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7 Ways to Make Life Easier When Selling Your Home
When it’s time to sell a home, we all dream of a flawlessly executed transaction where everything goes smoothly and ends with a win-win for you and the buyer. Here are seven tips to help make that happen—and avoid surprise expenses along the way…
1. Repair Your Home First
Making repairs to your home before you sell not only makes it more appealing to buyers, but it can also help you avoid the additional costs that can result from the buyer’s inspection. Disclosing any repairs that still need to be made will help you move smoothly to closing and avoid problems that could otherwise kill the deal. Consider conducting a pre-listing inspection to make sure everything is out in the open before you sell.
2. Make Sure Your Price is Right
The key to selling your home quickly is to find the right buyers. To find the right buyers, your home must be correctly priced. We use a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)—a thorough, data-backed examination of your home and how it compares to other listings in your area—to accurately price your home. Without an agent’s CMA, it’s easy for your home to be listed at the wrong price.
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- Avoid Overpricing: Overpricing your home will attract the wrong buyers because you will force your home into competition with other listings that are fundamentally superior or have more to offer. When comparing other homes to yours, buyers will focus on the discrepancies and the features your home lacks. Overpricing will often cause homes to sit on the market for extended periods of time and become less appealing to buyers.
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- Avoid Underpricing: Under competitive market conditions, intentionally underpricing a home is a common strategy to attract buyer attention with the goal of starting a bidding war to drive the price of the home up. However, several things must go correctly for this to happen. In all other cases, underpricing your home reflects a lack of knowledge about where its market value fits into the fabric of current local market conditions and can leave you, the seller, unsatisfied with the price your home ultimately fetches.
3. Invest In Staging & Professional Photography
First impressions matter when selling a home. The vast majority of buyers are searching online and taking virtual tours of homes they’re interested in. As such, it’s well worth the time and money to hire a high-quality photographer. The right photography can make all the difference in the minds of buyers.
Home staging is also a critical element for getting the most value for a home and selling it quickly. You can even DIY if you have the time and modern decor. It’s also the perfect time to inspect your home for any minor or cosmetic repairs that can be addressed quickly. An aesthetically pleasing home will attract more eyes, and any edge you can give your home over competing listings may be just the ticket to getting it sold.
4. Keep Your Emotions in Check
Selling your home is an act of learning how to let it go. Once you know you’re ready to sell, you’ll need to be able to look at it with an objective eye. This will allow you to approach decisions from a neutral standpoint and work towards what is best for the sale of the home. Having clear judgement will also help you get through the negotiating process and steer yourself toward a smooth closing. Stepping back can be tough, but we’re always happy to give you guidance and help you keep perspective.
5. Wait Until You’re Ready
It may be tempting to rush your listing to take advantage of local market conditions, but waiting until you have all your ducks in a row will make life so much easier. Knowing when to sell your home is a mixture of being financially prepared, having the right agent, and understanding how your home fits into the current local market landscape. Once you’re ready, here are some tips on timing the market.
6. Use an Agent
…and we’re not just saying it because we’re agents! Selling a home “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO) can save on commission fees, but is a complex and risky process that can easily lead to serious costs. An agent will help you front marketing costs, provide sound advice to help you avoid legal trouble, and ultimately shoulder some of the liability for the transaction. Being represented by an experienced professional will help you avoid mistakes during the offer process, negotiations, and closing that could otherwise be costly or jeopardize the sale. It’s no wonder that a vast majority of sellers choose to work with an agent.
7. Be Willing to Negotiate
Approaching buyers’ offers with an open mind will ensure you don’t miss any opportunities. Before the offers start to come in, it’s important to work with your agent to understand your expectations and strategize which terms and contingencies you’re willing to negotiate on. That way, you can quickly identify the right offer when it comes along. Showing a willingness to work with buyers will also keep them engaged and make sure you don’t leave potential deals on the table.
Find a Home | Sell Your Home | Property Research
Neighborhoods | Market Reports | Our Team
We earn the trust and loyalty of our brokers and clients by doing real estate exceptionally well. The leader in our market, we deliver client-focused service in an authentic, collaborative, and transparent manner and with the unmatched knowledge and expertise that comes from decades of experience.
