I agree with Sharon . . . the listing price doesn't sound right. A few months ago I had a client who completely renovated a house and told the agent what he wanted to list it for. She told him he'd never get that for it, but they could list it for that and "get aggressive and lower the price". Lowering the price isn't aggressive to me. . . and thankfully it wasn't to him either. They listed it on Sat., held an open house on Sunday with nothing more than directional signs. The first full price offer came in before the end of the open house, by Monday morning, after multiple offers, it was in contract for over listing price. I would suggest "interviewing" a couple Realtors, and like Sharon, sign any contract for the least amount of time. In the meantime . . . you are making amazing progress and I will be watching for the fireplace photos!

Thank you for all the info regarding prices. We live in Little Rock, AR and our subdivision has 2 sections. We live in the area that was built in the 70's and the other area was developed in the mid 90's. we have friends who recently put their place up for sale and they had the same issue so they took it off the market.

Part of the info below seems grim but part is good. First, some general info on the housing market in Litte Rock: http://realtytimes.com/rtmcrcond/Arkansas~North_Little_Rock~CWAK-869TLB

When it comes to buyers, it seems thatt qualifying for a loan is harder (as in so any places)

Here's a quote from the National Association of Realtors: .

" Although 2012 was highest on record, the excessively tight underwriting precluded many would-be homebuyers from locking-in generational low interest rates,Rising home prices and a gradual uptrend in mortgage interest rates will offset improvements in family income, but 2013 likely will be the third best on record in terms of household buying power. A window of opportunity remains open for buyers who can qualify for a mortgage."

Although we are not in Little Rock, home sales on our street used to be brisk but one lovely home has not sold for over a year. This is unusual.

I think buyers are still VERY motivated since homes are now very affordable but offers on homes on our street fell through at financing time. The right buyer will come along if your home shows well. Good luck!

So do you think we should start at the $149,000 and stay firm or do $159,000 so we can come down to 149,000? Thank you for helping

One of the things we can help you with, once you have completed de-cluttering, is changing out any dated fixtures, updating dated looks.....my house was built in '70s & we updated kitchen, bathrooms.....if budget is issue one of the things I do for clients is update their lighting. So many rooms can be upgraded quite nicely with WOW light fixtures.
Bathrooms often have what I call "hollywood lights" over the vanity. Hate those, they are dated & add nothing to a bathroom. They are gone from any house I re-style or stage.
Pix are of bathroom taken from '70s to current style with new lighting, new vanity, new wall colour.......

georgianne4 Review your data - what did you pay for house, what did you put into it, has your neighbourhood improved over the years, is your house close to schools, shopping, walking to parks, family size with large backyard. What are other houses in your area selling for?
When you ask realtors for suggested listing price, they provide "comparables" - houses similar to yours in your neighbourhood & other similar areas. Review carefully to see what they have that yours doesn't, or how your house is more current than the comps.
The 3 most important factors in selling house: price, location & appearance (curb appeal & interior). Location is fixed, appearance is not, price is based on what the market will bear.
Coming up with a listing price is not an exact science. If you list too high, you lose out on potential buyers; however if you list too low, message is house is a problem, maybe a tear down.
The work done preparing house for sale is crucial - buyers do not want to walk thru cluttered, messy houses - the more time you spend prepping your house, cleaning it, upgrading etc. the more likely it will attract attention from potential buyers.
You want your house to stand out from others in your area, and 'invite' buyers to come by & immediately see themselves living there.

Staging a house for sale is not unlike dressing for big date with someone special you want to go out with again.

We sold our home in December the second day after listing. Our realtor convinced us to list it for $7,000 less than I thought it would go for, having watched similar properties in our neighborhood that sold in under a month. In her opinion houses move slowly during holiday season. I received multiple offers and accepted one for $7,000 above asking price - the amount I originally thought was the best asking price. Realtors are helpful but you know your neighborhood best. Research what similar properties have sold for and how long they were on the market, etc. I did not put photos or other personal decor away but I had little clutter displayed to start with.The family said they liked knowing how I had used the space. Best wishes for a quick sale.

