- the better the impression, the more buyers will walk through
the interior, which helps you sell the property quicker and for
a higher price.
2.
Set a price - By running
comparable sales in your area, your agent will be able to help you
determine a fair asking price. Realtors should research all the
listings, pending, and sold homes that have closed in your neighborhood within the previous
6 months.
Neighboring
homes that are similar in characteristics to yours, which have been sold
in the past 6 months, will most likely be used in calculating
the
appraised value.
When lending money to borrowers, banks/lending
institutions require an appraiser to evaluate your neighborhood
and house and to calculate a "fair" market value. If their
appraisal does not support the value you
have agreed to in the purchase contract, the banks/lending institutions will
make their loan based on the appraised value, and this will
effect the buyers willingness to pay the originally agreed upon
purchase price.
3.
Get listed in MLS - as a
registered Arizona Real Estate Realtor, I will list
your house in the local Multiple Listing Service. This is a
comprehensive computerized data base and search engine that provides
updated information about thousands of listings to all
area agents and their qualified buyers.
4.
Appointment vs. Lockbox -
When you list your home,
you need to decide how you wish to have your house shown. There
are two options:
1.
Appointments - if you want your real estate agent or yourself to be at
your home during every visit, the buyer's real estate agent will need to
call and set up an appointment every showing.
2.
Lockbox - the second option is to place a secure lockbox
(which has the keys to your house) out side of your house.
Only licensed real estate agents who subscribe to this service
are able to access your house.
5.
Open House -
this is an excellent way to have many people see your house in
just a few hours. Sundays from 1 to 4 pm is the preferred
open house day. This is an excellent opportunity to show your
home to active buyers.
6.
Place a "For Sale" Sign in
your yard - this is optional. It is your choice
whether or not to have a sign placed in your yard. Many homes
have been sold due to people driving by and seeing a sign.
Nevertheless, if security is a heightened concern of yours and
you do not wish to publicly display the sale of your house, we
will not place a sign on your yard.
7.
Important Issues to think about in
advance - let's assume that someone has decided your property is just right - and
presents you with an offer.
a.
What if the offer is less than your asking
price? Do you have to accept the offer or reply immediately?
We
are bound by law to communicate all written offers to you for
review.
The
bottom line is that it is
your house and you need to feel comfortable with the offering price and terms.
All we suggest is for you to consider the current real estate market: Are houses in your neighborhood selling quickly, slowly, or not at all?
How long has your house been listed? Will one offer lead quickly to
others? The one thing that we can predict in real estate is
that nothing is predictable. The final call is yours.
b.
What down payment ("earnest money") would you like
to receive. The normal rates are between 1% to 1.5% of the
purchase price.
c.
Closing date - when do you want/need to close and move out?
Escrows can range anywhere from 20 to 90 days. Know your time
frame.
d.
What is included in the sale of the property? Will you be
leaving your washer/dryer, microwave, refrigerator, curtains?
All of this is negotiable and some buyers will ask for your
personal property. Consider now what personal items, if any,
you are willing to include in the sale of the property.
8.
Contingencies
- Most buyers insist that provisions for cancellation without penalties
are included to protect them if they're unable to obtain a
mortgage loan, the property appraises below the agreed upon
purchase price, or the home inspection uncovers major problems.
They
may also ask you to make your sale contingent on the sale of their current home.
We'll discuss this issue if it arises.
