Sunriver Real Estate news: Selling your home at the right time and for the right price percent of buyers will apply for By Ginny Kansas When you play a game of financing, so it is important cards, you work to make a your home is priced right. Make a list of home improvewinning hand from the cards you are dealt. When you are ments to assist your realtor in positioning your buying or selling a property against home, you are the competing properdealer and it’s up to ties, but don’t exyou and your trusted pect a buyer to pay realtor to make the for those improvedeal work for you. ments. Toward that end, The bottom line I always encourage • Be realistic when my clients — whethmarketing your er they are buyers or sellers — to operate Ginny Kansas-Mezaros property. Don’t be fooled into working on the principle “a penny saved is a penny earned.” with a broker who tells you the After you have played the game asking price you want to hear. several times, you learn how to You will lose valuable market base your strategy on potential time and incur holding costs future moves. So by taking (mortgage and/or utilities, asprecautions and knowing the sessments, etc.) only to discover course of a deal, you are able that the broker will have to to save your moves and hedge reduce the price anyway. • Aim for netting 10 percent your bets to play the best hand. Base the following decisions above or below market price, on this strategy in order to save depending upon how long time and save or earn money by you want your home to stay rearranging your playing cards. in the market. You may then Here’s the “Ginny Skinny” on have competing offers because the various stages of selling a you are operating under the game rules of a buyer’s market. home to your advantage. Seller tips before, during and Holding out for the higher price means longer wait time after the deal To prepare your winning for an offer. If you are not willing to hand as a seller, you’re best suited to confidently play the consider selling at market price pricing card to get the best price from the get-go, don’t list your home until the market meets and least stress. Base your listing price on the price you want to get. Refithe most recent sold and pend- nance or do improvements until ing sales comparable to the the time comes to get top dollar year your home was built, its when you’re really ready to sell. • Know that 90 percent of square footage/number of true bedrooms, location, floor plan, buyers shop online first – even condition and surrounding when they are in Sunriver on view/amenities. This is a dy- vacation. If your home is not namic number that goes up and in their price range, it will be down, just like the stock market skipped over. If you miss a window of opportunity because and economy. This is the target price point of inflated pricing, you will conlenders will use when working tinue to “chase” the market. The with prospective buyers. It is higher number of days on the also the data that appraisers market, the more likely you will use when determining a home’s get “low ball” offers. Reposition ad.pdf 1 5/18/12 8:26 AM your asking price if you do not worth toWindriver the bank. Ninety
get any showings within two weeks to a month. • To receive the highest potential sales price, do necessary repairs and arrange a home inspection and Sunriver Owners Association compliance inspection before listing. Otherwise, when a home inspector representing the buyer or their lender’s appraiser comes to your home, they will itemize these repairs and the bank may require they be completed before closing to ensure the home is “safe, structurally sound and sanitary.” Following a home inspection, an appraiser for the buyer’s lender also goes through the home. Based on what the appraiser sees can determine the actual amount the lender will loan to your buyer. If you set the price higher than market value, it may not “appraise” for that value. If that happens, you must either agree to lower your sale price, renegotiate with the buyer to pay the difference out of their pocket, split the difference between seller and buyer or the deal is off. • Ask your realtor for a seller’s net sheet so you can determine what you will net from the sale after commissions, title and escrow fees. Call your financial and tax consultant to see if you need to close by a certain date or with a certain amount for the best financial and tax advantages. •Ask your realtor to promote the market value of your improvements in your listing during open houses and brokers’ meetings. • Ask your realtor to include in the agent remarks section of the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) that buyers should be prequalified with a lender before they can submit an offer. This helps ensure buyers are capable of covering purchase costs before you accept an offer and take the home off market
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— forcing out potential buyers. • If an inspector finds egregious home repairs, avoid drama by taking care of those issues yourself or you can credit the cost of repairs to the buyer to do on their own. Also, lenders do not like the term “repair credit” in processing loans; it means that they would have to absorb the risk if the repairs were not done correctly and may want to do costly re-inspections at the buyer’s expense — even if those repairs are minor. I know a lender who tried to charge for re-inspecting a replaced light switch plate. • Before the bank’s appraiser visits your property, make sure your home improvement list is available so the appraiser can build in those values (but not at your replacement cost). Have repair invoices, warranties, seller disclosures and inventory lists ready in case the buyer or inspector ask questions or chal-
lenges them. • If you have outdated furniture, remove it and donate it to a thrift store or see if it is acceptable at a consignment store. If you donate or sell your furnishings as part of the sale, prepare a realistic bill of sale for seller and buyer tax advantages. Don’t try to add value to a sale by selling it furnished based on your furniture’s sentimental value. Buyers don’t want the hassle of removing it, and it only emphasizes the age of your home. For the buyer’s perspective and tips on playing the right cards, go to www.ginnyk. com>Buying Center>Sunriver Article Ginny Kansas-Meszaros is a Principal Broker of Patrick Real Property Services and represents sellers and buyers throughout Central Oregon. To get the Ginny Skinny, call 541-977-2710 or email ginny.m.kansas@gmail. com
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