advice on evaluating the situation?
Also if any of the Indy ladies are around still let me know and I can get specific with you!

[mrsukyankee]

I don't have any advice, but I will say - all the best and hope it goes as smoothly as it can!

[winecat]

What is your market like?

[boiler717]

Feb 26, 2020 15:54:27 GMT -5 winecat said:

What is your market like?

It is very hot with extremely limited inventory. Normally in our price point there is about 2 months inventory and right now there isn’t even 2 weeks inventory.
A house in our neighborhood (production build, we are custom) had multiple over asking offers this past weekend in 3 days on market.

[k3am]

I'd honestly go with whichever one you feel best with or has the best reputation. If it's that hard to find comps, everyone's going to have a hard time finding relevant comps.

We sold in a very hot market and used the realtor who sold our neighbor's house because of their recommendation and because if there was a house for sale in our neighborhood, good chances his name was on it. The way our market was, we wouldn't have had issues selling, but we always felt like we were in good hands.

We listed and sold within a few days with 9 offers for way above list and set a record for the neighborhood. (Sadly, we also bought in a hot market, so that part sucked, especially now that things have cooled off.)

[boiler717]

To explain more...
Our house is a custom build in a predominantly production neighborhood. We have hands down the best lot in the neighborhood (totally private, protected creek, etc) where a lot of the production homes back up to other houses, etc.
Realtor A is experienced in our town. She recommended a price based on using the production builds as comps.
Realtor B is experienced in our neighborhood and she lives in a house built by our builder and used to sell for them. She recommended a prices based on using our builder and other builders as the primary comps and taking into account 2 production comps in the neighborhood.
The confusing part comes from most of the production comps have a basic finished basement (drywall / carpet) while ours is unfinished (we do have all the plumbing roughed in for a kitchen and bath). Who knows how people value a finished basement vs. custom build vs. great lot.

[lilac05]

I’d keep looking for a 3rd opinion.

Typically, location, location, location...but the dollar amount on that really varies. We have a private lot with trees and a creek, but our home isn’t really valued much over those that back up to other homes. It will help us sell the house more quickly, but not necessarily for much more money in our market.

Our realtor overpriced our last home when we sold it. She had all kinds of reasons why the other homes weren’t really comps...but they were comps in the eyes of others. We trusted her because she sold our previous house and it was a great experience, but she was too personally invested in the next sale and overpriced it. So, admittedly, that makes me very cautious with pricing.

[sakura]

I would list at the lower price. Since it’s a hot market and you’ll probably get multiple offers, you’ll bring more potential buyers through with a lower price. And then multiple offers will be competitive and end up bringing the house up to market price, hopefully at or above the higher listing amount. If that doesn’t happen, the lower price was probably more accurate. I think the worst thing would be for a house to sit in a hot market, people will wonder if something is wrong with it before they even see it.

[aprilsails]

What is the finished square footage of your house? If I’m buying a 1500 sq ft home I’m going to want a finished basement as well. If it’s already 2000+ it’s not so critical to me as a buyer (and I’m assuming I’m an average buyer who has two kids, two cats, etc).

When we sold last year in a hot market we were only listed for 5 days at the higher price with competing offers. We got $5k above our list price which I was certain was too high.

What is your desired timeline? Do you need to sell quick? Do you have conditions that are inflexible? Ie. specific closing date, taking appliances, etc. All of these things can also influence the price.

[simpsongal]

Can you sort of split the difference? In a hot market I'd be more inclined to list on the lower side and draw multiple offers.

One of our neighbors listed high last year ($960K) and the house sat for a bit in a hot market. They cut the price, and it finally sold a little lower for $920K. Another neighbor in a similar, nicer house w/better finishes listed at like $925K - they had multiple offers and sold over asking (can't remember how much). I think it's true that there's an art to pricing a house.

Also, there are different buyers at different price points - you want your listing to pop up on people's real estate searches and you want to draw foot traffic. Esp at high price points, I'd pay an extra $50K and get into a bidding war for my dream house.

