Real Estate Sellers

Real Estate Sellers

Real estate sellers have "the product". If you are a seller, think back on when you were a buyer and look at your property like you did BEFORE you owned it. Then ask "What do you need to do to get buyers into it!?" Or better, "What would my neighbor tell me I need to do?"

If you have really decided to sell, let go of your taste! Let me say that again - LET GO OF YOUR TASTE!!!! You want to appeal to the MOST buyers! Think like this - I am selling this property. I am not looking for approval of my individual designing, landscaping, or decorating abilities. I am selling this property.

Ask: "What are people looking to BUY and how do I get my property to appeal to most of them?" Now, that being said, you probably have a really nice property. Few are the serious sellers with junk in the yard (including shrines), funky colors on the walls, water stains in the ceiling, carpet from the 1920s, collectables in every nook and cranny, smelly pets, smoke tar on the walls and trim, or cracked windows, as well as plumbing problems, outdated electrical, a roof near the end of its life and no permits for the "in-law" apartment. Hmmmm, sounds like the three unit I just bought.

Since YOUR property is nice and ready to appeal to the most buyers possible, drive around your town and see which signs attract your eye. Why? Because believe it or not, many many properties are sold from a sign! All the real estate ads in the paper are for is to get calls and to make clients see their house being marketed. (Most buyers do not buy the house they call on from the paper. But many homes are sold from a call on a sign!) Buyers are driving neighborhoods first, and then they call.

So when you have a few eye catching signs in mind, interview a few agents from those (more than one) companies. You may want to interview a few different agents from the same company, once you decide which company.

Maybe the agent that answered the phone when you called is new, or retired and this is a hobby, or doesn't know your area well. I have clients who want only me to list their property, because I am the owner of the company. No problem. It is your property, don't settle, get what you want.

When pricing your property, you need to see the data of SOLD homes. Homes for sale are not used on an appraisal. Closed sales from the last 6 months or less that closely match your location, style, number of rooms, bedrooms, baths, lot size, garage or not, etc., are the best indicators of value. Condition and colors are the last part of the equation. Logically, you can have the same house on the same block in differing conditions and colors and one will sell while the other sits. Buyers are looking for what they want and that is usually a picture in their head based on the average house in the neighborhood. Unique property colors or unusual designs in any neighborhood will take longer to sell.

Remember you are S E L L I N G. They WILL change the colors, landscaping, and other things. But that is ok, you are done with it.

Steps to selling:

1. Make your house look good to average. The best home on the block is not the best buy for most buyers. Get rid of the lawn shrines and junk. Make the colors as usual (normal and neutral) as you can. This includes removing anything that will not be sold with the property, from chandelliers to trees in the yard.

2. Loose the idea that your 3 bedroom 2 bath was built with the gold nails and is worth more than the one next door that sold for $20,000 less than you want.

3. Drive the neighborhood and note the companies that have for sale signs there.

4. Interview the companies.

5. As part of the interview, ask each one what you need to do to make the home sell.

6. Price the home based on ALL the data they give you. Don't just use the highest list price because that company may just be "buying" the listing. They'll eventually work the price down to where the others told you it should be, but you will have lost time, good exposure, and a possible sale.

7. DO what they said you need to do to make your property more saleable. You are S E L L I N G.

8. Let the company show the property and you are NOT to be there when they do! I do not like lock boxes. If I hire someone to sell a property, they better be there to answer questions and keep track of who is in my property! But, I will not be there while they show it.

9. Get a copy of the listing and review it for data errors. DON'T try to rewrite the ad copy. Just look at the data and make sure it is correct.

10. Negotiate. First look at the mortgage contingency and/or any bank information they provide with any offer. If the bank is willing to lend $100,000 and the buyer is only offering 90,000 on your $110,000 house, you know they can go up. A good buyer agent or banker will camoflage this information to make it harder for you to discern. If they don't provide it, get information from a bank that shows they can buy your property before you accept anything. If you accept and they can't get financing, you have wasted market time. A good ASR will know this. Scrutinize full price offers for contingencies that give all the power to the buyer. For example, a home inspection contingency that hopes to find $0 in repairs is completely in favor of the buyer. Every house has something to fix.

11. Have your attorney review the paperwork before you sign or put a clause in that says "Subject to attourney's review and acceptance within 24 hours."

12. Leave again for the home inspection. Be reasonable with things that turn up. Safety issues have to be addressed. You are still the owner for another 40-60 days. Deal with the safety problems correctly and that includes getting any necessary permits. Decide what is taste and what is a real issue. For example, a roof "nearing the end of it's life" with no leaks is not an issue for you.

13. Pack. Clean. Close.

14. Buy a different property.

15. Send us a note with your story.

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