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| Special Feature | ||
| Home Selling Tips for 2004 A recent surplus of homes for sale, coupled with a more reasonable rise in home appreciation, has leveled the playing field between buyers and sellers, making negotiations more important than ever. “Around this time of the year sellers in the St. Louis housing market need to be flexible so they don’t turn away potential buyers,” says Anne Ryan, Coldwell Banker Gundaker. “Today’s buyer has a larger selection of homes to choose from and is being more patient in their search.” Here are 10 tips sellers can use to help turn negotiations into agreements: 1) Price your home objectively. Overpricing your home can create big problems. Homes that spend a lot of time on the market have a stigma attached to them because buyers assume the house is overpriced or contains multiple defects. To set a fair price, work with a Realtor to help you assess amenities and research the recent sales prices of comparable homes in your neighborhood. 2) Respect the buyer’s interests. Understanding what is important to the buyer will help you find a middle ground and take a bigger step toward completing the deal. A buyer who seems set on a lower price may be willing to work within your closing schedule or require fewer repairs to the home. 3) Get everything in writing. If you want your deal to be enforceable in a court of law, put all the terms in writing. Make a habit of writing short, dated MFRs (Memos For Record) of important conversations (such as, “June 2 — buyers’ agent said that they’ll have loan approval by Friday,” “June 12 — buyers asked to extend closing one week,” and so on). 4) Make sure that deadlines are met. Real estate contracts are filled with deadlines from contingency removals and deposit increases to the ultimate deadline, your closing. Failure to meet each and every deadline can have consequences. Your deal may fall apart or you may even end up in a lawsuit. However, most deadlines are flexible. They can be lengthened or shortened by negotiation if the need for revision is properly explained and handled promptly with adequate lead-time. 5) Master your feelings. House sales are usually emotional roller-coaster rides for everyone involved. Consider the powerful emotions acting on you when you sell your house and be objective. 6) Receive offer to purchase. When you evaluate the offers you receive, check for the following characteristics of a good offer: It is based on the market value of your house as established by comparable property sales-base offering price on properties comparable to the house in age, size, condition, and location; It has realistic loan terms-The buyers’ proposed mortgage interest rate, loan origination fee, and time allowed to obtain financing should be based on current lending conditions in area; Doesn’t ask for a blank check-consider using property-inspection clauses that allow for reopening negotiations for any necessary corrective work. 7) Deal with the contingencies. A contingency gives buyers the right to pull out of the deal if some specific future event, such as getting a mortgage, fails to materialize. 8) Select the best offer. If you have multiple offers on your hands, you earn the right to dictate favorable terms and conditions of sale for yourself. 9) Making a counter offer. Counter-offer forms are far less complicated than purchase- offer forms, because you use them to fine-tune the terms and conditions of offers you get from prospective buyers. If an offer contains unreasonable contingencies, use a counter offer to propose that the buyer remove them. 10) Don’t sweat the small stuff. If you have a minor sticking point such as leaving certain pieces of furniture behind, finish the main agreement first. Other factors can be resolved in a side agreement or amendment. This allows both sides to move toward a fair agreement on other terms and conditions. Courtesy of Coldwell Banker Gundaker |
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