selling rental quickly

17 years ago

Hello, wise ones! My hb and I are selling our rental, recently vacated by family renters in pretty bad condition. We do not have the cash flow to put into making the house beautiful, and basically want to get out from under it...

Here is what we plan to do:

New carpet throughout, in neutral color.

Paint throughout, in neutral color.

Major professional clean.

(CONDITION!!)

Now here is where we need candid advice...

An acquaintance who works in my school district and I had a casual conversation about a month ago, and the subject came up that her mom keeps her baby while she works, and she lives on the street near the rental....(LOCATION!!!), which also happens to be the neighborhood in which she grew up...

She informed me that her lending company has approved them for 90k, without me asking or hinting at the price we might ask for the house.

She has since reminded me several times about her "90k approval", and I have NEVER mentioned price.

She has not seen the inside of the house yet, because the last tenants had 3 pets, and it still smells of urine..We want to wait to show it to her when it has fresh paint and carpet.

Comps in the neighborhood are showing houses selling in the last year on the street for 110k, and a house on the street identical to ours in listed at 110k.

My hb owes 73k on the home, and we are investing in new paint, carpet, and 6,000 in foundation repair. We would love to sell it to her without listing on the market, and we are working with a realtor for this transaction.

Should we show the house to her and just go ahead and offer as is (80s kitchen and baths, needs new bathroom floor) for 90k, or should we see if the 90k is a cover for a lowball attempt, and tell her about the comps, then ask for something like 99k, knowing she will likely counter, and maybe we can end up around 95k-99k?...(PRICE!!!)

We are newbies at this, and are clueless. Thanks so much for your advice!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

cordovamom
17 years ago
How do the other homes that sold for or are listed for $110,000 compare to your home. Have they already been updated or are they in the same condition as yours (living in the 80's). If the other homes have been updated already, then you can't realistically compare your home to the others, you'll have to discount that price up front to account for the condition of the home. On the other hand if the other homes were not updated and $110,000 is a fair comp, I would tell your friend what the comps are. Tell her if you have to list with an agent you're listing at $110,000 because you'll have to pay 6% or so commission. However if she buys it through you without an agent, you can let her have the home for $99,000. Let her negotiate down from there.
jiggreen
17 years ago
Her 90k is what she was approved for, but that doesn't take into account the amount of down payment that she should come up with. I would think that she should be expected to cough up 10-20 percent above her approval amount for a down payment. I would definitely go 99,000 or perhaps a little bit higher. Chances are she is not going for a 100% mortgage and that she can come up with more than the 90k.

Just my opinion..
jiggreen
Related Discussions
Need to sell quickly. Lowering price the best way?
Q
Comments (17)
Yes, the first time I suggested lowering price to my agent -- when we had been on the market a few weeks and had had many showings and a few second showings -- she said I should wait. So I waited several weeks -- it was actually about this time of year -- and then when I did reduce it by then it was well into June and the spring market was starting to cool. What are search brackets in your MLS? If your house was below $475k would that put you into a new search bracket? Every market is different but when we were in the higher bracket we did get lots of showings but no offers. It wasn't just us -- almost everything was selling slowly. Look at sales in your price range/area? Are houses really selling or are there tons more houses on the market than sales? How long is it taking most houses to sell? And can you see a difference in prices for those that sell quickly? In our area, sales were slow and the houses that sold were either priced at what seemed like low prices or were taking 2 years to sell. We didn't want to wait 2 years so we lowered the price.
...See More
Fresh ideas for selling home quickly...
Q
Comments (24)
What's the average DOM in your area? (Our neighbors recently sold after three years on the market and following the market down. Friends in California couldn't get offers in fast enough where homes sell for more than list price in hours.) What's your competition? (You might go look at it when open houses are held.) What's SOLD in your price range? What's the average percentage of list prices reflected in sales? Is your house being shown?
...See More
Selling tenant occupied rental house
Q
Comments (23)
I hate to comment on this because I don't want to get someone evicted, but... Unless these are long term tenants at a good cap rate then they are a nuisance to me. I don't think there are that any real advantages to leaving your tenants there in the situation you described. As a current landlord who has significant experience in the business, I don't see any upsides to your renters being there. If you are targeting investors, then renters paying below market rent are just a headache and if anything will cause me to offer less. I don't need a property rented to know whether or not I can rent it. I have never met someone I would consider experienced in investment real estate who needed a current renter as evidence the property was going to be a good investment. Nor does the property being occupied add any additional comfort for me. It is your property and its protection is your responsibility until it is my property so there is no significant protection for the buyer during that process. Additionally, it is eventually going to be vacant and that is just something landlords learn to deal with. ------ If you are targeting non-investors then tenants are going to be problematic. Buyers want a house they can see themselves in and tenants will most likely make that harder. They are also going to want the tenants out before they take possession which is another headache. ------ There are exceptions, of course, if you have great tenants who keep the property in mint condition then let them stay. Good luck. ETA: I don't necessarily care about the way tenants live unless they are truly an exception. In the end, as an investor, a property is a cash flow to me. I don't do the slumlord thing but for those that do, they are used to their properties looking like that.
...See More
Flipping a Rental to Sell
Q
Comments (49)
Have you enlisted the help of a good realtor? Every neighborhood is different, but it often does not pay off to invest heavily into cosmetic changes that may not even recoup the cost of the changes when you sell. On the exterior, I would definitely leave that lovely brick alone. It looks like maybe the house could use a good power washing and possibly re-painting trim and/or shutters rather than ruining the brick. When spring comes, make sure the landscaping is neat and tidy and looks well-cared-for. The exterior of the house is quite nice. On the interior, make sure everything is spotlessly clean and repair anything broken. Fresh paint is inexpensive and sometimes can really help. In the kitchen I would take down the valences and leave the rest of the kitchen alone if things are in good condition. The cabinets look nice and I think it would be a shame to paint them. People who buy the property might appreciate the charm of the cabinets as they are or they can paint them if they like. A full remodel of the kitchen would be expensive and often takes a lot longer than you'd expect. I would not throw money and time into a huge kitchen remodel when you really just want to sell the property and make a profit. The number of bedrooms in a house will absolutely impact the resale price. And having only two bedrooms will almost certainly reduce the buyers interested in the property. To me that would be an investment to consider before re-sale. Get quotes for putting the wall back up and talk to a realtor to determine if that investment is worth the money.
...See More

selling rental quickly

Comments (2)

cordovamom

jiggreen

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US