| |
What to Expect if You Decide to Sell Your Home Without Professional Help The unique real estate market of the past few years has lulled many homeowners into the false impression that it’s easy to sell real estate. While some homeowners have had success selling their own homes, many more are finding that recent changes in market conditions are making it difficult for homeowners to market a property without professional assistance.
Most people don’t relish the hassle of fielding phone calls, having strangers appear at their door at any hour asking to see their house, or the hard feelings that can result after a tough negotiation or when a problem occurs after the contract has been signed. They put up with it to save the cost of a marketing fee.
But, we're going to let you in on a secret most sellers don’t know. In their desire to save money on a real estate commission many owners selling on their own cost themselves thousands of dollars they don’t even know about. Overpricing, underpricing, or not knowing market conditions or what a buyer expects are all contributing factors.
While many problems can turn up whenever sellers attempt to market their own properties, the #1 starting place for trouble is with the price. Price your property too low and you may have lost thousands of dollars when a buyer quickly accepts your asking price. Price it too high and you’ve opened the door to a number of problems that include, but aren’t limited to, the following:
- Overpricing decreases the number of buyers who view the property.
- If a property doesn’t compare favorably with others in its price category, it won’t sell.
- If a property is overpriced, it will remain on the market and soon become shopworn.
- Overpricing reduces exposure by real estate professionals.
- Overpricing reduces the response to any marketing done for the property.
- If overpricing delays a sale, the cost and inconvenience can be prohibitive.
- When an overpriced property finally does sell, the owner may be forced to accept a contract even lower than what should have been the original offering price.
- If a seller is lucky enough to receive a contract at or near an inflated asking price, the property may not appraise high enough for the buyer to qualify for a loan.
While failing to set a competitive market price is usually the most talked about problem when a home is For Sale By Owner, it’s not the only area where owners should be concerned. Here are some other questions that you need to consider:
- Not everyone who wants to view your home can afford to buy it. How will you know which buyers are serious?
- Buyers know you’re trying to save the marketing fee and they expect you to reduce the price of your property by at least the amount a Realtor® would have charged. How do you counteract this?
- Do you know how to screen prospective visitors to protect your safety?
- Once a contract is signed, who will advise you about home inspections, other contingencies, deadlines, and fair housing laws?
- Do you know what disclosures and/or disclaimers are required by Virginia law and how to fulfill them?
- Other than placing an ad in the local newspaper, do you know where to advertise your property, what the deadlines are, and what the target audience of each publication is?
- Can you show your property effectively, knowing which features to emphasize and when to remain silent during a buyer’s visit?
- Do you understand home staging and how to use it to your property’s best advantage?
- Are you skilled in negotiating calmly on your own behalf?
- Do you know the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval and how it can affect a sales contract?
- Can you provide information about your home to callers 24 hours a day?
- Have you decided what you’ll do if the potential buyer needs to sell their own home first, especially if its in another community?
- Are you aware of recent changes in the current market and economic conditions throughout your area and how they are affecting the price of real estate and timing of sales?
- Can you create and effectively distribute sales materials including flyers, fact sheets, and brochures?
- Do you know how to network with all the Realtors® in the area? Most home sales come as the direct result of a purchaser who was introduced to the property through their real estate agent.
We admire anyone who wants to take the time and go through the trouble to do the work involved in selling a home on their own. If you decide to follow this course, we're always happy to answer any questions you might have.
In addition, we have a special, 15-page FREE report available that provides useful tips on How to Sell Your Home Yourself. Please contact me or give us a call to request your copy. Asking for the report creates no obligation on your part and we won't pressure you to list your property.
| |
