SELLING CONSIDERATIONS
Considerations If You Have To Sell In A Hurry
1. Plan for it to take longer!!!
2. Figure that it normally takes about 30 days after a contract is
ratified for settlement to occur. Find out what the average time on the
market is. It is possible for it to happen sooner but that then becomes
a negotiating point with the purchaser.
3. Make sure the home looks sharp. If something isn't working -- get it
fixed. If you are unsure about the condition get a home inspection
performed. Your purchaser will, so you may eliminate some problems ahead
of time by getting them corrected instead of waiting.
4. Price it at the market value. If you aren't comfortable with what
your Realtor says, get a professional appraisal.
5. Keep the fact that you want to sell or have to sell in a hurry to
yourself. It could hurt you in the negotiation. You should let your
agent know this information, however.
6. Make a detailed list of everything that must be done to include all
services you will need performed, utility contacts, movers, Plan B if
the home doesn't sell within the required time frame, etc. Establish
time tables for everything.
Mistakes Some Sellers Make
1. They don't listen to recommendations from the Realtor about what must
be done to the home to get it ready for sale. Realtors deal with this
aspect constantly and know what buyers will find acceptable or
unacceptable. If you are skeptical of the advice get an independent
opinion. There are companies that provide surfaces for getting a home
ready to be marketed.
2. They elect not to have a "For Sale" sign installed.
3. Don't permit a lock box.
4. Put very restrictive times on the property for showing.
5. When called by an agent to show the home and it is
inconvenient...they either say no or try to schedule it for some other
time. NEVER turn down the opportunity to have your home shown no matter
how messy the home may be or how inconvenient it might seem. What if
this is the buyer who would love your home, is from out of town and has
to make a decision by the end of the day and yours is the last house
they will be seeing?
6. They "just want to test the market" with a price. Buyers today know
what the values are for homes in a given neighborhood.
7. Hover around prospective buyers when they are being shown the home.
8. They ignore the fact that they are in competition with other homes on
the market.
9. They forget that selling a home is simply a business transaction in
which the buyer wants to get as good a deal as possible. In a
sense this is the same thing that the seller wants. Consequently they get
offended by an initial offer and outright reject it with no counter
offer.
10.In a $200,000 deal, they quibble over a $250 washing machine. "It's
the principle", they say. The buyer, also forgetting it is a business
deal, says, "there are more homes on the market than there are buyers
for them ... see ya later".
