OT: Selling House

[buddybikes]

Our old "homestead" we lived in for 35 years is on the market, small antique colonial. It is in a pretty hot area and great schools. In town of 7500 there are only 18 houses on the market. Today is the open house. Now the concern, if we get multiple offers, and even if bidding goes up a bit (don't expect much) how to decide which offer to accept. Our concerns are financing fall through and perhaps inspection - old house is not a new house. We have never been through this process before. Any hints welcome.

thx
steve

[paredown]

We have been on the other side (our sales have come from a single offer)--but the prudent choice would to accept the offer with the fewest contingencies and best financing on paper.

The funniest one for us as a buyer was having to write a letter as to why we should be the ones allowed to purchase a flat that was for sale in London--the owner had very definite ideas about who should carry on her legacy, and we were't it.:mad:

[Climb01742]

Much will depend on two things: the bidders you get and how eager they are; and type of agent you have.

In New England at least, seems to be a seller’s market. If demand is great enough for your house, you can set the terms. All cash? As is condition? Whether you negotiate after inspection? The next few days will tell you who has the leverage, you or buyers.

Then there’s your agent. I’ve had both kinds. Non-aggressive and aggressive. Some agents seem to do it almost as a hobby. While others are driven, smart and willing to push as hard as you want them to. Figure out how tough you want to be and hope you have an agent in line with you. Your agent should also, via comps, help you know how hard you can push on price and terms.

One more point, depending on what the buyer wants to do with the house, condition may not matter so much. Will they tear it down? Do a gut reno? Their plans may make condition and inspection moot or vital. See if you can get a sense about things like that. Good luck!

[oldpotatoe]

Our old "homestead" we lived in for 35 years is on the market, small antique colonial. It is in a pretty hot area and great schools. In town of 7500 there are only 18 houses on the market. Today is the open house. Now the concern, if we get multiple offers, and even if bidding goes up a bit (don't expect much) how to decide which offer to accept. Our concerns are financing fall through and perhaps inspection - old house is not a new house. We have never been through this process before. Any hints welcome.

thx
steve

Objectively, the best one for not only amount but also 'conditions'..Also, pay for a house inspection now so when a potential buyer has HIS inspector come in, you already have a second opinion..PLUS fixes to things found on a house inspection are negotiable. Hopefully you have a good agent and not somebody just looking to make a commission.

[jghall]

This is where your agent will hopefully earn his/her money. Best financial offer, best financial buyers, least buyer conditions, etc. A combination of various things like - pre-approved buyer, no contingencies, as is, no inspection, etc.

Sounds like you may be in a good place, so take time, no rush judgements. Good luck.

[joosttx]

We have been on the other side (our sales have come from a single offer)--but the prudent choice would to accept the offer with the fewest contingencies and best financing on paper.

This..... in theory

I would had the house inspected prior so I know the warts and priced them in. Transparency makes easier tranactions.

[fignon's barber]

I've sold a couple of my own houses. I think today, it's easy. Three things I'd advise:
- be very thorough in your sellers disclosure
- require a significant, and non-refundable, earnest money amount
- never assume an agent will act in the best interests of the buyer or seller. Assume they will act in the agent's best interests.

[Ralph]

We've been thinking about selling our home of many years....so I paid for a pre listing inspection....just so I would know what I need to fix....or what is not up to current code....or insurance company demands (for new buyer if he gets a mortgage).

IMHO fewest contingencies or most cash up front is good. Want to make sure any offer I would accept is a strong buyer.....financially speaking. If I received multiple offers....probably not interested in buyers who are stretching to buy a house.

[Ken Robb]

I've sold a couple of my own houses. I think today, it's easy. Three things I'd advise:
- be very thorough in your sellers disclosure
- require a significant, and non-refundable, earnest money amount
- never assume an agent will act in the best interests of the buyer or seller. Assume they will act in the agent's best interests.

In California there is essentially no such thing as non-refundable earnest money. It is probably possible elsewhere but it varies by state.

[Spaghetti Legs]

I hope your showing went well today. My wife and I bought and sold 5 houses so far in our life. We are currently trying to sell one. The supposedly "hot" sellers market hasn't panned out in our old hometown. We're 4 months on the market, over 20 showings and only one bat***** crazy offer.

The only time we had multiple offers on a house was our first one, sold at the height of the bubble in 2004. The technically best offer was one that would pay $500 more than any other offer. We thought that sounded silly ($500? - really? This is on a $250K+ house) and it might be a sign of difficult negotiations down the road, so we took the best regular offer on the table.

A contingency for buyer to sell his/her current house for financing might be the most common you'll see and can bump an otherwise good offer down a few notches. As noted above, every market now isn't hot and you run a risk of the buyers house not selling, your deal falling through, and you missing out on market time.

