FS: Townhouse. Priced far below assessment

[Kloubek]

So, the time has come when my girlfriend and I have decided to take the "next step" in our relationship. We're buying a house together. (Hold the applause.)

So just when I've finished dumping endless hours into renovating my townhouse, it's time to sell it.

First, I will say this is located in the dreaded NE. Fortunately, it's in one of the best areas - Abbeydale. Low crime (for the NE), and still only 15 minutes to downtown with traffic.

Completely renovated from top to bottom, the list is almost endless and makes this home better than new. Pride of ownership doesn't begin to describe my place. Recently painted throughout, in and out, with neutral colours. Brushed chrome fixtures everywhere.

Honey maple laminate in dining room and living room - which also boasts a slate gas fireplace and bay window with new brushed aluminum blinds.

Spectacular kitchen includes modern white cupboards, faux granite counters, newer stainless appliances, slate flooring, and a nook with a ceiling fan.

Two bedrooms upstairs - including a large master with 3pc ensuite, his/hers closests, two large windows and another fan. 2nd bedroom has a bay window which lets in lots of morning light. 4pc bathroom is also on top floor as well as a large storage closet.

Basement is finished, with ceramic tile in rear portion. This rear area has a furnace/laundry room which includes a heavy-duty washer and dryer, and a frosted glass door leads you to a uniquely modern 2pc third bathroom. The rest of the basement includes two pocket doors (one french) and a unique modern metal ceiling which is sure to be noticed. In the summer, you can escape to the basement with the included movie projector and screen.

Or perhaps you will prefer the Panasonic plasma that comes with the unit on the main floor. This home remains generally pleasant during the summer anyway and costs very little to heat during the winter, as it is in the middle of a 3-unit block. Any floor you're on - its usable space. 1500 sq feet of it.

There is a deck at the rear (looking into complex green space) and two parking stalls directly outside front porch. (One assigned, and one rented for $20/month) Extra parking always available street.

Link to images (http://kloubek.synthasite.com/)

If anyone wants to downgrade from a house with garage in Coventry, Country, Panorama, Hidden Valley, Harvest, etc, I'm open to trades in the $375,000- range.

For my home, I'm asking $264,900. The last unit that sold a month ago was $250,000, but didn't have a finished basement, and was extremely basic so I have been told this is a pretty decent deal. Still, I'm not firm on the price.

So buy my place, and help me begin my new life with my woman!

http://kloubek.synthasite.com/resources/DSCF0421.JPG

[Kloubek]

Mid-week bump. Help me and my girl get a house guys!

Tell you all what. If the free plasma and projector/screen isn't enough incentive - I'll even throw in a $1000 bonus towards flooring in the main area of the basement. (There is carpet, but it's the original from upstairs that was in the picture above, before I put in the laminate.)

[Boosted Gtir]

pm'd

[Kloubek]

Pm replied.

Post-weekend bump.

I have a real estate agent looking at the place tomorrow, to possibly put it on MLS. Unfortunately, if I do, the price may have to go up to compensate for the commission. So if you guys want this place for the current sweet asking price, please act asap!

[barmanjay]

Good luck with the sale

It would be better off on the MLS - more exposure.

You can get a clause put in SRR - Sellers rights reserved.

meaning if YOU find a buyer, you don't have to pay full commissions.

Keep in mind too,.. a market analysis of properties that sold will have included the commissions in the selling price.


Interview realtors till you are comfortable with the right one.

Don't go for the one that will give you an unrealistic market value of your home. Your home will end up stale on the marketplace.


If you have any questions, you can call me anytime or any of the other realtors on here

Jay
889-4747

[Kloubek]

Weekend bump. PRICE REDUCED AGAIN!!!

Now 262,900!

[Kloubek]

Post-Thanksgiving bump.

NOW PRICED AT $258,900! (Almost 30k below assessment!!!!)

Now entering the realm of a good investment property... geesh... :)

[Kloubek]

Weekend bump! Don't think I can go much lower. :dunno:

[Kloubek]

TTT

[Kloubek]

FINAL PRICE REDUCTION.

I just spoke to a real estate agent (yes, I let one in my house - she's a friend of the family) and was suggested I'm asking slightly too much for the current market. That's fair.

Forget the glitz of the plasma and projector apparently. ok. Done.

New, NO-DICKER price: $249,900. It's a smokin deal gentlemen. If I get no interest, it's off to MLS in 3 weeks for more money.

[Kloubek]

TTT. Price *slightly* dickerable, but cannot go any lower for an asking price.

[Kloubek]

Ok guys... signing with real estate agent on tomorrow. Last chance to get this home at below market value. $245,000 firm. If someone has the cash, this would be a wicked investment property. Or, hold it until the market goes back up. Either way, this is a fantastic opportunity for someone.

