Selling a house in this economy has its challenges. A seller must make a careful assessment of the pros and cons of their property before they put in on the market. One question that must be answered right from the start is establishing whether now is the best time of the year to sell.
Generally, fall and winter are not the best time to sell a home, but due to the increase of foreclosures and short sales, there is an abundance of available homes to choose from, but with many of these properties it is truly buyer beware. The market is plagued with potential hazards for the unsuspecting buyer. Many homes for sale have not been properly processed in the foreclosure process so a new buyer may find themselves in a legal maze where they could lose money. It is up to their real estate agent to inform them of the obstacles.
Interest rates are at all time lows, making now an attractive time for anyone who’s been sitting on the sidelines to jump in, meaning if you’re thinking of selling a home, now could be a great time to take advantage of record low interest rates.
Forecasts of possible further declines in housing prices may or may not happen, but if your home is in good selling condition, you may have an advantage over all the foreclosures and short sales that are flooding the market, simply because of the high risk a buyer must take when buying these properties.
If you need to sell a home, consider the condition of your home, and what you will be competing with in your neighborhood. It may just be the best time ever to sell your home.
Selling a home may seem like a simple task, one that only entails a ‘for sale’ sign, a few flyers, and possibly posting the home on Craigslist, but there is much more involved than meets the eye. Real estate agents help countless people buy and sell homes, attend many hours of education, and develop systems, all in an effort to guarantee successful, smooth, real estate transactions.
Homeowners who decide to sell on their own usually make many mistakes, some of which they are unaware of, that can come back to haunt them. Let’s take a look at the most common mistakes made by the homeowner during a for-sale-by-owner listing:
1. Emotional Pricing – One of the most critical mistakes often made during a for-sale-by-owner listing is pricingf the home out of alignment with the market value. Homeowners tend to view their property with emotional attachment, resulting in an escalated price because they include their personal experiences in the home as part of the value.
For example, a homeowner may personally paint a child’s bedroom with a fun mural, full of bright colors. The homeowner believes the mural has value because it is special to the child, but in reality, the mural is not only a hindrance to attracting a buyer, it devalues the home in the buyer’s mind because all the buyer sees is the fact that they will need to paint the room. Your decorative touches, no matter how much you love them or how much you paid for them, do not add value to the home.
2. Improper Staging – Buyers are very demanding when looking at homes they are interested in, especially in the current market. They have a lot of homes to choose from, and the slightest problem with a home can cause them to move on to the next place of interest. For sale by owners often make the mistake of ‘what appeals to them will also appeal to all buyers’, such as the mural story above.
Simple things such as paint, flooring condition, cleanliness, well-lighted rooms, uncluttered walls, all play a part in impressing buyers. It is a good idea to actually hire a home staging expert to provide advice on how to best show the home. A staging professional will advise you about what changes can be made to not only attract, but keep buyers interested enough to make an offer on your home.
3. Old Fashioned Marketing – Over 80% of people who are looking to purchase a home, surf the Internet to find the right property. Homeowners may not know how to properly market their home on the Internet. Not only does a seller need to know all possible Internet marketing avenues, but also must possess a very good understanding of the ins-and-outs of using all the search tools available.
If this sounds like a tall order, it is. There are hundreds if not thousands of for-sale-by-owner sites, as well as the popular auction sites, that are vying for the home seller’s listing. How do you know which is best? Where do you even begin to look? Without a strong background in real estate and marketing, along with a firm grasp on Internet posting, your home may be lost in the shuffle and never be seen. With an uninformed eye on the Internet, the for-sale-by-owner could be missing thousands of potential buyers.
4. Improper Paperwork – One of the most frustrating, and costly, mistakes made during a for-sale-by-owner transaction is the lack of experience in managing the paperwork and communication that is necessary once an offer is received and accepted. Considering just the pages of the contract, there are dozens of documents to understand with numerous disclosures that must meet precise dates for signing and filing.
Aside from simply signing and accepting an offer, there are inspections to be scheduled, appraisers to meet, and unacceptable conditions that must be negotiated. If anything is missed, it could cause the contract to fall through, meaning that the home must go back on the market. Most homeowners are not expected to know all these details; that’s what real estate schooling and training is meant for.
Bottom Line – Although it is possible for a homeowner to sell their own home, it is extremely difficult and time consuming. Homeowners are involved with only one, or maybe two or three, real estate transactions in their life, whereas a real estate a professional is involved with hundreds or thousands. Leaving such a large investment to the professionals is often in a homeowner’s best interest.
In today’s Columbia SC real estate market, we are seeing more and more properties for sale flooding the market, but fewer and fewer buyers for these properties. The result is that house prices keep going down every month.
As a result, it has become tougher and tougher for people to sell their properties. You find that you get little to no interest when you try to sell your house. Let’s look at how to generate interest by using owner financing, and probably selling it fast or even for a higher price than you would otherwise sell it.
What is Owner Financing?
