To start with you need to know and understand two very important facts, (1) the current local market and only the current local market will determine the true value of your property. (2) Like in any other occupation there are good and not so good Realtors out there. Allow me to explain a little more about the first issue and we will look into number two in a future article.
When determining the true current value of a property an appraiser will look at comparable homes like yours that have sold in the past few months. They will make allowances or detractions for condition, upgrades, lot size and dozens of other factors. The end result is to be comparing apples to apples and coming up with the price that other ready willing and able buyers have paid for a like property. It doesn’t matter how much you paid, how much you want or how much the guy down the street got two years ago.
Upgrades can be a bad subject you can over improve a property. I like to compare a property to a car, if you have a $2,000 car and you put $3,000 into it when you’re done you still have a $2,000 car. Do your research and don’t over improve your property for your local current market. There are good improvements where you can recover or even increase the value of your property and then there are improvements that you won’t get back or won’t see an increase in value. There are times when you need to make improvements just to stay in line with the competition. Don’t believe that for a minute that a buyer is fine with doing the improvements after they close. They are taking into consideration the cost of the improvement. In 99% of the cases a buyer is allowing a much bigger number in their offer than you can get the work done for. Don’t leave money on the table.
Price and condition can create traffic and sometimes it’s bad traffic. If you have your home overpriced or not in the best of condition you may be getting lots of showings but no offers. This could be that there are some smart Realtors out there using your property to sell another property which is priced right and or is in better condition.
There are no short cuts in selling a residential property and there is no substitution for experience. The market is ever changing and a transaction is full of tricks and traps if you don’t know what you are looking for. Always consult an expert when dealing with the sale of your property.
There are three major issues you want to have right to sell your property for the greatest amount of money in the shortest amount of time.
Pick the right Realtor for the job
Have your home priced right for your current local market
Have your home in show condition at show time; you don’t get a second chance at a first impression.
For any questions on selling your property, the current market value of your property or how to pick the right Realtor contact me personally at FWHprogroup@gmail.com.
F. William (Billy) Hineline
Resident Real Estate Expert and Contributor to Treasurecoast.com
President FWH Professional Group
