Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Did We List our Home too low?

Question:   We received a full price offer on our home the 2nd day we had it listed. We now think we may have listed it too low. Your thoughts?
Answer:   Versions of this column have appeared before. It is still true. And for many, still relevant. Perhaps nowhere is this phenomenon more clearly illustrated than in the case where a seller receives a good offer right away.
The annals of real estate are well stocked with stories of sellers who refused to take a good, but not perfect, first offer, and who then waited a long time before finally accepting something else at a considerably lower price. The Sellers first thought is almost inevitable. "Did we list it too low?" "If someone will offer this much so soon, maybe we should wait a while and see if we can get more." As an antidote to the ill effects of the "curse of the first offer", this observation might be kept in mind.
The fact that an offer is received early in the listing period -- even in the first few days -- doesn't mean that the property has been listed too low.
Today, a good buyer's agent will have electronically entered a "profile" of his client's needs and price range into the system. Then, whenever he logs on to the MLS, he will be notified if a listing has been entered that matches that profile.
We all know that there is typically a bit of a dance in the pricing and negotiating for a property. Sellers, with the concurrence of their agents, will usually list their property for an amount that is both higher than what they believe its value to be and higher than what they would be satisfied to receive. Why? Because they know that buyers almost always want and expect to pay less than the listed price
The final point is that potential buyers learn quickly of the existence of an appropriate new listing. Thus, a flurry of activity at the outset of the listing does not necessarily imply a too-low price; rather, it reflects the efficiency of the system. Don’t be greedy, take your good offer and run to the bank with the profits.

Munster Little League State Championships

State Championship !
Watching our Grandson Tyler in Indianapolis for the Munster Little league State Championships for 10-11 Year Olds. They finished 5th. Very proud of him and his team.

Monday, July 17, 2017

Great Time to Sell

The Indiana Real Estate Market is back in full force. If you have have done some updating over the past years, you will be rewarded. Demand for NW Indiana homes is high (for now anyway).

Updated, Sharp homes with any kind of WOW factor are selling well for great prices, and the appraisers are going with it!
This is true despite the large amount of new construction out there. This new construction is a sellers competition, but many buyers do not want to deal with the new construction costs, the wait and the hassle of building a home.

If you have been thinking about selling,  NOW is the time.
Give us a call and we will help you all the way!

Jim & Cathy Higgins
219-865-4361

Selling Real Estate without a License?

Question: A friend of mine -- honest, I'm not talking about my house -- asked me to put her house up for sale on the Internet, twice, and I got a few interested people but nothing serious. She has asked me again to do the same. She lives in a gated resort community and wants $350,000.
I just thought you might have some creative ideals for selling this house. She's going to give me $10,000 if I can sell it and I need the money. I'm also thinking of advertising in a magazine. What do you think?

Answer: I think you're doing a terrible disservice to your friend, and I think you should also look at the real estate laws in your jurisdiction. They will no doubt say that without a real estate broker's license you have no ability to sue for a real estate commission -- thus if you sell the property your friend is not obligated to pay you a dime.
Your friend may well be trying to help you, or may honestly think that you have a skill which would allow you to sell the property. But what do you know about real estate contracts? Seller disclosures? Complete Internet exposure? Fair housing requirements? Financing? Pricing? Seller contributions?

The list goes on, but the point is this: There's a lot more to selling real estate than advertising. Without a broker's license you do not have the right to collect a fee from another for the sale of a property. Worse, you might sell the property for less than it's worth or you may create unintended liabilities that cost your friend huge amounts of money. Go no further with this until you have spoken with a local -- and licensed -- attorney.