[boiler717]

Such good advice, thank you. House is 3800 sq ft finished + 2000 unfinished in the basement. We have a bonus room upstairs and a great room, play room, and sunroom on the main floor for 4 total “living areas.” There is also a formal living room we use as an office.
Realtor A recommended $589k. B recommend $625-650k depending on how aggressive we wanted to be. Yesterday we were leaning towards $625k but today leaning towards $599k.

[boiler717]

Also when I reached out to A yesterday to tell her we had “conflicting advice” on pricing and asked her for any more detail she could provide, she talked about how her price “may seem high” but she really believes in the lot, finishings, etc. She was shocked when I told her she was the lower priced one. She said when she read my email she thought someone had recommended we list a $550k because of the unfinished basement.
Realtor B thought that we were going to want to list close to $700k and was shocked that we would consider even consider listing under $600k.
I know everyone thinks there house is special but I guess this is more of a reflection that the property is a little unique and it’s really hard to predict what people will pay for it in the end. I do know that our home will photograph well and has great curb appeal so that will bring people in (even ones set on a basement). I think by listing at $599k we will get the broadest buying pool.

[winecat]

I was thinking along the same lines as sakura. When the market was really hot here, competitively priced homes seemed to get multiple bids over asking. Some realtors did the "buyers are accepting bids until x day at y time and will review." I saw it a bunch so maybe it's an effective strategy?

[sakura]

I think your plan sounds good.

One more reason for listing low that I thought of- What price range are the buyers looking at for your neighborhood? If everything else is a spec house and they have their search capped at the high end of those houses, they might not see your house in the alerts or search if you have it at the higher price.

[k3am]

boiler717 , I think listing on the lower end is better, especially in a hotmarket. If you got $599k would that be enough to leave you happy?

We bought in a ridiculous market. If anything sat more than a week, we wouldn't even bother seeing it because there was obviously something wrong with it.

[sandandsea]

I would probably land somewhere between them and go with my gut on which will do a better job for you. It sounds like it should maybe be a little more than the production houses because of the lot but less because of the basement. I think location outweighs builder, but overall size and finished basement is even more important. My parents are an hour outside of Indy in a similar situation.


ETA. At your price point I’d go with $599 so it shows up if people search under $600 which is a likely cut off. But if you really want/need $625-650 list there as I don’t think you can count on a bidding war bringing the price up $25k-$50k.

[sandandsea]

Also we bought in a super duper red hot market in the SF Bay Area and our house listed Friday and we were in contact Monday morning. Even then, We only went 10% over list to beat out other bids.

[munkii]

If you think the lower price will bring in more buyers, go for it. Based on our market, though, I'd go with the higher price or pick a happy middle ground. If you'd like a 3rd consult, I can recommend a couple people (one from Encore Sotheby's, the other from Keller Williams).

Also, you're moving back to the city?! When I was moving from West Carmel to Indy, some people said I was crazy because property taxes are lower in Hamilton County, but that's not something I cared about. We're going to list soon(ish) as well since I'm moving to Bloomington permanently.

[boiler717]

We had done a premarket showing yesterday. An agent had heard about the house and asked to see it. They told us they were going to make an offer. Then they said they couldn’t afford the house.
So we decided to list at $599k, met with the agent who recommended the lower price strategy.
Literally right after we get an offer from the agent who viewed premarket for $600k with buyer’s agent commission waived (so equivalent to $618k).
GAHHHHHHH. Now we have to decide what to do with that offer, if we should still list, and if so, what to do about price. I feel horrible for getting two opinions and being stuck in this spot.

[aprilsails]

It’s really up to you! What was the higher list price you were looking to hopefully get? Is 618 somewhere in the range of reasonable?

Are showings going to be a pain in the ass? (We had 30 couples through our house in 5 days- basically I had to move the cats out to my Moms basement and then be out of the house with the kid at all times).

You could go through this process and then come to the same number, or less. Often the first offer is the best offer. It’s so hard!

[k3am]

If you’re in a hot market, I’d let it play out. That offer isn’t on the high end of what realtors have suggested as list.

Our first offer we received was $60k over ask and wanted an answer the same day. We thought it was a good offer, but held off. We ended up selling for $150k over ask.

