Modest, but nice home in Manti, at a 6% Discount

[dconrad000]

http://www.ksl.com/homes/listing-v1/33118172" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Property Details

- Category: Homes For Sale
- 3000 Sq. Ft.
- 0.44 Acres
- Built in 2000
- 3 Bedrooms
- 2 Bathrooms
- Full, unfinished basement
- Central Air Cooling
- Forced Air Heating
- No Garage

General Description

Modest, but nice home in Manti, at a 6% Discount

Before listing our home with a realtor for $131,500, we are willing to do a For Sale By Owner transaction for 6% less, or $123,600. If you check with area home builders, they will typically tell you to expect to spend between $100 - $120 per square foot to build new – not counting the cost of the land, landscaping, sprinkler systems, etc. At $131,500 minus the value of the land ($30,000), that leaves $101,500 for the house itself, divided by 3000 square feet, for a cost of $33.84 per square foot. At the For Sale By Owner price of $123,600 minus $30,000 (land) divided by 3000 square feet, that works out to $31.20 per square foot.

This is a solidly built home. When the wind blows hard, and you close the windows, the wind is barely noticeable. The home is well insulated, tight and comfortable with super low utility bills. It has gas-forced-air heating and central AC, built in dishwasher (replaced Dec 2011), gas range and oven, side-by-side fridge and a 40-gallon gas water heater (replaced Sep 2014 with a top quality unit, by Scott Layton). The exterior is maintenance-free vinyl siding. There are vaulted ceilings, 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms upstairs (1500 square feet); tons of storage space downstairs in the unfinished basement (1500 square feet). There is plenty of room to add a bedroom or two in the basement in the future, should the need arise. The home was built in 2000 and the roof is in good condition. There is a large redwood deck, with sliding door access. The yard is spacious (.44 acres). It comes with a gravity-fed, pressurized irrigation system. The front has underground sprinklers. There is an Israeli filter system installed, which prevents clogging of the sprinkler heads. The back is covered by a tripod impact sprinkler from one position. The garden, back and front yard can all be watered at the same time by turning on one valve, without the trouble and time of moving sprinklers and hoses constantly all around.

The neighborhood is peaceful and quiet, near the South edge of town. The elementary school is a 10-minute-walk, church is a 10-minute walk, and the high school is a 10-minute bike ride. The home is surrounded on all 4 sides by super, high-quality neighbors. Mountain America CU has excellent loan product options for this home including an in-house, 99% LTV loan (1% down payment). Call Julianne Hudson at 435-283-5222 to pre-qualify.

You can leave me a voice mail on my cell phone, or e-mail me directly by going to the bio section of my website: http://www.drdaveconrad.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


































































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[dconrad000]

For any who might know someone who might have a need, there is an opportunity for someone to purchase a modest, but nice home in Manti, Utah. For more information, price and pictures, see the the following thread:

Modest, but nice home in Manti, at a 6% Discount

Linked here: viewtopic.php?f=39&t=37284" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Elizabeth]

Sensible owner, selling without a realtor

[natasha]

Doesn't the description say that there is 3,000 sq.ft? This house doesn't look like it has that much square footage....and doesn't it also say there is an upstairs?

[Lizzy60]

Doesn't the description say that there is 3,000 sq.ft? This house doesn't look like it has that much square footage....and doesn't it also say there is an upstairs?

It states that it has an unfinished basement, and there is 1500 sq ft "upstairs" which would be the main floor, a floor above the basement. I can see your confusion. I don't think the basement, which is unfinished, should be included in the hypothetical $100 average per sq ft quoted for similar properties.

[KMCopeland]

Sensible owner, selling without a realtor

I buy and sell a lot of property. I've done it with and without a realtor, and I like letting a realtor handle it better, even when I'm selling and I have to pay them. It's an enormous load off my shoulders. I don't think I'm going to ever go back to trying to do it myself. And besides, there's just something about doing something for a living that tends to make you better at it than someone who doesn't.

[dconrad000]

...bump...

