If the house has been shown 45 times in 65 days...you are priced too high.

Every property will sell at the right price no matter the market conditons, the local economy, or flaws with the property. Every property can be sold. You need to seriously reconsider what you've set as your price point 'cause it's not indictative of local conditions.

If you're tired of having it listed for sale...you're going to be really tired of having renters especially living out-of-state.

Drop the price to whatever will move it & sell the darn thing.

/tricia

Jen, have you posted a link to the listing yet to get feedback? Have you done any searching of competition on your own to make sure you're priced right?

While it sounds like there are buyers in the area, do you know how many houses have actually closed lately? People are not parting with their money too quickly these days.

As far as renting, I would rather drop the price then deal with renters long distance.

If the house has been shown 45 times in 65 days...you are priced too high.

Can you elaborate on this? How does this tell you it's priced too high?

A number of years ago when we were buying in a buyers market in Colorado we ran into an interesting concept. "house sitters" were employed to reside in the residence and keep the yardwork done, house clean etc. The house sitters were employed by an agency, and were supposedly checked out by the agency. They brought their own furniture (approved by the agency) and paid only a fraction of what the rent should have been. In turn they had no lease, and were prepared to move to a new residence when the house sold. I'm not sure if this is a concept that would work for you or even if it's being done in your area, but you might want to look into it if it's just the hassle of maintaining the residence until it's sold is your problem.

Here is a link that might be useful: House sitting

It is not a good situation, I am sure. How much did you lower the price?...what percent is that of your asking price?

Renting from out of the state, is the PITS!!! I would certainly lower the price and get out from under that house. If any of the lookers showed a least bit of interest, have your REA call them and tell them of the new price....but I would never consider renting long-distance...been there, done that~~

Many military personnel end up having to be rent/landlords long distance.
However military personnel living in military dominated communities where this is a ready of pool of reliable renters.
Typically they use a rental property manager who handles most everything.
You could try a different realtor.

I agree, with 65 showings, and no offers, the buyers are telling you they are seeing bigger and better for the same money. What tells you the price is too high is that many showings and no interest.

What does your RE Agent tell you the feedback is? What was her price recommendation?

You said she isnt doing anything to get the house sold. She's gotten you 65 showings, I'd say she's doing her job pretty well.

Jenswren-

Are you sure you want to be a landlord, esp. from a distance?
I wouldn't in a million years. If you think selling is tough....let me tell you, renting is a BIG job. Do not judge according to yourself. Most renters are not like you. Sure they look good on paper. They get glowing reviews, which are a lie. The previous landlords want to get rid of them...I've been there & never again.

After the renters move, you have to paint, remodel & repair. The security deposit is hardly enough to cover HOUSE repairs.

Getting 45 showings in 65 days is HUGE. IF you are priced within the comps, why don't you hire a good stager & spend a couple of thousands instead of lowering the price? You'll have to spend a lot of money after the renters move out, so why don't you invest in selling now instead of all the future aggravation?

I agree with Tricia, but only partially. Every house has a price point at which it will sell. However, you can manipulate the market a bit by making your house stand out. My theory is that if nobody is selling, the market is dead & there is no point in lowering the price or staging. However, if properties around you are selling, but you are not getting any showings then you are overpriced. But you are getting showings.

In fact, you're are getting lots of showings, so the possibility of being overpriced is there, but slim. It would seem to me that you need to spruce up the house by staging to give it a wow factor, to make someone who walks in fall in love with your lifestyle. People would kill just to get lookers. You've got lookers, so you're very lucky. NOW you gotta make those lookers interested. S-T-A-G-E I-T.
Go on HGTV & read how staged homes sell faster & for 7% more. To me it's a no-brainer.

Post a link of your listing. We'll help & give you our opinion as to why your house is not selling, aside from it being a bad market...

For what it's worth: I think that before you commit to the idea of renting the place out, it would be a good idea to find out the going rates for rentals in the house's area. You might also want to look into the ongoing maintenance costs you might have to cover, as well as any tax implications. I know of one couple who had a rental where the rent was less than the mortgage because the rent rates in the area were lower. And since the rent was less than the mortgage, maintenance and taxes were added expenses of owning the property. You need to make sure that renting the house will truly put you in a better position than selling it at a lower price.

One other thought: if you're particularly looking to capture the student market, you might want to look into when the area's colleges start classes. I know that at my old college, classes started around August 20th. If your area is on a similar schedule, most of the students may already have made arrangements for the coming year.

You are getting lookers and dabunch thinks it might not be price but just needs to be staged.
One other possibility - your house has something going on that isn't apparent in the pictures but turns people off when they get there. Something that can't be changed - corner lot, busy street, odd shaped or small lot, the kitchen is just too small, only 1 bathroom, something.
In which case it would relate to price.
I think you have to ask yourself - if you really want to get on with your life - have you dropped your price to rock bottom? Have you asked your realtor - ok get real with me, what will this sell at?
If your at rock bottom - then contact a full service property manager and see what they think the house will rent for and how much they'll charge you. A property manager will show it to renters, handle getting repairs done etc. Your REA will have to know since she will have to let them in to see it so they can tell you what they think they can rent it for.

You have to hear that number to figure out your next step.

The other alternative is....do you know someone (cousin, friend of a friend) with the right personality (someone who can deal with renters) who needs some extra cash? A little riskier but they could PM it for you. Some realtors do this on the side as well.

I was a landlord for a Single Family Home. Trust me, if you don't want to be in the landlord business, just sell this home and do NOT rent it out.

It is very hard work to get a decent renter. There are many people that call/look and want to rent the place. You have to weed out the folks that won't work out and then you have to reject them. You do credit checks. You have an application and a good lease. You don't let them walk all over you, or they often will. This is very hard to do. Go to mrlandlord dot com and click on the area for Ask Landlords a Question. It has Q and A area for real landlords. It is an eye opener to be in their shoes for even a week. You will be in their shoes if you become a landlord.

Realize this - just think how much is involved in maintaining a home when you live there. You will still be responsible for this maintenance even when you don't live there. Such as things that break, etc. If you have appliances there, the folks could misuse/abuse these appliances. Your cabinets could get ruined from filthy hands and from folks not wiping up their spills. They often leave junk behind when they move out.You must know the state/local laws and follow them regarding notices, evictions, security deposits and damages, late fees, etc.

Again, I am suggesting to you what Cramer says about some stocks....SELL, SELL, SELL.

I visited all four of my kids apartments/houses when they were away at college. Believe me, I would never rent to college students. At one sons house, I brought in groceries and had to set them down on the floor, the top of everything was covered with dirty dishes. They are filthy little pigs and were NOT brought up like that! But that is how many college students are, party, party, party. And party they did.
I do have to admit that some of the places they rented were terrible, no screens on windows, gas bills running $300 a month in the winter, mice, etc.
Drop the price and sell that house!
Kathy G in MI

We decided to rent out our home instead of selling and it is OK. I think the difficulty may have to do with location and demographic. I charge a lot of rent to two Air Force officers. (husb & wife). They are stable and the rent is automatically deposited into my account. because of the rent I charge, we have a pool guy, gardener and home warranty. That is who I call when the garbage disposal breaks or whatever.

While their security deposit may not cover the damage they could do, I doubt it would be more than the 100K loss we would have taken if we sold the house.

Being a landlord isn't for everyone. However, if you treat it as a job, it's not so bad really.

BTW, my last tenants did damage my house and tried to hide it upon move out. For the most part it was a PITA more than anything. Again, looking at it as a job, you bet it was worth the 100K we saved!