"For Sale"

Theresa Smith

The economy is in a rut, the housing market is not moving, more homes on the market than eve before, never have we seen so many pre-foreclosures and foreclosed houses….These are signs of a troubled housing market.

But yo want to sell your house, what should you do?  First, find a realtor, speak to a few, focus on their experience, knowledge of selling and knowledge of the market, the most important aspect to focus on is do you get along with the realtor.  Do you get along with this person?  Relationships between realtor and seller are VERY important.  You the seller will eventually have to discuss some very personal things with your agent, and if you do not feel comfortable with them you may tend to leave out critical information.

Now that you have confidence in your agent, allow them to do their job.  Your job now is to be available at the times you agreed to show the house. Please do not agree to show the house 1 day a week for 1 hour only.  That is a flag letting potential buyers and their agents know you are not rally interested in selling.  Asking for a 24 hour notice is good but also be a little more flexible.

You also want to have the house show-ready, meaning when you get word that a buyer is coming over wash and put away the dishes, put away the laundry, open the blinds and windows, clean out the litter box, walk the dog when showing so the dog will not be visible and you can let your agent do their job of showing, make the beds, a clean house shows better than an untidy one.

Now that you have successfully shown the house and you have an offer, you need to remember that trust factor we spoke about.  Allow your agent to do the negotiating on your behalf, they MUST present ALL offers to you no matter how low and ridiculous some might be.  IT also does not matter who is representing the buyer.

Accept a reasonable offer; remember that selling a house is not a get rich quick scheme.  The market is not as good as it has been so if your broker tells you the CMA (Comparative Marketing Analysis) is showing that your house will sell for $350,000 it would not be advisable to decline and offer for $380,000 when you house is listed for $425,000.  The house was already $75,000 over-priced.  Take the offer!  Even if the offer comes in at $330,000 let the agents negotiate a higher but know that your house will sit on the market and get stale if you wait for an offer closer to the $425,000 – It may not sell at all.  DON’T BLAME YOUR AGENT!!!  You have the final say on accepting/declining an offer.

My professional opinion is to continue showing the property even though you have an accepted offer.  Situations may still occur, the inspection may not be favorable, most importantly, and the potential buyer may not be able to secure a mortgage.

Please understand that a pre-approval is NOT a commitment.  A pre-approval is just telling the agent and buyer based on income and debits how much the buyer would be able to purchase.

The encyclopedia definitions are as follows:
In lending, pre-approval has two meanings:
1. The first is that a lender, via public or proprietary information, feels that a potential borrower is completely credit worthy enough for a certain credit product, and approaches the potential customer with a guarantee that should they want that product, they would be guaranteed to get it. This rarely happens in the financial services industry, and when it does happen, it is usually loaded with fine print that is not immediately disclosed. Usually, what happens is pre-qualification, instead.
2. The second meaning has to do with mortgage lending. People interested in buying a house can often approach a lender, who will check their credit and verify their income, and then can provide assurances they would be able to get a loan up to a certain amount. Buyers can then get a letter of pre approval from the lender, and when shopping for a home can have possibly an advantage over others because they can show the seller that they are more likely to be able to buy the house. Note that a pre-approval letter from a lender is not a guarantee from the lender that a loan will be provided.[1]

Commitment
A formal offer by a lender making explicit the terms under which it agrees to lend money to a borrower over a certain period of time.  Also called standby loan commitment or commitment letter of firm commitment lending.

To conclude, Homes are still selling; they are just selling at a slower pace and will sell better with a knowledgeable agent.

Theresa M. Smith
718-925-5052      
Email:mrstheresasmith@optonline.net