Sellers remorse, to sell or not to sell, that is the
question
By Larry Stoller
Sometimes I’ll list a home, have
beautiful photographs taken, write captivating descriptions, schedule showings,
get ready for offers … and then find out that the sellers are experiencing
sellers remorse.
Sellers Remorse (SR) means that the
sellers have second thoughts about selling their home. Usually that happens
because they were not really motivated or they do not have a better place to go
to. So they think that it was a mistake to list their home.
One way to prevent SR is by being
prepared and having a bullet proof plan. That boils down to knowing why you
want to sell, believing that now is the right time to sell and knowing where
you are going to go after you sell.
Some sellers know exactly where they
are going, those who don’t, may decide to rent for a while, and others who are
waiting for their new home to be ready may utilize a contingency to buy some
time (they may do a lease back, move the closing date back a bit, or a
combination of both.
Since it is a seller’s market,
buyers are much more willing to accommodate sellers to make the transaction a
win-win for both parties. Experienced real estate agents know how to add terms
to a sales contract that will make both sellers and buyers happy.
For example, a client of mine in Sun
City thought that she was ready to sell about two years ago. But after thinking
about it and weighing all the benefits and drawbacks, she decided that that was
not the time to sell. When revisiting her plan, she decided that now was the
right time to sell. She did and it was a good decision.
If home sellers are worried about
not finding a suitable replacement home, they may add a contingency to their
sales contract that gives them a sufficient period of time to find and move to
another home. I am seeing a lot of these contingencies lately.
And in our sought after Low Country real
estate market, these contingencies seem to work well!
Larry Stoller is the Broker-Owner-Realtor of Real Estate Five of
the Low Country. larry@RealEstateFive.com,
www.RealEstateFive.com