5 Challenges of Selling Your Home

by Emilio DiSpirito, The DiSpirito Team

Selling a home can be a stressful experience. One of the greatest things about being a real estate agent is the fact that no two transactions are the same. Because no two transactions are alike, there are different challenges that must be overcome. But, getting to the bottom of the common mistakes and challenges many face when selling their home, can prevent future obstacles from forming and getting yourself on the right track!

So, What’s the Deal? Why Aren’t I Selling?

Pricing – how to effectively price your home for the highest sales price and best terms.

How you set the price of your home requires diligent research and analysis of real estate data for your area. You must price your home competitively so that it’s not too much higher than your competition but not too much lower either.

• Buyers may shun homes in which they think sellers have set unrealistic prices, and they may be left wondering what’s wrong with a home priced low for the area.
•  Work with a reputable real estate agent who can recommend a fair price based on the
  • Location
  • Your home’s attributes
  • Comparable homes that have sold and that are currently for sale

Selecting the right agent – how do you know you have selected the best agent? Here are some tips on finding out who is going to be best agent to sell your home

• Do your research: listings, reviews and references
• Interview your agent to make sure they have your best interest at heart. Ask them about their credentials, experience, and knowledge of the market
• Are they local? What is their schedule like? What does your gut say?

Condition of property – is your home turnkey and updated? If it’s not, here is what you can do to ensure the condition of your property attracts buyers

Before you put your home on the market, it’s imperative to dedicate time and money to ensuring it’s in good condition.

• Clean and cover up dingy walls with a fresh coat of paint.
• Clean or Replace the stained carpet with luxury vinyl or new neutral color carpet.
• Maintain a clean, polished appearance for every open house or showing.

It may be tempting to put the house on the market prematurely, but buyers won’t appreciate walking through rooms and hallways cluttered with paint cans, ladders and home-improvement equipment. Complete all home repairs before you begin marketing.

FUN FACT: Did you know it takes only 3 seconds for a buyer to judge your home?

Financing That Helps Reduce Sellers’ Risk – Seller financing can be a useful tool in a tight credit market. It allows sellers to move a home faster and get a sizable return on the investment. And buyers may benefit from less stringent qualifying and down payment requirements, more flexible rates, and better loan terms on a home that otherwise might be out of reach.

But, the reality of it is that probably 99.99% of sellers do not want to hold a note on their home, they want to sell and cash out on equity.

Depending on your homes price range, there may be a large number of buyers using financing with certain criteria and restrictions on a home. Here are some helpful tips to make sure your home can get financing:

• Require that all buyers have a pre-approval.
• Have a pre-list inspection done to ensure there are no health and safety red flags.
• Repair any red flags that may inhibit a buyer from getting financing.
• Discuss with your Realtor what those items are, what your return on investment will be and how to fix them at the lowest possible cost.

Pre-List Inspections and Repairs – What’s the best and least expensive way to tackle this? We have found that pre-list inspections uncover potential surprises that could derail the sale of your house. A pre-listing home inspection helps the agent set the seller’s price expectation and can be used to substantiate a higher asking price.

• Reduces fear or limited buyers and sales price.
• Offers valuable improvement advice.
• Attract serious buyers.

When a buyer does inspections, you can expect that if your property is not brand-new that you may have a laundry list of items to fix. Stick to what you need to fix, not what buyers think you should; thanks to the pre-list home inspection you did.

• Termites or other wood destroying insects.
• Wildlife infestation: bats or squirrels in the attic.
• Major drainage or on-going water problems.
• Mold.
• Septic.
• Elevated Radon levels above EPA suggested levels.
• Major electrical defects that cause safety issues.
• Significant plumbing issues.
• Lead paint.
• Major structural issues such as a leaking roof or building violations.
• Etc.,

The Hard Truth

Don’t let your emotions get the best of you. If you follow all the above home selling tips, then you’ll more than likely find yourself with an accepted offer! There are lots of home sales that fall apart because of not paying attention to your homes underlying condition. What do we know? Well, the buyer is going to have a home inspection, so you need to make sure there are no significant problems. Selling a home doesn’t have to be difficult when you follow the advice of your real estate professionals every step of the way.

Emilio DiSpirito

If you would have asked me what I wanted to be growing up, little Emilio would have told you “an archeologist” or “an architect” despite the fact that at age 8 I had my first lemonade stand, landscaping business and was recording my first “news show” on my boombox!  Well, I never was much good at trigonometry and did could not see myself traveling for months and possibly years at a time, so becoming an architect or archaeologist clearly did not happen!

Fast forward 26 years later and I’m running a team of the finest residential real estate professionals, own a media company and host my very own radio news show about real estate!

In September of 2017, I married my best friend, Jaclynn, and we have two wonderful children, Destinee and Emilio, V.  We have 3 dogs, one of which is a rescue and live in lovely Rhode Island. Jaclynn owns a high-end hair salon in addition to an on-location hair and makeup business!

For 7 years straight it seemed that I had put in more hours than the day had to give on my real estate business. 7 days a week, 14 to 16 hour days, without a break! Why? My friends and family did not understand the sheer magnitude of moving parts and services we offer to our clients during a transaction! One slip up or one missed call could mean make or break for someone’s dream home or even a lost deposit!

Running a team of like-minded, highly qualified and capable professionals has allowed me to offer a very streamlined, simplified and efficient approach to the sales process for our clients and allowed me to earn personal time again with my family while not missing a beat for my clients!

When I’m not working, I’m with my family, riding my mountain bike, eating at a number of local restaurants, enjoying live entertainment, hiking, skiing or reading!

Contact:  [email protected]