Triangle Area Real Estate News & Information

Sales all awaken from their winter hibernation period and for those of us in the business it’s time to Rock and Roll.

It’s the time that I and other top selling agents are working 10-14 hours a day getting homes ready for market and listed. Meeting dozens of new buyers to find out more about what their ideally looking for and taking them out to show them homes. Negotiating deals and of course swimming in paperwork. In short; it’s another Spring Market here in Chapel Hill / Durham / Raleigh NC.

2014 is off to a strong start and I’m writing this article in order to share some insights designed to help Buyers and Sellers successfully purchase (or sell) the home they want.

As a top producing Realtor with nearly 25 years and roughly 1000 successfully closed transactions, worth of experience here the three most important pieces of advice I can offer to Buyers and Sellers.

Tips For Sellers:

Price it right: While Spring Fever has hit the market; Sellers still need to = understand that the Buyers and the market do not care what you’ve invested in your home. They don’t really care what you “need” or the reasons why. They do not share the fond memories you have of your home and these memories while priceless to you have no market value. Improper pricing consistently results in a lower final sales price; adds considerably to the time your home is on the market and in general accomplishes little more than to aggravate everyone involved. Whether you want to spend money to get your home all fixed up and “show shape” or simply sell it “as-is” proper pricing is the single most critical item a seller must get right in order to sell.

Be Prepared: Be prepared to allow buyers and the brokers to view your house. Every rule you set that limits access; serves only one purpose, to frustrate buyers and to possibly lose out on a sale or a higher sale price.

Understand, weekends are the most popular times for buyers to view your property as most tend to work during the week. There’s nothing wrong with limiting showings from 9-5 or 9-6, but the more accommodating your are the better your chances of it’s selling for the best possible price in the shortest amount of time. Being prepared also means understanding that you need to figure out what you’re going to do when it sells if you don’t already have a place to move into; and this is frequently the case particularly among sellers who are buying another home (either larger or smaller) in the same area. While back-to-back closings are possible, there is nothing that will create more stress than trying to get everything scheduled just so. Should one of the “dominoes” fail to fall into place it can create numerous problems as the effects ripple through multiple transactions.

Respond Promptly: With rare exception unlike good wine and cheeses, real estate transactions do not improve with age. Most often one side or another gets annoyed creating unnecessary tension that’s counterproductive in terms of reaching a meeting of the minds between buyers and sellers. Sellers are most frequently (but hardly exclusively) the cause as they often either fail to respond to their listing agent who’s trying to move things forward or they haven’t already figured out what their bottom line is so that their prepared to negotiate. I don’t ever need to know my sellers bottom line to start, but advise them all that they should know what it is. Experienced Realtors all know that in most instances your first offer is frequently your best and reasonable efforts should be made to reach an agreement whenever an offer is presented.

Tips For Buyers:

Be Prepared: Home buyers who aren’t planning on paying cash when purchasing a property must be pre-approved by a mortgage lender. If you are not pre-approved then honestly you are not serious about buying a property. You’re certainly not ready to buy as without a pre-approval (and this is different from a pre-qualification letter though more and more I see the Big Banks trying to pass off a pre-qual letter as a pre-approval) and the best, most experienced Realtors generally do not have the time to show any potential buyer who hasn’t gotten pre-approved more than a few homes before they know that you’re actually able to buy a property once you’ve found the right one. This is the single most important thing any home buyer can do and as lending conditions remain somewhat tight for certain types of buyers; particuarly those that are self employed, it critical to address this early on.

Be Reasonable: Remember your Realtor is very likely working with several buyers just like yourself at any given time. While it never hurts to ask, you need to understand that the better buyer brokers are unlikely to be available to show you a home on short notice. Planning ahead will be greatly appreciated by your agent, the seller whose home you wish to see and will enable you in most instances to get the time you want. Listen to your Realtor and consult with them when it’s time to make an offer. They can help you understand the market value the home you want to buy and how to structure your offer. Remember this is a negotiation and that means neither side is likely to get everything they want. It’s got to work for both buyer and seller and this means both sides need to be prepared to give a little. Focus on the big picture and don’t obsess over the small stuff.

Respond Promptly: Once you’ve found the right place, be prepared to move quickly and decisively or be prepared to lose out. In the Chapel Hill, Cary, Durham, market April through July is the busiest time of year. With inventory extremely low, there’s incredible competition in most price ranges for good homes. Listen to your instinct, I find most of my buyers know very quickly when they step into the “right place”, but some then begin to over analyze and while their analyzing another buyer who is more prepared to make a move, comes in and buys the home. This is one of the reasons I do like to take buyers out a month or so before their ready to buy whenever possible. It enables them to begin to get a real sense of the market so that when they see the right property they know it.

I live in Durham and help buyers and sellers in the Chapel Hill, Cary, Durham, Hillsborough and Pittsboro areas of North Carolina. If I or my team can answer any real estate questions for you or help you with your real estate needs, please contact us online or give us a call at 919-659-5173.