Some helpful opinions please on difficult co op sale

The property should of course be listed on the broker databases. NYTimes is pretty standard. Streeteasy costs nothing. Good if the broker faxes other brokerages about the apartment when it is listed.

Brokers are of differing opinions on this next point, but I was impressed by my broker's persistence in holding open houses every week until the apartment I listed sold. I think I did 7 open houses and then got a contract. It is easier for some buyers to browse at open houses than call to make appointments. And follow-up visits are easier for them if there are open houses. People follow the paths of least resistence. Creating a hurdle like making an appoint doesn't help with "exposure." The first month of Sunday viewings also helped me and my broker gauge market reaction for the apartment by watching traffic and getting feedback from visitors. We did one price adjustment, started getting offers, and closed a deal within 2-3 weeks after that at a price I was confident was the right one.

You have a role in this too. Your place MUST be staged to sell. EMPTY OUT YOUR CRAP. ZERO clutter. Get a storage locker if you must but make the place spacious and airy. Remove photos, knick-knacks, kids junk everywhere, toiletries in plain view, personal effects. No odors, dust, dirt, shower soap scum or even water droplets in the tub indicating someone was in there naked recently. Clean your refrigerator and empty every garbage can. No filled laundry baskets. Basically, allow viewers to imaging THEMSELVES living there instead of seeing how YOU live there. For every showing the place must be immaculate. Having recently been to 40 open houses in a month, I cannot believe how people show their places and expect others to want to live in them and pay a fortune to do so.

I couldn't agree more with kylewest. I love the comment about evidence that people may have been naked there recently. It's true. I don't particularly care but I know many people are totally grossed out as soon as they realize that something in the apartment might still contain atoms that were once part of your body. The argument goes something like this - you washed your underwear in the washing machine so if I wash my underwear in there then your ‘residue’ will wind up on my underwear => same as me rubbing your underwear all over my body. The place can't be clean enough.

If the place really is as nice as you say it is then have photos and possibly a video take. Make sure they are on the web in high resolution showing how clean the place is, how nice it is and what a great state of repair it's in.

Personally the first thing I look for are good clear floorplans with total sq footage numbers that look like they roughly match the floorplan and the photos.

Pricing is a tough one - you need to price it to get traffic in and get multiple bids. You don't need to go too low but if you're too high then people won't even show up to the open house. This is where your broker should really be helping with comps etc.

If you really have a great place and you have nothing to hide then you cant offer too much transparency - photos, videos, floor plans, description, comps, open houses, appointments etc.

Just think of what you look for when you're buying a place.

I know there are pros you can pay to draw up floor plans, and I would encourage you do this if you don't have a well-marked, clear floor plan potential sellers can view online.

I want to see the size of the rooms clearly marked, where there are windows and doors, here's a good example, click on the "floorplan" link:

http://www.halstead.com/detail.aspx?id=1470618

I saw a ton of ads on the nytimes web site with no floor plans or ones I couldn't read (and I have good eyes) that I just skipped over the listing.

help4me, it sounds as if you're not happy with your broker. Can you provide more specifics? Great advice given here, have you & your broker been doing any of this? Or have there been disagreements between you and your broker?

"The argument goes something like this - you washed your underwear in the washing machine so if I wash my underwear in there then your ‘residue’ will wind up on my underwear => same as me rubbing your underwear all over my body."

So if send my laundry to the corner Laundromat, does that mean that I have actually rubbed my neighborhood's underwear all over me?

Uptowngirl you are right on the money I cant get the broker to market properly.Im in an awkward situation the broker is a long time personal friend and I am considering using another broker when the contract expires but feel very guilty doing this.Kylewest the apartment is completely empty so that is not an issue.My main question was what can I tell the broker is absolutely essential in advertising the property and that I cant accept less than putting it out for people to find

What I said above is what I think is required. Mailings, special brouchures? That isn't standard. But you still haven't said what exactly the problem is. What has your broken done so far? Have you had any offers at all? How confident you are this is a marketing issue and not a price point issue? I'm very curious about the details of your experience. Uptowngal hinted at this, quite rightly. We could help more if we knew more.

If empty, your apartment is the other extreme of the problematic cluttered apartment, but completely empty can be as bad as too cluttered. In an empty apartment, every minute defect is magnified. Banged up base boards, less than perfect floors, old windows, door frames with a zillion coats of nasty old paint, icky caulking/grout in bathroom, a broken doorbell, or a shaky closet door... There is nothing to distract from these little things. Buyers sometimes have a hard time seeing how a room is supposed to be configured without furniture in it. Their voices echo. The place can seem depressing. Tell us, what is your situation?

I agree with kylewest. I went to an open house of an empty apartment last weekend. I had trouble picturing how any bed would fit in the small bedroom. I'm sure it really is big enough for some furniture, but empty it looked much smaller to me. Enough furniture to show that its possible for someone to live there would help a great deal.

JuiceMan - yes, according to certain people you have indeed rubbed your neighborhood's underwear all over your body. I find people go particularly nuts about this stuff when they have kids. "Ohhh I'm not washing my baby's stuff in there, who knows what they did with it". Of the 6 bn + babies born in the last 80 years I don’t think too many of them ran afoul of a pre-owned washing machine. But you’re not reasoning with me – and people can have odd ideas. Bottom line - don't leave your pile of jock straps on top of the washer just in case a potential buyer thinks like that.

To the excellent advice already given, I will just add email blasts to the entire brokerage community. Very important.

Make sure there are fresh flowers on a few small tables even if the rest of the place is empty. Make sure the windows are spotless. Actually, it sounds like your place is probably priced too high . . . .

Also, have 90 minute open houses every Sunday, just as was earlier suggested.

Maybe you should stage the apartment? Little things go a long way. You can buy new bedding and accessories at Target that looks expensive and transform your bedroom into the W hotel. Put half of your existing stuff in storage to eliminate clutter. Price the apartment less than similar apartments in your building. If you have a view of a landmark, sunny southern exposure, high floor, new kitchen and bath, subzero appliances, highlight those selling points in your ad. Maybe the place needs to be renovated? Make it look gorgeous and price it right and it should sell.