Home Selling Tips
Six ways to help a seller
ORLANDO, Fla. – Oct. 30, 2008 – How do you help a homeowner who needs to sell fast?
Here are some tips from real estate professionals who now have a couple of years experience selling homes quickly in slow-moving markets:
Be the best buy on the block. “Run an accurate market analysis for the last six months and price the property accordingly,” says Alex Harb, a practitioner in Orlando, Fla.
Schedule your discounts. If someone has to sell in, say, six weeks, start with a 10 percent or 15 percent discount from the comparables and then reduce the property another 5 percent to 10 percent each week.
Clean-up time. Scrub the house until it shines. Paint anything that needs it, and manicure the lawn.
Don’t sound desperate. When a buyer asks why the house is for sale, an effective response is, “I have a new opportunity in another city.” This answer sounds hopeful while selling in the midst of a divorce or other emotionally difficult time which otherwise could make the buyer leery about the home.
Offer to hold the mortgage. If a seller can live without the proceeds from a sale, a seller-financing arrangement may make sense. This helps those who can’t qualify conventionally and increases the pool of buyers.
Source: TheStreet.com, John Morell (10/27/2008)
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Seven Tips on Selling a House in the Current Market
If you really want to sell the place, you need to think and act like a salesperson. Selling a house is business, and you must approach the sale in a businesslike manner.
Ø Don’t Wait Around: Even in the better housing areas, it's taking a long time to sell houses.
Ø Fix it Up and Clean it Up: Buyers are taking your house out on a date. It has to make a good impression.
Ø Price it Cheaply: Don't fight the market by trying to price your house at bubble-era levels or by factoring in all those improvements you made. It won't fly.
Ø Hire a Top Real Estate Agent: Get the best, most aggressive selling (listing) agent you can find.
Ø Promote. Promote. Promote.: Don't rely on the agent to do all the work. The agent should pay the usual marketing costs, but you should be prepared to pony up for extras, especially if you insist on more expensive or untraditional promotions.
Ø Play the Banker: If you have no mortgage you have to pay off, your strongest selling point might be your ability to finance all or a substantial part of a buyer's purchase.
Ø Take the Offer: If any qualified buyer comes in with a reasonable offer, be prepared to accept it.
-- “How to Sell a House, When You Have to Sell It Now,” by David Crook, The Wall Street Journal,
July 14, 2008.
