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Smooth Selling Section 1


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Smooth Selling Section 4



ADDITIONAL ARTICLES

Save Money Selling Your Home


With the high cost of housing in our Bay Area, some property owners are tempted to try to sell their home without being represented by a Realtor®, thinking that they may ‘save’ $15, 000, $25,000, or more, by doing all or part of the work themselves. With housing prices so high, and homes being the single largest investment of most property owners, there is a great deal of money at stake. And it is this very fact that should encourage you to think carefully before picking selling your home for a ‘do it your self project.’ While the prospective ‘savings’ are significant, many times I have seen homeowners lose 2 or 3 times that amount they were trying to save, because of their inexperience or inadequate coverage of all facets of a real estate transaction. To evaluate if selling your home without representation makes sense for you, evaluate your capacity to handle these 5 important factors in selling your home:

1. Competitive Pricing

Are you objective about your own home? Have you seen all of the comparable property that has been on the market, sold, and/or expired during the last 6 months? Are you aware that independent appraisals without a willing buyer and a willing seller in an open marketplace (for refinance or other purpose) are often not reliable or reflective of the current market value?

2. Financing

Do you know that the finance-ability of your home impacts the seller as well as the buyer? Do you know how to read and follow up on pre-qualification and pre-approval letters? Do you know how to find the lender ‘outs’ in these letters? Do you know if your home has factors that will make financing or insurance hard to obtain?

3. Control of Transaction Details

Do you know nothing counts in real estate if it’s not in writing? Agreement is not agreement unless it’s signed or initialed and returned.



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Do you fully understand the 6 or 8 page purchase contracts, and what is required of you and the buyer? Do you understand the myriad of disclosures now required by law for you to provide to the buyer, even in an “AS IS” sale? Are you able and knowledgeable enough to follow up with the various inspectors, escrow officer, appraisers, lenders, buyer’s agent, if there is one, throughout the transaction?

4. Preparing your home for Sale

Do you know what needs to be changed to sell your home may have nothing to do with items that irritate you the most about your property? Do you know how much personal property in a home is too much, and how much is not enough? Do you know how to set the stage to get people into your home?

5. Exposure to Potential Buyers

What is your advertising budget? Do you know the terms and phrases that are considered discriminatory and cannot be used in ads? Can you show prospective buyers other properties beside your own for comparison? Do you know just putting up a web page without it being in the top search links, is like expecting a buyer to find a needle in a haystack? Do you know how to save money with inspections and reports done in advance, as opposed to being done by the Buyer with the offer?

Realtors know is that if just one of these 5 factors above is missing, or inadequate, a seller will not get the best return on the sale of their property. Some homeowners can do parts of the process, i.e., the repairs, the staging, writing ads, or other factors. Most of us welcome the homeowners input and talents, just make it part of a whole plan. A professional Realtor will not only save you money, he or she will increase your profit margin by using an integrated marketing plan, support staff, and their experience to orchestrate a timely sale with maximum profit.