How Does A Seller Decide Which Offer To Accept ?

The market has definitely perked up this spring already and we are seeing more multiples offer than before.  With multiple offers on homes it has changed the dynamic of how buyers are and should be submitting offers.  Not every home with multiple offers will result in a bidding war, so I want to take the time and explain give you a quick overview on what factors of your offer will be taken into consideration by the seller.

Financing:

• Cash Deal: This has more than one benefit to the Seller, but normally the offer will be significantly lower than what the list price is because of the simplicity of the deal.  First it can close right after the title has cleared because there is no bank involved.  Second, it is usually in "Sold As Is" which means no work will be done to it.  The buyer is still permitted to do the home inspection but you will be much less likely to have anything repaired or replaced. 

• Conventional Loan: This refers to the terms, there will be a larger down payment with this loan and the appraisal might be a bit easier. Since there will be no PMI included in the mortgage payment it will increase what the buyer can afford by monthly payment.  From a sellers point of view the term itself is better because the buyer is putting down a large amount down of 20%.  

• FHA Loan: This again refers to the terms, with a smaller down payment this is often where we see buyers asking for a "Sellers Concession".  For a buyer with this loan there will be PMI that will need to be accounted for, and the appraisal must be handled carefully so that the loan to value comes in where it is needed to.  

• VA Loan: This is a tough sell for a Seller because the buyer does not have to put any money down.  When I have a buyer who is using a VA Loan I suggest still putting down the same amount as what would be due for an FHA Loan to show the Seller your commitment, and you can receive that money back after closing.  

Additional Financing Terms:

• Sellers Concessions: The easiest way to explain this term is it just like taking a cash advance from the mortgage to have your closing costs included.  There is 2 points of view for a seller with this.  First is if the home is going to appraise for $10,000 - $12,000 more why shouldn't they find a buyer willing to pay that.  Second is that what if the home does not appraise will their buyer still be able to purchase the home, or will the deal go bust! 

• Using Gifted Funds: This is something very common with first time buyers, they will count on "gifted funds" from friends or family.  Buyers must check the guidelines of the bank in which they are using about what amount of money can be gifted, and what information they will want and need from the "gifter".  Many times buyers think it can simply be written as "gifted" and that be it, but each bank works differently you should let your agent speak with your Mortgage Representative to be clear on those terms.  

Conditions: 

• Buyers With Homes To Sell: When a buyer has something they need to sell, it puts the seller at risk.  First the funds from the buyers are more than likely coming from proceeds of their sale.  This means that not only does the seller need  things go smoothly with their home, but they are dependent on an agent who is not working for them to push the other deal through quickly and smoothly.  Secondly, timing with this kind of sale is very important because the buyers will only have about a week window after one home closes to get into the other which puts the sellers in a position where the buyers timeline is much more important than theirs.  

• Buyers With Nothing To Sell: Obviously it is better because the sale is not dependent on any major factors aside from their homes appraisal going smoothly.  It also means that the timeline will have less in the way of deadlines aside from the normal mortgage commitment time which is usually between 30-45 days from contract.  

• Home Inspections: First let me say no matter what the case is, spend the time and money to get a home inspection no matter how many offers are on a property.  It is your way of knowing exactly what your getting yourself into, if you want to move quickly and don't want to spend the money ($500 - $750) at least have a licensed contractor check it out.  Depending on what repairs or replacement you want done, can change the mind of a seller on which offer to take.  If another offer comes in $5000 less they may go with it simply because of what conditions the offer is based on.  

The most important piece of advice I can give anyone who is starting their search is to make sure you have an agent who is working for you.  If the home is aggressively priced they should know it and be able to point you in a direction that will get you an accepted offer the quickest so that you don't lose out.  To see more about how to decide on what to offer, and what the process is look here. 

Setting The Price Of Your Home To Sell

I think it is that time again to write about the topic of what you should be using to determine the price of  your home, and what kind of pricing options you have !! This is extremely important because the more homes that go onto the market, the more competition you will have, you want to make sure your listing stands out and gets sold before we have another sudden rush of new inventory ! 

How Real Estate Agents Determine The Value Of Your Home 

All real estate agents should be bringing a Comparative Market Analysis of your home when they come to meet with you to list your home.  Real Estate Agents use a similar system to what the banks will be using to determine your value these are the main characteristics in importance order that you will want to be using.  

