Rent Demand Vs Lease Option Demand
I have a 105 yr old house that has been restored and is in great condition. New central air, heating, flooring, paint, etc. I have been trying to sell the house for over a year now (I want to start a business, quit my current good-salary job, and need to downsize short-term while I ramp up my income through the business). We tried the 5-day sale technique and ended up not selling because we fell about $10k short of what we needed in order to break even. We tried a realtor right after the 5-day sale for a 3-month period - had an offer, but the sellers pulled out and we ended up with $1k deposit. 6 months later, tried another realtor in the spring of 2004 - our contract is up with him at the end of August - no offers and not a whole lot of interest this time around. We're concerned that maybe the property is "market-worn" at this point. We owe $233k and we believe the market value is between $240k and $250k. It was listed at $249,900 this summer but didn't sell yet - the comparables in the area definitely support that price and it is actually a low price considering what other homes in the area are getting.
My question is, how is the demand for a RENT by Owner or a RENT to own for a single home in this price range? Is there strong demand for rentals in the $1900-$2000/month price bracket? Will our "market-worn" status hurt us? (we are in the northern philadelphia suburbs - and the real estate market is still considered "hot" - a seller's market)
Looking for some creative advice from some experienced investors!
Thanks!
J23
The market-worn status won't hurt you at all, since you will be dealing with a whole new clientele, but expect it to take awhile in that price range. I'd definitely give it a try. Call it an Executive home in your ads.
I saw your post and I can't help but to put up a post also. I am a realtor here in Philadelphia and I used to work in Blue Bell before I moved to the city. I know you have tried using a realtor twice and have failed. But our company's manager up in Blue Bell is an expert in restoring old houses and lives in a 200 year old house herself, and I am thinking maybe you could try using a 3rd realtor. I am sure she could really help since she networks with other agents and clients who are into the type of property you have. Anyway, if you want to give it another try, please pm or email me at **Please See My Profile** I don't want to give realtors a bad name being pushy or anything - I'm not even trying to make money here, since I'm just going to refer you to my coworkers.
And by the way I don't think the demand for rentals in the $2000 range is too high - you're competing with other apartment complexes and townhomes with pools and fitness centers. If you can rent out your home furnished you could try marketing to big companies. They often need to rent homes for people relocating, maybe like 3 -6 months at a time, and they won't mind paying you $2500 a month.