This is no ordinary townhouse. It's been updated top to bottom with quality materials like stainless appliances, and real slate floors.

Sellers rights reserved (or whatever it's called) will be in effect as of tomorrow evening.

[Kloubek]

Well, home is now on MLS. (C3357482)

I still have sellers rights in my contract, so feel free to contact me to save over the MLS price.

[shay]

2 parking spaces is one of theses covered or a garage?

[Kloubek]

Sorry Shay - didn't see your post until now.

No, they are not covered.

Price reduced again - just to keep in line with the market drop. $238,900!!!!!

[Addy]

Original Post Removed. (Please read the Forum Rules and Terms of Use (http://forums.beyond.ca/articles.php?action=data&item=1) before posting again, or risk getting banned).

[eikna]

do you have condo fees?

[Graham_A_M]

I'll email this to my brother, I'm sure this is right up his alley.
:thumbsup:

[cmyden]

Just an FYI, my girlfriend and I both managed to sell our townhouses in December, only after researching every inner city townhouse for sale in town, and trying to be the 'best deal in town'. The very few people out there that are buying, are looking for amazing bargains.

After running a lot of reports on townhouses that actually managed to sell post-recession news (ie October/November) we decided to price around the 80% of assessed value mark.

I think hers might have been closer to 83% of asssessed, and mine was around 80%.

Anyways, that's just what worked for us, your mileage may vary.

[Kloubek]

I really ought to check this thread more often. Yes, there are condo fees - it's a townhouse! $209/mnth I believe.

Thanks for the tip cmyden. Actually, this is priced ridiculously below assessment. The last assessment was somewhere around 285,000. That puts me right in the 83% mark, which is what your girlfriend sold for. :) BTW: You should update your ad on here... it still shows as for sale!

Thanks Graham. I didn't hear from him though, so I guess there was no interest. :(

[Kloubek]

Yet ANOTHER price drop by 5g! This is getting retarded. Do people want my first born too?!?!!

$233,900.

[PRFCTION]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Yet ANOTHER price drop by 5g! This is getting retarded. Do people want my first born too?!?!!

$233,900.

yes we do? price includes right?

free bumpity for an AFFORDABLE peice of equity =D

maybe obama will bail you out?
. . . then again i'm still waiting for my bailout before the gf leaves me forever :( I BLAME THE ECONOMY.

[ee2k]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Yet ANOTHER price drop by 5g! This is getting retarded. Do people want my first born too?!?!!

$233,900.

Are you aware that MLS/Realtor.ca is still showing @249900 for your townhouse? MLS C3357482?

Perhaps it is not coming up on people's radar, and we know most limit search on price.

http://www.realtor.ca/PropertyDetails.aspx?PropertyID=7768171

[Kloubek]

Yup ee2k - I'm aware. I instructed my realtor to lower the price by a full 10g last night. It will drop on MLS to 239,900 in the next couple of days. Still, I have the rights to sell it myself - hence the even lower price if you go through me directly. :)

I am not sure why it isn't selling to be honest. I have barely got any showings at all actually. The reasons my realtor and I believe it is worth more than others in the area is because a) It has a basement (finished, no less), and b) It has a lot of high-quality upgrades people can't see until they view the place. It seems in this market, people are looking for the absolute lowest price of the type of place they are looking for. Mine is most certainly not the lowest price around. But I don't think I'll let it go much lower, since I DO believe it's one of the best *deals* around, when you consider what it offers.

At this point, I'm considering taking it off the market when my contract runs out, and just letting it's value go up in the coming months....

[cmyden]

It's a tough pill to swallow, but you're making the right move lowering your price, if you're serious about selling.

The market is not just slow right now, it's *literally* at a screeching halt.

As of today, there have been 46 condo sales in Calgary since January 1st.

Yes, 46.

46 divided by 12 = an average of 3.8 condo sales per day

3.8 condo sales per day x 30 days = 115 condo sales for the month of January.

Now, we can also factor in the 'pending sales' (conditionally sold) of which there are 72 at this point.

115 + 72 = 187 estimated condos will be sold by the end of January '09 (at this pace).

In January '08 there were 454 condos sold by month's end.

Now, it will likely be higher than 187 for January '08 (more pending sales), but still, we are currently a good 50% off the mark compared to last January.

Add in 'global recession', 'rising unemployment in Alberta', and '$30 oil' headlines, and, well, we live in interesting times.

I think to sell right now, you don't need to be one of the best deals around, you need to be *THE* best deal around.

cM

[Power_Of_Rotary]

its expected to be hard to sell proper right now, and im assuming it will be tougher as summer approaches.

Good luck with the sale

[Kloubek]

Still for sale guys. Open house this Sunday - 2:00-4:00.

51 Abbeydale Villas NE.

[Kloubek]

TTT!!

[Kloubek]

Another open house - today from 2-4.

