Greetings, my friends!

I'm desperate to sell! But there is no good realtors in or near my little town in the middle of no where in WV. So I'm thinking, what the heck, why don't I just sell it myself.

All my 4 houses are free and clear, since I bought with cash around 2014. They are all vacant for a few years now. I have a friend who has all my keys and who keeps an eye on them, and who could open the houses for people interested to see.

I know how to advertise on Craigslist. What other websites that are good places to advertise? Free or next to free? (I don't have/use facebook or any other social media)

Any other ideas or advice or suggestions are welcome! I want to sell, sell, sell! :)

I'm not in the US but I can get back there if I need to, to sign the sales contract etc :)

Hello Redwoods!! Oh,..I remember you. I sure wish your properties where in my neck of the woods.

If you do FSBO, contact MLS MY HOME and get your houses listed on the local MLS that serves your county. Here you will only pay 3% for a Buyer's Agent.

If you are really desperate (which I don't think you are) then consider putting your houses up for Auction. I would suggest a public auction since many online auctions can be a little shady.

Hi Roy! I remember you, too!

Yes, absolute auction, I've been to a few in my town. Almost bought a house at one, haha. Their bottom line is 30k for all my4 houses, and that's way too low. I'm not that desperate :) I'm just tired of paying the property tax every year,almost $3000, while the houses are vacant and attract squatters.

Ok, I will check MLS M H.Do they list it on Zillow, as JB [OR] suggested?

Hi Roy! I remember you, too!

Yes, absolute auction, I've been to a few in my town. Almost bought a house at one, haha. Their bottom line is 30k for all my4 houses, and that's way too low. I'm not that desperate :) I'm just tired of paying the property tax every year,almost $3000, while the houses are vacant and attract squatters.

Ok, I will check MLS M H.Do they list it on Zillow, as JB [OR] suggested?

Hi Roy! I remember you, too!

Yes, absolute auction, I've been to a few in my town. Almost bought a house at one, haha. Their bottom line is 30k for all my4 houses, and that's way too low. I'm not that desperate :) I'm just tired of paying the property tax every year,almost $3000, while the houses are vacant and attract squatters.

Ok, I will check MLS M H.Do they list it on Zillow, as JB [OR] suggested?

Redwoods,

Yes, they will put it on Zillow for you. You will need to put a lock-box on each door but other than that, everything else is done online. You will have Buyer Agents calling or sending you e-mails requesting the lock-box code(s),..don't make them complicated either. I would also suggest putting a FSBO sign in the front yard of each house.

Hi Roy,

I'd like to sell all in one package,asking 80k, which is about my purchasing price.Rent per month for all 4 was $3200 per month,when they were rented.Why, are you thinking of buying them? I'll give you a good price, for you only, my friend :)

JB,

Because I lived and worked in China, and managing from a distance was too hard. I had a handyman helping me buy and manage the houses at first, but he was no longer available after 2 year. It was easier to leave them vacant.

you just said something that explains the whole situation. You may have to advertise in another city and offer them as some kind of vacation home because it sounds like you have no market where you are.

I sold one of mine after I read a book. Basically make it nice so that it shows well. Keep advertising but change the ad each week to attract new people or give a buyer another perspective on the place. Change the photo angle to emphasize something else. Is there any hunting or fishing or other attraction near there to increase your pool of buyers? A lawyer and a title company are all you need to close. I see you are out of the country. You might advertise the buildings as quiet hideaway in small town WVA. You should use Craig's List because you need a LOT of ads and they are free and go everywhere. When you get the photos up on Craig's List maybe you could mention the town and people here could give you advice based on the Craig's List ads?

Redwoods,

I only buy houses that are within 10 miles of where I live. Long distance LLing (more than 10 miles) is not for me. Been there, done that.

Really, Roy? So I can buy a few houses within 10 miles from you, and you'll manage them for me? That's too good to be true! So what's the catch?

Ally, that sounds like a good idea, trying to advertise in other towns and states... I will think about this some. Thanks for suggesting it!

Redwoods,

Of course I have time for you. All of my properties are rented out and now that the weather is nice, it is time to go look for another property. All I have to do is run my Handyman Ad and the house sellers (just like you) will be calling me.

Great. I have cash but haven't figured out what to invest... stock market? Annuities? Savings account? I'm an orphan now since my mom passed in 2017. No heir, that is why I thought about annuities...

So maybe you and I can have joint venture in LLing... I can't do it by myself.

