Putting your Home on Market
One of the biggest decisions a homeowner can make is to put their home on the market. There are many reasons for selling your home, the most common one is a home transition to another location with a job transfer. Upgrading and downgrading are the next two most common reasons to sell your home. Some people are just in the need to make a change, whether for pleasure or because of a life event.
Major things to consider during this time period are; How will I market my home, by myself or with a competent realtor? How will I advertise the home, how should I try to "stage" the home, and how can I work out "showing times" and coordinate that with our jobs. If the spouse works from the home, that appears to be a good alternative to this problem, but it could cause a lot of unforseen issues. There are predators who seek homes on market by owner, specifically to see if they can gain entrance to the home when a male is not present. This can have tragic consequences for the wife, and especially for the children at home. It is definately not recommended. It is not safe.
There is an article on staging on this Wexford site, and that will help you a lot. It is best to seek an experts view to see your home through buyers eyes. Most homeowners are 'blind' to some of the things that might not be positive to a buyer. If you choose to market your own home, showing times can be at night by appointment, but the majority of home buyers are working with agents and have ten or more homes to see during the day. If one home isn't accessible until evening, more than not the home will be skipped. With all that you have to do to keep the home clean and uncluttered, you want as many qualified buyers to view your home as possible. The shorter the sales period, the better off you are.
Most sellers are tempted to do a "For sale by owner" but what are you really saving?? True, realtor commissions are at 6%, but you are going to have to pay the buyers agent a 3% commission anyway. So you will save, perhaps 3 percent. Not so fast. The National Association of Realtors states that "FSBO"'s sell for almost a full 10 precent less than with a realtor. Also, your buyer will have an agent, who will present a minimum of ten pages of a Sales contract with all sorts of possible addendums that they will write in the offer to protect...... their client. They do nothing to protect you. Nothing. The only way you can be represented properly is to have an agent as well. Your home should sell for more money according to national stats.
Your agent can get your home staged correctly to show its best assets, they can advertise it on both listing services, and get it on hundreds of websites across the nation. With over 80% of home buyers finding their home on the web, this is the best decision you can make to market it. When your agent gets a call to show the home, they have the buyers agent that will view the home without you being there. Safety is a must. Some agents do a check on their buyers, and if a buyer wants to see a home and will not produce their drivers license, that is a 'red flag' for the agent. They also make sure that the buyer is approved by a lender prior to taking them out. All of this is to the sellers advantage. Without representation, the buyers rep can write stipulations in the contract that could negative impact the seller. You do not negotiate the price and terms of a contract on a daily basis, and it is best left to the experts.
All of these issues combined lead to a logical conclusion for any seller. Use the expertise of a known realtor! If you interview an agent and they volunteer to discount their services, that is another 'red flag". How can you trust an agent to negotiate the selling price of your home, when they cannot even adequately negotiate their own income? I believe when an agent cuts their income, they are telling you that they know best what they are worth.
Both Jan and I have been in Wexford for twenty four years, and know the community better than anyone, and we do not discount. We are worth what we charge, because we can prove value to our services. Let us meet with you for half an hour so we can review our marketing plan. You will agree that we bring more value to the table for a seller
Our economy has brought about some negative reasons to market your home. Job loss or being underemployed are two major issues that we have had to deal with with the high percentage of unemployed workers. This has caused a lot of strain on the families of those that are involved with this unfortunate situation. There is a lot to be said for the choices that a homeowner has in this situation, and will not be covered fully in this forum. Foreclosures and short sales provide for different levels of relief and consequences on the family, and should be discussed fully with experts in the respective fields. I would urge anyone in this situation to first try to work out new and advantageous terms with your mortgage company. I cannot stress this enough. They do not want to see you go into default, and it is to their advantage as well to try to save your home for you and your family.
Both Jan and I are Certified in Short Sales and Foreclosures, and would be glad to educate you on your options that are before you in either of these instances. We would still want you to seek proper council, but at least you will have the benefit of our experience, and will be better equipped to make these decisions with council.
