Selling a horse: asking price

[corn18]

SO I have this horse that has sucked our family dry for the past year. I am selling it and want her to go fast because she costs $1,000 / month to keep (board + training + vet + ferrier ++++...). That $1,000 / month is $800 less than when we had her at another barn, so that is as cheap as it can go. Unless I stop her training, but then she won't sell.

I am asking $12,000 which is what she is worth. But it's slow selling season for horses and won't pick up again until next spring. Then I'll have another $4,000+ sunk into her.

Here's my thought: if I can sell her now for as low as $8,000, that would avoid paying another $1,000 / month for an undetermined number of months. If I hold out for $12k until next March or April, that's the same net as selling her now for $8k and avoiding $4k in costs. And once the horse is gone, the trailer can go, too. And all the other horse stuff.

So, move her fast and cheap or hold out?

Thanks,

Tom

[97guns]

i say fast and cheap if your ok with the proceeds. i just sold a car for $3K under low blue book, it was an '07 with only 27K on it, first buyer came to look and bought it. gotta stand firm if your asking bottom dollar though, maybe dont go absolute low

[TheKayla]

Depending on your experience level, how sure are you about that increase in price? If you're pretty confident in the increase in selling price in 4 months, but it may be just a matter of convenience for you. Do you prefer having her or is it a chore?

It sounds like you'll get about the same either way, so it shouldn't matter too much, and should be what makes you feel most secure financially.

[disneysteve]

I think you are right on track. Holding out for a higher price while spending $1,000/month doesn't make any sense. The sooner you sell, the better, regardless of price. If 8K gets it sold, then that should be the asking price.

[bjl584]

I'd sell now at $8000. Get rid of it and move on. No sense in continuing to put money into it if you can sell now.

[Bob B.]

Another vote for selling now.

[elessar78]

Price it at 10K for a month, see if anyone bites. Anyone asking might try to talk you down to 8 anyway. At least this way, you have some room for negotiation. It'll create that win-win feeling we search for in negotiations.

He thinks he's getting a 12k horse for 9K, since you were asking for 10K so he feels he successfully talked you down. But you were willing to settle for 8, so you feel good about it too.

Sorry, logic centers weren't working. You have to sell it for over 9K, or else there's no point in listing it for a month. You made a thousand more but had to pay the stable a thousand.

[BuckyBadger]

A few things from a horse person:

What non-horse people don't realize is that every month you own a horse there's like a 15% chance that it's going to go lame, or have a soft tissue injury, or pop an abscess, or get a stone bruise, or colic and die. So if you're interested in selling the horse, sooner is better than later. In 4 months you might have a lame horse worth absolutely nothing at all.

Also, there's no Kelly Blue Book for horses, so she's only worth $12k if someone is willing to pay $12k. If she's at a barn and in full or partial training at $1k a month, then you're working with a trainer. It's going to be that trainer who gets the horse sold. Word of mouth trainer-to-trainer is going to be the best way to sell that horse, and your trainer is going to be the best one to know what the horse is worth.

Don't forget the 10 to 20% commission that you're going to owe your trainer.

But I'm wondering how involved you are with the horse? Are you riding her? A family member? Because it's a "farrier" not a "ferrier" and that makes me think that you aren't the one riding/dealing with her.

If she's not selling, can you part or full lease her? Lease to own? Have your trainer use her in his/her lesson program? If she's a useful horse there are ways to decrease her current monthly upkeep costs.

[NetSkyBlue]

A few things from a horse person:

What non-horse people don't realize is that every month you own a horse there's like a 15% chance that it's going to go lame, or have a soft tissue injury, or pop an abscess, or get a stone bruise, or colic and die.

Is that a special kind of horse? Ours are right around 20, though we expect one might not make it through this winter.

[corn18]

I'm the bill payer. My daughter is the rider. We paid $19k for the horse in Apr of this year for her to start eventing and take to horse college. That all fell through for various reasons, so I need the horse gone. Now. Trainer has her own horses for sale so she is of dubious help. But she is still training the horse which is needed to hold some value. Old owner actually referred someone who is looking at the horse this Saturday. At this point, she can have the horse for a steal.

Tom

[BuckyBadger]

Is that a special kind of horse? Ours are right around 20, though we expect one might not make it through this winter.

I'm right at 100%, myself, but I consider myself PARTICULARLY lucky!

I'm the bill payer. My daughter is the rider. We paid $19k for the horse in Apr of this year for her to start eventing and take to horse college. That all fell through for various reasons, so I need the horse gone. Now. Trainer has her own horses for sale so she is of dubious help. But she is still training the horse which is needed to hold some value. Old owner actually referred someone who is looking at the horse this Saturday. At this point, she can have the horse for a steal.

Tom

That's a familiar story.

But if it's a horse capable of moving a rider into eventing, it should be very salable. It's the sort of horse that lots of people would be looking for for their kids or to move up on. Moving into winter is a tough time to sell a horse, but if the price is right you might get lucky.

My other thought is to lease it through the winter, if you can find anyone interested. Even a free lease to someone in the barn who you trust would get you out from under the payments. You might not be able to get a paid lease this time of year for that short a season (unless you live in the south), but a free lease might work out. The lessor would be responsible for board, lessons/training, farrier, vet, and insurance. Then come spring she could go back on the market. Best case is that the lessor falls in lvoe and wants to buy her.

If she's nice enough, you could get money on top. Traditional lease price is 1/3 the horse's calue per year, divided into 12 months you could get between $500 and $550 a month if the horse is desireable enough. That would take you through to the spring AND keep the animal in work.

[NetSkyBlue]

I'm right at 100%, myself, but I consider myself PARTICULARLY lucky!

I mean 20 years old. Might be 22 or 23, I'm not totally sure.

[corn18]

If anyone is still following this...

My wife had a good idea tonight: donate the horse to the local therapeutic riding place. Market value is $24k and I can deduct that from my 2013 taxes and get 30% of that back. That's $7,200 off my tax bill. That saves me the hassle of selling in a terrible market and I can get rid of the trailer now, too. And the best part is my daughter works at the therapeutic riding place and rides all their horses each week as part of her job. So she will get paid to ride her horse vs. me paying $1,300+ every month. I hope this works out. Win, win.

Tom

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I like that idea. Sounds good to me. About what it costs you sell it. though you don't get the cash. But you don't really need it either.

[corn18]

In case anyone is STILL following this, I donated the horse yesterday. Good part is that removes $1,000 / mo expenses from the budget. Bad part was the appraisal was much lower than I had hoped. $12.5k vs $24k. The horse market is terrible right now. So I get $4k back on taxes. I could have sold her for $6k but it would have taken a while. Now to sell the trailer and the $4k worth of gear left over. Making progress.

Tom