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How to Completely Screw Up Your Home Sale in a Few Easy Steps

Written by Posted On Sunday, 06 September 2015 06:55

The line between smart and stupid is very thin, many sellers realized that and more will. Just like gamblers that don't know when to quit and walk away smiling, many sellers push and push until they screw up a great deal. Greed, being hard-headed, belief in the hype...whatever the reason, self inflicted destruction is quite common among home sellers.

The '14 and '15 housing markets have been good, for the most part. However "strong" the National Association of Realtors and this administration want to call them is a matter of opinion; this seems to be more about pent up buyer demand, fear of rising rates and rising rents and less about genuine recovery. Economic recovery is not founded on 30 hour a week minimum wage jobs and that is clear. Or not so much to many home sellers....

Successfully selling a home is a ballet of multiple, independent things coming together; many things a seller cannot control. But home sellers do control the very first step - accepting an offer. The decision to list a home for sale assumes that proper research and preparation have been completed, the single most important step is knowing how to properly choose a real estate agent. When the agent is selected, they along with the seller, determine success or failure.

Home sellers must choose an experienced agent and then LISTEN to them, if they are hired to do a job, let them. Avoid the "I know best because I saw it on line" nonsense; a good agent lives in this world, not the seller. Key things to remember to help keep "stupid" from killing a deal:

  • sellers are not smarter than the market
  • a home is worth what others like it are selling for
  • price matters; overpriced homes become stigmatized..."why didn't it sell"?
  • a disinterested appraiser will come through; they will be looking at data, nothing else
  • buyers are more educated - just like sellers, they have internet access as well
  • buyers know what they want and what they will broadly pay
  • the first offer may be the best offer - pent up demand means new listings see the most action in the first 2-3 weeks
  • trust the agent - assuming proper research was completed and they are a pro
  • DEFINE SUCCESS BEFORE LISTING AND WHEN ITS ATTAINED, EXECUTE THE DEAL AND MOVE ON

Transparency in real estate is long overdue and the last several years have brought this industry kicking and screaming into "the new world". Smart buyers and sellers are a very good thing - so is taking control of the data and listings from realtor organizations. However, professional agents work these waters daily, buyers and sellers do not. Choose an agent the same way one would choose a CPA before heading into an IRS audit...money stands to be made or lost with every sale.

Hank Miller details how to ensure success when selling a home in his article "You are Not Smarter than the Market"; read how to get the most money and experience the fewest headaches when selling a home.

THE HANK MILLER TEAM COUNSELS HOME BUYERS AND SELLERS IN THE ATLANTA AREA WITH OVER 25 YEARS OF SALES AND APPRAISAL EXPERIENCE.

 

 

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Hank Miller, SRA

Hank Miller is an Associate Broker & Certified Appraiser in the north metro Atlanta area. Since 1989, real estate has been his full time profession. Hank´s clients benefit from his appraisal and sales experience; they act upon data, not baseless opinions. He is an outspoken critic of the lax standards in the agent community.

Hank remains an active certified appraiser and completes specialty work for FNMA, lenders and attorneys. He is a well-known blogger and continues to guest write for multiple industry publications as well as national outlets like the WSJ, NYT, RE Magazine, USA Today and others. He is a regular on public Q&A sites on Zillow, Trulia and many others.

Hank consistently ranks in the top 1% of all agents in the metro Atlanta area. He runs the Hank Miller Team and is known as much for his ability as he is for his opinions. He is especially outspoken about the lack of professional standards and expectations in the real estate industry.

www.hmtatlanta.com

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