Tim and Susan Fennell

So, you're a homeowner that wants to sell. You've had your house listed forever... okay, it just feels like forever but it has been listed for a long time. And now you feel like you're trapped inside a box.

You haven't gotten any offers or maybe you got an offer or two but they were lowball offers from investors who just wanted to flip it fast for a small profit (nothing wrong with that but if they can buy low and sell a little higher then why shouldn't you just drop your price to the point that they will sell it at later and be done with it? You pocket the difference between the investors price and the selling price. But that's a topic for another time and another post.) Perhaps you haven't had many showings... maybe not even any showings.

So, do you HAVE to lower your price to get it sold? The short, easy answer is "Probably" but let's look at a couple of other things before going that route.

I need for you to answer a few questions (in no particular order of importance) and, before we go any further, let me say this: if you don't know the answers to the following questions then your first step is to get those answers.

1. When was the last CMA (Competitive Market Analysis) completed?
2. Where is your listing being advertised?
3. How effective are those ads? (How many potential buyers are viewing the ads each week?)
4. What innovative/interactive tools are being used to gain exposure for your listing?
5. How many comparable listings have sold during the time you've had your listing and why did buyers choose them over yours?
6. Are you absolutely certain that you want to sell your house? (If not, then forget it... you probably won't sell it.)
7. If you have had showings - How many? When? What feedback did you get from the agent who showed? When was the last showing?
8. What recommendations have you gotten from you agent and have you followed those recommendations 100%?
9. How will your life be affected if you don't sell the house?
10. Are you ready to do what it takes to get it sold?

Once we have the answers to these questions, we will KNOW with certainty whether you need to reduce the price or not. As I said in the beginning, you probably do need to reduce it but maybe not... or maybe not as much as you might fear. If you have to lower it, then you have to lower it. The market may not be pretty or what you want but it is what it is.

We would be happy to meet with you and discuss the answers to these and any other questions you might have and give you our professional opinion based on hard data.

We are employing new and innovative methods to market our listings. The market has changed and we (real estate agents) must change our methods to meet the new demands of the market and today's buyers. Traditional methods and marketing are simply not as effective today as they were just a few short years ago.

Visit our JaxPowerListings website for an introduction to some of our innovative marketing methods and if you like what you see, give us a call. We'd be happy to meet with you for a free, no-obligation consult. Before you give up and throw in the towel, give us a call at 904-568-4528.

We're adding to and changing our methods and tools as the market changes and we believe that change is good!

It was just announced today that Saft America, a manufactorer of high-tech batteries wants to build a $200,000,000 factory at the Cecil Commerce Center. They are looking for half the cost of the factory to come from the U.S. Dept. of Energy.

If plans come to fruition, they will be adding about 800 new jobs to the Jacksonville economy over the next three years in addition to the jobs that will be created for the construction of the plant.

We understand that Saft is also looking to local and state authorities for other incentives. I suppose that could be a stumbling block but let's hope that the project will come together to help pull us out of our current housing decline.

A few days ago we told you that interest rates had inched down a little... not their lowest ever point but pretty darned close to it.

We also cautioned that this could be short-lived and anyone on the fence about buying would be well-served by going ahead and making the move.

The time you have to "pull the trigger" may be shorter than we expected - or, at least, hoped for. There are serious signs that interest rates could spike - and spike hard and fast!

There are also signs that prices in the real estate market have bottomed out. We are now at about 2002 levels and holding. We told you about some markets that were hardest hit by the real estate bubble burst, such as Phoenix where the tide is turning hard and fast. They are actually seeing bidding wars again as prices inch upward.

Once that trend begins, many buyers will get off the fence and start buying. That will trigger an increase in prices. So... if you are on the fence and want to take advantage of both low interest rates and low home prices, your window of opportunity is now. The opening in that window is beginning to narrow and could shut at a moments notice.

Bottom line? If you choose to wait (snooze), you will lose this opportunity and may never get it back in your lifetime. In 5-10 years, don't be one of those people saying "If I had only purchased my home in the summer of 2009 I'd be sitting pretty today!"

Do you want to sell your house or not?

Look, this really isn't a trick question. The answer is either Yes or No and your answer is going to make all the difference in the world! It's a sincere question and it needs to be answered HONESTLY right from the start. If you aren't really sure then don't waste your time, energy and money putting it on the market.

And don't worry about wasting our time, energy or money because if you aren't absolutely certain that you want to sell, we won't take your listing. We aren't in business to list houses. We are in business to sell houses!

The simple reality is that there are hundreds upon hundreds of homes for sale in the Greater Jacksonville Florida area and if you don't really want to sell your house, it isn't going to sell. <<<----- (Note the PERIOD at the end of that sentence. Not a question mark... a PERIOD.)

