Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jeanne Dufort on February 19, 2012 at 7:35pm

Jill - first of all, I wish you good luck as you expand your homestead.

My bias is that I am a Realtor, specializing in farm and rural properties - so take what I say with that in mind.  All markets are unique, and I know absolutely nothing about your market.  But I do know real estate - for many years as an investor, and now since 2005 as my business. You may think that you cannot afford the commission - but I would then suggest that perhaps you cannot afford to make a move.  What I mean by that is that there are very good statistics to show that sellers who choose to "DIY" are only occasionally successful (80% wind up listing with an agent) and generally wind up selling for less.  The right agent will help you price your property correctly, market it to the widest audience, and help you through the difficult negotiation/home inspection/renegotiation period - this is why stats show that seller who hire good agents wind up with more net proceeds.

Please feel free to email me if you want to talk more about how to choose the right agent - you will want a specialist on rural properties if possible.

I know that may not be what you were hoping to hear, but its the best advice I can give.

Jeanne

Permalink Reply by Jil Davis on February 19, 2012 at 7:45pm

Oh I absolutely agree with using realtors!!! It's just that from my research thus far on the market value of our home we can sell for about $5k under what we owe (roughly $150,000). We plan on getting an appraisal just to make sure. With the already $5k loss we cannot financially afford to lose another $9k on top of that on commission. At that point we are talking a $14,000 difference. We are almost debt free except for our mortgage (something we have been working VERY hard to accomplish) and going back into debt by $14,000 is not an option. 

Trust me, if things were different, we would hire a realtor. They are crucial to say the least. That is the best way to go but we are trying to do the best we can with what we have at the moment.  That is our predicament.

Permalink Reply by Jeanne Dufort on February 19, 2012 at 8:20pm

good luck.

In my market, an appraisal is not likely to be nearly as useful as you may think, especially for rural properties.  Most appraisers are under strict instructions to give basically no value to fencing and farm structures.  I sold one homestead recently - the appraiser just blew the value of the barn, fencing, even the pool with nice deck. We solved a $17,000 gap on a $272,000 property - seller took less, I took less, buyers came up with some cash. 

Permalink Reply by Jil Davis on February 24, 2012 at 9:06am

Thanks for the advice. I really do appreciate your input. Hopefully, we will have a god stream of people coming through.

Permalink Reply by Jeanne Dufort on February 26, 2012 at 3:36pm

what are you planning to do to generate traffic?  Every market has unique places where land/rural property buyers go to find options that appeal to them.  It may be internet specialty marketing sites like landandfarm.com, landflip.com, and landsofamerica.com.  It may be craigs list.  I use these, plus multiple mls sites, plus virtual tours, and a whole bevy of syndicated sites.

whatever you choose, be sure to invest in high quality photographs and a great writeup that both details the features of your property,and walks potential buyers through the place.

Be sure to keep the perspective of your buyer's life - not your.  One of the big mistakes many sellers make is telling the story from their family's perspective - not what a buyer is interested in.  They are busy trying to figure out what properties might fit their needs, and too much of your personal story will interfere with that process.

Permalink Reply by Jil Davis on February 29, 2012 at 7:49am

Our plan is to ask a local realtor to come out in the next few weeks to give us an idea of what our place could potentially sell for. We have one lined up and she is geared more towards rural properties and farms. If the number is something that allows for a commission without us losing too much moolah, then we will more inclined to use her. If the number comes back as too low to use her, then we will need to try to sell without her. 

If the latter is the case, I plan to use Craigslist, word of mouth, Facebook, open houses(?), and I was hoping to use sites that are farmer & homesteader driven; sites that are frequented by people who are interested in homesteading & farming (small scale). 

Permalink Reply by Brittany Kerlin on March 15, 2012 at 3:26pm

Can you message me the specifics?  My parents have been looking for something and so have my husband and I.  My parents live in Madison, but they are living beyond their means since property values went up so high in that area (it's the new commute to DC county, can you believe it?)