Dear Michael: My mom passed away a few years ago and we now have her house on the market. It’s never been updated but it’s in fairly good condition. It’s been on the market for 120 days at $775,000. My sister suggested we lower the price by $100,000. I can’t even imagine taking a $100,000 drop in price. The Realtor we are using hasn’t had any open houses or flyers made up. She said it’s because no one does open houses on vacant homes. I am not pleased with her work. We haven’t had a single offer on it. Thanks for any advice you can give us.
Answer: Having your mom’s home on the market for 120 days is way too long. There can be numerous reasons as to why your mom’s home is not selling but generally speaking the price is the key reason. If you feel that a $100,000 price drop is too much of a reduction, I recommend taking it a step at a time and reducing the price from $775,000 to $725,000. Observe activity. If it does not increase, you can always have an additional price reduction. I don’t believe in the notion of “no open house” on a vacant home. The fact that your home is vacant has nothing to do with open houses. The purpose of Sunday open house is to accommodate buyers who cannot take time away from their busy weekday schedule to visit homes for sale. Your Realtor should hold open house at least for two Sundays a month. I don’t know how long of a listing period you signed with your agent. Read you’re “Listing Agreement” and if you are not satisfied with your Realtor’s work ethics, hire someone else when your listing agreement expires. Sometimes a changing of the guards is all that is needed to get it done!
Dear Michael: I purchased a condo last month. As soon as I moved in I had to deal with loud neighbors who at times have domestic disputes. I have complained to the HOA but no-one has responded. I am not sure which steps? I need to take to resolved this. Any suggestion would be helpful.
Answer: This is an unfortunate situation for you. Regrettably this can be one of the draw-backs when buying a condo, especially when units are located close to each other. Most HOA’s will not get involved in civil disputes. If the seller was aware of the situation he/she should have disclosed this to you during the escrow period. If pursuing the seller for non-disclosure is one of the recourse you wish to take, then I suggest consulting with a real estate attorney. Your other options is to ask your neighbor to keep the noise down; if you do not wish to meet them face to face you can send them an anonymous letter stating that you are one of the neighbors and the constant noise is intolerable. If the situation cannot be remedy you can always file a police report. I understand that there is no easy way out of this situation but if you want to have a peaceful living environment you will have to fix this problem. Your other option is to put the property back on the market, but if you decide to do so, you will need to disclose this neighbor nuisance to the new buyer. The fact that this was not disclosed to you does not relieve you from your obligation as a seller to disclose matters affecting the property.
Michael Kayem is a Realtor with Re/max Estate Properties serving Culver City and the Westside since 2001. You can contact Michael with your questions at 310-390-3337 or e-mail them to him at: homes@agentmichael.com