Coping With Seller's Limbo
[PORTLAND, OR]
By Doug Kearns
When Pope Benedict eliminated Limbo recently, he apparently wasn't trying to sell a condo because legions of American condo sellers are finding themselves singing the Seller's Limbo Blues.
You've done all the things the savvy seller has been instructed to do. The past six months have been taken up with a whirlwind of painting, change-outs, home equity line balancing acts, and countless trips to Home Depot. You've fixed that toilet handle for the third time and pared your furniture down to staging level until you feel like you're living in an Ikea showroom.
But now it's done and the fevered activity has ground to a halt and you are left waiting…and waiting. The lack of control over the process by this point is worse than that backbreaking repair you did on the living room ceiling when the tub overflowed. This author feels your pain since he finds himself in the same boat.
Limbo begins on a high note with picking an agent. The one you've picked is terrific on paper, presents a polished delivery and even drives a black BMW 4x4. But doubts inevitably gather like storm clouds when the listing doesn't make the Sunday pull-out or perhaps the address was all wrong. Maybe the house looks awful on-line. The most common irritation (and I suspect this is becoming common practice) is the abrupt cancellation of an open house and always just after you've washed, waxed and vacuumed your house for the 47th time. Along about this time you're thumbing through the Yellow Pages looking for a new realtor.
Remember, you have retained an agent for their bargaining ability. A certain amount of forgiveness and latitude is well-advised in your relationship because when you live in the state of Seller's Limbo, the slightest insecurity has a way of exaggerating itself tenfold. The best remedy is confronting your agent. A seasoned agent has heard it all and your whining will roll off his back. It at least adds to the illusion that something is happening so let er rip!
Your stern heart-to-heart insures a few consecutive weekends of open houses and your calls will be returned promptly, for a while at least. Be noisy enough and you may even get balloons.
It's important to keep in mind your realtor is being kept very busy lately making sense of this highly unusual market. Discuss splitting the commission and have your own open house. Post it on Craig's List with an attractive picture and description. Think of your description as a woman's dress, short enough to be interesting but covering the important parts.
When it comes to fighting Seller's Limbo, get out of the house and do something different. Don't take your realtor's card to a shooting range and pin it on a target, don't spray paint their cell phone number on the side of public buildings. We need to generate positive energy during these trying times. Start by listing your condominium with CondoCompany.com, bake cookies for the open house, put some of that sweet smelling oil on your light bulbs then plant a St. Joseph statue upside down in the back yard. After you've completed all the above steps forget about it because there ain't no cure for the Seller's Limbo Blues.
Portland Condos
By Doug Kearns
When Pope Benedict eliminated Limbo recently, he apparently wasn't trying to sell a condo because legions of American condo sellers are finding themselves singing the Seller's Limbo Blues.
You've done all the things the savvy seller has been instructed to do. The past six months have been taken up with a whirlwind of painting, change-outs, home equity line balancing acts, and countless trips to Home Depot. You've fixed that toilet handle for the third time and pared your furniture down to staging level until you feel like you're living in an Ikea showroom.
But now it's done and the fevered activity has ground to a halt and you are left waiting…and waiting. The lack of control over the process by this point is worse than that backbreaking repair you did on the living room ceiling when the tub overflowed. This author feels your pain since he finds himself in the same boat.
Limbo begins on a high note with picking an agent. The one you've picked is terrific on paper, presents a polished delivery and even drives a black BMW 4x4. But doubts inevitably gather like storm clouds when the listing doesn't make the Sunday pull-out or perhaps the address was all wrong. Maybe the house looks awful on-line. The most common irritation (and I suspect this is becoming common practice) is the abrupt cancellation of an open house and always just after you've washed, waxed and vacuumed your house for the 47th time. Along about this time you're thumbing through the Yellow Pages looking for a new realtor.
Remember, you have retained an agent for their bargaining ability. A certain amount of forgiveness and latitude is well-advised in your relationship because when you live in the state of Seller's Limbo, the slightest insecurity has a way of exaggerating itself tenfold. The best remedy is confronting your agent. A seasoned agent has heard it all and your whining will roll off his back. It at least adds to the illusion that something is happening so let er rip!
Your stern heart-to-heart insures a few consecutive weekends of open houses and your calls will be returned promptly, for a while at least. Be noisy enough and you may even get balloons.
It's important to keep in mind your realtor is being kept very busy lately making sense of this highly unusual market. Discuss splitting the commission and have your own open house. Post it on Craig's List with an attractive picture and description. Think of your description as a woman's dress, short enough to be interesting but covering the important parts.
When it comes to fighting Seller's Limbo, get out of the house and do something different. Don't take your realtor's card to a shooting range and pin it on a target, don't spray paint their cell phone number on the side of public buildings. We need to generate positive energy during these trying times. Start by listing your condominium with CondoCompany.com, bake cookies for the open house, put some of that sweet smelling oil on your light bulbs then plant a St. Joseph statue upside down in the back yard. After you've completed all the above steps forget about it because there ain't no cure for the Seller's Limbo Blues.
Portland Condos
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