cowboyfan,

I think the tour is a little cutsy but that wouldn't stop me from considering your house. I'll mention a few things later but first I need to say that I think you're a victim of the market because there's nothing wrong with your "cute little house" that should prevent it from selling at that price point. Unless, everything else near it is less? That said, there are a few things I think "might" cause a problem but they're so small that I'm feeling a bit picky even mentioning them...but, here goes:

1.) The window blinds/curtain are dated. But, I'd leave them because they appear in good condition & it's expensive for a new homeowner when there's nothing at the windows.
2.) The stove & dishwasher are located in a funky position. Again, that should not prevent your house from selling at that price point.
3.) One bath. Again, I doubt that's the problem.
4.) No landscaping in the backyard other than a beautiful tree & good-looking grass. For some that's great & for others not so great (I'm a gardener). That's NOT keeping your home from selling either.
5.) Overall square footage is less than 1,000 s.f. OK, you already said it's small & you weren't kidding. But, you're also correct in that it's a great starter house.
6.) I see absolutely nothing wrong with the paint.

So, that really only leaves price. At some price point, it will sell. I'm sure you don't want to hear this but, in retrospect, that first offer was pretty good. I'd listen to your realtor's sage advice & follow it as much as you can. Remember that the holding costs will quickly add up to "real" money so taking a hit now might be better.

Good luck to both of you...and it IS a cute little house.

Tricia
(Go Pats!)

Well, that "featured tour" requires something called Photodex Presenter which I declined to download, so I couldn't see the pictures. That would be a turn-off immediately for some potential buyers. Why not just have the more typical half dozen still photos in the listing? If your current RE agent won't change it, maybe it's time for a new RE agent.

You don't mention if the two offers were $8K and $5K below your original asking price or your reduced asking price. Either way, it sounds as if your house will sell but only at the right price. What's the average sales price for this neighborhood? You may find that you need to price this house as if it was more like the typical house for your neighborhood & not the best on the block.

Not being able to see the paint colors, I don't know for sure if your assumption about the need to repaint is correct, but my guess is that if you think it's an issue then it probably is - at least for some buyers. Since it's a tiny house, perhaps painting each and every wall the same light warm neutral shade will help it present better. It seems as if many first time buyers expect to buy a move-in ready house. Having never held a paint roller, they appear intimidated by the idea of painting. That's a pretty easy and inexpensive fix if you DIY.

Consider what you're paying in mortgage payments, water, electric, gas, yard maintenance, property taxes, insurance, etc., as well as the toll this takes on you emotionally, and perhaps that will make it easier to accept the next offer that is within 5% to 10% of your asking price. Good luck!

Believe me, I'm no expert, but your featured tour is a little strange to me. I don't think you want to eliminate it completely, but you might ask them to edit it or reshoot it. The first time I watched it I didn't enlarge it and it was like watching just the middle of walls. There is too much of each room and not enough of just an overview of the rooms. We really don't need to see the door jam, curtains or light switches up close. More shots of the room as you look in from the doorway and fewer close ups might help get people in. I think it is a great tool, if it is done well. You might be better with just some still shots of each room.

Best of luck.

I also declined downloading the crap that would enable me to view tour, and i'd bet many others who may have been interested also did such..Anyways, it looks like a nice home,and it still boggles my mind that a home can be bought for less then i am paying for a pool i am in process of finishing ;(
though my pool is as large as the home 950sf+-

Ditto what otmsheffield said. I started the download process for Photodex, and the second time I was asked to grant access, I exited - not worth the trouble.

I didn't want to download either, so as a buyer, unless that was a neighborhood I really wanted I probably wouldn't find your house using the Internet.

Gloria

I also had to download something in order to view this.

The house is cute and very nice. Don't paint - the colors are fine. The featured tour may not be "the cause" but it's not doing you any favors. I would replace it with the still shots of the spring pics (beautiful!) of the front and back of the house, and the pics of it furnished which are also very nice (I'm assuming you can pull still shots from the video and just use those). The video of the unfurnished house is kind of a yawner as it moves veerrryyyy slowly...

