Problems selling my home

[Asella]

My husband and I just bought a beautiful new home and are looking forward to moving there soon. We put our house on the market and it was bought within the first week it went on the market. We could not believe our good fortune. People continued to call wanting to see the house, but once the realtor told them that our house was under contract, they cancelled the showings. The sold sign went up and all the contracts were signed. Then just last week the woman who bought our house backed out because it turns out she is in the middle of some messy divorce battle and the husband could possibly claim rights to the house since she bought it before the divorce was final. Anyways, we are upset about the latest turn of events. The realtor told us she would try to get more people to look at the house, but we have had no requests for showings. It seems people have lost interest. We are selling for a fair price, and the house has had many updates and is very clean. We live in a nice, safe neighborhood in a nice town. I just can’t understand why when it first went on the market we got so many requests for showings, and now no one is interested. I’m afraid that if we don’t sell by the time we close on the new house, we won’t have a down payment from the sale of our old house and our mortgage payments will be huge. The part that makes me the most upset is that the person who tried to buy our house wasted our valuable time–we could have had so many people looking at the house but since she had a contract on it, people passed it up. Anyways, I sprinkled some holy water around the house and said some prayers, but so far no calls have come in. Does anyone have any advice for me??

 

[Nonie]

Asella:

My husband and I just bought a beautiful new home and are looking forward to moving there soon. We put our house on the market and it was bought within the first week it went on the market. We could not believe our good fortune. People continued to call wanting to see the house, but once the realtor told them that our house was under contract, they cancelled the showings. The sold sign went up and all the contracts were signed. Then just last week the woman who bought our house backed out because it turns out she is in the middle of some messy divorce battle and the husband could possibly claim rights to the house since she bought it before the divorce was final. Anyways, we are upset about the latest turn of events. The realtor told us she would try to get more people to look at the house, but we have had no requests for showings. It seems people have lost interest. We are selling for a fair price, and the house has had many updates and is very clean. We live in a nice, safe neighborhood in a nice town. I just can’t understand why when it first went on the market we got so many requests for showings, and now no one is interested. I’m afraid that if we don’t sell by the time we close on the new house, we won’t have a down payment from the sale of our old house and our mortgage payments will be huge. The part that makes me the most upset is that the person who tried to buy our house wasted our valuable time–we could have had so many people looking at the house but since she had a contract on it, people passed it up. Anyways, I sprinkled some holy water around the house and said some prayers, but so far no calls have come in. Does anyone have any advice for me??

Hello,
I am new here so forgive me if I make any mistakes replying to your post.

We are in the same situation and it is very upsetting. We had the sale of our house all wrapped up too and 12 days before closing the family backed out. :banghead: We had basically had the house off the market for a month and a half. We have friends that told us to pray to St.Joseph for the sale of our house. Also, there is a custom of burying a small Blessed statue of St.Joseph on the property. Don’t know if this is something you would want to try but I suppose it couldn’t hurt. Good luck,
Nonie
P.S. After you sell your house be sure to dig up the statue and display it in a place of honor. This is what we were told to do.

 

[Asella]

Nonie, Thank you, I will surely pray to St. Joseph. I’m sorry you are having house troubles also. I will keep you in my prayers also.

 

[KCT]

What we read in House Selling for Dummies is that the market slows down near the holidays and doesn’t pick up until Spring.

It’s a shame your realtor stopped showings when you had a contract. We sold our house in mid October (contract came in August) and the realtor NEVER put up a sold sign. I guess so people would keep calling and perhaps be willing to see her other properties! —KCT

 

[Cupofkindness]

Your realtor needs to market the house aggressively once again. She made a big mistake in halting her marketing efforts, since contracts frequently fall through at the most inconvenient time! Like when you’re under financial stress and emotional upheaval. Is she so inexperienced that she didn’t get back up contracts?

You need to have a serious talk with your realtor. Have your realtor give you a new marketing plan showing how she plans to promote your house once again, and how she will quality buyers, get back up contracts, etc. Also, she should have a list of the people who viewed your home and can call those individuals on the phone and tell them that the house is back on the market. At the least, she should contact the realtors representing those people. You should expect her to do these things for you, she works for you, she needs to earn her commision.

We bought our house in November, moved in the week before Thanksgiving, and sold our old house in December. So although the market slows down, people are still buying and selling houses.

Also, do you have earnest money from this buyer? That money is yours to keep since she didn’t keep her end of the deal.

 

[Kielbasi]

Also, there is a custom of burying a small Blessed statue of St.Joseph on the property. Don’t know if this is something you would want to try but I suppose it couldn’t hurt.

The statues of St. Joseph along with the instructions are available a lot of places, including the Mike Feinberg Company in Pittsburgh. The price for the statue as well as the instructions is pretty modest.

mikefeinbergcompany.com/hj-kit.html

 

[Courtneyjo]

As someone said, your realtor shouldn’t have stopped showng the house. Also, the realtor should have had a clause where the buyer forfeited the earnest money to you if she pulled out.

I hope you have only a ninety day contract with your realtor. Let her know that she dropped the ball, and that now your house looks tainted, as if it had failed inspection. Make sure she puts in the online listing that the sale failed due to problems with the offer/buyer. She can put in extra information that only other realtors see. She should have an open house for only realtors to whip up excitement, so they can bring their buyers. Realtors says that open houses for the public rarely result in a sale, but there is nothing to lose. Let her know that you want the house sold and that if she can’t do it you will get someone who can.

We moved here in November and couldn’t find a house for two months because so many people don’t list during the holidays. Make sure your house is decorated appropriately for the season and holiday. There is a buyer out there for your house. If you are in an area of bad winters, realtors will take the season to go on vacation. They give up, the sellers give up, and then buyers give up. Don’t give up.