[boiler717]

Feb 28, 2020 17:29:11 GMT -5 aprilsails said:

It’s really up to you! What was the higher list price you were looking to hopefully get? Is 618 somewhere in the range of reasonable?

Are showings going to be a pain in the ass? (We had 30 couples through our house in 5 days- basically I had to move the cats out to my Moms basement and then be out of the house with the kid at all times).

You could go through this process and then come to the same number, or less. Often the first offer is the best offer. It’s so hard!

TBH we had no idea what to expect for price!

The house is all ready for showings. We had the carpet and paint touch ups done today. Cleaning ladies coming at 8:30 am Tuesday to make sure the house is spotless. I have a work trip the day the showings go live so the boys are going to stay with my parents to make it easy and the house will be open 24/7 for showings from noon Tuesday to Saturday at 6 pm. If we get multiple offers we are planning to tell people we will be reviewing at 6 pm Saturday when we return (or maybe on Sunday). We could stay with my parents through the weekend

Their offer (after they told us they couldn’t afford the house!) didn’t include preapproval paperwork. I think we are going to write them a very kind note back asking them to resubmit with preapproval paperwork when the listing goes live Tuesday morning.

[boiler717]

Feb 28, 2020 18:00:11 GMT -5 k3am said:

If you’re in a hot market, I’d let it play out. That offer isn’t on the high end of what realtors have suggested as list.

Our first offer we received was $60k over ask and wanted an answer the same day. We thought it was a good offer, but held off. We ended up selling for $150k over ask.

Did you have a problem with appraisal?

[k3am]

boiler717, I honestly don't remember, but I don't think so. Or if there was a problem with the appraisal, they came in with a big enough down payment that it didn't matter. I know that was us and the house we ended up buying afterwards.

[silvercrayon]

I would list it for $650. If your house has up to date finishes and is in a hot market. Seriously, go for it!

[boiler717]

Feb 28, 2020 18:00:11 GMT -5 k3am said:

If you’re in a hot market, I’d let it play out. That offer isn’t on the high end of what realtors have suggested as list.

Our first offer we received was $60k over ask and wanted an answer the same day. We thought it was a good offer, but held off. We ended up selling for $150k over ask.

Another question for you! Did the $60k over people come back? Or walk? We asked the people who submitted at $618k to wait until Tuesday and they came back with another offer but still want to know before we go on market.

[k3am]

Feb 29, 2020 20:34:09 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

Feb 28, 2020 18:00:11 GMT -5 k3am said:

If you’re in a hot market, I’d let it play out. That offer isn’t on the high end of what realtors have suggested as list.

Our first offer we received was $60k over ask and wanted an answer the same day. We thought it was a good offer, but held off. We ended up selling for $150k over ask.

Another question for you! Did the $60k over people come back? Or walk? We asked the people who submitted at $618k to wait until Tuesday and they came back with another offer but still want to know before we go on market.

I’m not sure. Our realtor only showed us the strongest of the offers.

Your potential buyers seem VERY keen on your home and getting it before it hits the market. My guess is that you’ll have good interest at the price point and may be able to get more. We’re they able to include a pre-approval for the mortgage this time around?

[boiler717]

Feb 29, 2020 21:09:38 GMT -5 k3am said:

Feb 29, 2020 20:34:09 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

Another question for you! Did the $60k over people come back? Or walk? We asked the people who submitted at $618k to wait until Tuesday and they came back with another offer but still want to know before we go on market.

I’m not sure. Our realtor only showed us the strongest of the offers.

Your potential buyers seem VERY keen on your home and getting it before it hits the market. My guess is that you’ll have good interest at the price point and may be able to get more. We’re they able to include a pre-approval for the mortgage this time around?

They did include a preapproval but did not increase the amount of their offer any.
They put out a coming soon sign in our yard and our agent already had a request for a showing within 30 min and they asked if they could come see it before it went on the market.

[mrsukyankee]

That's a great sign, boiler717, that your realtor got a call so quickly.

[scout8]

I would list it on the market and schedule an open house for this weekend. Don't accept any offers until after the open. I expect you will end up with multiple offers.