Many years ago when I was a rookie Realtor, I had a memorized listing presentation that ended with the four reasons houses don't sell. Those four reasons are location, condition, terms and price.
Some locations are better than others. Oceanfront, Riverfront, Lakefront, these are A+ locations. Everyone loves these things. Rate your location. Is it the best in town? Is it OK? Is it undesirable? Think like a buyer. Don't think like a seller.
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| Ron Climer says," If your price is right, your property will sell." |
How is your condition? Is your house "like new"? Be honest. "Like new" is what everybody wants. Nobody wants to call a repairman on moving day. If you have items (like the dishwasher ) that do not work, get them repaired or replaced. Clean ,clean, clean your house. Everyone likes clean. Get your house in as good of a condition as possible. Do not expect a "like new" price for your house if your house is not "like new".
The third thing is terms. How much down and how much per month? An average house in Hendersonville, North Carolina is $200,000. With F.H.A. financing that house can be bought in today's financial climate for as little as $7000 down and $854 per month. With U.S.D.A. or V.A. financing, you can buy a house with only the closing costs down. Interest rates are as low as 3.25% for people with excellent credit.
We are lucky that "The Fed" has kept interest rates for so low for so long. What a great time to buy a house when interest rates are less than four per cent. If you are thinking of selling soon, do not wait until rates go up. They can not get much lower. As interest rates go up, property prices go down.
If you are thinking of selling your free and clear property and you already have a couple of hundred thousand in the bank earning you 1% interest, you may want to consider financing your own house. Get a buyer to give you about thirty per cent down payment. You hold the mortgage for the rest at five or six per cent interest. This is a perfect investment for the seller. This will make your house very attractive to a buyer. It is easy. Attractive terms always make selling easy.
Fortunately, the low interest rates in today's make terms attractive for everyone. It is a great time to buy.
Location, condition, terms are important. The other obstacle to selling is the price. How can you know that your price is right? If Realtors are not showing your house, your price is not right. That is called negative feedback.
Today, we are in a seller's market. If you house is priced too high, your house will not get shown by Realtors. If it does get shown, the buyers will not buy it. They will buy the house down the street that is just as nice as yours and cheaper.
Sellers lament to me," The buyers can always make an offer." They can but they won't. Why not? Americans do not think like that. You don't go to the store. See an item on the shelf and offer the merchant less money for that item. This is a common practice in other parts of the world. It is not a common practice in Hendersonville, North Carolina. If a house is priced at $500,000, very few people will offer $400,000 for it. Realtors beg, cajole, beseech, insist, request buyers to make an offer. It is just not in our culture. If you doubt this is true, ask yourself, " When was the last time you made an offer?".
Price your property to sell. It will sell. Price your property to solicit an offer. Be prepared to wait for that offer. How can you determine a right price? You could ask your Realtor. Why not just pay an appraiser to tell you what your property is worth? That is the system that banks and lenders have been using with repossessed property for over a hundred years.
If no one is looking at your house, it probably needs a price adjustment. Pay attention to negative feedback. You can not change your location. The government and the mortgage market have set the terms. You can change the condition a little . You, Mr. Owner, have total control over the price. You have total control over the most important thing. Be certain that your price is a price that your house will sell for. Forget about leaving a little room to negotiate with people that do not like to negotiate. Price your property right. It will sell.
To prove this to yourself, consider this. If you advertised a twenty dollar bill for $19.50, how many do you think you could sell in a day? If you advertised that same twenty dollar bill for $20.50, how much advertising would it take to sell it? What if you took out a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal? Would that work? I doubt it.
Price is the most important part of the sale process. Oceanfront property, Beverly Hills Property, Manhattan Property and Hendersonville property will not sell for more than it is worth. Price your property right. Start packing. Call me, Ron Climer, if you have some property for sale near Hendersonville, North Carolina.
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