• Homes within 1-2 miles of your home that recently sold within the past 90-120 days.
• Homes of the same style (EX: Ranch, Hi Ranch, Cape, Expanded Cape) or similar square footage if there is a lack of comparable style homes.  You can not compare your home to one of an opposite style just because you think your home is just as good, the bank won't allow it.  
• Rarely will you see homes with the exact same amount of bedrooms, baths, or even property size this is where you need to adjust the comps accordingly.
• Take a look at what homes are currently on the market, and compare how your home stacks up to theirs, these homes are your competition.  

In my opinion, if you meet with an agent and they do not bring with them a Comparative Market Analysis than they are not putting in very much effort to help you sell your home since determining the price of your home is really the very first step before listing it.  I always say my job is not to list your home, but to get your home sold ! 

The 3 Styles Of Pricing Your Home 

• Overpriced Home - This type of pricing is not only a waste of your agents time but yours as well.  You are putting yourself behind and unnecessary roadblock, and guaranteeing you will be having the dreaded price adjustment talk sooner than later.  Many homeowners will say "But I am flexible, just bring me an offer!" - There is only one problem with that, and it is that we can not relay that to all of those buyers who aren't a- looking at homes $20,000 above their budget or b- tell those buyers who are in that range that you are flexible.  Remember most buyers find their home online, so presentation including price is a very important factor and we can not write on your listings that you are willing to hear all offers ! 

• Market Priced Home - This is an educated homeowner who has taken the time, and hopefully the advice of their real estate agent and is priced in the same area of those comparable of the recently sold homes.  This kind of pricing will get you showings, and hopefully an offer within 6 months of being listed.  As other homes sell their might be a need to adjust the price of your home to stay in line with what homes went from contract to sold once you were listed.

• Action Priced Home -  Before I explain, let me say this action price does NOT mean pricing the home as if you were giving it away.  When you use this style of pricing you first base it on the comparable homes in the area that sold, but your focus is shifted to those homes that are currently on the market (those that are priced at market value, not of those that are overpriced).  You look at your direct competition and price it anywhere from $8000 - $10,000 below that of your best competition.   Normally on a market priced home once you have received an offer that $8000 - $10,000 is the wiggle room of where you would accept an offer.  What you do by pricing it that bit lower is your drive much more traffic and increase your chance of multiple offers, almost every home that is "action priced" will sell for either the listed price of the home, or possibly more because you have increased the buyers perception of value !   

There are a few things you will also want to keep in mind when you are thinking about where you want to price your home.  The most important questions you should be thinking of when determining the list price of your home are 

1. How much will you need to be able to walk away from your home after the mortgage payoff, brokerage fees, attorneys fees, title transfer fees. If after you total these things up if what you would need to list it for is significantly higher than what your home is worth it is always better to leave it off the market until your in a position to sell rather than have it listed and sit on the market making buyers wonder once wrong with it.  The exception to this is when you are avoiding foreclosure by doing a short sale.  
2. How quickly do you need or want to move ? If you want to move quickly than your best option is to really have your home priced at the "action priced" point so that you can move things along without any delay and a guaranteed end in sight ! 
3. How many times has your home been listed, if your home did not sell chances are it was overpriced which means at the very least you must get in-line with the current market value of your home.  Re-listing it at the inflated price again is working against yourself and buyers will begin to disregard your home because "there must be something wrong with it", and not even the best agent can overcome that ! 

If you are interested in having a Comparative Market Analysis done on your home, please contact me directly.  I will be writing another blog that goes into the specifics between things that will add value to your home verse things that are more features of your home, which can affect the overall listing price of your home in an upcoming blog ! 

                                                                                      

What Is It Really Worth ?

WHAT DO YOU OFFER FOR THAT HOUSE!

Let me start off by saying it is YOUR choice what you offer, but you want to put in a strong offer, it requires research and analysis by your Realtor. This is why you must always work with a buyers broker, this is where you believing in there abilities and trust is important. 

A home is not always worth what it is listed for, but on the other hand if the listing Realtor is a reputable agent than the list price will normally be accurate to what the neighborhood and the home is worth.   A low offer is not always the way to go, make sure your offer is fair!

When pulling these comps your agent will try to get it as close to a match as possible but you will still need to tweak these comps accordingly.  Here are some key points to remember when your agent is going over these with you. 

