 Questions, Questions, Who Has Questions
Selling a house can be a challenging and frustrating experience. Consider that even an experienced seller will only sell a handful of properties in their whole lifetime. Unless you are selling properties on an annual basis, it's very hard to keep up with all the changes in financing, legalities, the current market and what buyers want.
Here are some questions that we frequently hear. If you have others, call, email or text us - we're here to help.
Q: Who decides what my home is worth?
A: When you put your house on the market, you set the list price or asking price. But the market will determine the selling price. If the list price is set correctly, the house is likely to sell quickly. If overpriced, it may sit on the market, unseen by the right buyers.
A competitive list price is crucial to a timely sale, especially in our current market. We can help you by providing a comprehensive market evaluation . This will give you all the information you need to make an informed decision about where to set the list price for your home.
Q: I need every penny I can get from the sale of my home and I want to set my list price higher than the market evaluation indicates. Buyers can make me an offer - even if it's low. What's wrong with that?
A: Buyers look at homes they can afford. If a home is overpriced, potential buyers may not even look at it because the asking price is above what they can afford to pay. The ones who do look at your home will see that it doesn't measure up to others on the market in the same price range. If you price your home close to market value, you make the most out of the highest traffic period - the first 30 days of marketing when the listing is new and fresh to the market. We have seen countless examples where sellers list their home too high and it sits on the market for months and months while the market continues to decline. The resulting sale price, after months of marketing, ends up being less than it would have been if the property was priced correctly at the start. Michael has a personal experience where he built a spec house in a declining market, turned away an offer in the early stages of marketing and ended up selling a year later for $20,000 less.
For a personal pricing consultation, please give us a call or send an e-mail question of your own. We'd like to help you price your home right from the start.
Q: Real estate commission is going to cost me thousands of dollars. I'm pretty savvy - if I sell on my own, I'll save all that money. What do I have to lose?
A: Time
To get your home sold, you would have to advertise, wait for responses, be available to take all inquiries, set up appointments, keep your home in top condition and show your home. Then be able to sort out serious callers from looky-loos and make sure the serious buyers can actually afford to buy your home. And that just gets you through a showing with a qualified buyer - we haven't even touched on writing an offer, negotiating an offer, inspections, the financial process from mortgage application through mortgage commitment, appraisals, title search, closing. You are one person who most likely has a full time job, family and commitments. We have an entire team of people who specialize every day in one aspect of the home selling process. We streamline the process and do the work so you are free to work, play and enjoy your life.
Money
On your own you are likely to attract bargain-hunting buyers who seek out for-sale-by-owner homes, expecting to get a lower purchase price because of the saved sales commission. We will advise you how to price the house competitively and we will market aggressively, allowing you to walk away with the most money for your home.
Access
Self-selling limits exposure to prospects who see the yard sign, if one is used, or newspaper ads. We bring with us a network of contacts and a computerized listing service that puts every agent in town to work selling your house. When your property is entered in to our multi-list system, all of the 4000+ agents in the Pittsburgh area will be working to find buyers to sell your home.
Peace of mind
When selling by owner, the homeowner is responsible for negotiating a legal contract and seeing that every detail of the contract is carried out. We can screen out unqualified prospects, help arrange financing, and shepherd the sale to settlement. Selling a home is complicated - even the most "normal" home sale rarely goes through without a glitch or two. We handle the glitches and every complication - reducing your stress and aggravation.
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