why wont this farm sell ugh

[kaykay]

we still have never received even one offer on our illinois farm. I am so discouraged. Its a beautiful home and farm and I just cant understand why we havent even received one offer! Its been on the market since July. Our realtor thought for sure we would get an offer monday but nothing. The stress of owning two homes is about to kill me. Its built to look like the original old farmhouse but is only 9 years old. Our contract with our current realtor is up dec 31st and i have no idea who to relist with. I really wish now we had tried to sell it by owner but i cant do that now because im in ohio.

heres what it looks like

farm

 

[justaboutgeese]

When we sold our last farm in New York I learned that there were many people who wanted it. Just none of them with money enough or credit enough to buy it. I ended up selling it with a good down payment and holding the mortgage myself. That turned out to be a very good deal for me by the way.

 

[kaykay]

we have had a ton of ppl want it that cant afford it but theres no way i can carry the mortgage. I have to have the equity out of this farm. im thinking about trying an auction but im just not sure

kay

 

[Frankie]

Ok, talking from experience, I manage a Real Estate Office.

First, with the contract almost up, I would relist with the current agent, BUT use the fact that to resign with him, you want more things done.

Have you done a price reduction? Did he advertise that?

Have you had an open house? A very small percentage of homes sell at open houses, it's the advertising for that open house that will get it noticed more.

Offer concessions or to pay for the the buyers closing costs instead of reducing the price. And make sure it says that both in advertisements and the mls system.

Many, many people can afford the monthly payments, but can not afford all the prepaid stuff. If you pay closing costs, and offer a % of down payment for the buyer, instead of a price reduction,,,,,,,,,what you are offering is what people need to GET into the house.

Actually, depending on how much of that money you need,,,,,,,raise the price, BUT say you will pay the buyers closing costs and up to 3% of the downpayment.

Make sense?

Also, the pictures on line are terrible. No offense. The visual of the house does not show me how new that house is. PLUS, have him take inside photos, it helps so much!!!!!!

Hope some of this helps. If you want to sell quick, make the offers to the buyers.

 

[Cathy_H]

Geez that has to be disappointing & nerve wrecking.. We plan on selling our 6 acre farm in the future but I don't think we are going to start building until we have something definite on ours. We will only be moving 30 minutes from here so it is doable. Best of luck to you - hope you sell it soon............ Guess it is like selling horses, timing.

 

[Winchester Farms]

man, i wish i lived near you. 5 acres near me would be AT LEAST 1/2 a million dollars.

 

[kaykay]

frankie i agree the pics are terrible and i have asked repeatedly that they retake them but they wont. I also asked that they put pics of the inside to do a virtual tour again he wouldnt do it.

he has also refused to do any open houses or any ads. he says all houses sell of the internet and advertising is a waste. now keep in mind this agent is one of the biggest remax realtors in our area. supposed to be top dog

also i have heard from other agents that he never returns phone calls etc. this agent has been a nightmare from day 1 and i will never relist with him. 4 weeks ago i asked him to go by and check the gas tank and he promised he would. well he never did and never called and the tank ran empty. russ had to drive from ohio to illinois to thaw the house and get the gas going again. He did apologive for "not following" thru but thats it.

oh also we did lower the price. farms in our area are sellling in the 240 range and the homes are much older. we started at 210 and went down to 199.

we have owned 6 homes and never had one take this long to sell

 

[Triggy&Blue&Daisy Too]

Kay I would give most any of my necessary body parts to have a place like your selling.

If it's any consolation, a raw 5 acres here totally undeveloped is the price of your farm. I love that house! If my job was transferrable I'd be giving you an offer.

 

[onlyminis]

I feel for you Kaykay, I went through a year of maintaning two farms and it was just about the death of me!

And I'd be rid of that agent in a heartbeat! And let them know what I thought too, they work for YOU!

As for an auction, I don't know what the auction scene/market is like in Illinois, but here in Ohio that IS the way to sell and buy a farm. Believe it or not the selling at auction is not nearly as nerve wracking as you'd think, they buying at auction is.

I would also look into the suggestions regarding paying closing, down payment, etc. That could be just the ticket for a buyer that just can't swing it otherwise.

Best of luck!

KJ

 

[Marty]

Kay you have more than enough reason for not re-listing with these people. Your agent works for YOU and YOU pay him so you should get the attention you deserve.

Around here, it's not unexpected for a house to be on the market for less than two years before it sells. All the agents will say they can sell it quickly and that it will go fast, but that's just to get your contract.

Get a young ambitious woman for your agent. A gal that has kids to feed and someone that will work for you.