NEW VS UPDATED

NEW appliances have never been used, this means normally you will have the paperwork for the warranties, and they have been put in within 6 months of the home being listed.   

UPDATED appliances have been used by the current homeowner or tenant, these updates have been done usually within 5 - 8 years of the home being put on the market.  So that updated kitchen could already be 5 years old. 

For a home that is able to boast that it has been completely remodeled, with everything new can add value of anywhere from 8% - 10% compared to other homes that are simply updated.  

MAIN RD VS BUSY RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD

This is normally quite the debate, I could name many roads that I would consider main roads in a town but when a bank appraiser comes in will not agree, and therefore they will make no price adjustment. This is a time when trusting your Realtor and seeing the comparison is very important, especially if you are not from that specific area. 

Let me also say this, if a location does not work for you for any reason you should never feel pressured to still buy it from your Realtor, they should offer to show you homes in the same area away from your objection area.  Some examples of this can be homes that have busier traffic patterns, sumps, or simply the privacy aspect to your neighbors. 

This will be your home and you will be the one living there for the next 15 years not your Realtor. 

WHAT IS THE BASEMENT REALLY WORTH ?

Let's say someone has a fully finished basement, with no CO, well unfortunately it is worth nothing, because it is not legal.  For an average size home, with a finished basement with proper permits, the value is surprisingly low they may only raise the value by $5000.  

If your looking in an area that does not have basements you can not reduce the price of the home because of it lacking a basement, because all of the comps do not have them either.  This is often a surprise to those who are looking to live closer to the water, most homes will only have crawl-spaces not basements, and there is no reduction that would be considered reasonable. 

THE MAN THAT WAS GIVEN A HOUSE NOT JUST A ROOM   

The garage typically you will have atleast 1 in some cases 2, and in the rare occasions 3 or more. 

When this happens I call it "The man that was given a house", and I unfortunately have to break the news to them that yes I personally appreciate their 5 car garage, painted floors, and custom shelving, but that means nothing to the bank or a buyer it doesn't add anymore value than a nicely maintained 2 car garage. 

WHAT IS A FEATURE WORTH ?

Unfortunately I wish I could put a value on what a feature is worth, but it is practically impossible.  Every feature will have its pros and cons to an individual buyer.   Some features will be worth alot to a buyer, and others will be a drawback. 

My best advice to home-owners is keep in line with your neighborhood when it comes to features.   Do not go overboard because you can not guarantee you can re-coup the investment you made adding features, but you can be sure that your home has similar characteristics as your competition does, so that buyers will be comparing apples to apples so to speak.   

For many home-owners their features are not added initially to keep up with the neighborhood, but because they were personal wants and needs for the individual.  If you choose to upgrade your home extensively more so than your neighborhood calls for,  I advise you to stay as conservative as possible because it could be helpful or hurtful in a home that has been updated, and is not able to be categorized as new. 

How To Handle Offers On An Overpriced Home !

Finding the right house for a buyer can be tough, not only on the clients but on the realtor as well. When you opt to use a Buyer Broker it can be a bit easier but sometimes the only thing standing between your and your new home can be a seller.

When you choose to use a Buyer Broker they may show you homes that are priced above your price range, and you may wonder why, isn't that a tease since you can't afford the price. Remember just because a home is listed at a certain price it does NOT mean it is worth what the homeowner may want for it! Sometimes an agent will not take the time to educate a homeowner about the current market prior to listing the home or they may opt to go with their gut on price, this makes it much harder on all involved but it does happen.

When it comes to a home that is over priced in any area the negotiations can go a few different directions but will always require patience and strategy when it comes to putting in an offer. You will of course want to review the comps in the area carefully with your Buyer Broker, because you will want to be confident in your price being fair. Putting in a offer below the market value will make negotiations much harder, because your leaving a bigger gap between what you want to buy it for and what they believe the home is worth. When your agent presents the initial offer that is when you will normally find out why the home has been priced higher than fair market value.

Once your agent has put in your initial offer that is when you will begin to be to strategize what kind of negotiation style you will use when it comes to how you will counter.

