My first fix & flip is not selling. It’s been on the market for several months. Lot’s of lookers and even lowered the price to try to move this. Problem is the neighbor has several large dogs. A couple real estate agents have suggested a privacy fence. This obviously is quickly moving to a bad profit equation for me but perhaps it is best to put up the fence to sell this and move on. What are your thoughts, does adding a fence help to sell a house in this type of situation?
I would replace the neighbor’s dogs with puppies. j/k
The dogs aren’t your problem. The price is your problem.
And the reason your price is the problem, is because your agent is the problem.
And the reason your agent is the problem, is because he doesn’t know values any better than you do.
Lower the price until it sells. The market is ruthlessly fair.
I might talk with “Mr. and Mrs. Next Door Dog Owner” and say something like this:
You know I’ve had no luck finding a buyer for my house for 18 months without lowering the price a whole lot. I don’t want to lower the price and attract lower quality buyers with low incomes that would probably be messy and low class.
[Let that sink in.]
I think the reason that the house isn’t attracting nicer buyers with more money, is because your guard dogs are scaring them off.
We may have a buyer, but he doesn’t have a lot of money and is offering me a lot less than I’m asking. If I sell at that price, it will lower the property values and you’ll end up with a low-income neighbor.
I have a solution, but I need your help. Would you be willing to hide, chain, or muzzle ( or kill ) your dogs so I don’t have to sell to the messy, low-income buyer?
Your neighbor will be anxious that you don’t lower your price and get the neighbor from Hell.
Everyone wins, and nobody is insulted.
Hope that helps. Meantime, consider lowering the price, or doing further improvement to make the price seem like a bargain (within the market).
:beer
Talk to your agent. If he does not know the value of what you are talking about, it is time that you should continue with your plan with it and build the fence. The question is the price value when it will be done.