Little Rock was one of the worst hit areas in the country during the recession of 2009, so probably will take longer than most areas as far as the housing market recovery.

Playing Devil's Advocate here for the realtor: housing princing is driven by the market comparables, not by what people think their home is worth or what they paid for it in an inflated market. I just sold two houses last year and had to take a loss on both of them, even in the purchase contract. If you have not bought and sold houses as often as I have and you have a real emotional connection to a "place," the thought of taking a loss seems unacceptable.

The philosophy I have is this: if you HAVE to sell for whatever reason, you're lucky to be able to at least pay off your mortgage, cover your closing costs (comission) and come out with a little bit of cash, instead of having to bring money to the table to get out of it. The days of making a killling in real estate are over folks.

Yes, I know. We are just so torn. So, do we list it at $149,000 , which is what they say is the most we are going to get?

Try asking the realtor to go $150,000, that way you will get buyers who ask for $150,000 up, instead of people who ask for lower up to $150,000, creating the possibility you will get your price.

Did the realtor show you comps of recently sold homes? They need to back up what they recommend. We just sold a home in the Conway, AR area- we broke even. We had 6 offers- and they all fell through do to financing issues. You can ask your realtor to only show it to people that are pre- approved to save on the roller coaster ride. Good luck!

Yes, she did. We had a house up the street,a 2 story, sell for $137,000. I do like the idea of the $150,000 though. That'll something we hadn't even thought of.

check out www.zillow.com and see what comes up in your neighborhood too. It's not completely accurate but at least you can get an idea. Also www.realtor.com for comparison.

Georgianne - I have only seen the one room, but it suggested to me that if you showed baths and kitchens here w pictures, and asked for top 8 suggestions for not more than 5k, that with a little more paint and updating, you could make your house price 15k higher. I know you guys have already done a lot, I saw enough left untouched to make me think there was probably more. You didn't ask that, and maybe you can't get into the 137 to see how bad a shape it was in, but remember that a failing roof or other major issue found in inspection can skew the market if you don't have the info. Go be really polite, ask to see the house from your new neighbors and be gently nosy to see what you learn - i would not sign upmw any realtor who saw my house before it was closer to staged can n.

Google turned up 2 sites quick doors4home had the largest selection -these are std sizes for exterior wood doors see rustic #4 3 panel door. When using doors at this scale heavy is better imho

Here is the fireplace decluttered. I am working on remainder of the room and will post soon

There is 1 window to the left (picture 2) and the door on the other side (picture 3)

You've removed a lot. Try keeping just three things on the fireplace. No slogans. Do you have a pair of substantial dark or light candlesticks that will photograph well with the contrastng brick and a larger picture 2/3 the height of the space between ceiling and mantle?

Can you replace your curtain rod with a longer one to move the curtains completely off the window? The tiebacks are out of fashion at the moment.

Can I just take the ties off and open the window

What room is this? Can U post pic of what is in front of fireplace?

Here is the front of the fireplace

Yes, remove the sign and the basket hanging under it. Untie the curtains and try pushing them off the window. And clean, clean, clean, all soot off bricks and all windows sparkling clean.

I would also freshen up any dingy outlet covers with new ones. They only cost about $0.50 for clean white ones.

Hey, they clean up really nice with PineSol

Remove them all and soak for awhile.

Thanks so much. I really appreciate everyone's help. I have pulled back the curtains & removed sign & basket

I'll get plate covers tomorrow

You can purchase in bulk @ Home Depot. A simple thing like this can & does make a difference - all covers in same colour & style.

Thank you. I pretty much have brushed nickel plates throughout the house

Search "brick fireplace" in the photos on houzz to give yourself an idea of what to shoot for with your fireplace. It's the focal point of the room and you want to make is stand out

Has anyone me toned the pros of having similar door handles on all standard interior doors (unless the home is antique). I didn't consider this until I saw a home where it was done. What a difference! Looked more coherent.

It is not a top priority when staging a house for sale; however it does make an impression. Same goes for front door hardware, matching light fixtures & mailbox. It's these details that give the impression the house has been well maintained, an important impression to make.

Here's the ideal: three things on the mantle.

