Written by Don Martin. CLICK HERE to follow Don’s posts.
There are a handful of variables concerning your house that can contribute towards selling it, or making sure it remains on the market for a long, long time. A couple of these items you can control. You can improve them if they are lacking. A couple others you cannot do anything about at all.
The Location of your House
We all know that we just cannot change the location of your house. It is on that street. It faces in that direction. And it’s in that zip code. To move it so would be well beyond the scope of a regular house sale.
The street runs from that point a to that point b. It needs to do that- that is why it exists. The sun comes up over there, and goes down over there, and if that didn’t happen, it would be a horror movie. And its zip code, well that is determined by the post office, and we all know how easy it would be to change that!
The Condition of your House.
This is an easy one.
To the extent you can or want to spend money, you can have a cleaning service, a landscaper, and a house stager work with you on the appearance of your home. That is, of, course after you have worked with a handyman or contactor to make any necessary repairs to it.
You know a buyer may pick your place to pieces with items they want repaired. So beat them to the punch. Have a home inspection of your own and pre-repair everything.
Or not.
You can fix a few things or you can wait to see what they want from you. Just clean it up yourself. Store away as much personal stuff as you can before your day-to-day life becomes impossible at your old house. Then ask a friend to come over and critique your place mercilessly as to whether or not it would be appealing to a buyer. Listen to what they say.
Exposure
We have talked about this a lot before. Almost all real estate transactions in this country include the Multiple Listing Service in one way or another. And you are not going to fight those odds. This is not a science experiment.
Either list (exclusive right to sell) your house for sale with a real estate agent who is a member of the MLS or list it (exclusive agency) with a type of MLS broker who will, after it is in the MLS, also let you sell it yourself without requiring you to pay a commission to the lister regardless.
The distinction of these two is rather “inside baseball,” but that the one that we like is the one that will save the seller thousands of dollars, the second choice. Take you some decent pictures, and get it in the MLS. The bottom line is that you end up with the exposure you need to sell your house. That is something you are not likely to do if it is a well-kept secret that it is for sale.
The Legal Aspect
There is, of course, a legal component to the sale and transfer of real property from one person to another. You should know up front that your transaction will probably end up being “closed” by an attorney or closing agent and not by a “newbie.” This will likely be the case even if you have full-service agents represent both buyer and seller. It is the way it is handled.
That should give you as seller some comfort as a FSBO. if that is your path. Inasmuch as that gives you comfort, you could get even more by having an attorney you could include to varying degrees in the contract making and/or review, along the way.
You won’t be totally on your own.
But there are two items you need to consider in the beginning as to whether or not you can and should undertake an attempt yo sell your own house. A problem with either one could submarine your efforts.
Your Time
Selling you house on your own takes your time.
It will take your time to get it ready to market it. It will take your time to complete the paperwork to put it on the market. It will take your time to answer the phone with inquiries about your house. It will take your time to show your house. It will take your time to negotiate with a prospective buyer who has already had to take your time to re-visit your house.
It will take your time to work with home inspectors, appraisers and contractors. And lastly it will take time to have a closing.
From time to time I work with a customer who, even though they are enamored with the thought of save thousands of dollars, some of them don’t even have time to return my phone calls or complete the necessary paperwork to get their house in the MLS.
If the seller is hampered by this stage one frustration, imagine how vexing stage two frustration will be, with buyers unable to get together with him.
To further compound the matters, more and more, today’s buyers seem to want what they want on their terms and at the time they want it. They can be slightly more demanding than prospective buyers were a few years ago.
Your Talent
You can also call it your “people skills.” Maybe it’s your “negotiating skills.”
Call this last item whatever you want, but it is the last hurdle to a successful sale. You need to get a person interested enough to sit down with your at your kitchen table.
You need to be friendly enough to work out an agreement on time and terms of the purchase of your house. Your negotiating must be non-adversarial enough so as not to run them off before you can both reach an agreement.
In some cases this process may include a complete overhaul of both your attitude and vocabulary.
Assess yourself fairly.
Look deeply at yourself before you decide to sell your own house. You now know that which has surprised many sellers only after they have wasted time and money trying to sell their own house. If you just don’t have the time or the patience to do this job, it just won’t work.
You can’t short-cut either if these last two and be successful.
Call me at (615) 973-8970. Let’s get to know each other.
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