http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=4718871853

The average sold price was $51 psf (per square foot) with a range of $33 to $60.56 psf. The average days on market was pretty low at 65 days with a range of 0 to 103 days.

There is one pending sale that was listed at $33 psf. We wont know the sold price until after closing. It has been on market since 4/14/08.

The house across the street is listed at $39 psf. It has been on market since 12/30/08.

In general we price properties in a range somewhere between the average sold price to just above the highest sold price. In the current condition of the house, we would probably need to list is somewhere near the bottom of that range.

Tax records indicate that your house is 1870 square feet.

http://www.emapsplus.com/ALMadison/report.asp?County=ALMadison&PID=1405153004028000&MapImage=/Maps/pm_EMAPSMAP02_5382_67718.gif

At the lowest sold price of $33 psf the house would be $61,700. At the average sold price of $51 psf it would be $95,000.

It’s been my experience that some effort getting a house to the point that it makes a good impression always pays off in a faster, higher sale. If you are all too busy to do to work to the house, there is a man in our church that does haul out and clean up work for us. I can out you in touch with him if you like. His prices are very reasonable. If I were in your position, I would at a minimum have it cleaned out and cleaned up. The yard should be raked and cleaned up as well. It looks like the structural condition of the house is still good and that the hardwood floors are not in too bad a condition.

The link below is to a page on our website where I go into some detail on the key factors to selling a house. It may be worth the time to spend some time reading about our experiences before letting the house go for a very low price.

http://www.huntsville-homes.com/LookingtoSell

You also need to make sure that when you do get an contract for sale that the deed is clear and probate settled. We have had experiences in the past with estate properties where we had problems completing the sale because title and probate were not clear and settled.

Here are the websites for researching schools http://www.schooldigger.com/go/AL/search.aspx and http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/go/AL.

The link below is to properties that may be candidates for you.

On Valley MLS You can click on the photo for additional photos and on the address for a map of the approximate location of the property. On the map, you can click on hybrid for a satellite image overlay. In some cases there will also be an interactive street level image. You can click on the zip code to link to the US Census data for the zip code area.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=4718871844

Generally no portion of the rent is applied to the rent. It might be a point
of negotiation with the owner to have a portion of the rent apply to
purchase.

In the past when we did apply rent to purchase. The purchaser’s lender took
exception. We had to restructure the transaction to apply the accrued credit
to purchaser closing costs.

On price, we would need to negotiate with seller to see what they are
willing to do. In general the price on a 12 month LP would be greater than a
6 mo to account for appreciation.

We would need a rental application and a preapproval (even if it contains
contingencies) from a trusted lender. We would present an offer to Seller
and negotiate as with a normal sale.

We use standard HARR paperwork and our standard lease.

The link below is to recent Huntsville MLS search sales in the neighborhood going back to 9/1/07.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=4718865095

The average sold price was $91 psf with a range of $83 to $97 psf. The average days on market were high for our area at 108 days and a range of 65 to 136 days.

There is one contingent sale that was listed at $83 psf. We wont know the actual sold price until after escrow closes. The property was on market 314 days before going under contract.

The sales data indicates that the market in the neighborhood is still a little soft. Having a tenant in place will add a another level of difficulty. For a house to sell it must be prepared form market and staged to show. A tenant usually doesn’t want to move and has no incentive to make the house attractive.

If we were to put the house on the market with the tenant in place, we would have to get their approval to even show it. If they didn’t give approval, state law requires a two day posted notice. Most buyers are not willing to wait for a showing and will move to the next property.

If we listed at the average sold price of $91 psf, we would be at $145,600.  If we liated at the lower end of $83 psf we would be at $132,800.

If you have the ability to hold for a few months and put the property on market in May. Our market will have heated up. We can give the current tenant notice to move and freshen up the property so it will show well.

Huntsville Alabama is a thriving area with strong economic growth and predictions of continued growth for the foreseeable future. Housing prices are still quite low as compared to most cities and the tax rates are some of the lowest in the nation. The local real estate market has been booming for the past three years and we anticipate the trend to continue. We are recommending caution and careful selection of properties and location for both our homeowner and investor clients.  Some areas are appreciating much more than others and there area areas with potential negative factors such as traffic.