Price Your Home Right - Three Ways To Make Sure Your Home Will Sell Quickly!
Pricing your home TOO HIGH is the number 1 mistake home sellers make! And it is one of the most critical mistakes a seller can make. Whether you are listing with a Realtor or selling ‘By Owner’, this is the most common cause for a home to not sell.
Buyers are more educated about the market than ever before and will easily recognize a home that is over priced. In fact, most buyers know more about whether a home is overpriced than the seller! They are out there going through homes every day or every week. They know if you are overpriced! The BIGGEST pricing mistake I see sellers make is “We have to start high ’cause we can always come down.” Heed this advice: Buyers will always make a reasonable offer on what they perceive to be a reasonably priced home before they will ever make what might be construed as a “low-ball” offer on what they perceive to be an overpriced home.
When your home is priced FAIRLY, it will compare well with other homes offered for sale AND buyers looking in your price range WILL LOOK at your home.
3 ways to find a fair price range:
- The best, most accurate way to price your home is to get an appraisal from an licensed, independent and experienced, appraiser. WORDS OF WARNING: DO NOT use an appraisal that you have gotten as part of a mortgage refinance, home equity loan or any other loan in connection with your home. Loan officers and mortgage brokers routinely push appraisers to over appraise homes in order to gain a larger loan. DO NOT tell the appraiser what your home has appraised for previously. You want independence and impartiality. DO NOT tell the appraiser what you think the home is worth. Once again, you want independence and impartiality to get a correct value. DO tell the appraiser about work you have done on the home to improve its value. DO tell the appraiser about proper maintenance you have performed. DO tell the appraiser about any other “By Owner” properties that have sold in the area which you know about. Appraisers typically do not know about these sales unless someone tells them. DO heed the appraisers advice, even if you don’t like the number he/she comes up with! I see virtually all sellers have smooth happy transactions when they follow the appraisers advice. I see virtually all sellers who don’t follow the appraisers advice languish. Remember: All an appraiser does all day, every day is value property. You don’t. That’s why you hired a professional. LISTEN TO THE PROFESSIONAL!!!
- Be objective and compare your home with others in your neighborhood and area that currently are offered for sale. Compare the price per square foot for larger and smaller houses.
- Call a local Realtor for a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). Have at least three comparisons done because the Realtor is trying to get your listing, not necessarily get you the best price. Beware the “low” value analysis because that Realtor may just be trying to get a quick sale and a quick commission. Beware the “high” value analysis because that Realtor may just be trying to flatter you into getting the listing knowing all the while that you will never sell at that price.
Remember: There are only two keys to selling a home: Price it Right and Advertise it to Buyers. If you do BOTH properly, you will succeed!
Jim Stewart is the founder and President of Oz Sold It, a “For Sale By Owner” company based in Springfield, MO and has helped his customers save hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions. His customers typically sell 25% faster than area broker listed properties. Mr. Stewart publishes a homes magazine for his “for sale by owner” customers and publishes multiple “FSBO” web sites including http://www.OZsoldit.com Mr. Stewart has also spent over 15 years in sales and marketing in banking and financial services. The bulk of that time was spent in residential lending, helping consumers find affordable financing to buy their dream home or helping them save money by refinancing that dream home. Mr. Stewart has also been a financial planner and was the Vice President in charge of Retail Banking and Marketing for the largest community bank in his hometown. Mr. Stewart’s experiences in selling multiple properties “by owner” coupled with his FSBO business & mortgage lending experiences have given him a unique view of real estate.
Tags: for sale by owner, fsbo, home, how to price my home, price, price my home, sell
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Saturday, April 5th, 2008 at 9:56 pm under
