Are you considering buying or selling a home? We are sure that you have lots of experts offering all kinds of advice. The experts offering you advice may come from a variety of sources such as the post office or your car wash attendant or your cousin or brother or trainer in the gym; right? Sound familiar? When it comes to real estate it seems that everyone is an expert. But take a moment to really think about it. You have the largest single asset that you will buy or sell and we often listen to people that are the least qualified to give you advice. I am sure that all have good intentions but what is really being offered is just their opinion, so treat it as such.
We have put together a list of the top real estate myths for both buyers and sellers for you to think about. These tips and insights are especially important and true in the environment we are in today, with the global economy turned upside down, massive job losses, and the need for extreme social distancing due to the Corona Virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease.
This is part of a continuing series of articles and helpful tips and insights into real estate and life style transition services by Nick Santoro and Joe Santoro of Personal Property Managers. Personal Property Managers specializes in senior transition services such as downsizing, content clean out and removal, estate sales, full service real estate and property sale and moving and services PA and NJ.
7 Common Buyer and Seller Real Estate Myths:
1. Set your initial home selling price higher that you want. Listing your home at a price that’s too high a price may actually net you a lower price. That's because shoppers and their real estate agents often don't even look at homes that are priced above market value. It's true you can always lower the price if the house doesn't generate any offers in the first few weeks, but that comes with its own set of problems. Buyers are highly suspicious of houses that have sat on the market for more than three weeks.
2. Don't use a real estate agent... get a better price for your home. Wow... that’s a great one right? Wrong. If the house is listed with a real estate agent, the total sales commission is built into the price. If the buyers don't have an agent, the seller's agent will receive the entire commission.
3. Sell your house on your own and save money. Some people do successfully sell homes on their own, but they need the skills to get the home listed online, market the home to prospective buyers, negotiate the contract and then deal with any issues that arise during the inspection or loan application phases. It's not impossible to sell a home on your own, but you'll find that buyers expect a substantial discount when you do, so what you save on a real estate commission may end up meaning a lower price. It's not impossible to sell your home on your own for the same price you'd get with an agent, but it's not easy.
4. Hold out a little longer... the market will go up. In recent years, homebuyers and sellers have experienced a time of increasing home values, then a sharp decline during the economic downturn and now another period of increasing values. Most seller think that the market only goes up; who can predict when a correction will come? The recent recession should have reminded everyone that real estate prices can indeed fall, and fall a lot.
5. Definitely renovate your kitchen and bathroom before you sell. If your kitchen and baths work, a major remodel could backfire. Prospective buyers may not share your taste, but they don't want to redo something that has just been renovated. In many cases you are better off adjusting your price accordingly. Additionally, you may only get back 20 cents on the dollar if anything at all. Most buyers want to put their own spin on things.
6. Renovate. Don't worry. You will get your money back. Wrong. If you fix the heating and air conditioning system or roof, you will sell your house more quickly, but you probably won't recoup what you spent. According to Remodeling magazine's the only renovation that is likely to net you as much as you spent is a new front door. You're likely to recoup only 67.8 % of what you spent on a major kitchen remodel and 70 % of what you spent on a bathroom remodel on a mid-range home. Very few things will bring you great returns. If you're going to do these projects, it's better to do them for your own enjoyment. Additionally, if your home has not been updated, you will need to factor this into the proposed selling price. Today's buyers are not willing to spend money to update a home as was the case years ago, so you will need to discount the listing price of your home or else it simply will not sell.
7. Open houses sell properties. Homes rarely sell to buyers who visited them during an open house. Agents like open houses because it enables them to find additional customers who are looking to buy or sell homes. If you or your agent choose not to have an open house, it probably doesn't hurt your sale chances although holding a broker's open house for other agents may be worthwhile.
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For more information on real estate or home downsizing please contact Nick Santoro or Joe Santoro of Personal Property Managers at 215-485-9272 or 908-368-1909. Personal Property Managers specializes in helping home owners transition from their home of many years into a new community. Personal Property Managers services Pennsylvania and New Jersey and offers downsizing services, estate sales services, home staging, discount full service real estate services via its association with EveryHome Realty. Learn more about Personal Property Managers from our recent News Stories.
