Sellers Should Know:
The Psychology of Home Buyers
Choose Your Buyer-The One Who Will Pay the Most!
The goal of a professional real estate agent is to help you get the most money in your pocket after all expenses, including brokerage fees.Sometimes that means you will need to invest in your very valuable asset, your real estate, to increase its market value and salability.We do not advocate spending more than is necessary.We help you pick and choose where you can get your biggest bang for your pre-marketing preparation bucks.Many of these suggestions do not cost much money.All are geared toward creating a better presentation to a potential buyer.Keep this in mind while reading all of this information carefully.These recommendations are made so you get to choose your buyer —the one who will pay the most!
Use Time Pressure to Your Advantage-They Are In A Hurry!
The buyer you want to attract is the one who will pay the most money for your property.That type of buyer has certain attributes.They generally are the buyers who have time pressure to buy a house, in other words, they have to buy right away.Time pressure can be caused by several different life issues.They may have just sold their house and they have to vacate.They may have a lease that is soon up for renewal.They may be moving in from out of town.They may want to move before school starts, the new job starts, etc.These are the buyers you want to attract. They, like most of us, have busy lives. They have decided they don’t have the time to make improvements to your house.They want a house that is clean, neat and attractive; that doesn’t show obvious signs of wear and tear.They want major systems like the roof and the central heat and air and all the appliances to be in good repair.They don’t want to have to paint the house.They don’t want to have to replace old carpet that is showing wear. They want to be able to just move in and not have to hassle with maintenance immediately.They will pay top dollar to own a house that creates fewer problems for them and saves them time.They will eliminate your house from consideration if it appears it would cost them time.
If they are willing to do any of these updates, repairs and improvements themselves, they are not the best buyer for your house.They are in another category.The people who are willing to accept less than “ready to move in” condition will usually try to take advantage by paying a lower price—a price that is lower than what it would cost you to make the repairs and updates.
The irony is that there are more buyers willing to pay a fair market price and that are looking for a house in good repair (about 80% of buyers) than there are buyers looking for a house they can get at a lower price by doing repairs themselves.That’s why the good houses sell quickly, there are more buyers for them.It’s simple supply and demand.When a house sells quickly, the seller has fewer carrying costs, fewer house payments, less utilities, less lawn care costs.That increases the seller’s net dollars after all expenses; it adds to the seller’s bottom line, and that is our goal, yours and mine.
You Can Control the Negotiations-Positioning is Key
The market value of your house is determined by many factors, some you cannot control, like interest rates, overall demand in the market or the national and local economy. What you can control are the two most important factors, condition of the property and the initial list price. When you put your house in its best cosmetic condition before the first potential buyer sees it, and you price it competitively, you put yourself in the strongest possible position for negotiations.You are more likely to get better offers from serious buyers who need to buy. You can negotiate harder, sticking to your list price or closer to it. You will be able to pay less or even none of the sales costs that the buyer may ask for you to pay. You may have more than one buyer bidding the price higher, sometimes above the list price, even in a buyer’s market. You have the power to choose your buyer and how much control you will have over the process before you even put it on the market.All of that adds to your bottom line, and that is our goal.
You Can Control Your Stress Level
There is a lot more involved in selling your house than most sellers imagine.The initial preparation to sell is one of the most critical aspects.Instead of it seeming like an insurmountable chore, as experienced professional real estate agents, we can help you find the most economical solutions by introducing you to the right contractors and suppliers who do excellent, timely work at reasonable prices; people we use for our own properties.The time and effort you put into getting your house ready to sell before the first buyer sees it will determine whether you have a smooth and relatively enjoyable process, or whether it becomes a long, drawn out, stressful, and less profitable process.Read the following information about what it takes to prepare your house to sell for the most money with an open mind.The better you are at following these guidelines, the happier you will be at the closing table when you sign over the deed to the new owners and receive your check.
Happy Selling!
Danny Owen
Associate Broker
Certified Residential Specialist
Keller Williams Realty
