Surviving the Sale

What is the first step when selling any home? Get a Comparative Market Analysis and interview agents.

It is best to have three different Realtors® provide you with a Comparative Analysis for your home.  Many sellers take this step, but what they do with the information they receive is not always in their best interest.

Once three CMAs have been prepared, the natural tendency is for a seller to hire the Realtor® who produces the highest number. This is often a mistake. Competing Realtors® can inflate numbers in order to ‘buy’ your listing (eventually lowering your home's price).

More important to this process is getting an idea of these Realtors®’ backgrounds, expertise, and personalities/qualites they will bring to you over the next few months. You will be working closely with this representative for many weeks/months, so it is important that it be someone you trust and can rely on for solid advice.

The importance of having the right allies in the selling process cannot be overstated. Having an expert on your side, not only to assist you in making decisions and getting your home marketed, but also in terms of having the right advocate in the process is the single most important step you can take to reduce your stress.

Most sellers fail to move beyond goal #1, and that can cause some problems. Another important goal that should be recognized is the attempt to minimize stress. Will getting an extra percentage or two for your home be worth the inconvenience of having it on the market for an extra month? Two months? Or losing offers beccuase of your agents advice, non-experience or lack of dedication to the job.

Often sellers underestimate the stress that having their home on the market for an extended period can generate. Constant showings, constant interruptions, and concerns about timing the selling your home with buying a new one are not minor concerns – each decision can have a major impact on your life. Sit down with your agent and discuss just where you place the most importance in the selling process. If profit is your only priority, perhaps you can afford to be firmer in your asking price, and can reject offers that are less than ideal. Most sellers who have had their home on the market for an extended period of time, though, would agree that the few extra dollars were not worth it in the end.

Few people would second-guess their heart surgeon and insist they could do a better job themselves, or question whether their lawyer’s knowledge of the law is more extensive than their own, but when it comes to selling a home, many homeowners find it difficult to put their faith in the knowledge of their Realtor.. For example, despite the fact that studies show that less than 1% of homes are sold through open houses, many homeowners insist their Realtor® hold one. Indeed, if a yard sign and an open house were all it took to sell a home, there would not be many Realtors® at all! Melissa believes in Open Houses just to push buyers that may have seen the home during the week and are on the fence. She also uses many other marketing techniques and tactics with a full marketing plan in place from day one.

If you’ve put the right team in place, put your trust in that team. Realtors® have access to many highly-advanced marketing strategies that you may not even realize are being utilized. It is your Realtor’s® job to bring qualified buyers to the table – and keep in mind that he or she likely does not get paid at all if your house does not sell! In most markets, the combination of the right representative and the right listing price will result in a sold home. If you recognize this early on, it becomes much easier to take a step back from the process, let your professional representative market your home, and minimize your stress.