You know our house is for sale--I have this fabulous blog to advertise it, I have posted it on craigslist and a similar site called arborlist, and I also have it listed on the house officer's association website. I'm sure you've looked. And of course, we have the sign out front with flyers that I made. We also had an open house that was blighted by the fact that it was on a Saturday and the fact that we had a flood in our basement at the same time. (Oh yes. Spectacular timing.) So we have had some interest, but not what we think is serious interest. But how can we know? Our last house we ended up selling to people that we were so sure wouldn't possibly buy it that we didn't even put them on the exclusion list when we threw up our hands and signed with a realtor.
The question is: "What is the proper time to give up and go for the advertising that you have to pay for?" (a realtor who will give you MLS access and the dreaded lockbox). We REALLY don't want to miss the spring market here. There are LOTS of houses on the market right now because of the dismal economy here in southeast Michigan. People are leaving because of cutbacks in the auto industry, and Pfizer, the second largest employer in Ann Arbor just announced it is closing its Ann Arbor facility (the one that produced Lipitor). At the same time, we know there are people coming to look for houses this time of year who have been hired at the Univeristy and who are coming for residency or fellowship at the hospital. We really want them to know about our house. We have the medical side covered, but most of them aren't looking for family houses in our price range. We may need MLS access to reach the people who need and can actually afford our house at the time they are actually looking.
Of course, a realtor will tell you all the reasons you should drop everything and list yesterday. Their business is to scare people into believing they can't or shouldn't sell their homes by themselves. So I feel like I am driving a huge semi truck towards a grim realtor (OK, so actually they are really nice people I'm considering) driving another semi truck. The truck is picking up speed as we near the date we want to move and we are passing by some promising territory of the spring market. Is it time to bail out or should I lock eyes with that agent and barel on through? What is the worst that could happen? Surely not death, right?
The question is: "What is the proper time to give up and go for the advertising that you have to pay for?" (a realtor who will give you MLS access and the dreaded lockbox). We REALLY don't want to miss the spring market here. There are LOTS of houses on the market right now because of the dismal economy here in southeast Michigan. People are leaving because of cutbacks in the auto industry, and Pfizer, the second largest employer in Ann Arbor just announced it is closing its Ann Arbor facility (the one that produced Lipitor). At the same time, we know there are people coming to look for houses this time of year who have been hired at the Univeristy and who are coming for residency or fellowship at the hospital. We really want them to know about our house. We have the medical side covered, but most of them aren't looking for family houses in our price range. We may need MLS access to reach the people who need and can actually afford our house at the time they are actually looking.
Of course, a realtor will tell you all the reasons you should drop everything and list yesterday. Their business is to scare people into believing they can't or shouldn't sell their homes by themselves. So I feel like I am driving a huge semi truck towards a grim realtor (OK, so actually they are really nice people I'm considering) driving another semi truck. The truck is picking up speed as we near the date we want to move and we are passing by some promising territory of the spring market. Is it time to bail out or should I lock eyes with that agent and barel on through? What is the worst that could happen? Surely not death, right?
I totally feel your pain.
ReplyDelete