Sellers: Here Is the Ultimate 3-Step Blueprint for Home Selling Success

THere are three strategies to help you achieve a smooth transaction.

Selling your home can be a daunting task, especially in today's real estate market. However, there are three key strategies that can help you not only secure a buyer but also ensure a seamless transaction from start to finish:

1. Pre-inspection: Find surprises early. In the current market climate, surprises during the home inspection can be deal-breakers. To stay ahead of the game, consider pre-inspecting your home before listing it. This proactive approach allows you to identify and address any issues with the help of relevant contractors, minimizing the chances of surprises later on. By doing so, you increase the likelihood of a successful sale and reduce the risk of buyers backing out due to unexpected problems.

2. Disclose, disclose, disclose. One common pitfall in real estate transactions is incomplete or vague seller disclosures. To avoid legal complications and build trust with potential buyers, be transparent about every aspect of your property. If you know something, disclose it. This not only helps prevent litigation but also establishes a foundation of honesty and openness in the transaction. Providing upfront information builds confidence and sets the stage for a smoother process.

“Selling a home successfully involves more than just navigating the housing market.”

3. Make it a win-win: Prioritize relationships over transactions. Beyond the bricks and mortar, real estate is fundamentally a people business. Fostering positive relationships with both buyers and sellers is essential for a successful transaction. Strive for a win-win scenario where all parties feel they are getting the best deal. This approach creates a harmonious atmosphere, reducing the likelihood of disputes and making the entire process more enjoyable for everyone involved. Remember, maintaining good relationships in the real estate business is as crucial as the property itself.

Selling a home successfully involves more than just navigating the housing market. By following these steps, you increase your chances of a smooth and satisfying transaction for all parties. If you're ready to act, feel free to give us a call–we're here to help you every step of the way.

Real Estate Wisdom: 3 Pro Tips From Our Recent Sales Success!

Here are three valuable tips from our recent real estate sales.

Today, I’m sharing the three key takeaways from my recent sales experiences:

1) Buyers prioritize homes that are either completely updated or are excellent deals, not necessarily the cheapest or the nicest in the neighborhood. In some cases, our buyers purchased homes for $59,000 or even $110,000 below appraised value.

2) Mold is becoming a significant concern for buyers, and it's crucial for sellers to consider getting a pre-inspection to address potential mold issues.

3) Sellers who own their homes outright should consider owner financing as an option. We recently facilitated a successful deal with this approach, resulting in a quicker sale at a higher price. We worked with an attorney and a third-party servicer to simplify the process, with the added benefit of potentially saving on taxes by spreading out the gain over time. However, please note that I'm a Realtor, not a CPA, and this information is not legal, financial, or tax advice. 

If you'd like to discuss real estate further, please feel free to call or email me. I’m always happy to help.

Pricing Your Home in a Correcting Market

These three strategies are the keys to pricing well in a correcting market.

How do I price my home in a correcting market? Many people are asking this question lately. With this, there are a few common things people are talking about: rising interest rates, decreasing sales, and increasing inventory. Does that mean we are going to experience a housing crash? I don’t think so. After two years of an incredibly hectic market, we’re just settling down to a normal seller’s market. Therefore, how do we price accordingly?

1. Don’t be overpriced. There are many things you can do to get your home ready, but this is not the kind of market to test a higher price. In the previous market, we could take the last sale and ask a little higher, but that is no longer the case. The last thing you want to do is chase the market down, as that leaves you looking desperate and open to lowball offers. 

   “We’re just settling down to a normal seller’s market.”
   

2. Price below the market value. This works well because, as the market is shifting down, we’re already below the sales that we are comparing to. If you have a lot of comparable sales that are waiting on the market, you can undercut them and sell quickly. 

3. “Test market” your price. How do you test the market without actually being on the market? We use a comprehensive, pre-market strategy called “test marketing”. We come up with a price range and shop it around to buyers in the area, like a pre-sale. Then we gather that feedback and use it to prepare your home and get it priced accurately for the market while building interest in the home.