Good luck! It seems like a nice house and some small family or couple will see that.

cowboyfan, if your house is the nicest in the neighborhood is your price higher than the neighborhood currently sells for? An offer $8000 less than your asking price is a pretty good offer in a buyers market. Im assuming it is a buyers market in your area since you've been on for 7 months. At this point, I bet the listing has become stale. Agents don't show because its been on the market too long and assume there must be something wrong with it, people don't want to look at it for the same reason and those that do, think they can steal it. You need a fresh start. Ask your realtor how long you have to stay out of the MLS for your listing to show up as a "new listing" again when you put it back in. You need to reset the DOM to get a decent offer now.

Sorry, I was mistaken--the first offer we got was roughly $13K below our original asking price. The second one was $7K below reduced asking price AND he wanted us to loan him $5K.

Thanks for the replies! Yeah, I hated needing to download something in order to see the video. That will be taken down. RE agent is now suggesting we lower price and take house off market and relist to reset the DOM. She also wants us to sign a new contract for another 5 months, something I am unwilling to do. I think we'll lower the price and reset the DOM but still keep our original contract exp date of May 24.
Again, thanks for the input and keep it comin'.

I was another one who didn't see the tour because I didn't want to do the download. I think you are better off with still pictures that are easy for everyone to see quickly.

Is there someone who is keeping up the outside work - grass, leaves, etc? Maybe someone who can plant new spring flowers? And vacuum the carpet or sweep the floors? After you've had a lot of lookers through there you might want to get it tidied up a bit.

I wouldn't trust your agent's judgment on how the house looks. Try to get a neighbor or friend to go over there and check on it. Have them pretend they are looking at it to buy and see what they think.

I wouldn't re-sign with that agent. Maybe a fresh approach is needed. For the next agent, try a shorter contract period. Ask if they'll do 2-3 months tops.

Good luck!

I did the install, with firefox it was pretty painless. I also did not enlarge at 1st and thought the 1st shot of the door hardware was scratches in the front door molding paint / wood.

It's a cute house, 3 bedrooms, garage, basement and looks clean. The paint also does not look old but in some shots the lighting makes it appear to have flaws in the walls. I had to look at it again.

I actually like the yard as a gardener. I'd like to add my own touches; the yard gives me enough space to do just that.

Have you thought to look for a new agent? You might want to make like you are searching for a house and see who's web site comes up the most. I did just that and found this one agent so far that offers a lot. I'll end up using her as my buyers agent so we'll see.

I could see nothing wrong with your house after viewing the video so I suppose the price may be the factor.

It looks cute from the outside. I didn't want to download anything either.

I do think it is price as I went to the previous and next in the link and you can get a whole lot more sq footage for about the same price. It appears the lower 80's asking price is where houses with your sq footage are. Since you say you have done some improvments so a little higher might be warranted, but if I was looking I'd buy the cheaper ones with more sq ft if the layout is ok and update it myself as I then get what I want and I'm not paying a premium for what somebody else did.

Add me to the list who thinks the video tour is a PITA. Not everyone will want to download the program and would rather see still pics.

I think the paint colours are nice, the house is extremely clean and I had the same feeling about the window coverings in the bathroom. They are only to a certain taste. Personally, I didn't like them. They are easy enough to change, but for a starter home, someone may not be willing to go to the extra expense.

I'm with everyone else who says it's time for a new realtor. Why did she spend so much time and possibly money on a video tour of doors and windows rather than shots that would showcase what looks like a huge kitchen?

I don't think the leaves are dating the house, but if I came up to view it, seeing all those unraked leaves in fall would appear to me the house is unkempt. First impressions are the most important.

