Ken- The home probably won't appraise.

Sat May 3 2008, 15:24

Kenneth,
As a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services in Pittsburgh I can assist you with a no-cost evaluation of the value of your home. Please contact me to disucss recent sales in Observitory Hill and see if all added features of your property add an extra $35,000 to the value of your home. This is a very competitive market and the BIGGEST mistake I see seller make is OVER PRICING their home. Starting out high to test the water- and then lowering the price months down the road- does not work. An experienced agent like myself, will price your home competitively which will get your home SOLD quickly and for the best price.
I would be happy to preview your home and assist with listing and selling it quickly. Please visit my website to learn more about my buyer and seller services. I look forward to assisting with your real estate needs in Pittsburgh. liz@pittsburghhomesite.com, www.pittsburghhomesite.com,

Wed Apr 30 2008, 08:05

Kenneth, the best plan is to hire an excellent agent in your area. What the homes in your area are going for might be an indication, but it may not be a good one. What if your house is several hundred square feet larger than other homes that have sold recently? In that case you might be pricing it too low. What if your interior finish out is superior to others in the area? Again, you might be giving away equity.
In general, unfortunately, what you would like to get out of a house and what you will are two different numbers. Get yourself a good agent and find out how much to expect.

Good luck with your sale!!!

Mon Apr 14 2008, 10:28

Obviously no idea of your local market conditions, but if other houses are at $90K and not selling, yours for $35K more and in need of some work will likely not fly in the eyes of a buyer. Put yourself in the buyer's shoes. Can you as a buyer make the $90K house like yours (garage and carport) for less than it would cost to just buy it? ...hope that makes sense.

Fri Mar 28 2008, 20:14

If houses are selling for 90,000 then your house is worth about 90,000 but don't take my word for it, call some appraisers for pricing and get a appraisal.

but if you want to sell it for $ 125,000 you might want to consider owner financing. There are risks but if your lucky you could get some money in your hand the rest in a couple of years.

Good luck,

Sun Mar 9 2008, 17:11

Kenneth
Thank you for your post. We receive quite a few like yours, so your situation is not uncommon.
First, any home will sell at the right price. The "right price" is set by the buyers, not you or me. So what you paid, how much you have invested, how much you need to net. are NOT important to the buyer.

Second, a good Realtor can help you determine the proper listing price and likely selling price. They can help you emphsize the selling points of your home so that the buyers looking will want to see your property. If your property, once listed, does not receive showing activity in the frist three weeks of market time, there is a problem, usually with the price.

Third, you need to know that most markets in the US are buyer''s markets. meaning that there any many people selling, but only few buying. Listings that do sell tend to be the "Best Value". That means homes that "need work" will probably not receive the same attention as a turnkey home.

Homes that do sell closest to asking price sell within the first 30 days of market time. Homes that sit will sell for less, perhaps 3%-8% less than asking if they sit for 120 days.

Propert pricing and preparation, which includes the marketing, are critical to getting a home sold for top dollar in the shortest amount of time.

Sun Mar 9 2008, 14:33

We are in a buyers market. Unless your additional features are exemplary in comparison to the other properties, it might be difficult. Further, needing updating will make it more difficult. Further, wanted to sell it "as-is" does not help either. Typically "as-is" sales will bring in the investor purchasers who will purchase a property BELOW market. Finally, in this tougher market environment, there is much more appraisal risk so even if you found a buyer willing to pay the price, the property may not appraise for that value. I would consult a local specialist to do a market analysis for you just to make sure.

Sun Mar 9 2008, 14:05