In all of our years of real estate experience, we’ve compiled a list of things we wish every Seller knew. Here are our top five things every Seller should know when selling their home.
1. It Doesn’t Matter What You Paid For Your House
Just because you paid $200,000 for your house and put in $50,000 worth of renovations and updates doesn’t mean your house is worth $250,000 today. Times change. Markets shift. Style fades. Fair market value is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay. And given the supply and demand of the current market, that may or may not be as much as you want it to be.
2. Don’t Take Feedback Personally
Listen, there’s a shoe for every foot. Your house WILL be right for someone. Don’t take the showing feedback personally. Who cares if the buyer doesn’t like your wall color or thinks the kitchen counters should be black granite instead of marble. Your home either works for them or it doesn’t. What you do want to pay attention to is if you see any trends in the feedback. If the group consensus after several showings is that the house is overpriced you should look at doing a price adjustment. If the group consensus is your house smells like dogs, well it probably does. But to get hung up on every little thing from showing feedback is just not worth it. Your real estate agent will help guide you to what matters most.
3. The Home Inspection Might Reveal Things You Didn’t Know About Your Home
Here’s the deal, you’re not Superman and neither are we. X-ray vision only exists in the movies. So don’t be surprised if you get a little surprise from the home inspection. Even the most well maintained homes can have a curve ball thrown at them during inspections. Who would have known you’ve got a colony of termites mooching off you in the crawlspace? Or that a family of squirrels has taken up residence in the attic? Or that heat that worked great last winter isn’t working right now in the Summer. Home inspections are just that – inspections of your home.
4. Price Corrects Everything
Been on the market a while and no showings? Change the price. Had a ton of showings but no offers? Change the price. It really is that simple. Price corrects everything. Not in a place to do some updating or staging? Lower the price. Current tenant kind of destroyed the place and it doesn’t show well. Lower the price.
5. Everything Is Negotiable
It’s not just price that’s negotiated when you get an offer. It’s the closing date, how long the Buyer will have for inspections, is the swingset included, will you have the house professionally cleaned after you move out, and a whole bunch of other things. It’s not over until you’ve reached a win-win resolution between you and the buyer. This includes items from the home inspection too.