I know that seasons are a big factor, but if someone from AZ or FL were looking at the front and that was their first impression, they'd probably walk.

cowboyfan, how much wiggle room do you have in the sales price...Since you've been in the home 5 years,you must have purchased it at a lower level..Since you already are renting elsewhere, i'd lower the price and move on..Best of luck

I did the download, but for some reason it wouldn't install. I also clicked on "back to search results" at the top of the page and see that there are larger homes in your area for less money. So, price is most likely your problem.

I agree that the Virtual Tour is a problem. I've looked at many houses online and have never been asked to download an unknown program to view them.
Many agents use Virtual Tours that require Flash or Java.
Can your agent switch to a different kind of virtual tour?

If I was a serious buyer, I would pass on the tour and skip the house due to the unwanted download that is required to see it.

The main picture of the house is very nice.

I downloaded what was needed to view the video. It will not let me turn off the music. Finally as I am typing this the music turned off. I really feel that still pictures would do your house so much more or a video that showed whole rooms and not partial walls that did nothing to enhance your home.

I would take new pictures not in the fall when leaves are on the grass. I would add some pretty flowers in the front of the house. I would add a nice shower curtain in that one bathroom.

I also would list with a new realtor and wait a month so the listing show up as a new listing.

When all else fails, I would call Designed to Sell on HGTV and see if they will help you and feature your home. It is a cute home and for a starter family or a first time home buyer that is young with limited funds, it has a nice big backyard and is cute.

I'm running Windows Media Edition & I didn't have to download anything to watch the tour?? But, it looks like many did. I agree that would be a big negative to most people. Good advice to replace the tour with six still shots.

Tricia

Just went to the listing agents web site - hopefully the link will stay.

The listing was on pgae 2 of my search using all subdivisions, so that was a plus. On a search of the town, the house is on page 1 of 3, and without clicking on every house, it's hard to say if the house is priced right. They do have a basement which could add to living space one day. Hard to know if others have a basement or garage

Here is a link that might be useful: Listing on agents web site

Roselvr, Im sure the agent would be happy to know her website made it to this post! :)

Another refusal to download the plugin here.

No reason you can't use a slideshow that doesn't require a plugin. No flash player!!!

I don't understand why you wouldn't take an offer that is 5% less than your asking price. People expect to negotiate some. You'll just have to list at 5% higher then when someone makes an offer for 5% less you'll have the amount that you want. I did take a look at what's available in that price range and less and there were 16 pages of listings in your area. Is the trouble of letting this drag on and on really worth $5k?

It looks like the other homes listed at this price have a lot more square footage (comparative to size of home). What do you have to offset that? (I didn't see it either as I didn't want to download the plug-in). If it's older appliances, I'd guess that there isn't anything better about your house than the others--although the tree is great!

You probably should have taken the $8000 less offer. Any chance those people still interested?

And I think student populations are generally more interested in price over anything else--lower the price.

For me as a buyer, the appliances weren't brand new but they looked clean and in very good shape. I doubt they are even 10 years old. His stove looks newer than mine. The cabinets were also updated at some point, the house has potential to a small family that wants to not have to do anything to move in.

Here is a link to the house on the agent's site.

Like several others, I didn't download the plug-in.

If you think it'd appeal to other grad students with a family, why don't you market to them directly. Take out an ad in the student newspaper and post some flyers in the lounges and student center. If I remember correctly, this is the time of year when all of the students are hustling and bustling to upgrade to new housing anyway. Make them want it. List any amenities such as close to campus or whatever is relevant for this school. This may cost you a little extra out of pocket, but it could be worth it.

As this person just registered, be careful of downloading anything.
Cannot see viedo, but trees in front need triming.

From the realtor's listing that roselvr found, there are many spelling mistakes in the written description. A huge turn off to me!

I agree with Sparksals. The typos are a turn-off. Geez, can't anyone spell anymore!?! Also, the pictures are either out of focus, or overly enlarged. I think it's the latter.

Since I live in Jersey, where houses are made of platinum (or priced as though they are), I can't comment on the appropriateness of the price, other than to say I'd snap it up in a second!

The house is adorable. The only thing you need to change about it is the selling agent.