Opportunity Knocks for Equity Sellers

A Realtor colleague of mine has coined a phrase that sums things up for equity sellers: Your home is in a beauty contest and a price war. How can that be good news? 

The good news is that so many of the homes we show today are boring or downright eyesores. Go the extra mile. Make those repairs you have been putting off and stage your home. If you need to sell and can’t wait for three or four years for prices to rebound then get serious.  Buyers have this
universal annoying habit.

They triple the estimated costs of repairs in their head as they walk through your home. Whatever item is not done, whether landscaping, a kitchen that needs remodeling, old carpet, or outdated colors will impact an offer far more than the actual cost of repair. In fact, in this economy many vendors are
hungry and offering great prices. Check out www.angieslist.com.

The buyers do not know what real costs are so they estimate high. My experience says that potential buyers estimate three to four times real cost. The truth is, they don’t want to live through the mess either!

Buyers are looking for “deals” for sure, but they get tired of seeing the short sales and REO properties that are a mess. (Many banks now have found that just the bare bones repairs of builder-grade carpet and a coat of neutral paint will make their product sell faster and for more.)  Create some wow factor
in your home and buyers will see the value. 

No matter how cerebral the home buyer might appear to be, he/she will always buy a home with his/her emotions. If the buyer is right-brained he/she will have to justify his/her emotions with facts, but still will make the home-buying decision based on feelings. 

Lastly, don’t follow the market down for months and let your listing become stale. Price it right and hire a professional that will take advantage of all the traditional tools PLUS maximize the new marketing tools of video and social media.