If the homeowner comes down to a significantly lower price point it is a sign that their agent is educating them about what their home is actually worth in the current market. You will want to do the same with your counter in order to show them that you are a serious buyer! If your only around $10,000 apart in price sometimes offering to split the difference between is fair and will sometimes get you an accepted offer ! Remember whether the home is over-priced or fair value your best way to get an accepted offer is to put yourself in the sellers shoes!

If the homeowners barely budges off their price, either their agent has attempted to educate them with no success or they simply think the home is worth more as well. The conversation between your Broker and the Listing agent will clear up which one is the case.

This is where things can require quite a bit of patience, sometimes your best bet is to back off of a seller and give them time to sit on the market, and see for themselves that no one will buy their home for that price. It is a risk when you do this, and you should only do this if you have tried presenting at least 2 reasonable offers and your still significantly far apart on price. By far apart I mean over $20,000 and if the seller has not given reasonable counter offers !!

You will also want to be sure your agent keeps in contact with the listing agent, you don't want to wait to see a price reduction on MLS because than you may find yourself in a bidding war because of other buyers looking at the new price ! You shouldn't stop looking at houses either while you are waiting out a seller. Many times I have buyers who look at quite a few other homes in the interim and it helps puts in perspective what their money can buy. You may decide that your willing to pay a bit more than you originally decided for a home, or you may find a better home !

Once the homeowner has had sometime sitting on the market you will than see if they really want to sell their home, or if they were just putting it out their to see what would happen.

Before you place another offer on the house schedule another showing with your broker to go and see it again, ideally when you know the homeowner is going to be home. You want them to know your still interested in their home in case there agent doesn't remind them of your previous offers !!

Make sure when you present your next offer don't skimp out make sure that your agent reminds them of all the details of your offer.  You may still need to do a bit of negotiating but again patience is key ! If the homeowner is still not being reasonable you may have to continue to wait it out, you may end up finding a better home but I'm always certain for every buyer is the perfect home !

Most people think the number one reason to use a Buyers Broker is so that you don't over pay for a house, but that is not actually the most important. It's not always about making sure you don't overpay but also about making sure you don't miss out on a home because of trying to under value someone's home. The best reason to find yourself a Buyer Broker that you trust is actually to make sure you don't miss out on a home that would be a great fit for you period.

New Home, New Pool !

I recently read another blog written by another blogger about pool safety, and what to look for if the home you are buying has a pool.  Pools can either  be an asset to a home or a huge drawback for buyers.  This is something that is very hard for a homeowner to understand because they almost always love their pools, and have spent alot of time enjoying them.

I personally had an oversized pool before I had my son, and once he was born I took it down because as a new mother I was nervous and I really did not have the time to take care of it.  Recently I went ahead and purchased one of those new it yourself pools, after about a week I decided that the work to maintain that pool was more work than a true pool so my son and I will now be enjoying a brand new pool in the next 2 weeks.  The reason I bring this up is because while at the local pool store we were reviewing what I needed to do take care of it, and I became suddenly overwhelmed even though I had a pool previously! This blog is going to generally overview what a homebuyer should look for when purchasing a home that comes with a pool, but also give you a true idea of what needs to be done to maintain and upkeep a pool in the simplest terms possible !!

Here is just a quick punch list of the things you will want to look out for if your thinking of purchasing a home that comes with a pool:

