Fair Market Value, Timing, Convenience

Fair Market Value, Timing, Convenience

I am looking for a seller who wants -- really wants -- to sell his house. The house he lives in. The one that needs to be sold in order for the seller to become a buyer for another house - his new home.

The goal of this seller that I'm looking for - the goal of ALL sellers - okay, maybe all is too strong a word - let's say ALL with maybe a couple of exceptions -- is to sell their home for the most amount of money, in the least amount of time, and with the least amount of inconvenience.

The first key objective is to price the house -- forget for now that we're talking about the house you've turned into a home - just think of it as a HOUSE - price the HOUSE at its fair market value.

A property that is listed WELL UNDER fair market value will…

a. Cause buyers to wonder what’s wrong with it, so they will scrutinize it much more.
b. Cause the seller to lose money.
c. Not be a win-win situation.

On the flip side, a property listed WELL OVER fair market value will…

a. Not generate as many interested buyers because they will think it’s out of their price range.
b. Waste advertising dollars and marketing efforts.
c. Take a long time to sell and could impact when the seller can move into his/her new home.
d. Make other competing properties look good.
e. Make the home overpriced in everyone’s mind (agents and buyers) and they tend not to forget.
f. Often eventually sell below market value.

So - the trick is to land on fair market value. That's tricky, both to identify what fair market value is and also to apply that to listing price. It is a good idea to think in terms of a PRICE RANGE -- that’s how buyers think about prices.

A second key objective is timing, which means selling your home in your desired timeframe. Did you know that a house generates the most interest in the real estate community and among buyers during the first 30 days (or four weeks) that it is listed.

The third key objective is selling your house with the least amount of inconvenience. Too much to write about here - but I have ideas, so if you're interested, contact me and we'll talk.