Owner financing is when the seller agrees to become the bank for part or all of the value of a particular property. As the seller, you may own the property free and clear, or you may still have a mortgage on the property.
Whatever the case, it is advisable for you to seek help on how to structure and close your owner financed deal. Make sure you talk to your CPA and real estate attorney.
The buyer usually pays a down payment once the seller agrees to owner finance the property. The seller then receives monthly payments just like a bank.
What Makes Owner Financing Attractive to Buyers?
Why should a buyer choose your property when there are numerous other properties in the neighborhood, perhaps even selling for a lower price?
Before a buyer ever comes to see your house, they will have to be attracted to it by the terms you have set for the sale. Seller financing attracts a lot of attention for your property.
With the banks and mortgage companies tightening their lending procedures, most people can no longer qualify for a conventional mortgage. Most people’s credit has also been bruised during the down economy. Many of these buyers can only buy real estate through owner financing.
When you are selling your house, you end up generating a lot of interest, selling faster, or even selling at a higher price by using seller financing.
Your listing price should be estimated from comparable sales in the area. But it is important to be careful which properties you use as comparable sales. Owner financed properties usually carry a higher price than others and this price may therefore not reflect the true value of similar properties.
Columbia SC real estate sellers who adapt to changing market trends, like offering owner financing, often end up selling quicker even where others cannot sell at all.
In today’s tough real estate market, you must do things to make your home stand out from the crowd. Home Staging has become a popular way to make your home stand out from the crowded listing inventory.
When we hear the word “Staging”, we tend to automatically think that means we need someone else to come in and decorate, and add even more costs to the expense column when it comes to selling a property. But this is not the case. You can do some things yourself to improve your chances of selling your home.
- Set your listing price by utilizing area comparables, not based upon what you need to get for your home.
- Repair squeaky doors, chipped or smudged paint as well as broken fixtures and fittings that you’ve neglected.
- Get rid of worn carpets, and consider refinishing shabby hardwood floors. An inexpensive new area rug is a quick fix and can disguise the look of old floors.
- Invest in a fresh coat of paint and get 150 percent green back on your investment.
- Fix all running toilets, or risk flushing profits down the drain.
- Remember that “outside” is the new “inside.” Show off all of your living spaces. It’s your first chance to make a good impression, so you’ve got to make it count.
- Renew the look of rooms by replacing old or dated light fixtures, door hardware, light switches and outlets.
- Grind a lemon in the garbage disposal – it smells great and it’s cheaper than air freshner.
- Display the kind of plants that aren’t injection-molded and painted in a factory somewhere.
- Make things sparkle. Remember that people will look in your cupboards, under your sinks and in your closets. Mop, dust, vacuum, wash windows, baseboards, and anything else that a potential buyer may see as a turn-off.
Paying attention to these few things will help you be ahead of the crowd when potential buyers compare your home against others for sale.
Although nobody’s perfect, it’s important to be as perfect as possible when selling your home. That will increase the likelihood that you can have success selling it. Here are some helpful tips to give you the best chance to sell your Columbia SC area home:
- Never avoid doing necessary repairs
You won’t necessarily need to take out a second mortgage to fix up your home before putting it on the market. However, you can certainly do some basic home improvements to enhance your home’s condition. That includes new carpeting, new gas or water pipes, interior or exterior paint, and so on. Speaking of the interior and exterior of your home, remember that both are important when you put your home on the market. Increasing your home’s curb-side appeal will make it more marketable.
. - Never set the price too low
This is yet another mistake that homeowners often make when they put their home on the market. The problem is that taking this step could significantly reduce your profit margin. In fact, if you set the price too low you’ll have no profit margin at all. The best way to avoid setting your home’s price too low is to find out its actual market value before you put it on the market.
. - Never hire an inexperienced real estate agent
It’s important that the real estate agent you pick has a reasonable amount of experience. He or she doesn’t necessarily need 20 years experience selling homes. But you should also probably avoid hiring a newbie. One effective method is to get personal referrals for real estate agents. Whichever method you take to find a the right agent, always compare a minimum of three. That will help to increase the likelihood of finding the right one. You should also check the credentials of a particular real estate agent before choosing him or her.
. - Never set your home’s price too high
Many experts say this is the biggest mistake you can make when putting your home on the market. It’s a particularly bad idea today due to the amount of information that’s available to home shoppers. Here’s what often happens. If a shopper knows your home is much higher than its market value, then he or she will offer an extremely low price. That will likely anger you, which will likely result in the home not being sold. When pricing your home, it’s important to consider several factors to calculate its market value. That will help to determine an accurate price for your home.
. - Never market your home inefficiently
Setting the right price for your home is a crucial step for selling your home. But that won’t mean much if you don’t market it effectively. The good news is, you can use several effective methods for maximizing the chance of selling your home. Talk to us about some of these marketing methods. Also, keep in mind that the process of marketing lasts until you actually sell your home.
Avoiding the above mistakes will help you sell your Columbia SC area home sooner rather than later (or never).