STAY CLEAR OF SOME SCARY REAL
ESTATE BOOS THIS HALLOWEEN
Posted by Larry Stoller | Oct 17, 2022
Halloween is almost here.
Pumpkins, broomsticks, spiders, ghosts, ghouls and goblins are everywhere.
These days, selling your home
could be scary, so here are some real estate “boos” and “how to” avoid them:
• Listing price boo. Your
home is on the market for two weeks and you have no showings. Your real estate
agent says your price is too high; it should be lowered from $450,000 to
$350,000.
How to: Savvy agents should be
able to accurately determine a property’s market value and price range. Before
listing your home, interview two or three agents, and compare their price
determinations.
• A few days before
closing boo. Just before you are ready to close the home you sold,
your agent calls and says the closing will be delayed because there was a
problem with the buyer’s loan package and final approval.
How to: Before negotiating the
sale, obtain a “loan pre-approval letter.” In the contract, include a “loan
commitment contingency” (e.g., requiring that the buyer obtain a full
underwriting approval subject to appraisal).
• Seller’s net proceeds
boo. At closing, the seller expected to receive $341,000, but the cash
to seller on the settlement statement was $293,000.
How to: Estimate your net
proceeds when negotiating your sales price (determine mortgage balance, loans
and liens if any). Ask your agent what closing costs to expect. Some agents
will provide a net proceeds sheet. Ask your attorney to see a pre-settlement
statement.
• Property possession and
move-in boo. You move into your new home. There are no appliances in
the kitchen, the washer and dryer are gone, and the walls and doors are banged
up. Yet, everything was OK when you did your walk-through one week before
closing.
How to: Do the walk-through
(e.g., the final buyer’s inspection) on the day of the closing. If there is any
damage, missing items, or other problems, get them corrected before releasing
funds, or withhold funds from the seller’s proceeds.
• Here’s one very scary
seller boo. In many places on and off the island, the real estate
market has cooled down. With more inventory and less demand, prices are not as
high, sellers are not seeing multiple offers, and buyers are less motivated
than they were many months ago.
How to: Now it is much more
important to price your home right. And if you are not getting a lot of
showings or an offer within a few weeks, reduce the price. In fact, as the
market changes, many buyers will be looking for price reductions.
Larry Stoller is a broker and
Realtor with Real Estate Five of the Lowcountry. Larry@RealEstateFive.com,
RealEstateFive.com