Deadly Pitfall No. 1
There are tons of horror stories out there among homeowners
who have tried to sell their own home only to have a buyer
tie up their home for 3 to 6 months trying to get financing.
Because of anxiousness to sell, homeowners fail to find
out ahead of time, before any contracts are signed, whether
the buyers have made arrangements for a loan or whether
they have even talked to a lender at all. 85% of buyers
in the market to buy a home today do not know how much
they can afford, according to lender guidelines for home
loans. It is very disheartening (sometimes sickening)
when a homeowner finds out the buyer cannot get a loan
to complete the sale. Even though you may feel uncomfortable
doing so, you must be firm in getting information out
of buyers, as to their ability to get a loan. Do not tie
up your home in a contract until the buyer has brought
you a letter from their lender stating they are pre-approved,
not pre-qualified. There is a difference. Pre-approved
means the buyer has been approved for a loan by the underwriter
(the person who says yes or no) and there is money waiting
for them once the house is approved. Pre-qualification
is the loan officer's opinion as to whether the buyer
qualifies for a loan. The loan officer does not make the
loan decisions. They only take the buyers' information
and pass it on. The underwriter is the one who says yes
or no. Taking this advice could keep from costing you
months of headaches, bunches of time and money, and the
turning away other buyers who may be much more qualified
to buy your home.
Deadly Pitfall No. 2
Watch out for the bargain hunters. Owners, who try to
sell their own home, are prime targets of bargain hunters
who will try to high-pressure you into taking offers far
below market value. In other words, they want to steal
your home. They are, normally, excellent buyers who either
pay cash for your home or have large down payments. Do
not let the dollar $$ signs intimidate you. Stick to your
guns.
Deadly Pitfall No. 3
Make sure you do mega-tons of market research before you
price your home. Try to find a minimum of 3 homes similar
to yours that have sold in the past 6 months. Also, try
to find at least 3 homes that are currently for sale that
are similar to yours. These homes are your competition.
If the other homes offer more for the money, your home
will sell your competition. Pricing your home in the fair
market range is critical to your success. Many homeowners
get greedy and grossly over price their homes. This destroys
the marketability of a home. Do not rely on rumors or
what your neighbor said. Verify every sales price at the
County Auditor's Office.Ê At the other end of the spectrum,
some homeowners price their homes too low. They fail to
get the fair price they are entitled to. The asking price
should be at the upper end of the fair market value range
with the homeowner expecting to get a price that is in
the mid-range area of the fair market value range. Paying
for a professional appraisal will help immensely! Then
you have something to show potential buyers the value
of your home.
Deadly Pitfall No. 4
Watch out for the stalkers. These are dishonest people
who come through your home to see what they can come back
to steal at a later time, when you are not home. They
will appear to be very legitimate buyers. Always ask to
see the potential buyers' driver licenses. If they refuse,
do not let them into your home. Explain the reason you
want to see their driver licenses. If they are legitimate
buyers, they will be more than happy to show you them.
Write their names and drivers license numbers down. This
could mean the difference of being safe or being robbed.
Be firm in this step.Ê It could cost you!
Deadly Pitfall No. 5
Be prepared for the buyers, who make you an offer, to
knock off an amount equal to a real estate commission.
This will come right off the top before they start to
negotiate with you. Buyers who look at homes for sale
by the owner know the seller is trying to save the real
estate commission. Decide how you intend to handle this
problem ahead of time. A home is worth only so much, regardless
of who sells it!
Deadly Pitfall No. 6
Be prepared for phone calls late at night and very early
in the morning. Potential buyers are only concerned about
one thing; their own needs. They will try to pressure
you into showings at times that are convenient for them,
but may be very inconvenient for you. Don't be so anxious
that you let them control you. Be friendly and kind, but
be firm. If they are really interested in looking at your
home, they will be accommodating. Experience has shown
that the high pressure, pushy buyers are the ones that
are the time wasters.
Deadly Pitfall No. 7
Do not fall into the trap of trying to copy what the traditional
real estate companies do in marketing your home. Do not
spend the money, you are trying to save, on display ads
placed among the traditional real estate companies' ads.
Studies have shown that owners who sell their own home
and place ads in the classified section under "homes for
sale" will get five times more calls than those who run
ads in the display section (including traditional real
estate companies). Be creative in your marketing. Look
to other industries, which use good marketing, to pattern
your marketing after. Don't be afraid to be different.
Advertising only sells 5% of the homes advertised (statistically
proven by the National Association of Realtors). Statistically,
only 1% of realtor open houses sell. Why would you want
to have your home open for 3 hours on a Sunday afternoon,
only to have potential buyers come straggling through
and never buy. If you want to hold an open house, hold
it open for only a fifteen-minute period of time. Place
signs in strategic places. Flood the neighborhood, apartment
complexes, laundermats, grocery store bulletin boards,
and a bulletin board at work with flyers stating this
is the only time you will hold your home open. Everyone
must be on time. State that no showings will be held prior
to this time. If someone wants to look at your home prior
to this time, be firm in telling them the date and time
set is the first time they can look at your home. This
open strategy creates the auction affect when a group
of people shows up. Have written hand outs to give them
on price, features, and other information. Let everyone
in attendance know the date when you will be looking at
all offers. Make this date 3 days after the open house.
This gives legitimate buyers time to get other opinions
and inspections, if they desire. All of this creates,
in the mind of those in attendance, scarcity (We'd better
move on this one before someone else beats us to it),
social proof the house must be a great value, and the
urgency to make a decision... just like an auction. The
mindset is this must be a great home, if there are so
many others looking. This is creative marketing.
**This free report is given to you as a gift from Katherine
Prinzivalli at Coldwell Banker Realtors. This information
is only intended to help you sell your own home, if that
is your desire. You are probably wondering why I wouldÊ
be so willing to share this information with you? Is their
some kind of catch? Number one, our mindset of doing business
is to give without expecting anything in return. Number
two; our business relies heavily on others telling their
friends, family, and co-workers about our extraordinary
level of service. We call this working "By Referral Only!"
When your needs are met, we know you will tell others
how we have helped you in some small way. Number three;
you may eventually need our help. Hopefully, you will
call on those who care about your needs before their own.
This is not a common way for business people to conduct
themselves in today's business world. Most businesses
are only concerned about their profit. I am different.
I put my client's needs before my own. We feel our responsibility
is to give you information you can count on, tell you
what your options are, and, then, let you make all the
decisions. Mother always told us, if we give freely, without
expecting anything in return, we will always be rewarded
in some way! We think Mom is right! Good luck in your
home selling!
Katherine
Prinzivalli, Realtor
Coldwell Banker Coon & McCreary
(925)754-7400
x170
E-Mail:
kprinzivalli@Homes4EastBay.com