 

[jdomep]

I'd find another realtor! I think your price sounds quite reasonable and the house looks great. I'd keep trying to find an agent that will actually work for you!

 

[ali]

I've only ever sold two properties but here is my experience, for what it's worth and worked for me. My opinion below is based on fair market pricing and you having researched that point. Ask your realtor for info on properties (similar) that have sold within the past six months to a year if need be.

Both times, the realtor was informed that if the property did not sell during his contract that his contract would not be renewed. Period. Believe it or not, BOTH properties sold within days of the contract expiration date AND very close to our asking price.

I wouldn't relist with the current realtor if he's had 3 months to sell the property. It may sound harsh but think about it. Whether the market is slow or hot, he/she has had 3 months to sell it. Perhaps a new face, new angle and outlook with a motived realtor will get it sold. There are many realtors out there that want your listing so move on to the next one, even if it's with another office.

Choose someone very well liked, motivated and top seller in your area with properties such as yours. If you did this already, then give the next one down the opportunity. No point in getting someone who is #1 in the city. Insist on advertising, open houses, and more detail in your listing. The pic of what I'm assuming is the barn may need to be deleted from the opening window. Add that to your next window clearly stating seperate building and it's uses. I thought it was the back addition to your home and or a trailer home. That's what I saw, no offense, even though it was quite clear which pic was your beautiful home.

That's been my experience and I wish you luck with yours.

P.S. Did you get your dream horse? I hope so.

OK, after having read the other posts about your realtor, I would definately fire him and tell him why!!!

 

[kaykay]

thanks to all of you

i really wish hed put pics of the inside. it has a beautiful solid oak staircase, solid oak kitchen etc etc. but from the outside it looks like an old house!

im really thinking an auction may be the way to go. I really miss that house. I do like this one in ohio but as you can see our old house was much bigger. Im missing that extra room we had

ali the extra pic is the detached 4 car garage. the front is where i had my painting studio and is totally finished with drywall and plumbed for a bathroom which is NO WHERE in the description.

and there is no pic of the huge corncrib that has been converted to a 3 stall horse barn or the fact that this is fenced for horses.

our realtor has had 6 MONTHS to sell this. never again will i sign a 6 month contract.

 

[Frankie]

Well, I will say all areas are different,,,,,,,,,,but.

75% of our sales are through repeat clients. 24% is through local advertising, 1% off line. Most of our on line sales are from people wanting to relocate. So local advertisement is necessary. On line you pretty much are only dealing with those wanting to move in, what about those that want to upgrade that live locally?

You should of dropped him months ago, and yes, you can mutually release out of the contract.

My suggestion, in general, do not list with the "top dog". Their interest is $500,000 on up, and to me that explains why he is not doing anything for you.

Find another agent: INSIST on inside photos, raise price and pay closing costs and downpayments, make them have an open house,,,,,,,,,and say that BEFORE you sign a listing contract. Find an agent that will do an Open House, schedule it, BEFORE you list.

 

[justjinx]

my sister's farmette in southern wi took a year to sell and she went thru a couple of realtors then sold it herself. i know that will not work for you. she was very frustrated too. the right buyer came along but alot of people just could not afford the taxes on her place...hang in there (i know its hard!)...

jennifer

 

[ali]

One more suggestion.

List with your next agent for as little a period as possible. That way if you don't like him then you don't have to renew! Like Frankie pointed out, get your demands/wishes in writing prior to your signing the contract.

 

[kaykay]

carolyn

when i got so many complaints from other agents that they could not get info on this house i tried to terminate the contract. he let me know we would go to court over it. i just couldnt take the stress. i cannot wait until dec 31 when this contract is up.

im so hoping things will go better with a new agent. im really tempted to try auctioning it but im afraid it will be low bids.

 

[Frankie]

Auctions do not do well around here.

But if you did, just put a reserve on it and you'll be fine.

Is this guy a broker/owner, or just an associate agent? If he is just an associate, get in touch with the owner, complain, and ask for a mutual release. Word of mouth can be a scarey thing, make sure you let them know you can talk alot!!!

 

[jdomep]

Auctions do great around here. But we have a Big Farming area and even small acreage (like yours and mine 5-6 acres) got for 40-50K an acre and your house is awesome! Though this time of year isn't prime auction time - most homes/farms go in Spring- Fall (I work for 2 auctioneers and they tend not to list any during cold winter months) You could list with another realtor and then if that doesn't work you could look into auctioning.

 

[minimama]

Well, if I were looking to move to Illinois, I would buy it. Just Beautiful Kay! And the price is certianly nice from my stand point. A place like that where I am is almost a million dollars. no exageration either