Selling any house, regardless of its condition, presents so many challenges to the owner. Where to start? Who to consult and trust? Who to hire? There is no real guide book and most sellers want the panacea that will just get it over with as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, in real estate, that leaves us with a decades old one size fits all approach that has never really worked all that well.
No matter what the real estate market is doing, a buyers market or a sellers market, your house is like any other product and at some point you as the seller is going to need to come to grips with that fact. Prices go up and they go down but at the end of the day your house, if it is going to be sold, must compete in the same market space as all of the others.
The problem is that not every buyer is looking for the type of house that you are selling. Every house has its own characteristics and issues and if you are looking for a 1750 square foot 3 bedroom and three bath home, that is virtually move in ready, it’s very unlikely that you are going to be interested in a 1200 square foot, 2 bedroom 1 bath home in poor condition. Dispel the notion that real estate agents come with a built in list of buyers wanting houses in every shape, size, configuration and condition. It is not so.
For the past 50 years, selling a house in Sacramento has become a conditioned response to do things one way. What I have found is that it is costly and the conventional wisdom is wrong nearly 40% of the time otherwise there would not be expired real estate listings and their numbers year after year are pretty static. Of course the industry does a good job of masking the numbers, as we have all seen the National Association of Realtors TV ads touting the importance of using a real estate agent. The inference is that if you somehow go out on your own and bypass using a real estate agent, you’re going to make a mistake. You’ll lose money, get taken advantage of and end up with less money than if you just hired a real estate agent. That isn’t true.
Real Estate Sales By The Numbers
According to a 2009 study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that “After controlling for house and seller heterogeneity, we find no support for the hypothesis that listing with a realtor and appearance on the MLS delivers a higher sale price (before subtracting commissions) than the For Sale By Owner transactions.”
In other words, using a real estate agent does not increase the sale price of a home.
A study by Stanford University researchers Douglas Bernheim & Jonathan Meer also finds: “We find no evidence that the use of an agent significantly affects either the selling price or the initial asking price,” they wrote, “though it does lead to a more rapid sale.” The researchers studied a neighborhood of Palo Alto controlled by Stanford University. Despite homes with an agent selling faster, they weren’t sure if that justified the price:
For the median home in our sample, a 6 percent sales commission totals $34,000, a steep price to pay for the value rendered.
Bernheim & Meers also found that agents actually had a negative effect on sale price when homes were given the same type of marketing. Homes selling with an agent actually sold for 5.9 to 7.7 percent less than similar homes if both were entered into the MLS (Multiple Listing Service).
If you are going to hire a real estate agent hire the best because the odds of getting the price you want are higher if you work with a top performing real estate agent. The top 5% of seller’s agents, on average, secure selling prices that are 1.05% more than the list price.
When you talk to as many people as I do you gain an understanding of the underlying issues and financial pressures that come along with homeownership at every level. In fact, you begin to gain an empathy for the different circumstances that people find themselves in that actually undermine homeownership. Many people that I speak to are just tired of the financial burden that a specific house has become and just want out. It is understandable when you start to look at all of the reasons that make homeownership so difficult with some houses.
Certainly there are other reasons and not everyone is cut out to be a homeowner and some just have no conception of the time and energy it takes for the normal maintenance and upkeep of a home let alone the financial responsibility that comes along with it.
Today’s article is dedicated to those that have a troubled house and that just want out from underneath the financial burden. While selling typically solves the financial crisis it doesn’t always mend the emotional loss. It really boils down to understanding the dynamic of each homeowner as many are thrust into homeownership. Some inherit houses, others find out the hard way by purchasing homes that either needed a lot of work (and they got in over their heads) or they were simply never ready to own. find that and empathy for the underlying issues that are inherent with home ownership. It doesn’t happen overnight and for the first five years of my real estate investing career, it was a house by house learning experience. Each family and evey house as unique as they are have individual needs and priorities that cannot be addressed with a one size fits all cookie cutter approach to selling houses.
There are so many reasons that you might want to sell your home quickly: divorce, job loss, relocations, financial hardships or even medical issues. It really doesn’t matter what the reason is, but if you understand the market and where the buyers for house come from and what motivates them, it will help you to better navigate through the obstacles and allow you to choose the best options for targeting the best buyers to sell your house in Sacramento.
We Buy Houses And Help Property Owners In All Kinds Of Situations
We understand that selling a home can be a life jarring event. There is no reason to sugar coat it… It’s a time consuming and stressful process. Many homeowners simply don’t have the time or the money to do all of the things required to prepare a house to sell on the market.
