To Whom It May Concern:
I, and my peers have been feverishly showing the homes you possess for some time now. Really, we have no choice since those homes dominate roughly 30% or more of our marketplace, depending on what neighborhood it is. I would like nothing more than to sell these homes and see these neighborhoods stabalize. After all, I live in the community I work in and it saddens me to see so much distress.
Many homebuyers start the process thinking they want to score a screamin' deal on a REO home.
Then they see a bunch of them and realize they don't want to deal with doing drywall repairs, major clean up, broken windows, just to name a few issues. They end up finding a nice clean home being sold by a private seller. They pay a few more bucks, but they save themselves from a lot of work. Not to mention thousands of dollars just to make the home liveable. The REO homes that do sell quickly, possibly even as part of a bidding war, are the ones in good condition, requiring little more than cosmetic changes and can easily pass an FHA inspection.
Yet the REO listings sit, going down in price.
I'd like to offer a few suggestions that I think would be worth your while to get these homes off your books quicker and for a better price. Beware: this is going to require some upfront spending on your part.
1. Hire someone to come in and do a real cleaning of these homes. Mouse droppings send a bad message!
2. Replace broken windows. If not only to better secure the home.
3. If it needs a water heater just get one installed. Really. They aren't that expensive.
4. Repair holes in the drywall.
5. If the exterior doors and/or garage doors are damaged & hanging by a thread, fix or replace them. It makes it easier for animals and/or squatters to enter.
Traditional homesellers are asked to clean, declutter and stage their homes. Why can't you guys do the same? I'm not suggesting you re-do the entire home--I know that wouldn't be cost effective--but a little effort might make these homes a little more appealing to buyers. Plus, many buyers in this market are using FHA financing. Would it be so difficult to tend to the obvious FHA violations? You're eliminating a good portion of the (small) buyer pool.
Thank you for reading and I hope you take some of these suggestions under consideration.
Sincerely
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