I think it would be a good idea to go online to view for yourself what is for sale and what the competition is. you will be able to see what their appearance is and price. If they have less updating and their price is lower, it might help you know how to set yours. I also prepared literature on the neighborhood myself as handouts when people were viewing. The neighborhood had a walking trail by a beautiful stream so I showed pics of it, area DRs, info about school system and any awards they had one.

Hi Georgianne - you have done a fine job! I wonder if it would help if you painted the inside of your door - maybe in a white color - so the doggie door isn't so stark...Also, your book case is nice looking, maybe paint that too?

That's a thought. We thought about painting the same color of our molding - SW French Roast

I think for the interior of a house, the painted brown surface is dark, and it makes the doggie door so obvious. I pulled the SW French Roast chip and there is a shade all the way to the left that is light - yet in the same family. I would recommend doing something lighter, especially with your current dark pieces (chair, cabinet, fireplace, tv, etc). Sometimes stagers will have you remove all indications of animals (cages, water bowls, bedding, etc.). In regards to the bookcase, I would remove the handles on the bookcase - just fill them with putty and leave the bookcase without the knobs.

Just curious how your sale is going.

Well, we hired a realtor in March. So far, there have been only 10 showings. There have been no offers. Within the last week we dropped the price by $6,000. This makes us to have a $9,000 loss on what we paid for it, besides our $15,000 of improvements. Any suggestions?
Here is a new picture of the LR

hire a stager - the cost of a stager would have been dramatically less than your reduction (s) and mortgage payments, it would help it sell much faster. You know the saying if you keep doing things the same you'll keep getting the same results? Make your results different =]

Welcome back. Have any other houses in your price range sold since you put yours on the market in March?

Do you live in an area where you could hire a stager?

THere was so much interest in your house last year that I think you'd benefit from starting a new thread if you want to ask for advice or comments.

Selling a home can be so frustrating- try brightening the room with some blue pillows and splashes of yellow. Since it is summer use colors from the season. Pull colors from the area rug. The room seems tired. When buyers walk in they need to picture themselves living there. Add some flowers to the coffee table. Your furniture placement seems off. I don't quite understand the angle of the sofa, it seems to block the doorway/room entry a bit. I would center the sofa in front of the TV and put the chair on the other side facing the fireplace. I know it hard to think of spending more money, but all the summer stuff should be on sale. Check out outdoor pillows. Hang in there- your house will sell you just need the right buyers.

Thank you. I will take your advice and post new pics Monday. We are thinking about renting the house until it sells with a property manager group. They have a 98% success rate. We have a list of questions but want to know what you think

Georgianne, don't rent your house and try to keep it on the market--you have no control of what it looks like for showing. Better to rent the house and put it back on the market when the lease is up.

We are going to keep it on the market. We ere recommended by a coworker to at least talk to the owner. We have a list of questions and an appointment Monday. Thank you I trust your help in this. You are great

I agree with Nancy- renters can trash a home very quickly. You could be looking at repairs to wood floors, drywall etc. Very costly fixes. If you do proceed with leasing it out, ask that you be allowed to go in every 60 days and do a check up on the home. That way you can be sure they are taking care of your investment.

Also agree with Nancy, don't rent unless you really have to for financial reasons. Have just spent last 3 weeks cleaning & repairing 2 town houses after tenants vacated. They are now on the market because we've had a gut full of tenants (Australian saying), who treat your property with no respect & insist they did a move out clean, so are owed a full bond return. One stopped paying rent from the date of his eviction letter & hadn't cleaned for the whole time of his tenancy. Owes 2 weeks rent but still insists full bond should be returned!
In my view a tenant in situ in a property for sale has little incentive to ensure the house is well presented & potentially won't want the inconvenience of finding another rental if yours sells.
One of our properties is "staged", the other is empty so it'll be interesting to see which attracts more interest, as otherwise they are very similar (in the same group).
Good luck with your property.

Thank you. We are really thinking our realtor is not doing his job. We have to stay with him until the end of August, but then we will be listing with another real estate company

New question.....we have been getting some comments that the exterior needs updating. The house has recently been painted a cabin brown, which is a lighter color than it was. The house was in mid 70's so any suggestions?