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How to Sell your Property for Top Dollar - By Eliminating Buyers Fears and Doubts in Advance

Many people, whether they’re selling their property themselves or through a real estate agent usually do the whole procedure in reverse.

First, they guess themselves (or take a real estate agent’s estimated guess) at the price. Then they try to find a buyer at that guess asking price. Then they hope the buyer won’t ask for any full inspections. And they hope the buyer can secure a loan. Then they hope the lender’s property appraiser will come up with the same price value that they asked. Then they hope that any inspections will go perfectly and there won’t be any repairs.

That method of selling real estate (which is how 80% do it) is guaranteed to cause stress and disappointment.

Here are some of the things that can happen if you approach from the above method.
You could find out too late that your house appraises for $3500 more than your sales price. You realize you sold for too little. You find out there are repairs. You and the buyer disagree on who pays for what. The buyer gets cold feet and cancels the sale. The property appraises below your agreed upon sales price. You have already made thousands of dollars of concessions to get the house sold, and now you have to lower the price or lose the sale. An inspector finds a problem that you weren’t aware of shortly before escrow is supposed to close. The lender won’t loan until the repair is done. You scramble around at the last minute and have to pay top dollar for someone to change their schedule and take care of the repair.

That’s just a small sample of the things that can happen by doing it “backwards”.

TOP TEAM NOTE: The Benefit of an Appraisal
Many people hire real estate agents because they think they can avoid having to hire an appraiser to give them the value of their property. In many states a real estate agent cannot even give you a value. They can give you an estimate of a market price commonly known as a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis)

As far as property values go a licensed appraiser is needed. Banks and lenders rely on them. Appraisers have thousands of hours more training in property values than real estate agents. In the world of real estate, what an appraiser says goes. Appraisers value homes more from a scientific and mathematical formula than real estate agents.

You will not usually be able to sell your home for more than its appraised value. It doesn’t matter what the real estate agent tells you your home is worth or what anyone else tells you. The vast majority of property is sold with a loan, and the lender will only lend the value that the licensed appraiser gives the property.

TOP TEAM NOTE - PRE-APPRAISALS : Over estimating the value of real estate to get the listing is a variation on “bait and switch.” The agents figures out what you expect to get for your home by asking you a lot of questions prior to giving you the estimate of value. Then they adjust that value upward to match your expectations. A few months later, when you have had little or no showings or offers, they pressure you for a price reduction, by mentioning imperfections in the property. National statistics show that less than 20% of real estate agents are doing what’s necessary to fully inform sellers of all these issues.... in advance of listing their property.

When you have an appraisal done, you will know exactly what the true value is of your home. You also know that buyers can obtain financing to that value. Buyers will have their doubts removed because they will know that the property is fairly priced. And best of all, you have an extremely high chance selling for full price if you have an appraisal in hand.

Buyers generally offer less than the asking price because they know that the price was determined by the seller or real estate agent’s value guess. Showing buyers an appraisal eliminates that doubt. Buyers usually don’t mind paying what a property is worth, but they’re frightened of paying too much.

The lending laws require that the bank have its own appraisal done after the offer is made. It is common custom for the buyer to pay for that appraisal, as it is considered part of the cost of doing the loan.

TOP TEAM NOTE - PRE-INSPECTION :
It's to the sellers advantage to have the inspections done before you put your real estate on the market. There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is negotiating power at the bargaining table. When you have the home inspected prior to trying to sell it, you can deal with any defects at your leisure. You can shop around for estimates and get the best price to repair them, if any. It puts you in a position of strength to have any problems that inspectors may find completely taken care of.

Inspection Reports usually eliminate a buyer using all of these inspections as contingencies in their offer. Until all contingencies are cleared, buyers can generally back out of an offer. Any real estate agent will tell you that in general, the fewer contingencies, the more likely an offer will close.

The more secure a person feels about a piece of property, the more likely it is they will make an offer. Unanswered questions in the buyer’s mind keep offers from ever happening.

It is a major decision to buy property and the more secure you can make a buyer feel, the easier the negotiations. A recent copy of a termite inspection, roof inspection and a whole house inspection showing that everything is in order is a huge benefit to the seller and buyer. A one year home warranty is also a great selling tool.

At the very least, your buyers are going to require a termite and dry rot inspection, a roof inspection, and most likely, a whole house inspection. Some states require surveys. Buyers have been taught by real estate agents, consumer organizations that you need to have everything about the home and its property inspected.

Nothing is more likely to kill a deal than an inspector finding a hidden problem after a buyer has made an offer.

Preparing Your Real Estate To Show And Sell
It is important to realize that once you decide to put your real estate on the market, it is no longer your home. It is a piece of merchandise competing with many other similar pieces of merchandise on the market. You must accept the fact that the buyer needs to see this as their home, not your home.

Buyers emotion. Make your property the cleanest, freshest and cheeriest, and you’ll typically have a much faster sale. Experienced real estate agents can feel when someone is going to make an offer. Sometimes it happens the second they walk through the front door. The home had a special something that filled them with the desire to own it. Use the fact that people buy with their emotions to help in effectively marketing your real estate. You need to invest some time, money and energy in preparing your property to look irresistible to a buyer. It’s a combination of many little things, some that they may not even be aware that they noticed.

You rarely get a second chance to make a good first impression. No where is this more true than when a buyer looks at a home. Many buyers totally eliminate a house before they even got to the door

You need to take a hard, critical look at the appearance of your property from the street and as someone is driving up to the front door.

When a buyer first sees your real estate they are looking at your property as if through a magnifying glass. They are excited because it might be a place where they’re going to be living for years, and their senses are heightened. Any clutter can seem like a major distraction to them. A foul odor can completely destroy the mood.

Walk the path from the car up to the front door. Make sure everything is perfect. Repaint the front door if you can and if anything that looks weathered. If the door handle mechanisms are worn replace them. This first walkup is where your buyers are the most critical. If they haven’t seen anything they don’t like by the time they get through the front door, you’ve greatly enhanced your chance of selling.

Once they’re inside, first impressions are equally important. Remember that the buyer is imagining the home will look the way it does now when they move into it. In the buyer’s imagination, their life is uncluttered. If they’re moving up to a larger home, they’re probably moving to have more room for their personal belongings.

If your home looks very uncluttered, and your closets and drawers have tons of extra room left over in them, that is what the buyer thinks it will be like for him or her. If, on the other hand, your cupboards and closets are stuffed to overflowing, the buyer will imagine that’s what it’s going to be like for him or her.

Have you ever noticed how beautiful and inviting model homes look? One of the reason they feel that way is because there is no furniture inside. It is very easy to imagine your stuff and yourself in that house. You can use that same thing to your advantage. Clean everything and move too many articles out of your house to a storage area.

For maximum effect, turn every light on, even on a sunny day. Open all window shades. Clean your draperies and curtains. Make sure your windows are clean.

Selling your real estate is probably the most important financial transaction you will ever make. That's why we take our business so seriously. Our dedication to selling your property is our number one priority.

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