Jim Remley, writer for "Realty Times" and author of Sell Your Home in Any Market, recently wrote a synopsis article for Bottom Line Secrets, with quick tips on the selling your home in this slow market we are experiencing. Here's a summary of his tips and advice...
- Don't start with a higher price. Negotiating back and forth over price does not work in this market. Mr. Remley advises that you should price your home towards the lower end of the comparable homes for sale in the neighborhood. Real estate agents that may show your home will pay the most attention to a new listing. Once the home has been listed for a while, you miss this initial attention, and they probably will not even bother to show an overpriced house at all. He also advises you to recheck comparable asking prices every several weeks if the house does not sell. If you do have to lower the price, make it a LARGE reduction so that it will attract notice and even be a "best buy" in the category. **Note: Do not even THINK about what homes in the neighborhood sold for a year or so back. The market was entirely different and prices were also. If your home is listed and isn't being shown, the problem is more than likely the price.
- Repair and fix up the home before you offer it for sale. In this market, fixer-uppers are most often ignored. Do all important repairs before listing.
- Beautify your home's face. Remley advises to spend the money for landscaping, flowers, exterior repainting, outdoor lighting, the sidewalk, and even new doorknobs. Buying a home is an emotional purchase, and these small things will make a buyer "fall in love".
- Refresh the inside, and especially when it comes to any odors. New paint, carpet, tiles, or hardwood floors can help, but if a smoker or pet owner lived there, it may be necessary to hire a "building restoration company" to do whatever it takes to remove all the smells that linger behind.
- Think of any special amenities that your home can boast, and include it in the MLS listing, SPELLED OUT. Remley suggests rather than saying "inground pool" your agent should write it up as "inground pool with waterfall and hot tub".
- Offer incentives to buyers. There are many home sales made by "bribing" the buyers with cash, cars, tv's or a plethora of other offers. Of the most effective, Remley says that helping with closing costs, or paying to buy down the interest rate (purchasing points with the mortgage) work the best. Be sure these are listed on the MLS as well as any advertising that you do for the potential sale. *In florida, helping with home or condo insurance would be a good incentive!
- Offer incentives to brokers and sales agents. Mention the bonus in the MLS listing (not the original commissions) and be sure to disclose it on the sales contract. A lender could possibly claim fraud in the sales price if anything is hidden in cash negotiations.
- Don't play the negotiation game this time. If the buyer offers a reasonable price, consider accepting it without making a counter-offer. Better to take an offer you can live with then to take a chance of the buyer making an offer elsewhere. If you are getting lots of offers, this may not be in issue, but losing a sale over a few thousand dollars is not worth the chance.
These tips are particularly important with resort areas like Florida, and real estate in Myrtle Beach SC. Areas such as Greenville SC real estate markets, and small town areas like real estate in Flower Mound Texas may not have the glut of foreclosure homes that trendier areas suffer from. All oceanfront property will benefit from attention to the tips that Remley suggested, and if you are trying to sell this type of real estate, his book could prove invaluable. |
