Weird request from Realtor?

[lryan361]

Our home is on the market and was listed 3 weeks ago. We have a 4/1 and our realtor knows that my husband is very handy. They think we should flip one of our bedrooms into a bathroom quickly. We have only lived here for 16 months and have very little equity. We are moving out of state and think need every penny we have to be able to do so. Is this a wierd request. I understand what they are saying when people search they normally look for a 3/2 but I just don't think we are able to do this. Any suggestions of what we tell them? The market is very tight here but I think we will have to wait it out. Any suggestions on promoting the 4/1?

[Thesa]

Ask your Realtor to provide you comps of other homes in your area with only one bath - in my market that would make the sale hard unless you were priced on the low side. But where I grew up - most of the homes still only have one full bath.... your Realtor may be telling you to add the bath for a lot of reasons - but you should compare apples to apples -

Do you have enough equity to stay at the low end of the pricing, pay off te mortgage, any prepayment if any, and the realtor fees? It all comes down to where you are for price... if you can price the home on the low side - you may find a buyer that would rather add their own bathroom.... that way it is what they want and not what you want.

[lryan361]

We are going to be lucky to break even in fact will have to pull from our savings probably to payoff. There is a home down the street that is a 3/2 with a pool also but a little smaller square feet and doesn't look as appealing on the inside so I think we are priced pretty good.

[Thesa]

Unless putting that new bath in is going to give you a profit I personally would not spend the money - living with a remodel in progress is not for everyone.... and if you are going to loose money on the sale plus put in a bath it does not compute - however, if that bath brings you up in price and puts a profit in your pocket plus brings a sale faster.... you might talk about it.

[lryan361]

There is a 3/2 right down the street with a pool but it is with an assist to sell rather than a realtor so not sure if realtors avoid those types of companies because of the commission. Because if they had a regular realtor we were thinking that the realtor might show our home too. Our seems a lot nice on the inside.

[TJ2007]

Normally I would say the local realtor should know your market best (would like to know what area you are in)

However this seems pretty insane to me - I have always seen bedrooms being worth more than bathrooms!

Wouldn't it be better for the new buyer to have a 4 bedroom and pay to add on another bathroom if they wish.

Considering your current situation I think it would be unwise to spend money on this - If you had the extra money and consulted several professionals who agreed then maybe - but I think you would normally be reducing the value of the property!!!

BEST ADVICE - Talk to a real appraiser not a realtor - they know the real value of a bedroom vs bathroom for your area and how it will look for the lender of the new buyer...

Permits may be another issue - if you need permits and don't have time or do get them this may prevent a new buyer from obtaining financing on the property - reducing your potential buyers and hurting the sales price?

[lryan361]

Thank you and I agree. We were a little stumped ourselves. I told them today that we are keeping it as is. We don't have the money and it won't make the value to go up based on a house that is a 3/2 down the street. The only advantage is easier for the search engine. We are in southwest Florida. The market is bottoming here fast....

[TJ2007]

I know that area well and think it would be very foolish to make that change.
I have done some of my own investing over there, but you're right - it's not pretty right now -you may need that cash to hang on to the place...

I have some great realtors that I have used to buy and sell my own properties over there that have always done an excellent job, I would be happy to give you there information if you like (PM me)

IT'S YOUR AGENTS JOB TO MARKET THE PLACE - IN MANY WAYS, NOT JUST RELYING ON THAT SEARCH!, IF HE DOESN"T THINK HE CAN HANDLE IT FIND SOMEONE ELSE WHO THINKS THEY CAN SELL IT!

[lryan361]

I think they are doing okay I am just inpatient. But thank you. One of the realtors works a lot with Hispanic population in Miami because she is Hispanic and a lot of young families from Miami are moving over here. This would be an incredible house for them. We have worked very very hard to fix it up in the last 16 months. And I buried St. Joseph last Saturday too. That really worked for us in Iowa. If I need to though I will pm you if things look grim farther down the road. These three told us they are aggressive so I hope they are right. We met with three different companies/realtors and thought these three seemed very honest and aggressive at the same time. Do you think the market will pick up any time soon here? We keep hearing the people are actually moving out of Florida faster than they are moving in.

[TJ2007]

Yes I heard that news too.

Things are pretty ugly right now and have been for a little while, though I think Florida will bounce back pretty quickly -

Let's face it - it's still one of the best places to live in the world and people will always move there from all over the world - especially from south america

Could we use one or 2 less snow birds driving on the roads over there?
I think we'll be OK:)

It will likely take some hard work to get your home sold right now though, make sure it is priced right.

I always encourage using realtors, but usually demand that the paperwork allows me to sell the home on my own without commission if I find a buyer,
there are so many sites that you can now list your property for free on

including mine;) ;)

GOOD LUCK

[Thesa]

Finding an agent that will give you a listing that does not require paying a commission if this or that happens will typically bring you an agent that believes in quanity vs QUALITY - this family needs a QUALITY REALTOR - not some fly by night take your listing, stick a sign in the ground and wait person.

There is more than just marketing here - there is th research for the pricing in the market they have, there are photos, virtual tours, print ads, internet marketing and so on.... if you need results hire a professional not a substandard company....

:::::::::::::::stepping off my soap box::::::::::::::::

[TJ2007]

Finding an agent that will give you a listing that does not require paying a commission if this or that happens will typically bring you an agent that believes in quanity vs QUALITY - this family needs a QUALITY REALTOR - not some fly by night take your listing, stick a sign in the ground and wait person.

There is more than just marketing here - there is th research for the pricing in the market they have, there are photos, virtual tours, print ads, internet marketing and so on.... if you need results hire a professional not a substandard company....

:::::::::::::::stepping off my soap box::::::::::::::::
I completely agree with you:
(though how many of realtors out there really provide all you listed? most just stick it on the MLS and wait for someone else to sell it)

I guess you are misunderstanding my point:

I ALWAYS RECOMEND ANYONE TO USE A PROFESSIONAL REALTOR.
No matter what the circumstances

HOWEVER I HAVE BOUGHT & SOLD MANY MANY PROPERTIES MY SELF and I have found many times that I have found a buyer faster than the realtor (not knocking the realtor, I just move fast). So I think and so did these realtors that it was only reasonable to write in the listing agreement that I could sell to my own buyer without owing them.
That said if I found my own buyer I would still probably give the deal to the realtor to handle the paperwork for a reduced fee WIN-WIN.

I'm sure this post will be followed by the witch burning masses against discount realtor fees, but oh well...

If a realtor has really (and wisely) spent a lot of time and money working a deal then of course they should be taken care of, but you'll have to agree most agents these days just stick it on the MLS and wait for someone else to bring a buyer.

If you are not one of these agents then good for you and I wish you many new listings and I'm sure you will recieve many referrals and have a very profitable year.

[Thesa]

TJ - I understood your point - I was just clairfying that you want to be sure you are getting a good job.

For example if this was my listing and at the listing appointment the seller said - hey my sister said she wanted to buy the house but I havent told her I was going to list it... I give them a 30 day exclusion on the listing - this gives the sister 30 days to write the offer - what is funny is generally I still make a commission if the sister buys -because all of my cards and the sellers were on the table we are all on the same page. The sellers in my past have had the exclusion purchase they have allowed me to complete the paperwork and I still make the commission.

[TJ2007]

EXACTLY

By doing what's best for your clients, they will appreciate & trust you more and give you more business:)