[Elizabeth]

Try taking photos that emphasise the actual building / structure rather than the furniture.

[dconrad000]

Thanks for the tip, Regina. (Actually our thirteen-year-old, Zachary took the pictures. He's the photographer in the family, and I think he did a fine job, given the modest equipment and inadequate lighting he had to work with.)

[Elizabeth]

Remove clutter. That is not what you are selling. Buyers are interested in the size of the rooms, the cornices, architraves, doors, fittings, windows, built ins. Most important of all is the position of the home. Show the streetscape, entrance, yard. Obtain a plan of the home or sketch one.

[idahommie]

Are all the other homes in the neighborhood Mobile Homes as well? Basement sq. footage, whether finished or not is usually not included in total sq ft. Of the home, but most definately be a desirable feature.

[dconrad000]

There are a lot of modular homes in Manti and Sanpete County in general. This modular home is the only one on the block -- the others on the block and across the street are stick-built.

[dconrad000]

Thank you, Regina.

For others that may have an interest -- in case we don't get around to following Regina's suggestions: there is nothing noteworthy structurally or architecturally about the home. What you see is pretty much what you get, with the pictures taken by our thirteen-year-old, Zachary. The home is a plain and simple rectangular shaped rambler with vaulted ceilings, over an unfinished basement. The neighborhood is not spectacular either. It is a nice, but very modest neighborhood, with great people as neighbors.

[Elizabeth]

Honesty in selling real estate is rare but refreshing Still, you can maximise the interest in the home whilst still being honest. If you want to sell, declutter and take the photos again. If you have to include the beds, dress them up with attractive quilts and pillows.
No need to devalue your location, Manti is a great place, I have personally spent considerable time there looking at property to purchase. For an LDS purchaser the advantages are many. Emphasise those attributes.

[dconrad000]

Thank you for those suggestions, Regina.

We probably won't get around to that -- however for those who may have an interest: the quilts and pillows and beds in our home are very plain and unremarkable. They are also not included in the sale of the home. After you have purchased the home, you may furnish it with fancy beds, quilts and fluffed up pillows if you so desire. But I would caution you that they may look somewhat out of place in this very plain and simple home.

[Elizabeth]

dconrad... You really must be serious in presenting your home in the most appealing way you can, if you really want to sell for the best price possible. The pictures of clutter you have presented are not doing that, they are a detriment to achieving a sale.

[dconrad000]

Regina, thank you for all your concern and for taking the time to post your viewpoint.

Here is our viewpoint:

We are extremely busy and have taken about all of the marketing steps we are planning to take. We think they will prove to be good enough. We are not uptight about trying to get the best price, nor even market value. We are not targeting the niche of buyers who find marketing fluff important. We are targeting the discerning buyer who simply would like to acquire a good home at an exceptionally good price, in Manti. For a serious buyer, a perusal of what is available on the multiple listings will quickly confirm that. We have no concern about not being able to sell the home at the price it is offered. We are fine with the fact that the pictures depict that the home is currently lived in, and that young children occupy the home.

Time will tell whether our approach will be effective. We will keep you posted.

[Elizabeth]

Just passing on my expertise in these matters

[worthit]

I hope you sell your home to a TBM who loves the pride, boringness, and corruption that are in Manti. For me, I wouldn't take it if it were for free.

[dconrad000]

Our experience is just the opposite...high proportion of really good people here...the county sheriff is a great guy (an advocate of Sheriff Richard Mack's views) -- signed a letter to Obama, pledging his life, if necessary to protect our second amendment rights against federal intrusion...the Manti city manager is a super, top-notch guy...the Mayor is a great guy...good people on the city council and the school board. We're in a great ward and stake -- full of good, salt-of-the-earth people. We couldn't ask for better neighbors. I've lived in a lot of places, including Provo and the Salt Lake valley, and as far as I'm concerned, this valley is the promised land of the promised land...and Manti is its crown jewel...and on top of all that -- someday when all heck breaks loose, there is no place on earth that I would rather be than right here in this valley, with respect to the safety of my family and with respect to living in a strategic place of refuge.