These are my favorite strategies for pricing in a correcting market. To learn more about them, reach out to me for a consultation. Call me today, I’d be happy to help you out.

Should You Sell Before Buying a New Home?

Five methods you can use to sell your home before buying a new one.

A topic that comes up often is when someone is looking to buy their next home and they’re fairly sure they need to sell their current one first. There are two main reasons you might need to sell your current home. First, you need the down payment money from the equity in the home. Second, you don't want to or can't carry two mortgages at once. Here are five ways you could handle this kind of transaction:

1. The traditional way. We list the home on the market and pray we find that next home while it’s under contract or during a leaseback.

2. You have a home in mind. You found your next home, and we can help you get it. However, that would require us potentially making a contingent offer on that property. If they accept it, then we can figure out how to sell your home.

   “To find your best-case scenario, call your trusted real estate advisor.”

3. Utilize a home-buying service or bridge loan service. There are a lot of these out there. I can walk you through the different programs to see if they are a good fit for you.

4. iBuyers. iBuyers make you a quick cash offer that’s smooth and seamless, so you don't have to think about selling at all. They just close whenever you're ready, but the downside is that you’ll likely end up giving away a lot of your equity. Please call me first if you’re considering this option. I don’t want you to leave money on the table.

5. HELOC. A home equity line of credit lets you take out a loan on your current property, and then you use that down payment for the next home. Once you close, then you can pay off that HELOC.

To find your best-case scenario, call your trusted real estate advisor. We’ll review your situation and see which option is the best fit. I also highly recommend talking with a lender right away. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me by phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you.

Selling Over the Holiday Season

Historically, December is a better month to sell than the rest of the Fall or Winter, which is generally considered part of the "slower" season in real estate. There are a few reasons why this is the case and why it might be a good time to consider selling your house around the holidays. We also have a few tips and answer some often asked questions that you should need to know about if you are planning of selling during this time. And be sure to check out Patrick on Fox 7 below as he shares his tips for selling during the holidays.

Serious Buyers Only

This is one of the best parts about selling in the "slower" season - you're really only going to attract serious buyers. While this can seem like a bad thing it is far from it. This means that the buyers you get are extremely motivated to move on a house and they aren't as finicky and flaky as some spring buyers can be. Beyond this there are some specifics that make December a great time to sell if you are willing to play it right. 

December Buyers are usually some combination of this:

• People that are relocating for jobs. There are lots of people that are relocating around this time of year and have a strong need to buy. They are usually under a time constraint and are looking to buy fast. 
• People with a little extra cash to spend. This is the time of the holiday bonus; large cash bonuses get paid out when companies do well and this usually happens around the holidays. This means that there is a good chance that buyers have a little extra cash to use for that downpayment. 
• People with time off. In December you have 2 weeks of downtime that you just don’t get any other time of the year. That means people who are looking to buy have a larger window of time to look and want to visit and see more houses.

Low Supply 

December is historically one of the months with the lowest number of houses on the market. In December of 2015 there were just under 8,000 active listings on the market in Austin. For the months of May through September there was over 11,000 listings. That is 3000 less homes available to buyers in December than in the Spring. What this means is that there isn't a lot of competition from other sellers. Additionally as we detailed above the buyers are more motivated during this time of year, this can lead to low supply and high demand - which is always beneficial to the seller. 

The Election

Now these reasons are general to most Decembers, however its important to remember that some effects are specific to certain years. For this December we just went through a very contentious election that had a lot of people on either side concerned. And traditionally when people are concerned about jobs or the future they are less likely to spend money, especially when it comes to something like a house. Now that the election is over we can expect a bit of a bounce back and some people who were thinking about buying in November but didn't, start their search up again. 

Best practices for marketing/selling:

• Should I/should I not put up holiday decorations?

  • Yes, but keep it tasteful, don’t go overboard. It can create an emotional connection for the buyer as well. Still want to declutter/depersonalize.

•  What do I do if someone wants to see my house on Christmas?

  • Yes. Only a very motivated buyer wants to see homes on a National holiday.  

• Pictures of the home during winter should be done sooner than later before the leaves change and before decorations go up.