20 Mar
I’m ¼ owner on a house, and the other owners don’t get that it makes sense to price low and sell fast. The home is owned free and clear. It’s in a small town, where demand for homes is exceptionally low and there are always plenty for sale. This house is tiny compared to others in town, and while livable, it needs major updates. At best, I think we can sell this house for £80,000 and that’s if we’re willing to wait years for that one right buyer.
I’ve already brought up the obvious: vacant houses are hard to insure, other homes in town aren’t selling no matter the price, costs of property taxes and propane to keep the pipes from freezing in the winter, and the liability if someone gets hurt on our property.
Any other suggestions? I’d like to keep the language as simple as possible. Other owners have a limited familiarity with the real estate; at least a couple of them think it’s a good idea to overprice the home and then drop it later if needed. *head slap*
One in the hand is worth two in the bush. I want whatever paltry amount we can get now rather than waiting years for a buyer for what might end up being a couple grand per owner extra. To me, it’s just not worth it because there’s always that chance (and in this town it’s fairly likely) that we’ll never sell the house.
I realized this probably isn’t clear…the other owners are caught up in this idea that the home is worth a certain amount just because they arbitrarily think it is. The data in the area simply doesn’t back it up, and I’m having trouble getting these people to see that what they think the home is worth is meaningless. All that matters is what someone is willing and able to pay.
The answer is provided by :
godged :
The big factor for the owners should be insurance. Next will be the vulnerability of the property. As a property expert, I have to regularly check my vacant properties, because if I don’t, someone will either vandalize it or take up residence there. The owners will either have to pay to get the property fixed or sell it as is with the damage.
Pricing the property high is unwise in most markets, if it is too high, no one will even look at it. There are too many properties on the market for people to waste time on something that is obviously overpriced. If they price it high and there are subsequent price reductions, buyers assume that something is wrong with the property.
The owners would do well to price the property to sell.
7 Responses for "Need some compelling reasons to get my family to sell inherited house fast?"
Where is the house? You will have a better argument if you can show the m proof of the dropping market rates in that area. In addition, if the house is empty and the area gets snow you are going to end up losing out on a lot of maintenance cost. Houses in cold weather climates require more upkeep if they are empty
if you've found a company that will insure a vacant house, you're ahead of me. I can't find one anywhere.. All the policies I've been presented with have a clause whereby the insurance lapses if the property is vacant for more than 30 days.
if your insurance is really like mine, the only choices are sell now for whatever you can get and go into the rental business.
Renting, of course, requires a manager. The trick is to find an honest one — might be easier in a small town and don't volunteer for the task — relatives expect you to do it for free.
I guess I would put the house up for sale now. I lost my Mom last year and we just sold her condo. Although not an expensive place to keep, there were still real estate taxes, electricity (to keep the pipes from freezing), maintenance fees, insurance. The house was appraised the week after her death for $240,000. But, the house didn't owe us a thing - it was paid free and clear - it was a small condo - would have to be a particular type of buyer and we got one within two months - sold for $195,000. It was better for us to take the loss than pay for the upkeep for another year (if the housing market gets better) for another couple of thousand.
Since you obviously dont want any part of this house why dont you just have them buy you out and let you off the worrying path that your on for all the right reasons. btw where is this house located?
The big factor for the owners should be insurance. Next will be the vulnerability of the property. As a Realtor, I have to regularly check my vacant properties, because if I don't, someone will either vandalize it or take up residence there. The owners will either have to pay to get the property fixed or sell it as is with the damage.
Pricing the property high is unwise in most markets, if it is too high, no one will even look at it. There are too many properties on the market for people to waste time on something that is obviously overpriced. If they price it high and there are subsequent price reductions, buyers assume that something is wrong with the property.
Perhaps your co-owners will buy your 1/4 interest, especially since they think it is worth alot more money than you think it is worth.
Good to know you're aware pricing is critical. I find homes typically priced in one of four categories: over-priced, competively priced, aggressively priced and under-priced. How the home is priced sends a message to the buyer as to the seller's motivation. It's for the seller to determine what message they want to send.
Sounds as though your number one obstacle and first objective is bringing all owners into unity and of one mind. Until you've accomplished that, you're spinning your wheels. If that cannot be accomplished, the earlier suggestion would be your best direction: get the others to buy you out.
If you choose to meet the challenge of a "reality check" by convincing them of the current market (what it's doing, buyer or seller market, average days on the market for your area, target market for your area, etc.) AND pricing strategy, then you need to get a professional Realtor to provide the accurate data. The kind of data you need to make necessary informed decisions is not available to the public. You need a reliable and knowledgeable source that has access to that data.
If they are motivated and will take heed to what the data tells them, then pricing it aggressively would be in your best interest. By that, I mean just a notch under market to attract multiple offers and may in effect drive the price upward, but still within appraisal range.
Sidebar: There are ways around the insurance/vacancy issue. To effectively market any residential property, it needs to be staged for buyer appeal. Consider sparsely furnishing the home, have it nicely accessorized and smelling good; then have a friend or relative to live there temporarily while on the market. Any house setting vacant tends to send a wrong message. Buyers determine owner must sell yielding low-ball offers.
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