[sfo1]

Maybe enlighten us; is this FSBO or w/an agent? If an agent, she / he can guide you as that is what you are paying them for (among other things).

If FSBO, best offer; >price & <contingencies. Buyers w/out a pre-approval are not not buyers. If you get a pre-approval call the party that provide the pre-app and ask Qs.



Our old "homestead" we lived in for 35 years is on the market, small antique colonial. It is in a pretty hot area and great schools. In town of 7500 there are only 18 houses on the market. Today is the open house. Now the concern, if we get multiple offers, and even if bidding goes up a bit (don't expect much) how to decide which offer to accept. Our concerns are financing fall through and perhaps inspection - old house is not a new house. We have never been through this process before. Any hints welcome.

thx
steve

[bigbill]

If you get your own inspection and they identify some things you could fix to make your house more appealing or a better price, speak with your real estate agent to see if you'll recoup the cost. If it's a seller's market, you don't have to do anything other than something that immediately needs fixing like electrical or plumbing.

We sold our house in VA Beach in 2004 in a seller's market. Went on the market at 240K on Friday afternoon, accepted a contract from a pre-approved buyer on Saturday afternoon for 295K. Buyers and agents were arguing in the driveway, it was entertaining. My house in Paris, TX is on the market for 249K, I'm hoping for 235K.

[zap]

edit

We've been thinking about selling our home of many years....so I paid for a pre listing inspection....just so I would know what I need to fix....or what is not up to current code....or insurance company demands (for new buyer if he gets a mortgage).

Bring in 10 home inspectors and each will find something different. Getting a pre listing inspection very much depends on how knowledgeable the home owner is of their own home. If you know your home inside/out, skip......it's an older house so warts are to be expected. But not structural issues.

Also, if your home was built some time ago, current codes may not apply. The listing agent for the first home we sold in Maryland did not inform us of this fact .

Buyers with VA loans are a little trickier as more up to date codes may apply.

It is the listing agents job (if they are any good) to best determine which of multiple offers will be most cost effective/easiest.

[Hardlyrob]

Fignon's Barber brings up a point we have seen in the past selling 5 houses over the years. There comes a point where some agents are more interested in closing the deal and getting paid, than doing the best they can for you.

[Birddog]

Fignon's Barber brings up a point we have seen in the past selling 5 houses over the years. There comes a point where some agents are more interested in closing the deal and getting paid, than doing the best they can for you.

That is shocking!

[jlwdm]

Fignon's Barber brings up a point we have seen in the past selling 5 houses over the years. There comes a point where some agents are more interested in closing the deal and getting paid, than doing the best they can for you.

That means you have not done a good job of selecting an agent.

Jeff

[pjbaz]

That means you have not done a good job of selecting an agent.

Jeff

Truth! I was naive when I bought my house (first and only, so far) and ultimately ended up telling her to F@#$ herself with a few weeks to go before the close. Long story short, she tried to bully me because she was working as both buyer and seller agent (again, I WAS naive) and claimed I was trying to back out of the deal bc the mortgage guy she recommended couldn't get the rate we had in the contract because the SELLER asked to push the closing back a month. Heated phone call ended with me telling her "so you're saying the only way out of this (again, not something I wanted bc I wanted the house the whole time and they were dragging things out) is if the mortgage company denies me? Well, I'll go out and buy two new Mercedes' tonight and your whole deal will go to **** bc no one will give me a mortgage after I drop 100K on cars. F@#$ you!"

Then, I immediately phoned my wife and told her not to answer calls from the realtor.

Next time we spoke was at the closing and she was so sweet to me ... told her in person how I felt :banana:

[gasman]

That means you have not done a good job of selecting an agent.

Jeff

This is key but it really takes some work to find the right one. We fired the first one we ever tried to use 30 some years ago. She actually got mad at us for not choosing the house she showed us. We said adios and found one we really liked.

[Climb01742]

Sometimes you learn the hard way who is and who isn’t a good agent. It’s not always evident until a crunch moment. But once learned, yes it’s a lesson you should never forget.

[Ken Robb]

I was a RE Broker for 36 years. I was at a party when a man announced that Realtors were all crooked or incompetent. I asked him how he knew that. He said "my agent screwed up three different deals." Naturally I asked why he used the same incompetent agent THREE TIMES. He said "my wife plays bridge with her."

Obviously they could have made a better choice. :)

[buddybikes]

We had 14 different lookers at the open house, 2 appeared bit more interested. One person walking through today. We are "done" fixing it up, buyers can put new kitchen floor in of their liking... It is an old (very old) colonial, post and beam built like a tank but of course none of the floors are 100% flat and so on.

thx for comments

[Look585]

Fignon's Barber brings up a point we have seen in the past selling 5 houses over the years. There comes a point where some agents are more interested in closing the deal and getting paid, than doing the best they can for you.

