Sell your home faster by making fewer mistakes

#1 Price your property appropriately - You want to get the most for your home. The best way to do this is NOT to list your home at an excessively high price. A high listing price will cause some prospective buyer to lose interest before even seeing your property. As a result, overpriced properties tend to take longer to sell, and they end up being sold for less than they would have sold for if priced appropriately from the start. We listed a property in Bonsall that the sellers initially wanted to list about $200,000 above the market. I shook their hand and said "thank you but no thank you." When we turned to go to my car, they said "wait a minute. What is it worth". We told them what the comparable market analysis showed and, because of their strong motivation, (it had been on the market for a long time with another agent and the condition was poor,) they agreed to list it slightly below the market. At that time, the market was very active and their neighborhood in particular was HOT. We had 10 written offers with deposit checks within 48 hours of submitting into the multiple listing service. A bidding war ensued through the counter offer process and the home ended up selling for more than the listed price and slightly higher than the market supported. By UNDER pricing their home, they sold it for about $50,000 above market.

#2 Re-finance appraisals are not an accurate reflection of value - A re-finance appraisal may have been stated at an untruthfully high price. Lenders will sometimes estimate the value of your property to be higher than it actually is in order to encourage re-financing. The MARKET value of your home may actually be lower. Beyond that, the market fluctuates and the re-finance appraised value may be out dated. If you have a lot of equity in your home and the new loan will be a low percentage of your home's total value, say 70% or less, then the lender is not really taking a risk by allowing an overvalued appraisal. There's 30% equity to fall back on. Your best bet is to ask us for the most recent information regarding property sales in your community and, more particularly, your neighborhood. We will give you an up-to-date and factual estimate of your property value.

#3 Always negotiate with pre-qualified buyers - A prospective buyer who shows interest because of a "for sale" sign he/she saw may not really be interested in your property. Often buyer prospects who do NOT come through a Realtor are a long way from actually buying. They may still have to sell their house, or may not be able to afford your house at all. They may still even be unsure whether or not they want to move. We always investigate and question on your behalf and there is absolutely no reason what-so-ever to negotiate an offer with a pre-approval, as opposed to a a pre-qualification, as part of the offer. In today's highly competitive lending market, a prospective buyer can get pre-approved in less than a day most of the time. It always makes me laugh when I hear someone say, "I had someone offer me (fill in the amount) just the other day. Oh really? Did they have something to sell before they could buy? Had they been pre-approved for a loan? Do they even qualify for loan? Did they have any cash available for a down payment? A verbal offer isn't legally binding so if the offer is not written and you don't know the answers to these questions, and more, then what you actually had was a conversation.

#4 Know your rights and responsibilities - We cannot stress how important it is that you are informed about the real estate contract. They are legally binding and can be complex and confusing. Mistakes in the contract could cost you tens of thousands for repairs and inspections. Know your responsibilities before signing the contract and limit your exposure to liability when you create one. I once represented the buyer of a property who asked in the contract for the seller to make any repairs called for on a termite inspection report. I did not represent the seller and the agent who did allowed them to agree to that without explaining that what they were doing was signing a "blank check" regarding damage from termites, dry rot and fungus. The home had been built on a sub-floor and during one unusually rainy season, water had ponded in the sub-floor causing fungus to infect much of the area. The cost to repair the damage was roughly $10,000, which the seller's had unknowingly agreed to repair at their expense. We actually suggest to our selling clients that they obtain a termite inspection report when the property is first listed. That way when the offer does come in asking for termite repairs, they know how much money they are negotiating.

#5 Allow your property the greatest amount of exposure possible - Ask your real estate sales person for a specific marketing plan, including where the property will advertised and when before you sign the listing agreement. If the only exposure they will give it is word of mouth, give us a call. We will employ a wide variety of marketing techniques. We will also be committed to selling your property. We will be available for every phone call from a prospective buyer or their agent. We are always available by office and cell phone and email to take these important contacts. We have sold many properties that became expired listings after the previous agent didn't do enough to get it sold during their listing period. Ask the prospective sales agent; who is the most important target market? If they don't say "other real estate agents," give us a call. If you have a property to sell, there is likely a real estate agent out there right now with a buyer looking for it. Marketing to other agents is one of the most important things we do to get your property sold. Through our specialized web site, we have the ability to send E-cards on your home to our data base of active real estate agents in the community, state, country and throughout the extensive Coldwell Banker and Coldwell Banker Previews networks.