Am I being too direct with you? Well, I'm not sorry. I'm not sorry because it is far better that I be 100% honest and up front with you now than to tip-toe around, waste your time, energy and money as well as ours, only to disappoint you later.

If you are looking for a real estate agent who will simply say nice things that make you feel all warm and cuddly inside rather than get down-and-dirty and do the hard work it takes to get your house sold then you may as well stop reading now and call someone else. As I said, we are in business to sell houses, not just list them.

Our goal is to do what it takes to get your house SOLD! We cannot reach our goal if you're not 100% certain that you want to sell it.

If your answer to the question, DO YOU WANT TO SELL YOUR HOUSE OR NOT is any of the following then DON'T BOTHER!

1. No.
2. I'm not sure.
3. It doesn't matter.
4. If we can get as much money for it as we want then we will sell but if not, we'll just stay here.

The only real chance you have of selling your house in this VERY STRONG BUYER'S MARKET is if you answer with a resounding "YES, I WANT TO SELL MY HOUSE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!"

Okay, if you are still reading then I'm going to move forward on the assumption that your answer is YES.

Now we can get down to business.

There are a number of things that MUST be done in order to sell a home in this market. We will take care of the vast majority of those things but there are a few things we can't do for you that you will have to do for yourself.

These are not suggestions... these are MUST DO items. But, of course, only if you are sure that you want to sell your house.

If you aren't sure that you want to sell then please refer back to paragraphs 2 and 3.

Here's what you MUST DO to get started.

1. STOP thinking of and/or referring to this HOUSE as your home. You are not selling your home. Let me repeat that -- YOU ARE NOT SELLING YOUR HOME! You are selling A HOUSE... you will take your home with you when you move. (And please don't be confused by our marketing that will refer to YOUR HOUSE as a HOME... you see, we want the buyer to view your house as THEIR HOME.) If you simply cannot do this or refuse to do this then please refer back to paragraphs 2 and 3 again.
2. STOP listening to your neighbor, mother, father-in-law, friend at work, great aunt Alice who has a real estate license in Podunk, etc. They don't know diddly squat about selling your house and whatever they did to sell theirs and/or how much they got for theirs doesn't mean a thing. The Jacksonville Florida real estate market changes almost daily. Whatever happened yesterday is YESTERDAY'S NEWS. Believe it, accept it and DEAL WITH IT... it's the truth.
3. STOP thinking that your house is nicer than any other house on the market. It might be BUT it probably is not. (Sorry about that... I hate to burst your bubble but if you had seen as many houses as we have over the past few decades, you'd know it's the truth.) Sure, it was the nicest one you could afford when you bought it and you've done a great job of making it just perfect for you and your family..... NEWS FLASH! YOU AREN'T BUYING YOUR HOUSE... SOMEONE ELSE IS AND WHAT THEY WANT AND LIKE IS PROBABLY A LOT DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU WANT AND LIKE.

Okay, there are several other MUST DO items but we aren't going to give away all of our secrets here and now. We've been doing this for a long time and we study the market and marketing techniques and trends daily... we aren't going to give you everything without a commitment from you to work with us.

And we sure aren't going to tell our competitors everything that we do for you, although the fact is that the vast majority of them don't have the technical and internet skills and tools to implement the same things anyway and most probably aren't will to do the necessary work either... but there's no point in taking a chance.

What is your next step?

Call us to set up a free, no-obligation consultation. We will go over all the details of our marketing strategy and answer any questions you might have at that time.

If you decide that we are the kind of agents you want working for you then we'll get started. If not, that's okay too. We know that our style isn't for everyone. Some people prefer to hire a friend rather than a professional... we understand that.

However, if you want professionals who are also friendly and like to have fun while they work then we just might be the agents you've been looking for....

You'll never know unless you call.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Tim and Susan Fennell
Associate Brokers / Property Managers
904-568-4528

Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.
Office 904-288-9293

For just a little taste and teasor of what we have to offer visit our website at JaxPowerListings.com.

Rates on 30-year mortgages inched downward again this week, remaining below 5 percent for the tenth-consecutive week and just above record lows.

Freddie Mac said Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dipped slightly to 4.82 percent this week, down from an average of 4.86 percent last week.

The question fence-sitting buyers must ask themselves is "How long will they stay down and should I act now?" We recently wrote about the 'gamble' one makes by waiting and waiting to buy. With prices super low on houses coupled with low interest rates I don't know if it will or even CAN get any better.

Anyone even "thinking" about buying before the end of November in order to take advantage of the up to $8000 Tax Stimulus really should start looking NOW. With more and more buyers coming back into the market and moving into a healthy summer real estate season, prices and rates could well start to climb again by mid-summer.

Let us help by answering any/all of your questions and more. Go to our website for more info and to search the MLS for available listings. www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com