• Electrical Outlet is a Grounded 220 Volt, minimum of 3 feet away from the actual pool. For the Town of Babylon this is and has been a requirement for over ten years so if an agent tells you otherwise, they are unfortunately incorrect. 
• Wiring underground must be buried 2 feet underground in a protected cylinder.  This may seem like a huge deal but if the homeowners have correctly had the outlet installed any electrician should have known the requirements.
• Filter & Pump should be on a level grounded area preferably not on grass but some sort of brick/wood foundation.  
• Self-Closing Gates on any gate that accesses the pool.  This again is a requirement by the town. In some cases like my home I have a fence around my yard, as well as a smaller decorative fence sectioning off the area of my yard where the pool is.  It is NOT necessary to have a additional fence around the pool but for inground pools I would definitely suggest taking that precaution.   There are many options when it comes to easy assembly fences for this purpose, even if you do not have children small pets can also need to be protected from falls into the pool. 
• Pool Alarm This is a new rule that they have come out with, and I am still looking into it myself, so once I have gotten more information I will add onto this blog.  I did take the time to price them while I was at the store and they seem to run from about $150 & Up because this is a new rule the current homeowner may not have this.   It is not something that needs to be installed, it simply hooks onto the side of the pool and seem to be universal. 
• Liner Rips & Tears A new liner in a pool can become costly depending on the size of the pool, if the homeowner is representing the pool you should take the time to look and see if you notice any sort of rips or bubble spots behind the liner this could indicate a liner issue. 
• Age Of The Pool & Accessories Most homeowners will be able to tell you how old the pool is, but remember it is just like a car just because the body has 120,000 miles on it does not mean the motor does as well.  Most above ground pools were made of Galvanized Steel, but over time they have of course upgraded the material.  The pool I took down was over 20 years old and the pool itself was still in good condition, I did need to replace the liner and pumps a few years before taking it down.  If you are considering buying a home with a pool I always suggest taking a ride to your local pool store and talking to them about the costs and differences between pumps & filters. 
• Clear Depth Changes If your purchasing an inground pool you will want to make sure that you know the depths of the pool, since most are 2 depths with a gradual decline into the deeper end you will want to make sure you know where this is because finding it once your in the pool is only funny for the onlookers ! This is not something you need to negotiate with the sellers most will have sort of marking, just make sure once you take ownership you take the time to mark where the depth is what. 

Next up is the list of things you need to be prepared to do to maintain your pool.  This is where I began suddenly overwhelmed by the amount of "stuff" I forgot I had to do.  Thank god for the very nice boy and the pool store who went ahead and gave me my own little cheat sheet to work from !! The one downside to going into the pool store can be that they see a new pool owner coming, and they will load you up with tons of things you don't need to be doing.  After purchasing your home you should treat it as if you just opened it, in case the homeowners did not properly adjust their chemicals before they left.  Please be aware this is only for homes that use chlorine to keep it clean!

Day 1 - Afternoon

• Put in the required amount of PH into your pool, & than wait 2 hours.  The bag will tell you how much to use for what size pool.
• Add in your Alkalinity (This is the chemical that adjusts your PH)

Day 1 - Evening

• Shock your pool either by spreading the shock around the pool or simply pouring into where the skimmer circulates the water, and allow the filer to run overnight

Day 2 - Morning

• Check your chlorine & PH levels of the pool, begin using your chlorine tabs in the pool if you levels are ok.  The local pool store will have safe canisters that will float in the water keeping the tablets away from children/pets. 

PH Level Should Be 7.2 - 7.6
Chlorine Level Should Be 1.5

When shocking your pool the chlorine level can be higher then 3, you should shock your pool in the evening so by the next day the levels have returned to normal before you go and take a dip.  It is not considered harmful but my personal opinion is do not go in your pool if any of the levels are extremely high or extremely low just to be on the safe side.  You should shock your pool at the beginning of the season, after you have a had a large amount of people swimming, or if you see it getting cloudy or green. 

The amount of work that goes into upkeeping a pool is sometimes overwhelming so I want to take the time to do another punch-list of the general care you need to be ready for while owning your pool !

• Checking your chemical levels daily
• Running your filter (setting up a timer makes this much easier)
• Weekly vacuuming (you can also get a auto-vacuum for about $250)
• Spring Opening & Closings
• If your filter has a cartridge system you will want to rinse and dry this out every 2 weeks or so

Please keep in mind I am writing this as a pool owner, and a real estate agent.  Every town is different along with there town codes, so you or your agent should be sure to check out the local guidelines.

The First Steps To Buying Your New Home

It is time for me to write some blogs for the all the buyers, some of which are new to the market and for those that have been looking for their dream house for quite sometime already here is your reminder for all the things you should be doing ! Over the next few days I will be writing blogs specifically for you, so be sure to keep checking back every 2 or 3 days for a new Buyers Blog!

                For those buyers who have just begun your search there are a few steps that you should take in order to make this process as enjoyable and stress free as possible!

