Sell house now or wait until Spring?

amother

Lavender

Sun, Jan 01 2017, 7:07 pm

My realtor cousin said end of January beginning of February is when the market starts to get lively again because it's past the holiday season.

I hope it's true cuz I'm waiting to find a house!

mummiedearest

Sun, Jan 01 2017, 7:07 pm

where do you live? if your home is suited to a family with school-age kids, better to do it now. it's best for families to move in the summer, and if they want to do any construction, best to have the time to do that before moving.

amother

Periwinkle

Sun, Jan 01 2017, 7:10 pm

mummiedearest wrote:

I am worried. So far the locals have approached us to offer 25% below market value. (Exact quote: If you don't lower your price then we are not buying your home.) If we want to reach out to the general public (unfortunately) then when is the best time?

mummiedearest

Sun, Jan 01 2017, 7:11 pm

amother wrote:

I am worried. The house is in a Yeshivish neighborhood and so far the locals have approached us to offer way below market value. If we want to reach out to the general public (unfortunately) then when is the best time?

I'd say start now with a good realtor. where are you located?

mummiedearest

Sun, Jan 01 2017, 7:13 pm

we recently sold a house in brooklyn, and when we tried without a realtor, people gave shockingly low offers. they refused to come up enough, telling us that we were saving on agents' fees. the difference was way more than agents' fees were. if you're in brooklyn, I'd highly recommend the realtor we used.

amother

Periwinkle

Sun, Jan 01 2017, 7:13 pm

mummiedearest wrote:

Brooklyn. Don't want to give away the exact address right now. Our experience was almost identical to yours, except that they would YELL at us to lower the price. There are other houses in the neighborhood for them. I don't understand this concept of threatening the owners.

mummiedearest

Sun, Jan 01 2017, 7:15 pm

amother wrote:

Brooklyn. Don't want to give away the exact address right now. I am sick and tired of people calling up me and my dh to threaten us to lower the price.

if you're willing to pm me, I can give you my realtor's contact info.

sourstix

Sun, Jan 01 2017, 7:38 pm

Please go with a realtor. It's way better even if you paying them. It's a huge hassle to deal with the people who want houses. I know plenty of people that tried and then got a realtor. They know the business well.

Ask around your neighborhood who's a good realtor.

FranticFrummie

Mon, Jan 02 2017, 5:42 am

I used to flip houses for a living. This is what my realtor told me:

Houses photograph better on a sunny day. People want to see things that look bright and airy, so make sure that the listing photos are done on a clear day. In Seattle, that gave you about a month and a half window out of the whole year!

Personally, I preferred to buy houses during the worst part of the year, because that way if there was going to be any problems with roof damage, flooding basements, or freezing pipes, it would be immediately noticeable. Believe me, I found this out the hard way, by buying a fixer during a hot, dry summer. That first winter I cried so hard!

That said, I tended to sell in the Spring, because the daffodils and tulips would be blooming in the yard, and it made the house look bright and inviting. "Curb appeal" is everything, and if your first impression isn't totally adorable, you will lose a lot of value on the sale. I know, people aren't buying your daffodils, not consciously anyway, but it does make a huge difference. If you don't have flowers in your front yard, plant them NOW!

Flower