# Selling the homestead in WI



## myheaven (Apr 14, 2006)

We will be selling our homestead sooner rather than later I believe. We have simpley out grown the house and property. Its a 3bedroom 1 bath. Soon to be 2 baths. Its a 1940s home but has all new plumbing, wiring, windows, roof, basement, sideing, Outdoor wood stove, wood house, etc........Only the rough sawn lumber frame is the orignal. Our house sits on 8.52 acres. All the fencing is new out buildings.. Pasture ,gardens , and fruit trees are organic. We have the pasture (5 acres) sectioned for rotational grazing.

NOW where do I start with all this? I would like to sell the house before we purchase something else. It scares me with that whole fact. I have 7 kids and to keep the house in "not lived in shape' IS impossible for me. The house has been 87% remodled. Just the bathroom and laundry room needs to be done.
How do i find what my market is like and make it (house) more marketable? 
We want to sell it for no less than 130,000. I have been told by my friends that sold their house we are asking way below market value. But is that true. How do i find out? We have a few reltor friends. But I dont want to bother them if my expectations are unrealistic.

Is it possible to sell by owner? or am I better off getting a realtor?


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## Madame (Jan 1, 2003)

What county is it in?


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## Rocky Fields (Jan 24, 2007)

The housing market is lousy in WI except for homes that would get first time home buyers an $8000 rebate. Many people have given up selling and taken their home off the market. Most of the homes that do sell are going "below market". Banks are extra tough giving out loans. Good Luck.

Madame: you left the word "to" out of "Be kind others."


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## QuiltingLady2 (Jan 3, 2007)

Picture is worth a 1000. I'd love to see it.


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## PhilJohnson (Dec 24, 2006)

I had to jump through a ton of hoops to buy a house that wasn't quite live in condition for 30,000. I put 10,000 down and had a fairly good credit score (730) and still had to have my mother co-sign. It was a 4 bedroom farm house with 5.5 acres. Near as I can tell where I am at (Clark County) houses just aren't moving. Seems they sit and sit and sit. I personally think houses are still way overvalued in my neck of the woods, especially those in the various small towns. Some people have given up and taken them off the market. 

I sold 5 acres last year using Craigslist. Local realtor told me I would be lucky to get 6500 (less than I paid for it) and wanted a 1000 bucks for a commission. I said no way and did it myself. I wound up getting 14,500 and didn't have to pay no stinkin' realtor. You could try that, I had that 5 acres for sale for about three months before it sold. I figured I was pretty lucky but I did price it half of what most of the other 5 acre parcels were going for at the time. Guy thought it was sorta steep so I told him to look else where and find it cheaper, he couldn't. 

Without knowing where your at if I was going to use the area where I live as a guide I would say 100,000-110,000 would probably be a more realistic starting point.


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## cathleenc (Aug 16, 2007)

I think it's all about location. If you were in Dane County you'd most likely be looking at $300,000 or more. And if you are close to the Illinois border, then again, much more than $130,000.

where are you? I know someone looking for a small farm situation.


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## Dutch 106 (Feb 12, 2008)

Greetings Kinsman,
Yes where in Wisconsin makes a big differance, I really wish 
I hadn't sold my little farm in Rio WI, when I came out here.
I might be interested but I need a lot more info.
Dutch


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

Check realtor.com punch in your area and take a look.
Call a few local realtors and see what they have and how it's priced.
Around here 130000 for 8 acres and a house is about normal and maybe a touch high.
I can get 10 witha 4 bdrm house and fencline feeding and an operating dairy barn for 150000,
or 15 with a 3 bdrm and an old empty barn for 96000.

Realtors will tell you it's better to use them and I'd have to agree. They are experienced in setting up the deal, they have the network to get your home shown and sold.
But there's always Craigs List.........


