Patience when selling a difficult property

If you’re like me, when you finally decide to put your home on the market to sell for whatever reason, you don’t imagine it will take long to sell.  I didn’t really have a choice, as divorce sometimes makes those decisions for you. So I rolled up my sleeves and set to work. I did everything right to prepare my home to sell.  I work for JLRE so I should know.  New paint, new carpet, flowers in the yard and colorful pots of flowers and a small fountain on the patio, and most importantly no clutter and clean at all times.  No easy feat, even when I did live alone with only 2 little dogs.  The things I couldn’t change were the things that made my property a challenge to sell.

First, it was a manufactured home. Even though it was a NICE home with 2×6 construction and sheetrock walls on a permanent foundation with great views of the rolling Cowley County countryside, it was a manufactured home. Secondly, it was over 30 minutes from Wichita with a mile and a half drive on an unpaved road. It was only 4 miles from Winfield Lake, which can be a plus, but to a very small group of home buyers.

It took almost a year and a half to close on my home.  To say that it was an emotional roller coaster ride would be an understatement.  The first week it was on the market, I got a “lowball” offer. I had to reject it, because it wasn’t enough to pay off the mortgages, much less, pay closing costs and commissions. 

I had several offers over the listing period, and came close to having a deal, but sometimes Buyer’s think they hold all the cards and try to take advantage of the Seller.  That’s what a good agent is for, to help you with those type of Buyers.  Eventually a couple that really loved my home, made an offer. With a lot of help from Mark we got the deal negotiated so that both parties were happy. Getting it to the closing table was another nightmare all by its self. Not because of me or the Buyer’s, but because of the lenders. My Buyer’s had good credit, but it takes agents and lenders who know how to handle financing for a rural property and a mobile home.  Not everyone does.  The Buyer’s agent and lender did not.  After the Buyer’s decided to drop that lender and move to another, my agent took the reigns to make sure that every inspection was done so that when it went to the underwriter’s it would be good to go.  And it was! It had come out of the underwriters on Friday and was set to close the next week.  Monday rolls around and wouldn’t you know, the underwriter was raided by the FBI and by Wednesday was out of business.  So the second lender handed over the loan process to a local bank and within 2 weeks we did close. Finally! And both sides left happy.

I have to commend my agent, Mark Wedman, for his enduring patience with me as I went through the painful process of divorce and selling the home I had thought I would one day retire to.  We work together on a daily basis and the prolonged process of selling my home could have put a strain on our work, but fortunately it did not, and most of the credit goes to him on that part. Hopefully, this doesn’t happen to you, but keep in mind, you chose your realtor for a reason.  If you chose the right company, then you will know that they are doing everything they can to make the sale of your home happen.

 Dana

Buying a Country Home

We here at JLRE list a gazillion country residential properties.  We are very familiar with the things that go along with a home in the country.  Water well, septic/lagoon, shelter belts, trees, flood plains, dirt/gravel roads, cricks, (I have been informed they are officially called creeks) ponds, propane, outbuildings, fences, minimum acreages, county requirements, and the list goes on!  For those of us who have grown up with these things, we take them for granted.  Others, I have discovered, don’t have a clue. 

 

Unfortunately, some realtors don’t have a clue either.  There are some very good realtors who DO know and understand country property, but it is amazing to me, at the number that DON’T!!

 

Quite often, we experience a Buyer’s agent writing a contract on a country property, then calling and asking “what a lagoon is?”  Can you imagine?  It happens more than you think.  We encourage Buyer representation, but does this sound like sound representation to you? 

 

If you are looking for a home in the country, why wouldn’t it be logical to use a JLRE agent who knows and understands this kind of property?  We can not only assist you in searching, but help you understand, point out possible hazards, pitfalls, and normal “common sense” things that come with a country property.  And, we know lenders who don’t have a problem with more than 7 acres!!! 

 

Don’t be afraid to ask an agent straight out if they are comfortable and/or what their knowledge of country property is.  If you aren’t comfortable with their answer, are you going to be comfortable in your decision making process come purchase time?

 

Why not let a country professional help you with your country property?  Give us a call.

 

Don Burford