• Go thru the pre-approval process, and get a PRE APPROVAL LETTER & YOUR ESTIMATED CLOSING COSTS 
• Find an agent that you are comfortable with, and understand your wants & needs, this is a BUYERS BROKER 
• Sign up for a LISTINGBOOK ACCOUNT
• What are YOUR WANTS VS YOUR NEEDS  

            I have heard many reason why a potential home-buyer does not want to go thru the pre-approval process, not often have any of the reason been reasonable.  The problem with not getting your pre-approval is that sometimes you end up looking at homes that are not a possibility for you, there are a few different variable when it comes to your pre-approval it is not only about price but is about your taxes as well.  Once you have looked at these homes, nothing will ever compare to them.  On the flip side of that, I have had clients that were able to afford more than they had originally thought they would be able to, and were able to look at better homes than before.  You also must take into consideration that all money that changes hands during a real estate transaction must be accounted for, the bank wants to know where you got the money from.  You don't want to find that once your in contract on a home, that you will be unable to afford the closing costs, and go thru the process of proving to the bank how you ended up coming up with the money they required.  

             

Now, finding an agent that you are comfortable with is also very important I talk about this in every blog I write for my buyers and I am always asked why.  Just like there are 2 sides to every story, there are 2 sides to every deal! In whichever home you choose to buy you are paying for the broker to work for you, so wouldn't it make more sense if your paying that person to make sure you get what you paid for ? Another aspect to using a buyer broker is of course the legalities of disclosure, and fiduciary duties that we must abide by but think about what they do for you in between! It is always good to have a 2nd set of eyes looking for that perfect home, someone to call to find out the answer to your question  you have about the house you drove by, or what about someone to drive you around to look at homes ? 

              

This agent will more than likely offer you a listingbook account and if they don't I suggest you ask for one! This website is much better than MLS because it saves your preferences.  When you have to do a "fresh search" each time you go onto MLS, Trulia, or Zillow you are seeing many homes that you have already seen, and many times will overlook a new listing because of it.  Listingbook also allows easy communication with your Realtor by leaving property notes, so you can receive a response online if you are unable to be on the phone. It also allows you to watch homes, mark favorites, set up open house itinerary, or reject homes completely! 

             

Now this last one is tricky for alot of people because they can not clearly define what they want, and what they need for a home to have.  There is only 1 thing about a home that you can not change, and that is location so clearly if you find a dream home for a great price but it is not the location where you NEED to be than the house is obviously not your perfect house.  Now let's say you find a nice home, in the area you want, but it is missing a fire-place or jacuzzi tub - those are not needs they are wants be sure to understand that in each price range there is a home to fit all your needs, but your wants usually come down to personal preference and style.  You also can not penalize a homeowner because of their style or personal preference when it came to renovating/updating their home.  

Once you have gone ahead and done these first few steps you are able to begin the hard work of going out and finding that perfect home.  This means weekends of open houses, appointments for private viewings with your broker, conversations with your broker that you may not like but have to have. I will never tell you that finding your dream home will be easy, but I do believe as Realtor our job is to make sure you have the best experience possible.  You will walk into homes that the owners couldn't pay you to buy it, you will sometimes have yourself a good private joke at the thanks to a homeowners taste in color, or style, maybe even a few free lunches courtesy of your broker! 

The most important piece of advice I could give any buyer is let it be an enjoyable experience by having open and honest communication with your Realtor, you may not always like what we have to say but you will love us when we hand you the keys to your perfect home! 

Why Do Real Estate Agents Ask For Price Reductions?

So you have listed your home, and now a few weeks later your Realtor has called and suggested a price reduction on your home.  I find that most homeowners do not take to this well, but unfortunately the time or the need for price reductions can not be predicted by anyone.

Although I know many homeowners cringe, and feel as if their Realtor may have agreed to a listing price just to get the listing, this is not the case.  Realtors that do not care about their homeowners, and just wanted another listing will NOT ask for a price reduction they will simply sit by and do nothing.  If your Realtor calls you for a price reduction, listen to their reasons why, remember we do not control the market but it is our responsibility to keep you informed  about it.

In some cases when I take a listing, I will tell the homeowner that we will be discussing a possible price reduction in 30 days.  I do this mainly for homes that I know have a large amount of competition surrounding them. Buyers will know how long your home has been on the market and we don't want them thinking your home is lacking in value.  I prefer to be up-front wiht my homeowners this way they know we will be having frequent discussions about the market, and what it means for their home.

Sometime price reductions are necessary for these homes because,

• The homes that were previously UC, sold at a lower price point than predicted by the closed sales of previous months.  
• Large amount of other homes have come onto the market at a substantially lower price.   
• Your home is getting views online but no one is calling to see it in person, this means you need to change the buyer pool.
• Your home is getting alot of potential buyers in but no offers, it means you have the right buyers but you need to adjust your homes perception of value.  