[Desert Roses]

No garage?

[dconrad000]

One can survive without a garage quite nicely. Some scraping of the windshield upon occasion may be in order.

If one feels the need for a garage along with a home of this size in the area, they are to be found, but in a much higher price range. Check the multiple listings for the area, and that will be confirmed.

So you can have your garage, Deary -- but you'll pay dearly.

[dconrad000]

...bump...

[KMCopeland]

Regina, thank you for all your concern and for taking the time to post your viewpoint.

Here is our viewpoint:

We are extremely busy and have taken about all of the marketing steps we are planning to take. We think they will prove to be good enough. We are not uptight about trying to get the best price, nor even market value.

If you list it with a professional, you'll get market value and depending on the house, maybe more. Since you're okay with getting less than market value, I don't understand your reluctance to list it.

We are targeting the discerning buyer who simply would like to acquire a good home at an exceptionally good price, in Manti. For a serious buyer, a perusal of what is available on the multiple listings will quickly confirm that.

But how can they confirm that when you're not in the group they're perusing? Serious buyers who are either looking in the MLS themselves, or are working with a realtor (almost the same thing) aren't going to see your house, so they will be unable to compare it with what else is available unless you just get lucky and the serious buyer we're talking about happened to drive by your house and stopped long enough to write down your telephone number. It happens -- but the odds aren't great.

I know there are several FSBO sites you can put your house on -- but they are scattered and not linked to each other. Most buyers will be working with a realtor. Most buyers will only see your house if they happen to drive by it. It might be the nicest house in its price range by far, but if they don't see it, they won't know that.

I have several rental properties. I buy & sell frequently. I have for years. I tried to go FSBO, once. I'll never do it again. It was the most nerve-wracking thing I've ever done. I list with a professional now when it's time to sell one. And I am very skeptical of buying a FSBO. I've certainly looked at them. I'm not crazy. But if there's a pattern to them, it's that the idea that the house is priced 6% below other comparable houses is a fantasy. Most FSBO's are overpriced. Mine certainly was. It's that thing where you always value your stuff more than other people value your stuff, even if you're trying hard to be objective. I think FSBO sellers -- remember, including me -- are trying to save that 6% for themselves, not for their buyers. And there's this working without a net feeling to the whole thing. Here's something I'm sure of: well-intentioned property owners -- I was one of them -- simply aren't going to do as good a job, not only with the selling part, but with the legal details, as someone who does it for a living. If you do something 24-7, 365 like good realtors do, you tend to be better at it than someone who does it only 3-4 times in a lifetime.

I'm as sure as I can be without a crystal ball that I always get a higher enough price to justify the commission. My FSBO sat on the market for 10 months and sold for $19,000 less than I was asking for it when I started out -- my broker represented properties sell in less than 90 days within $10,000 of asking price, almost without exception. Meaning I don't have to worry about an empty house sitting around for months and months and months, inviting vandals, fires, etc. But even if it did cost a little bit more -- and I'm sure it doesn't --I think I'd still do it. The elimination of the hassle factor is worth a lot to me. Commission money I've paid realtors down through the years is some of the best money I've ever spent.

In Donald Trump's book, "Think Like a Billionnaire," he says that he never buys or sells property without using a realtor. Says it always more than justifies the commission. I don't advocate taking Donald Trump's advice on anything else of course. But where real estate is concerned, his advice is probably pretty reliable.

Last piece of advice and I'll leave you alone: everybody and his brother has probably had a real estate license at one time or another, but the truth is that probably 20% of realtors are selling 80% of properties. Although there is almost no difference between one real estate firm and another, there can be a huge difference between one realtor and another. We avoid the newbies. We hire someone who has been in the business long enough to demonstrate that they have acquired some expertise at it. The ones who keep their licenses for more than a year or two -- that's who to consider.

[shadow]

I've dabbled in real-estate a bit myself and I second the advice to use a realtor. Granted, I don't pay the full 6% anymore.