2737 77th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040 | (206) 232-0446
mercerisland@windermere.com
© Copyright 2023 Windermere Mercer Island.
Adapted from articles that originally appeared on the Windermere blog, November 22, 2021 & April 7, 2021, by Sandy Dodge.
The Downside of Selling Your Home Off Market
Who wouldn’t want the enticement of a full price offer on their home before it even comes to market? At first glance it seems like a compelling opportunity, but it comes at a steep price.
With the shortage of homes today, friends and neighbors are all on the lookout for up-and-coming listings. They aren’t hard to spot amongst the buzz of spruce up activity that often occurs as a home is being prepped for the market. Often the buyer or their broker contact the seller or their broker to request an early showing and you can guess what transpires from there. You and your broker have a list price in mind and the buyer’s offer comes in at that price. What could be better?
Are you leaving money on the table?
For starters, consider that homes in the Seattle-Eastside region are typically selling well above their asking prices. Local market data shows most homes bring in 3-8% above their listed prices during the last several months. This occurs when multiple buyers are competing for the same property…something that doesn’t happen when negotiating off market with a single buyer. Consider a home at Seattle’s median price of $800,000, 3-8% equates to $24,000-$64,000 left on the table.
But that isn’t all there is to consider. In our current highly competitive market, it isn’t unusual for buyers to waive contingencies such as financing and appraisal, pre-inspect or waive the inspection contingency, and often even release their earnest money as non-refundable. This does not often happen in a non-competing situation and leaves you vulnerable to transaction challenges before closing.
In addition, it is often the buyers who can’t effectively compete in an open market that are most motivated to try to get you to sell off market. This benefits the buyer significantly, but eliminates the benefits to you of a strong seller-favored market.
What about iBuyer company offers?
iBuyers are companies that agree to pay a set amount for your home up front and then list it for sale after you move out. They have gained popularity in some markets-Phoenix and Atlanta especially. In 2019, they had 59,000 transactions nationwide or about half of one percent market share of the 5.38 million transactions last year. Amidst COVID and economic concerns, iBuyer market share was down dramatically in 2020 and remains uncertain for 2021.
Nationally, their sweet spot has been predictable subdivision homes priced around $250,000. They have traditionally avoided higher priced markets due to the added risk in pricing. And they have historically avoided Washington State because of our real property transfer tax that adds ~2% to the cost of sale.
While selling to an iBuyer might seem easy and intriguing, it helps to remember these companies are in business to make a profit at your expense. iBuyers charge a 6-10% service fee in addition to factoring in the cost of needed repairs or updates (data shows an average of 2-5% of the sale price). Atypical expenses, like our state’s 2% transfer tax, are also calculated into the net. Add it all up and it is a hefty price to pay for the convenience of not having to go through the sale process.
On other thing to note is that iBuyers also profit by selling the names of homeowners who contact them for a bid, but do not accept that bid (93-98% of inquiries, depending on the company), to real estate agents without an established client base who are willing to pay for leads. These are typically not the most successful real estate brokers in a given marketplace. Not only do sellers who use these brokers often lose out on the benefits of working with a knowledgeable and established Realtor, that broker’s marketing budget is consumed largely by paying for leads instead of prominently marketing your home.
Final thoughts
It’s so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of an off-market offer. And it’s flattering to feel like your home is so appealing that people are knocking on your door before it even debuts. For some, the privacy of an off-market sale offsets the considerable dollars left on the table. But for most of us, those dollars matter. And having multiple interested buyers instead of just one means better terms and more certainty as you head towards the closing table.
Still have questions? Contact one of our knowledgeable brokers for assistance with how to purchase, sell, or determine the value of any property you are considering.
Find a Home | Sell Your Home | Property Research | Neighborhoods | Market Reports | Our Team
We earn the trust and loyalty of our brokers and clients by doing real estate exceptionally well. The leader in our market, we deliver client-focused service in an authentic, collaborative and transparent manner and with the unmatched knowledge and expertise that comes from decades of experience.
© Copyright 2020 Windermere Mercer Island.
