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Step 5: Sell It
There is no question that selling a home is an important event.
A home sale represents transition, movement and change. Big money is involved.
Households move from the known and comfortable to the unknown and a period
of adjustment. There may be job changes, new schools, distance from old friends
and the possibility of new ones.
No less important, a home sale by itself can be complex. There
will be people looking at your house, documents to sign and issues to be negotiated.
Because a home sale involves an array of both personal and
business concerns, it's important to get it done right. You need to carefully
prepare your home, understand the market and see what alternatives are realistically
available. The old motto "be prepared" is a good guide in such circumstances.
What's an acceptable offer?
The goal of every seller is to have a line of buyers outside the front door,
each clutching higher and higher offers. And while this has been known to
happen, in most markets there is some balance between the number of buyers
and sellers. A number of factors determine whether a buyer's offer is acceptable.
They include:
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Is the offer at or near the asking price? Is the offer
above the asking price?
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Has the buyer accepted the asking price or something close?
Has the buyer then buried thousands of dollars in discounts and seller costs
within tiny clauses and contract additions?
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What is the alternative to the buyer's offer? If a home
has not attracted an offer in months, then sellers need to determine if
a better deal is possible -- recognizing that each month costs are being
incurred for mortgage payments, taxes and insurance.
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Does the owner have enough time to wait for other offers?
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What if no other offers are received?
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What if several offers are received? Do you choose the
high offer from the purchaser with questionable finances who may not be
able to close, or a somewhat lesser offer from a buyer with preapproved
financing?
In each case, owners -- with assistance from REALTORS®
-- will need to carefully review offers, consider marketplace options and
then determine whether an offer is acceptable.
What is a counter-offer?
When a home is made available for sale the owner is essentially making an
offer to buyers: For a given number of dollars and other terms you can acquire
this home. Buyers, in turn, can respond with several options:
A counter-offer is nothing more than a new offer. And just
as the buyer had three options in response to the owner's original price and
terms, the seller can now choose one of three reactions: accept the offer,
decline the offer or make a fresh counter-offer.
Offers and counter-offers reflect the back-and-forth activity
of the marketplace. It's an efficient and practical process -- but also one
that may contain tricky clauses and hidden costs. The Arizona Dream Finders
REALTOR® who lists your home can explain the local bargaining process in detail
and assist in the actual negotiations.
How do you negotiate?
It's sometimes argued that negotiation must produce one "winner" and one "loser."
Others suggest that a "win/win" situation is possible where each side gets
something of value.
Real estate bargaining typically involves compromises by both
sides. It's not war; it's not winner-take-all; and it's not the time to take
personally any comments made by purchasers.
Instead, negotiating should
be seen as a natural business process; buyers should be treated with respect;
and owners should never lose sight of either their best interests or their
baseline transaction requirements. These are the standards unique to each
owner, which must be met before the home can be sold.
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