I hope you have already sold it by now

Matthew,

I know this comes 4 months after you asked so I don't even know if your house has sold or if you are still thinking of selling. I will say that I am working with many buyers right now. Your home sounds beautiful and I am guessing is in the Acreage? Guest house and size give me that idea. You can spend out of pocket for an appraisal or you can hire a Realtor who is full time, active and selling! Someone like that would be familiar with your area and the activity there. Maybe a Realtor who lives in the area and knows it well enough to not only price the house right but back it up with the stats from the MLS and other sources showing recent sales and on the market competitive properties. If you are interested, give me a shout - I know this guy....

This can be difficult sometimes now due to the overload of short sale / pre foreclosures on the market but we can get through that easy enough. Just want to be able price it right and the stats speak for themselves. I can also tell you that I have recently been turning some listings down (call me crazy) but if I am going to work for a seller and spend the cash and time to market it right and get it sold, I want to make sure it has a snowflakes chance in, well you know where, of actually selling. If it is too highly priced - forget it, it will sit and you will call your Realtor up every week / month angry and wanting to know why nobody is coming to see your home. When they suggest lowering the price you will just get more upset - trust me it is not worth it to you or the agent. This can be a stressful enough time for you and your family anyway. It is my job to take some of that stress off of your shoulders and be your all knowing partner in real estate.

If you truly want to sell your home you need to price it correctly (upgrades and all) to be competitive on the market. Many buyers think "I can buy this one for $20K less (with same sq/ft) and do my own upgrades for $10K and still come out saving the $10K). I just used any figures in that example but that is how many are thinking now. Just as everyone has a relative or friend who is a real estate agent (it seems), they also have one who is a flooring guy or designer or landscaper or counter top guy or something where they can upgrade and save $. As I stated before, I am working with many buyers at this time and there are many out there buying now. But this is the thought process for a lot of them. Heck, I even have to work with my buyers to try and find a seller or a bank owned property so we don't have to go through the short sale process (I have done enough of these thank you very much!). That is unless of course you are in that unfortunate situation.

I know I did not give you a price but without seeing the property and walking the property in person and then doing the research, a price would be a shot in the dark on this forum and useless to you. Feel free to contact me or any of the other qualified professional Realtors around here for some help. You will be happy you did!!!


Best of luck,
Billy

There are many options when searching for the right price. We are in a difficult market where the amount of upgrades in a home adds to how quickly it gets shown versus how high a price you may get. Right now, the very best homes are getting the most activity, but with 36 months of inventory available, proper pricing is critical. On-line sites such as zillow are a good place to start, you may also visit the Palm Beach County Property appraisers site and type in your property address. Then you can click on the MAP lind and look at recent sales in your area.

The best source outside of paying for a certified appraisal is to contact an experienced Real Estate professional that has a good grasp of the market and what it takes to market and sell a home in Royal Plam Beach.

I have been a Palm Beach County resident since 1969 and a helping buyers and sellers in your area since 1995. Feel free to visit my web site for more information on selling and pricing or contact me any time. I live in Royal Palm Beach as well.

Michael Giamatt Realtor Consultant
Keller Williams Realty
561-719-3877

Ideally, compare it to other homes in your subdivision (If you have recently sold comparable homes in your neighborhood). The community/subdivision name would be a much better comparable than your zip code.

Just to give you an idea, I did a search based on the description above and came up with 8 properties available for sale, and two homes sold in 2007. Email me your address to karina@lealusa.com and I might be able to provide you with better comparables.

Regards, Karina.

Matthew
I suggest that you contact a couple of Realtors in your area and ask them for their opinion. Selling homes is not like selling water sport toys. You want to net as much as possible when you sell, right? So ask the questions of professionals.
I confess I am frustrated when posters like you ask questions like this, then someone posts an answer "based on their knowledge of the market". The fact is that unless they know your property, your personal circumtances, and the local market, they have (IMHO) no business offering such advice online.

(sorry, this is the third question like this today).
Keith