This is usually tricky, homeowners don't always see the difference between changing your price to adjust the buyer pool, and changing your price you change your homes perception of value.

Changing Your Buyers Pool

Your buyer pool is determined by the overall price of your home, in the price range where you are what do the buyers expect to be seeing? 

If your home is priced at the higher end of a range than you should really take a look at your competition and see where does your house come in? 

You may not want to lose the money by dropping your price, but unfortunately if the market has changed you have already lost it and you have the chance to do "damage control" and adjust to market conditions.  

Changing Your Perception Of Value

This is the tricky part sometimes adding value to your home is something your Realtor can actually do for you.  Perhaps your pictures didn't show everything your home had to offer, or they may have additional services to offer buyers than they had not utilized.  I personally have home warranties on my listings, it is very important for those that have a lot of competition because it gives my listings added value.   Sometimes their might be something specific that buyers have an issue with, an example is a homes whose taxes are higher than the competition offering negotiate a "price adjustment" for qualified buyers.  

The Exception

Some homes after the 30 days, even if I haven't received an offer I will suggest that we DO NOT reduce the price.  Certain homes, are sometimes just in need of a particular kind of buyer.  This is usually the case in larger homes, extremely small homes like cottages, waterfront or beach-front homes, or new construction.  These homes are not "cookie cutter" homes, and it will be a very specific buyer so the value of these homes are quite different.

The one thing you have to keep in mind when you get "that call" is that your Realtor is working for you our job is not to just sell your home, it is to help you make good decisions about the sale of your home!  There are some cases where a person absolutely can not budge on their price for financial reasons, if that is the case be honest with your Realtor they may be able to provide you with other alternatives aside from just selling your home.

The TRUTH About What Your Home Is Worth!

Now almost every homeowner that has seen one the "Online Home Values" that are now being offered by Trulia, or Zillow call and express to me that their home is not only worth more than what it is/was listed for but it is even higher than that!

Let me just say this in the most simplest terms, they are WRONG! Yes I said it, and I am sure in some parts of the country perhaps their pricing is correct, but not here on the South Shore of Long Island.  Experts have done research and their values are actually off by around 20% and in some cases up to 50%! Now most people will than ask how can they do that, it is simple they put a disclaimer on their page and that's it. 

If you really want to know what your home is worth you need to make sure the information that the value it is being based on is accurate, and up to date! On many of these sites the value of your home is based upon the closed sales, under contract sales but they don't often reflect current sales.  Now here are the biggest problem with these sites.   Problem #1 if your neighbor or someone across town from you decides to over price their home that doesn't raise your value obviously, but according to these sites it does.  Problem #2, just because a house has the same number of bedrooms or baths it does not mean they are worth the same. This is where style of home does come into play, a Colonial style home is going to have much more square footage, than a Cape style home even if it does have the same amount of bedrooms.  Problem #3, we have no idea which of these formulas they are using when they calculated the value of YOUR home! Problem #4, they could never receive information as quickly as a Realtor can, computers are a wonderful tool in today's market but that will never replace hard work, and research by an actual person!

So how do you figure out what the value of your home actually is, well that is simple.  Call a Realtor!

They should be able to provide you with at least 3 comps for homes that sold within the last 180 days - with similar characteristics to your home (ex-square footage, rooms, bedrooms, baths, taxes).   This will be crucial information, prior sales are what the bank will be looking for.  When you are looking at these comps your should be sure to see how many days this home was on the market as well. 

They will also show your homes that went under contract with all the same characteristics that I previously mentioned.  This will show you about what price bracket you should be in when you price your home to get an offer.  This will be a great way to see how long homes in your area are for sale before they get an accepted offer!I personally believeit it is better to be at the top of a buyers price range, than at the lower end. 

Lastly they will show you homes that are on the market, again all the same characteristics and this is where you have the chance to judge your home from a buyers prospective.  From their prospective you want to make sure that your home shows value for that price range.  I do not mean price it below market value, just simply look from a buyers prospective and if your home is all original, and other homes on the market are updated you should make sure you adjust your price accordingly. 

This is the ONLY information that will give you the real value of your home, so take the time and speak with your Realtor regularly about your neighborhoods current market!