Renovate to sell, or not? (kind of long)

As some of you know, DH and I have had our co-op on the market since late July. We still have not received a single offer, though several people came back several times to see it again and expressed some interest. Our realtor told us people had objections we cannot address--they wanted something larger or another parking space (we have one).

We want to see what happens in January when the holidays are past, but we are considering either lowering our price again, or doing some minor renovations (replace kitchen tiles, paint) to make it more attractive.
We've noticed some dumps in our complex have gone to contract recently, which were priced around $20,000 less than ours. Our place is not really up-to-date, but it's not a dump either. You could move in and do nothing to it and live in a decent place. I'm concerned that people figure they will need to renovate our place eventually, and go for the lower-priced dump.

At this point we want to sell soon--we're both getting tired of waiting and constantly cleaning, etc. Would you renovate to make the place more up-to-date and keep the price as is, or just lower the price so it is competitive with the dumpy apartments?

Re: Renovate to sell, or not? (kind of long)

I would do a little of both. The minor rennovations wont cost that much, and then maybe drop your price some as well.... both should stir up some interest and generate some offers. you may also want to take it off the market for a month or two while you are doing the rennovations. then it will appear as a new listing when you re-list.

Re: Renovate to sell, or not? (kind of long)

If there are units available for 20K less than yours, that is the kicker. Some renovations may help, but lowering the price is your best bet.

Re: Renovate to sell, or not? (kind of long)

I'd renovate (assuming it doesn't cost too much) and keep the price as is.

From a buyer's perspective, I'd want to pay a little more and have a house that really doesn't need any work. I found myself in both places --

1st house I was planning to buy: Was a really good price, actually less than I was planning on spending, but needed some work.

The house I am buying was a little more than I wanted to spend but is perfect (minus some paint choices the seller made that I don't care for, but that doesn't count.)

Re: Renovate to sell, or not? (kind of long)

I would paint and lower your price a bit. That should do it. Give the appearance that it looks cleaner.

Re: Renovate to sell, or not? (kind of long)

I'd lower the price- I don't want to pay for your renovations- I would want a cheaper place and to do everything my way

esp if this is a co-op/starter type unti- I think the people in that market are driven more by price then anything else

Re: Renovate to sell, or not? (kind of long)

Re: Renovate to sell, or not? (kind of long)

Re: Renovate to sell, or not? (kind of long)

Re: Renovate to sell, or not? (kind of long)

Re: Renovate to sell, or not? (kind of long)

Re: Renovate to sell, or not? (kind of long)

I think it depends on what you plan on doing to update it. Paint will definitly help. Our house has been on the market since June and we have had no offers either so I understand your frustration completely. We decided to finish the basement and update the main bath. I know alot of people wouldnt agree with it but when you look at the rest of our house inside the bath and basement looks out of place. It isnt costing us much to do the work and I think in the long run it will pay off. We are also not going to lower the price again. We are serious to sell but I have to think about my finances after we sell and not the buyers and we will wait for the right buyers.

Re: Renovate to sell, or not? (kind of long)

Thanks for the suggestions and feedback! We will probably leave the price alone this month and see what happens. In the meantime, we will do some light painting--looking around the apartment, it's actually the doors and heating units that look the worst, and they are a different shade than the rest of the apartment anyway.

Our contract is up with our realtor at the end of the month. After that, we will most likely lower our price again if nothing has changed to make it more competitive with the really dumpy apts. that sold. I agree with many of your comments--we will leave our floors, etc. alone. We could choose something someone hates and they may want to redo it anyway. Nothing here is in terrible shape, and a buyer could move in and do nothing other than repaint for some time if they chose to do so.

Not sure if we want to renew with our current realtor or not. For the most part, I would say they've been fine, they seem to show the place enough and we've had open houses, etc., but we haven't had offers either.

Thanks again!