It seems that out of every 10 agents I try and contact for questions on their listings, only about 3 of them are answered. 6 of them I leave voice mails for (which half are returned) and usually the last one can't be contacted at all, as their voice mail is full and an email to them is rejected as well. It is any wonder why 41% of the homes listed don't sell?
After you screen and select an agent, have a neighbor or friend call them ever week at different times and see if your calls are answered or returned. Also, check to see if the agent is out of town (yes, agents do take vacations from time to time), is either a co-listing agent or is someone in the office familiar enough with your property to field questions? It only takes one showing to make a sale and if your agent is not answering those calls, then where will the buyer go next?
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
How much is my home worth?
When pricing your home, you must consider not only how much you want to net, but also, it must be reasonable with similar properties in the area or you may end up falling out of Escrow. Should your buyer need to finance the home (and most do), the bank will order an appraisal to be done justifying the price of the house. If it is above market value, the loan will only be approved up to the market price. If the buyer really wants the home, they can come up with the difference in cash (and some do just that). Realizing they are paying too much, many will back out of the purchase.
Pricing a home must take into account not only the current home inventory; it must also take into account what has sold in the last three months AND take an educated guess into the next 90+ days.
To Low? A home priced too low, will usually receive multiple offers, which drive the price up in a bidding war (remember just a few years back?) As long as the seller doesn’t accept the very first offer and gives it time to build, the price should drive up the price to near market value.
Being priced too high is the real danger. If too high, the property will be "off the radar"; a search for a home in the 400k to 500k range will never "see" a home at 501k. Even if the seller offers multiple incentives (closing costs, etc.), it will not show up in an agents search to even show the property.
Pricing a home must take into account not only the current home inventory; it must also take into account what has sold in the last three months AND take an educated guess into the next 90+ days.
To Low? A home priced too low, will usually receive multiple offers, which drive the price up in a bidding war (remember just a few years back?) As long as the seller doesn’t accept the very first offer and gives it time to build, the price should drive up the price to near market value.
Being priced too high is the real danger. If too high, the property will be "off the radar"; a search for a home in the 400k to 500k range will never "see" a home at 501k. Even if the seller offers multiple incentives (closing costs, etc.), it will not show up in an agents search to even show the property.
Your Property Didn't Sell?
Property didn't sell and you don't know why? Have you (or your agent) been answering the phone and checking the emails? Is there an email in your spam folder asking to view your property?
There has been a rise in the number of times in the last month that attempts to show property failed because no one would respond to requests to show it. Perhaps people are on vacation, but if you want to get it sold, you have to answer the phone!
In the last 10 days, out of 27 calls to show property (and when no answer, an email to request it), almost half did not respond within 24 hours. 3 did call back days later to say it was ok to show, but by that time it was too late.
You snooze, you lose.
There has been a rise in the number of times in the last month that attempts to show property failed because no one would respond to requests to show it. Perhaps people are on vacation, but if you want to get it sold, you have to answer the phone!
In the last 10 days, out of 27 calls to show property (and when no answer, an email to request it), almost half did not respond within 24 hours. 3 did call back days later to say it was ok to show, but by that time it was too late.
You snooze, you lose.
MLS Listings
Last week I was driving around the Arrowhead Lakes area and noticed a For Sale By Owner sign up. There was a gentleman working on his yard so I stopped to talk. I explained to him I was an agent and would he mind showing me the property, which he did. After a few minutes of talking I found out the price he was asking (very reasonable) and also that he had listed with a real estate agent the previous year, but he didn’t get much activity. This was rather surprising considering the location of the house and the price he was asking.
After getting back to the office I ran his address into the MLS and took a look at what the last agent had listed. Unless something had drastically changed in the last year, they had missed listing several important facts about the property. I emailed the listing to the owner of the home and asked him about it. His reply was that he had not seen the MLS print out before and it had several errors in it.
Ok, this is not earthshattering news, but when listing your house for sale, always asks for an MLS printout for your review. You know your home better than anyone, and may quickly see any errors or omissions (which could cost you in the long run…)
After getting back to the office I ran his address into the MLS and took a look at what the last agent had listed. Unless something had drastically changed in the last year, they had missed listing several important facts about the property. I emailed the listing to the owner of the home and asked him about it. His reply was that he had not seen the MLS print out before and it had several errors in it.
Ok, this is not earthshattering news, but when listing your house for sale, always asks for an MLS printout for your review. You know your home better than anyone, and may quickly see any errors or omissions (which could cost you in the long run…)
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