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There's one born every minute

There’s One Born

Every Minute

Many years ago I sold a house on a quiet tree lined cul-de-sac.  There were seven houses on the street all built by the same builder at the same time in the 1950s.  The house next door had just recently sold for $390,000 with the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms (3/2), almost exactly the same layout in a mirror image with only a marginally larger piece of property.  Ironically, both houses had an updated kitchen and one of the two bathrooms beautifully redone.

When sitting down with the homeowners before putting the house on the market trying to determine price, the sellers (also my friends) said “Oh, our house is worth more than theirs [the neighbors who just sold].” I looked around, tapped the walls, stomped the floors with my booted feet and asked “Why? Did you use gold nails?” I stole that line from a real estate trainer but it is true.  All things being equal, short of there being buried treasure in your backyard, why is one house worth more than another? Simply said, they’re not.  Sure, there are some things that add and detract from value but all in all, again all things being equal, they’re worth approximately the same.

You’ve spent years in your home, possibly decades, and you have lots of memories there, both good and bad. But they are just that, memories. If it is time to move on try to take the emotion out of the equation; although difficult, remember this is a business transaction and emotion has very little place in business.  Your home is more than likely the single largest investment you have made in your lifetime and needs to be handled with the utmost care and attention to the bottom line.

Perhaps we will be able to find someone who is willing to pay you substantially more than the same house that just sold next door, but more often than not the buyer will be obtaining bank financing.  Banks, to protect their own investments, send out an appraiser to determine the value of the home.  If the appraiser’s value doesn’t match the agreed purchase price the deal, very often, falls apart unless the buyer and seller are willing and ready to renegotiate.

The value of real estate is determined by what a seller is willing to sell for and what a buyer is willing to pay.  Ultimately, however, the value is determined by what someone [a bank usually] is willing to lend against it. Unless the buyer is all cash, appraisal is key and will determine if there is, in fact, going to be a sale.

Pre-listing Engineer's Inspection

A Pre-listing

Inspection?

Yes please. Having an engineer come in for a full home inspection prior to listing the house will do a world of good for the eventual sale price.  What may cost you $100 to repair a potential buyer will want $1,000 in credits to repair. By being pre-inspected, you will uncover any little (or big) imperfections in the house that you might not have been aware of (e.g.: termites, leaking foundation, improperly ventilated roof, crossed wires, etc.) and have the chance to have them repaired BEFORE a buyer has their inspections. When these issues arise at a buyers’ inspection, you can proudly declare “It’s been repaired!”

Many home inspectors offer discounts to sellers who do a pre-sale inspection before the house hits the market. I can provide you with recommendations for inspectors who are licensed by New York State and enjoy a good reputation in the local market place. Even if you decide not to sell, this is not a bad idea if you’ve been in the house for some time.  Very often some of the hardware (e.g.: electric panels, wiring, or plumbing issues) have been updated or declared dangerous and you can have them repaired or changed before they present a problem.

Stale listing

Like A Loaf Of Bread…

A house that stays on the market too long without price changes or a reevaluation of marketing strategy goes stale...just like a loaf of bread. Most people only buy day old bread when they can get it at a drastic discount or are planning to make croutons. 

Sometimes, when pricing a house, a miscalculation can take place, either by the agent or the owner.  If your house has been on the market for 30 days and there have been no bona-fide offers or serious interest, it is quite possible, and more than likely probable, that the price is not correct. Sit down with your Realtor and re-examine the market, recent sales, other houses for sale, and those that have expired and not sold.  Are you in the ballpark or way out in left field?

Don’t be the day old bread...stale and crusty; be fresh and delicious!