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## myheaven (Apr 14, 2006)

We are in Monroe county. The town is Warrens. Near Tomah.
There is a house down the road from me. It is a new double wide on 5 acres for 169,000. So far it hasnt sold. I wouldnt pay 169,000 for a double wide.
The Basment, septic and well are new in 97. THis house was the founders of oceanspray. THis house has been moved twice. Once from the first ocean spray cranberry bog( i have the picture) To the town of tomah then out here.
We have a 2 car garage w/ work shop. But it has a dirt floor.

I have to get the software for my camera. I havent installed it on my new computer.
As soon as I can get it done ill set up a photo bucket acct so everyone can see.

The houses I see listed on realtor sites are priced high. 189,000 +


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

Get an appraiser!! Thats what they are for and anyone trying to buy it will be paying for their their bank to get an appraiser.

You cant do much without an appraisal done because they are the ones that find the value for the banks. They go by the area, what homes are selling for similar to yours, and the condition of your property.

And in reality this is a good time to buy, not sell.


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## cathleenc (Aug 16, 2007)

an appraisal will probably have to be redone by the buyers to get bank approval, unless done within a very short time period. Nonetheless, it is an incredibly helpful tool to show potential buyers and to give you confidence in your sales price.

Any good real estate agent can pull comps and show you what comparable properties have sold for in the near past. There is no charge for that. You can ask several agents to do that as part of the interview process.

We bought our place fsbo - for sale by owner. The sellers probably saved 20-30 thousand doing that. We sold our previous place by listing with a real estate agent - but chose one that offered a flat fee to the seller, got a set percentage of the buyers price if they buyer used them as their buying agent. The flat fee enabled us to use a broker - which got our property listed in the normal real estate listings (most fsbo do not make the agent real estate listings, costing you critical exposure) - and to price our place 15% below comparable listings (because we saved that much using flat fee). The end results were that we had an offer in the first week - looked good, priced to be a bargain, tested well.

There are ways to be cheap but cheap can cost you. Pricing high can cost you. It is a tricky market out there! My advice would be to find someone with great experience to guide you.


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## PhilJohnson (Dec 24, 2006)

myheaven said:


> We are in Monroe county. The town is Warrens. Near Tomah.
> There is a house down the road from me. It is a new double wide on 5 acres for 169,000. So far it hasnt sold. I wouldnt pay 169,000 for a double wide.
> The Basment, septic and well are new in 97. THis house was the founders of oceanspray. THis house has been moved twice. Once from the first ocean spray cranberry bog( i have the picture) To the town of tomah then out here.
> We have a 2 car garage w/ work shop. But it has a dirt floor.
> ...


I see a lot of homes priced high in my area too (about 31 miles north of you) but they just aren't selling. There are plenty of places in the 189,000 range that have been on the market for years. People are really stubborn in my neck of the woods. There is a little acre parcel about a half mile from where I sold my 5 acre parcel that has been for sale for the past 5 years. I agree with the other posters here, an appraisal may be the only way to go here. Or maybe you could try asking different realtors what houses have been selling for in your area.


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## buffalocreek (Oct 19, 2007)

"And in reality this is a good time to buy, not sell."

No, this is not a good time to buy. Prices are still way too artificially high in many parts of the country. Maybe in another year . . .


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## Chixarecute (Nov 19, 2004)

When we sold our little house we used "standard" paperwork from our local abstract office - he handled the paper work from our end and perhaps charged $150. The closing was at the buyers bank. 

We set our price by watching comparables in the realtor ads, and because we had moved out already we were able to have the place ---- & span, shampooed carpets, repainted walls, pledge on the plumbing fixtures! 

We put up a few flyers around town, with photo and tear off phone number. I think it was at the local post office it got noticed, but also cover the hardware store, diner, liquor store, any place with high traffic.

Buyer's bank requested the appraisal/inspection, (I think buyer paid), and the house passed no problem.

Once you get to the point of showing, you will need to do everything possible to declutter, and enlist all the kids help to "pick up." 

I believe late winter/spring is a better time to sell.


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