Thursday, 1 August 2013

The Selling Your House Trap

By Jamie Morgan


If you decide to put your home up for sale, there are some critical things you need to know when pricing houses to sell. Doing this the wrong way could actually lead to no sale, or perhaps getting far less than you deserve.

Similar homes in any area will usually go for approximately the same prices; you should take this into consideration. A specialist in this area of expertise will tell you the same thing. The underlying issue here is that you will inevitably need to find out the facts for yourself. One place that will be a great source of information will be the recorder's office in your county. Another great source of facts is on the internet; on sites like Zillow.com. You may be amazed how the price range may differ from one area to another in a very small radius; keep your research restricted. You should take note of other homes that were built around the same time; as well as like condition and size. You have to be careful about putting your home on the market with an asking price that's to high, even if you're willing to go down in the future. This strategy can make it hard to sell your home, even when you do lower the price. It's an established fact in the real estate industry that the longer a house is on the market, the harder it is to sell. After a certain amount of time, a home starts to be considered a stale listing and no one pays much attention to it. Realtors may then get into the habit of bypassing this house when they show homes to potential buyers, even when you've lowered the price. That's why you shouldn't price a home at an unrealistically high price.

The real estate market is sluggish in many areas right now. Sadly, many homeowners that bought their houses a decade ago have seen an actual loss in the value of the home they have lived in for years. If you have found yourself in this strange place, you still need to look at it logically. Perhaps you could stick it out for a few years more and see if the real estate market begins to rebound. If you want to sell your house this year, then you will have to sell it for how much it is worth right now. More than likely, you will not get any offers if you price it based upon its previous value. To determine how much your home is really worth, look at what nearby homes are selling for. When selling your home, it's a good idea to collect documentation on anything that could add to its value. If you have made any major alterations to your home you should make this paperwork available to your real estate agent. By doing this, when a potential buyer comes along, they will have paperwork to back up the allegations. You could become familiar with some information about the location that would be interesting to potential buyers. You will certainly want to make these points positive ones like the great climate, great schools and this sort of info. When you find such data, print it out so you can show it to people.

An inviting home is more welcoming to anyone that is looking to buy. When you do this you, make your home that much more welcoming when you have showings which can be the deciding factor when you try and sell your home.

If your house does need a new roof, most potential buyers will pass on it until it's repaired. If your house needs a paint job, interior or exterior, get that done you put the house up on the market. Wallpaper is another option that you can use. If your fence needs to be repaired, fix it! If you have a broken door, or a door knob missing, make sure those repairs are also done. Don't decide on the selling price for your house until you've considered all of the relevant information. You have to consider what comparable homes in the area are selling for, and how warm or cold the market is right now. Sometimes you have to be willing to negotiate with buyers, and not simply grab the first offer you get. Make sure you consider all of these issues before you decide on the listing price for your house.




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