$234,900 on MLS.

I'll sell it for ****$229,900**** if you want to work with me directly instead!!

This is a freakin' steal guys!

[Kloubek]

Price drop to $224,900? What's this gonna take to move?!?!:dunno:

[cmyden]

This market is ridiculous. There have been 276 condos sold in Calgary month to date, which puts it on pace for 322 condos sold by the end of the month (11.5 condos selling per day).

It looks like the month will end with about 2100 condo listings or so.

So every day, as buyers look at those 2100 condo listings, there are 11 or 12 of them that will sell. In other words, a 0.5% chance that it will be yours.

So realistically, to sell, you probably need to be not just the best priced 2 bedroom townhouse in Abbeydale, but in all of the NE.

Take heart though, if you and your girlfriend are buying a place together that costs more than what you're selling, it's probably coming down even faster in price.

We've been tracking properties for the last few months, and our favorite property, and one that we *already* thought was by far the best priced in a 1km radius, just dropped by $80k today.

[Kloubek]

Virtual tour here:

Link (http://virtualtours2go.point2homes.biz/Listing/VirtualTour.ashx?HideBranding=true&ListingID=2252825)

(Thanks Jordan!)

Pics in first post are also updated.

Oh, and this is no longer listed on MLS. I might consider hiring another agent in a month or two, but right now the market is so weak that I can't afford to pay someone 8-10g on top of the already low price!

[phoomp]

Keep in mind that December and January are usually the worst months to be selling property. Throw in the current state of the economy and it gets worse.

Also, having lived with my father as a real-estate agent for 20 years, I can tell you that a finished basement doesn't usually add anything to what people will be willing to pay for your property; it might help a buyer choose your's over something similarly priced, but they won't generally pay extra. That goes the same for almost any "add-ons"; they help complete the sale but they don't usually increase the value. The only way you can usually pull that off is to buy a complete dump and fix it up.

(by the way, your MLS didn't seem to be showing up when I looked for it)

[kamakurakid]

Any update to this sale?

[Kloubek]

Not sold yet. A fair amount of interest lately, but no buyers... :(

We have entered an agreement to build a house - IF they give me fair market value for the condo. We'll see....


Sweeet - thanks Jordan!!!

[JordanLotoski]

Lady called me today, I refered her to El-nino (mortgage broker) to see if she can qualify.

Great Townhouse, Great price.:thumbsup:

[Kloubek]

$219,000 firm. Final drop.

I already had an offer from a homebuilder to purchase it at 220,000, but they want to take off at least 10 grand in fees they failed to mention when we first signed the contract to build a home through them. (Trico, for the record)

I'm not sure if I'm willing to pay these fees, out of spite if nothing else. So I'd much rather see a fellow Beyonder get in on this deal instead...

Come on... SOMEONE must want an investment property, or an inexpensive completely updated 1st home...

No luck with that woman eh Jordan?

[Kloubek]

Thought I had a buyer. Fell through. Still might have another - but we'll see...

Still available. 219,000 - good deal boyz.

Might just rent it out myself.... any takers on that front?

[kamakurakid]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Thought I had a buyer. Fell through. Still might have another - but we'll see...

Still available. 219,000 - good deal boyz.

Might just rent it out myself.... any takers on that front?

Becoming a landlord? Take a long think about it, there are so many reasons to not be one.

It appears you need to sit tight, wait for the market to improve and look to sell when all the stars are in order. It appears you are willing to take a bath on this place, not cool as this is your money and you ought to keep it.

I have looked over all your photos, the place looks fine really. Now that it is getting warmer maybe some potted flowers in front might soften things a bit. The projector room looks really good, I know it is a great feature and you might want to think about leaving it all in the house if it is sold. I would leave a movie playing while the potential buyer is touring the house. Volume on low, a friendly movie playing, say Toy Story or something like that.

You need to do something different to get a buyer interested, start reading a few books on how to make a house more buyer friendly. You cannot afford to have any potential buyers put off by any aspect of the house.

I wish there was more could add, good luck.

[ee2k]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Thought I had a buyer. Fell through. Still might have another - but we'll see...

Still available. 219,000 - good deal boyz.

Might just rent it out myself.... any takers on that front?

Kloubek,
Are you going at it alone or do you have a realtor working for you? If the former, I wonder if it is worth giving the realtor route another chance. Are people still coming to view your place? Are homes in your neighborhood selling, and if so, how do they compare to yours?

[300rwhp]

I would be interested in renting it just for say 6 months or so so you can wait to grab some upside. Of course the rental price would have to be fair. PM if you are interested.

[Kloubek]

Sale pending!

[barmanjay]

:thumbsup:

[Jim Rome99]

150k. Final final final offer.

[CMW403]

ahaha i love how even the seller refers to it as "the dreaded NE"