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Think about placing your
house on the market as far in advance as possible
before purchasing another house so you do not wind
up with two mortgages and the additional expense of
a bridge loan.
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Find out for what price
the houses in the neighborhood are selling. Be
careful not to price your house too high. Study the
most recent comparative sales figures.
-
Don't antagonize the
buyer. Often they have to sell their home first
before they can buy yours.
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Let your agent do the
negotiating with buyers and keep your cool. Keep
your eye on the goal which is to sell your home
netting the highest possible price. Know that buyers
will want to pay less, want price breaks and have
you pay for real and imagined fix-ups. If necessary,
be willing to compromise.
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Be willing to pay full
commission. Any commission below 5% is a
disincentive to the agent and marketing efforts will
will suffer. If a house is hard to sell, consider
offering a commission incentive to the buyers agent.
-
Consider seller
financing. You get tax breaks. Your risk is the same
risk as any lender faces, namely, is the borrower a
good credit risk?
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Is there a financing
contingency in your offer for sale, that is, is the
sale dependent on the buyers' ability to obtain a
loan commitment from a lender? Know that the buyer
can forfeit his/her deposit by backing out of the
deal for reasons not detailed in the contract.
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Is there an inspection
contingency in the offer, which lets the buyer hire
a professional to look over your property?
-
The best time to sell
your house is in the Spring beginning in February
and lasting through May and June. Housing sales
struggle in summer but pick up again in the fall,
lasting till November.
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When it comes to a
neighborhood, agents do not have to volunteer
anything although they are prohibited from
concealing information.
-
If it is a sellers
market where there is more demand than supply, you
will not have to consider too many contingencies.
If, on the other hand, it is a buyers market, where
there are few buyers, be flexible and work with the
buyer. The contingencies that are written into the
contract can be negotiated further at the
negotiation phase.
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Don't show the basement
last. The last impression, many times, leaves the
same mark as the first impression. So leave 'em
smiling!
