Ways to NOT screw up the sale of your home

Selling your home sucks!

Moving is expensive.  This can feel stressful and overwhelming sometimes ….especially as the theoretical costs become REAL, and sometimes those are more than you planned. Maybe you had to spend more on your new home than you thought you would, or the people selling your new home won’t make any repairs…so now you have to add that to your own budget.    This can lead you to REALLY REALLY REALLY wanting top dollar for the sale of your home.  Not that you ever wanted to just give it away….but being reasonable can fall by the wayside when stress is taking over.

I have worked with people in this situation…and sometimes they make a HUGE mistake.  They want the “perfect” offer, and they let a great offer, or an almost perfect offer go waiting for the perfect offer to show up.  Maybe the next showing will give you the perfect offer, but what if it doesn’t?  What if they decide they don’t want your house?  And the first weekend on the market is now over…and you have let both the great offer and the almost perfect offer going thinking the absolute perfect offer would arrive any time.

You never get to roll out your listing as “new” again.  You can take it off of the market, relist it, lower the price, make other changes….but the most attention your home will ever get will be when it is FIRST listed.  It may not get the perfect buyer right away, but never will it be seen by as many buyers as it will when it first hits the market.  To be confident that the ‘next offer ‘ will be your ‘perfect offer’ might be a mistake you regret for a long time.

Not every offer you receive will be workable.  Occasionally someone will make an offer just hoping you will accept less than your list price, will pay their closing costs, and will leave your classic car in the garage…for no extra consideration.   You don’t have to try to make that offer work…sometimes buyers want a deal more than they want your house.  You probably don’t want to try to make them happy.  Here’s a hint… they never will be.

So should you just take the first offer you receive?  Not necessarily…but be respectful of the fact that they were watching the market, they knew what they wanted, they are ready willing and able buyers, and they have submitted an offer before anyone else.  When buyers are serious and able and willing to put in an offer on a house when it hits the market…they might be the kind of buyers to not get cold feet and stick with the transaction the whole way through.  Maybe they asked you to pay their closing costs, or maybe they want to close in two months and you want to close tomorrow.  See if you can come to a happy median….and you may find yourself in for a smooth and easy transaction…which is much less stressful than the buyers with one foot out of the door the entire transaction.

Factors to Consider when Selling your Home

• The buyer’s loan and their lender.  Your real estate agent should call the loan originator and make sure they are confident in the buyer’s ability to close the loan.  If there are “some hoops to jump through” or a “couple of question marks” then you might want to go with a more solid buyer.
• Time.  Do you want to sit on the market waiting for another offer?  Time is money.  Take into consideration your holding costs.  (Stress is a cost!)
• How committed do the buyers seem?  Relocation offers are great, those buyers usually go back home to another state to pack up their current homes, and they STOP shopping.
• Flexibility.  Are they willing to negotiate, even a little?  If they won’t budge on negotiable items right from the beginning, they may not be easy, or highly committed buyers.

Listen to your real estate agent.  The advice they give you is probably from experience!