Selling Your Home? Here’s What You Need to Know

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, the AP boys have been in the process of selling our first house flip.  It has been far more complicated than either of us anticipated, but the finish line is in sight.  Having gone through it once now (or at least 95% of the process), I naturally consider myself an expert.  So if you’re thinking about selling your home sometime soon, or maybe you just love reading real estate blogs that don’t apply to your personal situation whatsoever, here are some things to keep in mind when selling your home:

1. Check Your Emotions at the Door

Fortunately for me, I’m an emotionless human being (just ask my exes).  That’s not the case for most people, though, and selling your home can be an incredibly stressful and emotional experience.  You are at the mercy of the market and those that are shopping for a new home.  Don’t get too excited when you receive your first offer, because there is a good chance it will fall through.  On the flipside, don’t freak out when a deal falls through, because there is a good chance it could happen again.  Try your best to remain a neutral party through the process. 

2. Listen to Your Agent

There is a reason you pay for a real estate agent when you sell your house.  Actually, there are many reasons, but arguably the most important reason is that they understand the market and they know how to negotiate.  Your agent can’t force you to list your home at a certain price point, but you should strongly consider listening to their recommendation, whether you agree with it or not.  To give you a real world example, we initially listed our house at $120k (slightly higher than what our agent recommended).  We had a few showings over the course of three weeks and ultimately accepted an offer for around $110k.  After that offer fell through, we decided to list at $115k, and within a few days we had a full price offer. 

3. Your House is Only Worth What Others Will Pay

The value of your home is 100% determined by the market and what others are willing to pay for it.  If a few weeks go by, and you are not receiving any offers, that should be a clear indication that you are priced too high.  There are always buyers out there, regardless of the time of year or the current market situation.  If you are priced appropriately, they will find your home.  So don’t list your home at an artificially high price, hoping for a few thousand dollars extra.  You’re likely better off listing at an appropriate price, and having the opportunity to receive multiple offers.

4. Not All Offers End in A Sale

As a seller, you are at an innate disadvantage from a negotiation standpoint.  You’re offering a product of which there are many alternatives.  If you are a motivated seller, you are at an ever further disadvantage.  A buyer has many opportunities to back out of a deal throughout the process, especially when their offer includes a number of contingencies.  Maybe they find another property during negotiation, maybe they aren’t able to secure financing, maybe they find something they don’t like in the inspection report.  The point I’m making is that a myriad of things could go wrong after you receive an offer, so don’t be shocked or upset when it doesn’t work out.

There you go.  Solid advice as always.  To sum it all up, when it comes time to sell your house, just be more like me.