I need to sell Mossflower Woods, and sooner rather than later...

MossflowerWoods · Mar 24, 2013

My marriage is a disaster and it really seems to be my fault, I'm simply not a nice in person as I seem to be here.

My wife HATES it here, and I think it might be too far from work & too expensive for me to keep as a bachelor pad.

I believe there is at least $50k in mature timber here (but I know a good appraiser who can cruise it for more accurate number). The house does need TLC, and the pasture is incomplete (not a good sales pitch, but at least I am honest).

This place is too far away even for the wife and girls. we put like 37,000 miles on her brand new car in 1 year.

It is not listed yet, but I think I need to list it soon. I'd like to get about $400k for it. I need to put my wife and girls into a home closer to town, and I need to find a room to rent for myself somewhere closer to my work.

I will also offer up to whoever buys it my awesome Kioti and all the accessories for a smoking deal...

If you know of anyone who might be interested, please PM me.

God Bless,
David

TripleR · Mar 24, 2013

So sorry to hear about your marriage. As hard as it is to find land for sale, you should have no trouble selling it.

Ted Summey · Mar 24, 2013

Sorry to hear it has come to this point. I read your previous post with hope that things would work out for you guys. I wish you and your family the very best and offer my prayers for you all.

murphy1244 · Mar 24, 2013

David, take your time on selling don't give everything away, good luck. And don't beat yourself up things will get better.

blueriver · Mar 24, 2013

David ... I didnt read Divorce in the OP ... I did read Disaster ... Do what you need to do. Believe me I'm (all of us) are wishing you the best.

texasjohn · Mar 24, 2013

Well, painful decisions made, now you can work toward moving forward. Hope things move quickly for you.

k0ua · Mar 24, 2013

Oh, I think I am a pretty good judge of character even thru this medium. And I think you are a pretty decent guy. Perhaps her dreams and your dreams are not the same, but that doesn't make you or her a bad person. As others have said, take your time, and do your best. I wish you all the the best, and I am sorry to hear about this latest turn in life. Good Luck and God Bless you and yours David.

James K0UA

Kyle_in_Tex · Mar 24, 2013

While women nag, men tend to clam up. The trick is, while you are clammed up, instead of steaming, try to figure out what she's really wanting and get to the heart of the matter. Then do it. You can be nice, it just takes effort, energy, thoughtfullness and caring. Get off the couch guys and do something positive with your wives. Get active in a church or gardening or whatever you folks like.

God says for men to have the highest "Agape" love for their wives and for women to have respect for their husbands and phileo love (friendship love). It takes two to keep a marriage going.

We live near a small town that is adequate for most of our needs but I commute about 36000 miles a year which I know all too well is very costly. You should never buy a new car for commuting like this, the depreciation will take it's toll on a budget.

God be with you.

jinman · Mar 24, 2013

David, don't underestimate the power of craigslist in selling property. My wife and I both had successful sales from posting on craigslist. The nice thing is if you can do paperwork and work with a title company, you can save your buyer some bucks and offer a discount without hurting your bottom line. A $400k place is often much slower to sell and you will become very frustrated with what people want you to do. Often, when you get a realtor, they put more demands on you than the sellers. I would sure give craigslist a try. If/when you put it with a realtor, put it in writing and make it clear what you are willing to do and what concessions you will make to the buyer. If this is a distressed sale (and I know it is for you) then make sure selling doesn't put you in a more distressed position. You don't need a bigger helping of grief on your 'platter' right now.

EddieWalker · Mar 24, 2013

Sorry to hear about having to sell your land. I've found that with every setback in life, something even better comes along. You just have to do what needs to be done, and focus on what makes you happy.

As for selling it, timber value isn't going to add much to the sales price of the land. Investors want it for nothing and home owners are more interested in having the trees and enjoying the outdoors.

Curb appeal is everything. Unfinished is what the buyers and their real estate agent will use to get you to lower the price. The right piece of land in the right place will sell quickly, but if it's priced too high, lacks appeal or comes across as a project, its going to be hard to find a buyer and even harder for them to get financing.

Mow, paint and throw away. Make it clean, pretty and appealing. It doesn't cost much to do those things, but the results are more then worth the effort.

Talk to at least five real estate agents. Only talk to the ones who sell a lot of properties. Most agents only sell a few houses a year and rely on a spouse's income to survive. A few make a fair living at it, and even fewer make a lot of money at it. You want the ones who are making a ton of money because they are the ones who have the best team and most effective marketing plan out there.

Do not sign a contract or hire anybody until you've spoken to at least five. More might be better. Find out what it will take to sell the place quickly, and find out what needs to be done to get top dollar. Also get a real "honest" comparison of what other properties have sold for and if they are nicer or worse then yours?

Most people do not think of their place as being undesirable. They put their heart and soul into it and personalize it how they want it. Unfortunately, most buyers want what they want and not what you want. It is very hard to realize that what you might think is a great selling point or a major achievement on your part is not something anybody else wants. A good realtor is going to be blunt and tell you like it is. A good example is when I went to a clients house to do some work so she could put it on the market. She wanted my honest opinion of what I thought of the house. It smelled, it was dirty and it was a mess. The house itself is in pretty good shape, but just nasty and she didn't like that at all, but after an hour of going room to room, she realized that I was seeing it differently then she was.

Good luck,
Eddie