What is the traditional selling process?
Strategy for traditional selling
The problem
Americans rarely negotiate transactions in everyday life, but the traditional method of selling real estate demands a negotiated transaction. Worse, sellers typically receive most of their advice from the brokers and agents who stand to benefit most from a quick sale. This can result in undervalued properties that sell faster but not necessarily at the best price.
Given the high financial stakes at risk here, it's all too easy to fall into the trap of overvaluing your home or, in a panic, slashing the price to make a quick sale. The fundamental issue, then, is confidence in establishing the market value for your home, an issue we've already discussed at length. (Of course this difficulty in traditional sales methods reminds us that the primary appeal of auction-based selling approaches is avoiding this problem -- the process itself establishes the market value and the seller's efforts focus on up-front marketing rather than price negotiation.)
Minimize the pressure
If you expect to be a "must sell now" seller sometime soon, don't hesitate before placing the property on the market to lay the groundwork for a successful sale. This means performing inspections, making repairs, and working to understand the market value of the home as early as possible. This will greatly reduce the time between your placing the home on the market and your first Open House, maximizing the time you have to receive offers and realize as much of the market value as possible.
Maximize your peace of mind
Keep discussions formal, face-to-face, and well documented. Assuming you’re using an agent, this means not letting your agent conduct any significant discussions and negotiations without your presence. Keep “memos for record” on who, what when, where and why every time you talk to an interested buyer. Track every query and request you and the potential buyer make.
So you received your first offer
Getting an offer means a potential buyer has given you a real estate purchase contract. These vary by state but at a minimum these should include purchase price, intended close of escrow, deposit and financing details, appraisal contingencies, expected closing and occupancy dates.
What's in a good offer?
Offers are absolutely not just about the price. Before you "ratify" the offer (sign on the bottom line to turn the offer into a contract), consider a few indicators of good offers.
If you don’t have a good agent, it helps to have an understanding of current real estate loan standards, such as interest rates, fees, and financing timelines to confirm that the offer's financing is not overly optimistic. Bonus points if the buyer is pre-approved (a lender has confirmed buyer's income, employment, etc.) since this means you're dealing with someone serious about purchasing rather than someone simply testing the waters.
A good offer is fairly simple: I want to pay you X dollars, this is how I'll pay you, and I want to finish this by date Y. But most offers contain at least one contingency clause that predicate the transaction on certain conditions being met. Don't be put off by this; the good news is that it means your buyer has at least given some careful consideration to the offer.
Broker/Owner
Continental Realty Inc.
DRE# 01422589
925-548-5461
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