- Is your property in disrepair?
- Will it cost thousands—or even tens of thousands— of dollars to get your home in the condition needed to sell?
- You simply dont want to live in your home?
- It’s become a burden and you’re ready to start the next chapter in your life?
- You want a guaranteed quick sale instead of months and months of uncertainty waiting for your home to sell?
- Dreading the thought of having to clean up your home,
- Dreading the thought of listing it with a Realtor and have a parade of strangers in and out on a moments notice?
- Wish you could have an experienced person walk you through the entire selling process? Paperwork and all?
- Are you uncertain about how to sell a house that you inherited or how to liquidate quickly so that you can move on with your life?
What if I could help you position and sell your house fast, for cash without any inspections, appraisals, open houses, real estate commissions, repairs or even clean up? What if I told you that there was a list of prequalified buyers waiting to talk to you and that some would make you an all cash offer regardless of the condition of your house?
At some point you would need to decide your your motivation to sell based on the amount of money that you would receive.
Here are the best preparations to selling your house quickly in Sacramento.
How to Prepare to Sell My House Fast In Sacramento
Understand Your Houses Limitations
There is no magic pill. Your house is your house and fixing and updating your house comes with a very high cost and a very high risk that you will see a return on investment. Like I said I have bought and sold hundreds of houses and have seen both sides of real estate transactions with and without the assistance of a real estate agent. I can assure you that the best real estate agent is not going to add value to your house especially if it needs a lot of work.
Like I said earlier, not every buyer is looking for a house built in the 1960’s with 2 bedrooms, one bath and that needs a lot of work. the truth is that most buyers are looking for move in ready. They dont want your headaches.
Set Realistic Pricing
Let’s start by tossing a couple of numbers at you. If nearly 40% of all real estate listing expire with out an accepted offer, what does that tell you about the bottom of the real estate market.
Let’s be realistic, no one is going to walk through your front door with a bag full of cash and and offer to buy your house as is without any inspections or contingencies. If you are indeed trying to liquidate this property quickly, don’t get greedy with the fair market value and what you think you should get for the home. Work with a solid real estate agent who understands how to price homes in the current market and how to list a home just under that threshold to get maximum attention from potential buyers.
Remember that buyers are doing a lot of the search themselves with online real estate search sites. Making sure your home is the best value for the size, condition and location will help you create a buzz and sell your house quickly.
Clean It Out
Homes filled with a lifetime of knick-knacks, family photos and hobbies not touched in years are not homes that sell quickly. They are cluttered and clutter doesn’t make a home feel open and inviting. Rent a storage unit for a couple of months and store anything and everything you don’t need in the unit. Don’t hesitate to donate and throw out whatever no longer serves you.
When decluttering your home, clear all walkways and hallways. Only have a couple of neutral decorative items on shelves and counters. Clean bathroom counters and medicine cabinets. Toss out old magazines from the coffee table and go through closets to get rid of those suits that haven’t fit in 10 years.
Remove bulky or extra furniture and extensive pictures and art on the walls. Think of this as streamlining your home for anyone to quickly navigate through it.
Clean Top to Bottom
Once you clear out the clutter, you will find an overwhelming amount of dust bunnies, grime, and just plain ick! Take the time to clean the house. This goes beyond what you do in the 10 minutes before your friends come over for a cup of coffee.
Scrub bathroom and kitchens spotless. Toilets, bathtubs, and showers should be clean and free of any stains, residue or build up. Vacuum, sweep and mop all tile and hardwood floors. Vacuum and clean carpet, professionally to remove any stains and give it as new of a look as possible. If walls are dirty, take a diluted bleach solution and wipe them down. Make sure all windows and screens are clear with drapes pulled back allowing all the natural light to fill the room.
When you are done on the inside, do the same on the outside. Clear the landscaping from any overgrown trees, bushes, and weeds. Maintain the grass and plants throwing down fresh mulch where needed and fertilize everything. Remove items laying around porches, patios, and yards. Potential buyers aren’t interested in your kid’s dump truck scene, sorry.
Get the Best Photos
Scan through real estate websites and take a glimpse of what homes catch your eye. You’ll see a plethora of photos of homes where the bathroom counter looks like a pharmacy, the kitchen looks like a grease fire is about to happen and the yard looks like Big Foot is hiding out. Would you race to see that home?
Probably not. But even homes that are decluttered and clean can still get a greater buzz when the photos are high quality. Real estate photographers will capture a home from the angles that make it look bigger, brighter and with the flow of life that we all want.
If you are looking to sell your house fast, make sure it is presentable to all potential buyers.