Freakonomics did a good piece on this misalignment of incentives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbFkw_roJqI

[jlwdm]

What people often don't understand is that great agents do a lot of work for nothing - in the short term. They recognize that the long term business is about relationships and referrals. It is about always doing what is right. If I get an offer on a listing I always figure out how I would counter the offer if I was the owner.

Not just in real estate, but in most things in life if you do what is right you will reap benefits later. It may seem corny, but it is true.

The tricky thing about the video is the idea that the house will be worth $10k more in a week. Who knows for sure.

It is true though that too many people use agents because they go to church with them or have some other tie. I was providing market information to an owner of a lot in my main market for a number of years. The owner called me and said we are finally listing the lot, but my wife has a friend who is a part time Realtor and if we don't list with her it would be the end of my marriage. He said you will get the listing in 6 months. Sure enough we got the listing and sold it in 14 days. There are too many agents that think real estate is a part time job.

Jeff

[Ken Robb]

Many times the first offer will be the best that will come in. Motivated, qualified buyers who have been looking for some time know a good deal when it comes on the market so they act quickly. If their offer is reasonable turning them down and hoping for full price can be counterproductive because if a home sits on the market for a while it can become a "stale" listing in the eyes of buyers. If you go back to the guy who made that first offer he may not be willing to pay as much as he offered the first time because he can see nobody else was willing to beat it.

One way I could sometimes help evaluate an offer was to point out that turning down a good, clean offer was like "buying" their own house now for the amount offered ($290,000 in the film) in the hope of selling it for $300,000 per the film in a timely manner.

In San Diego we are still in a seller's market so multiple offers at and above full price are common but in normal markets full price offers are rare indeed. Living in a home for sale and having it ready to show at all times is not fun so most of my repeat sellers knew the value of a quick sale for their mental health.:)

[avalonracing]

Freakonomics did a good piece on this misalignment of incentives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbFkw_roJqI

I've heard that piece a couple of times and it is really misguided. I've been doing RE for 15 years and agents homes often sell for more because they know what upgrades to do during their ownership and know how to stage a home. And we also have spent enough time doing this to know that sometimes your first offer is your best offer. And when a home is on the market for a longer period the prospective buyers will offer less. Of course, there are lots of variables but this is a big part of it. I've seen lots of homes where the sellers will reject an offer to hold out for more only to take a less attractive offer a month or two later.

[Horsfan]

It is far better to be ahead of the market than to chase the market.

Remove personal items - Photo's, kids art, etc... Buyers want to make their memories, not see yours...

Remove half of everything from every closet - Seriously. Rent a storage unit if you must.

Have your home staged. A staged home is different than a lived in home. Furniture is arranged differently - scaled differently... Go into some model homes for builders and look around... you will notice how no chairs will have their backs facing where clients walk as it is a visual block and makes spaces look smaller... Most won't have TV's on display... and if they do, they are small... 32" not 90"

Have a professional come and photograph your home. someone who does HOME photography - It is different.

Clear the clutter.

Get a home inspection.

Offer a warranty (it is cheap to add when you sell your home).

Have an outsider give a once over to advise on the easy, cheap cosmetic touches you can make. Mulch, pansies, weeding, perhaps sod in front, etc... spend a little to make a sale. :)

Best of luck! We just sold a condo, a water front home, our home of 20 years, and built a house - and my brother in law is a UVA trained architect with some of his projects being featured on HGTV's website, and in a few magazines. He talks, I listen. This is all his advice.

:banana:

[Ken Robb]

It is far better to be ahead of the market than to chase the market.

Remove personal items - Photo's, kids art, etc... Buyers want to make their memories, not see yours...

Remove half of everything from every closet - Seriously. Rent a storage unit if you must.

Have your home staged. A staged home is different than a lived in home. Furniture is arranged differently - scaled differently... Go into some model homes for builders and look around... you will notice how no chairs will have their backs facing where clients walk as it is a visual block and makes spaces look smaller... Most won't have TV's on display... and if they do, they are small... 32" not 90"

Have a professional come and photograph your home. someone who does HOME photography - It is different.

Clear the clutter.

Get a home inspection.

Offer a warranty (it is cheap to add when you sell your home).

Have an outsider give a once over to advise on the easy, cheap cosmetic touches you can make. Mulch, pansies, weeding, perhaps sod in front, etc... spend a little to make a sale. :)

Best of luck! We just sold a condo, a water front home, our home of 20 years, and built a house - and my brother in law is a UVA trained architect with some of his projects being featured on HGTV's website, and in a few magazines. He talks, I listen. This is all his advice.

:banana:

AMEN! Lots of good info here.