your real estate advice please

[twaddle]

You just have to make them think you're an agent. A brother in the monopoly is treated well.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Nope, didnt make any difference if I called them or my persistent agent. Everybody loved the place. Nobody had anything constructive to feed back.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

finally at least a glimmer of good news (an article differentiating miami from the rest of florida):

Palm Beach, Florida: I'm taking a risk here because this area has been pummeled by foreclosures in 2007. But there are also a lot of boomers retiring, and Palm Beach is looking mighty attractive. If you don't like this high of a risk (which translates to great prices), check out Tampa or Clearwater in the same state.

http://finance.yahoo.com:80/real-estate/article/104278/Best-and-Worst-Places-to-Buy-a-House;_ylt=AjitcIbUI2Z3D79l2hyuUCe7YWsA

Originally Posted by megacorp-firee

I have found that in retirement, MOST things either no longer matter (have less importance) or have fallen way down on the priority list. You should join us. That might make a big difference in your approach to this.

are you kidding? let money get in the way of my retirement? i quit at 49. though i thought i had more $s then, my worst case scenerio now (oh the suffering i will have to endure) is an adventurous few years from buenos aires to chiang mai, just the type of life i've dreamed of but never had the guts to go for. though if i did back then, i might not be able to afford even that now. either way, this just might well be the kick in the ass i needed.

Originally Posted by Achiever51

from personal experience of buying and selling six homes over the past 30 years....For every house, there is a buyer...In every one of our successful SALES, we've worked with the best agent in the market, priced the house competitively, and (this is the important part): HAD A DEFINITE MARKETING PLAN for the property...I asked our agent what we should do and she advised us to upgrade appliances and countertops, replace kitchen sink and floor and paint the cabinets. We did -- at a cost of about $8,000 as I recall...Point I'm making here is it sounds like you're not clear on the marketing plan for this house....When I see FSBO, I'm thinking (excuse me) oh, this is someone who doesn't want to pay the agent or is so emotionally tied to the house they think no one else can sell it like they can do it themselves. When I see a house for sale, but also for rent, I think that there's a distress sale coming up - this seller is probably carrying two houses/two mortgages.... you should be staging the house for sale to a (likely) South American/European buyer after at least superficially upgrading the kitchen. The right selling agent can put you in touch with staging companies that can do wonders to create the illusion you need to find that one buyer you need. The suggestion to contact Sotheby's is a good one -- you might just find that one person overseas who's looking for this exact kind of property

don't know how you all do it. we've had mom's house for 28 years. by the time i move from my house i'll have been here at least 17 years. i don't have a problem moving around, it's just all the buying and selling that bugs me. i'm definately an indexed fund kind of guy. i'm surprised all the market players were ever lbym'ers. seems to me ya'all thrive by shopping. i guess its better when you sell as well as you buy. i don’t have either gene. hate shopping; hate selling, i was made for trading sea shells.

appreciate all the good info achiever. the new realtor’s on the way. new agent’s initial phone reaction was to not upgrade but to leave that for the new owner but i will question him that further onsite. an $8k kitchen update absolutely will not due in this area. the jones' don’t just keep up but outdo the jones’ here. he might feel differently when he sees the place in person, i'll find out then.

gonna remove for sale by owner sign but i want it rented. gotta stop that money from leaking away. could take another year so i’d at least like to have the property pay for its own taxes and insurance which otherwise are a part of my unswr. Will talk to realtor about advertising this as an estate sale so no one is waiting for the foreclosure.

sure would be nice to find some kind european to buy mom's house. maybe i’ll wind up selling to a long lost cousin from odessa.

Originally Posted by twaddle

LG4NB, have you received any feedback from buyer's agents? In my experience, they'll be pretty straight with you about what their clients thought after seeing the place. All you have to do is ask.

only some stuff on phone per above. having lunch nearby house with friends & family tomorrow. will see if i can get the agent over to the house after that and see what he has to say.

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny

Funny, my experience has been the exact opposite...Only time they're interested is when they have a buyer thinking of making an offer and they want to soften me up about all the problems they can make up observe.

i don't need no realtor for that. that's why i have you guys.

[Texas Proud]

If you are going to rent... make sure you have a clause in there that allows showing the house.... and that it can be broken if you sell... might have to offer something in $$$s for that option, but I was planning on looking at a house around here, but there was a renter in it with a one year lease... and will not give it up...

Now the house in in bankruptcy... and I was told that if it is sold the rental agreement comes with it...

[lazygood4nothinbum]

thanx texas, good thinking and we are already thinking the same. we will ask a reduced rent price for just that reason. maybe give them 60 days to vacate given a sale or pay their local moving cost or something like that.

met today with moving and shaking high profile international realtor for about an hour or more, touring the house & neighborhood. agent understands that i'd like to sell soon & put proceeds into market to ride the recession back up. his initial response surprised me so i'm pretty sure it will shock many here.

1) raise the price of the house
2) no major renovation to either kitchen or baths
3) the copper range hood stays
4) mulch but not red
5) market the house as a swiss army knife

meeting him again sunday after he comes up with more precise proposal & pricing. i've got a guy coming on sunday to work odds & ends, here & there. make it look a bit nicer. i'll do the landscaping. make it look pretty. life goes on.

thanks to all thread contributors. i've learned a lot during this process and i appreciate the lesson, the valuable input and the well wishers.

[Bestwifeever]

So glad to read you have a plan and it sounds like it will be underway right away. Good luck and I hope next week we read about the Europeans who got into a bidding war for your house.