But, how much longer are you going to do this? Will you ever retire?

I read your header and wasn't thinking rentals? Was thinking FL massage parlor? Football coaches. ETC...

Lol, that is funny! Thank goodness I didn't forget to use the word "by" myself, haha.

Not sure your advice would work for my town. For some reason, my town has only one Chinese, me.

Hi redwoods, I remember you too. You'll have to tell us sometime how a person from China ended up in West Virginia of all places. Beautiful state. :)

As someone mentioned, have you tried selling to an investor in China? I understand getting money out can be an issue, but this might be an excellent opportunity for someone.

You said there are no "good" realtors nearby? Are there ANY? If so it might still be worth listing with them, especially if they could provide property management for an out of area investor. Failing that what about a local lawyer or escrow agent who could handle the transfer?

Hi LTD, I remember you too! Nice to "see" you again!

Yes, I've decided to let the realtor do everything. I signed a permission form earlier to let my manager sign the listing contract with the realtor. Once there are buyers, I can fly (or drive across country--which is more fun!) to close the deal. I do need to go there to remove my stuff from one house I stayed in last year, and remove some other stuff from the storage building of another house. I'm in Baja right now, which is practically on the border of the US, so, not too far away.

Selling my houses to other Chinese? Hmmm, let me think more about this...

How I picked WV? Because of John Denver! "Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge mountains Shenandoah river...Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belong...:)

How could I not pick WV? It's almost heaven :)

This particular song of his, Country Roads, was very popular in China in the 80's, soo after China opened the door to the West.It's one of my fav songs.

And WV is beautiful! The fall colors are simply amazing! Everywhere!

Hi redwoods, that is such a nice story. I love that song too.

I'm sure some of you are good at selling by yourself, but I would be aware of the other side of things. You'll need a good solid sales contract, staging or cleaning the house periodically, dealing with offers, taking calls to allow access for appraisals and inspections, sorting out all the legal terms, etc. Determining the proper listing price by looking at comps, value of the wider MLS they have, etc. Yes realtors are expensive but they handle many of the details. Also of the 5 rentals I bought, 4 of them never went on the market...my realtor told me about them before they were listed...so the "word of mouth" is valuable.

Redwoods,

Hoosier hit on an important point. Your houses are low priced and realtors know theywon't make much commission. The smart ones spend their time on higher prices.

Me? we juice up the commission to the BUYER's agent. They will trip over them selves for an extra half % commission but it's only a few hundred bucks to me.

OR we offer a flat rate of $1000-1500 per house which is more than the traditional 6%.

$80k x 6% = $4800, then divide that between listing and buyer agents = $2400 each, divided between broker and agent means the agent makes $1200 to sell the whole package.

Dividing that between 4 houses means the realtor would only make $300 to sell one house.

Money makes the world go round, esp among realtors!

I really like the idea of a Chinese investor!

BRAD

LTD, I am in Rosarito Beach. Camped by the beach for a few months, recently moved my tent to the hills. Wild mustard flowers have been blooming so I live in a sea of golden flowers...

JB, Portland is a great place to live, according to my friends who have lived there for 25years. It's very liberal and progressive and environmentally aware. Enlightened, so to speak.

redwoods - that's great. We used to stay at the Rosarito Beach Hotel several times a year. My mom knew the owner, I forget his name. Their french restaurant was/is(?) wonderful. Even if you don't eat there go check it out before you leave.

Guess what, I just passed your hotel earlier toda, haha. Went to town with a neighbor. Yes the Pier is still there.

Did you go to the fishing village near the film studio? Live wild caught lobsters are my favorite. With a pirate ship near by, haha. When the tide was low, I walked all the way on the beach from my camp to the village.

French food in Mexico? Sounds kinda funny:)

Hi redwoods - oh yes! I'd forgotten, Puerto Nuevo, best lobster in the world! It's been probably 15 years. Used to get a huge lobster dinner for like $6.00, probably more now.

We used to try a different place each trip.

For other readers who have no clue what we are talking about - they built a movie studio to film the "Titanic" near Rosarito, and more recently it is where "Fear the Walking Dead" was first filmed. They have (had?) a gigantic pool built right by the beach so they can film scenes with the ocean as a backdrop. I think it's mostly done digitally now.

Thanks for the memories. :)

Hi LTD,

Live lobsters are about $12 a lb, more or less nowadays. I usually buy one and cook it myself. The village also have good tamales, too! I love Mexico:)