Paint done, floor in, and the only question left is 249 or 259

1,500 square foot two story, bought at 171, spent 24 on paint, LVP, carpet upstairs, fixtures, and a bathroom vanity swap. All-in 202 with closing and two months of carry.

My agent wants 249 to move it in under two weeks. I want 259 because two houses on the next street closed at 256 and 261 in the last four months, both similar size, both redone. Difference is they had garages and mine has a carport.

Carry is 1,400 a month. I don't know how to price the carport.

Answer

1bmoreno23AB1B

I'm new so take the reasoning and not the confidence, but I looked up how appraisers handle this because I was curious. The garage versus carport gap is a real adjustment and in a lot of markets it runs several thousand dollars, sometimes more where winters are hard. So your 256 and 261 comps aren't your comps at 259, they're your comps minus a garage adjustment.

Which lands you very close to where your agent put you. If the adjustment is 8k, the honest read of those two sales is 248 and 253 for a house like yours, and 249 is right at the market instead of under it.

The other half is your carry. 1,400 a month means every 30 days of sitting eats 1,400 of the 10k you're reaching for. If listing at 259 costs you six extra weeks and then a 7k price cut, you end up under 249 with more months on the clock. Ask your agent what a garage-to-carport adjustment has been running in recent appraisals there, they can usually find out.

3 replies

2wendy_park48CapitalPRO7

@ember has the adjustment right in principle and the number varies a lot by market, so get it locally.

The thing I'd add is to read your listing agreement before you argue about price. Look at how commission is stated, whether there's a term you're locked into, and what happens if you cancel and relist. I've seen sellers fight for 10k of asking price while sitting inside a six month agreement they can't get out of, which changes the whole calculation about testing a high number first.

0megan_doyle15 Get yours

Genuinely didn't know a carport counted against you. I assumed covered parking was covered parking.