Dave’s Recipe for Property Selling Success
Asking Price is Important!
Selling a property, especially a primary residence, can be a very emotional experience. Often, home owners overprice their property because the experience of ‘home’ is priceless. However, to most appropriately price a property, it must be evaluated only as a ‘house’ and priced as a product in the local market place. It’s important to remember that you will have a new ‘home’, often more suitable to your current needs and your life moving forward.
Generally, a listing generates the most attention when it first comes on the market. Overpricing a property at the outset and reducing the price later is much less effective than pricing it right from the start. Overpricing a property is tantamount to not having it for sale at all. Properties that are correctly priced will come onto the market and sell while, in effect, yours sits on the sidelines. You will continue to have all of the carrying costs with no realistic sales prospect. Dreams of finding a cash buyer who does not check other properties and does not seek an appraisal are unrealistic. Pricing your property correctly at the onset is crucial to achieve a timely sale.
Many agents consider 80% of properties currently on the market to be overpriced and, therefore, dead inventory. Only the 20% of the houses that are thoughtfully and properly priced will sell in a timely fashion. I will help you establish a price that is fair, competitive and will generate attention.
Marketing Your Property
Now that your property is properly priced, I will work with you to create a timeline for exiting the property together with an action plan with a ‘hook’. The ‘hook’ is an attractive feature of your property that sets it apart from others in the market. With the action plan and hook in place, I will develop marketing materials unique to your property. The materials will use photographs and copy to describe your offering in a clean, crisp, intelligent and concise way. Once complete, I will use multiple listing systems and my own contacts to alert local agents and prospective buyers to your offering. I will schedule ‘open houses’ and other activities to generate showings and offers.
Once an offer is received, I will review it with you and work with you to negotiate a response to achieve your goals. It is rare for an initial offer to meet all of a sellers goals and it is usually appropriate to counteroffer. A counteroffer can include many components other than price. I will help you achieve a deal that is a ‘win’ for you.
Contracts and Inspections
Once the buyer and seller agree on all of the terms of the transaction, then a sales contract is signed by both parties. The contract contains all of the terms and conditions regarding the sale of the property.
At this point, a buyer typically will hire a professional inspector to look at the property to alert the buyer to items in need of repair or improvement. The inspector will also look for items that could be hazardous or nearing the end of functional life. Pest inspections and any other reviews deemed necessary by the buyer will be performed during this period as well. During this period, the buyer may request repairs or proceed without addressing any inspection items. Generally, the buyer has until the end of the inspection period to withdraw the offer.
Closing
Typically, a sale will involve a loan on the part of the buyer. The lender will hire an appraiser to ensure the lender that the value of the loan does not exceed the value of the property.
At this point, the transaction goes to a title company. A title company is a neutral third party with banking powers which assists the buyer and seller in completing the transaction. The title company will close the transaction and will transfer funds securely from the buyer to the seller. The title company also insures title to the property. The title company handles land record requirements with the county and performs many of the services handled by an attorney in other jurisdictions. In most instances, the buyer and seller never even need to meet in person.
Prior to the closing, the buyer and seller each receive a HUD-1 transaction summary. This shows the source and destination of every penny in the transaction including the pay off of any loans on the property, any taxes or other adjustments, closing fees and commissions. Your signature is required for the transaction to close. The title company can transfer the cash balance directly to your bank account.
1031 Exchange
If you are selling an investment property, you might consider a 1031 exchange which may offer significant tax benefits. This type of exchange allows you to purchase a like property of equal or greater value without having to pay income taxes on the gain from the property being sold. If such a transaction appears beneficial, we will help you retain the services of a 1031 exchange facilitator – an expert in ‘like kind’ exchanges.
Our Goal
All of my efforts on your behalf are concentrated on helping you meet your goals with the maximum possible proceeds from your sale.
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Copyright © 2012-2013. All Rights Reserved. The content of this Flagstaff real estate and MLS Map Search website is owned exclusively by David M Gurne, Designated Broker and Realtor specializing in buying and selling homes using an unique Eagle-Eye MLS Search Map feature for in Flagstaff and Northern Arizona. All real estate images of Flagstaff houses, Flagstaff condos, Flagstaff townhouses, Flagstaff land and Flagstaff properties, Flagstaff vacation rentals, and Flagstaff commercial real estate may only be used with the express permission of our realtor and realty agency (excepting images provided and copyrighted by Google Maps and the MLS Property Search Listing service).
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