Tips for Selling in a Buyer’s Market

As the chart we’ve attached to this article depicts, it’s a buyer’s market. Many houses are going unsolde, providing those with pre-approval on a Florida mortgage loan to possess most of the leverage when making an offer.

Nevertheless, there are steps sellers can take in order to successful come to an agreement on their property.

1. Play the cards you’re dealt.
A successful poker night begins before you reach the table, when you resolve not to chase after hands that you have no realistic chance of getting. Similarly, a successful home sale begins before the house is listed, when you decide not to expect to make a killing.

“All you can do in a falling market, if you have to sell, is have the best possible product out there at the price it should be,” says Diane Saatchi, a real estate agent with Corcoran Group on Long Island, N.Y. “Not what you wish you could get, not what the neighbor got two years ago, but at the price you should get now. That’s the reality.”

It takes discipline to face that reality. For many sellers, “the only disappointment is that their friend, six months or a year ago, got more than they’re getting,” says Bill Christiano, a loan officer with MortgageIT in Westchester, N.Y. “Ego gets in the way when they’re trying to sell. Or stubbornness, I should say.”

2. Scope out other houses for sale.
Break through your ego and stubbornness by looking at the good deals that your neighbors are offering.

“The most important thing is to really shop the competition on the market right now,” says Elizabeth Razzi, author of “The Fearless Home Buyer,” published in 2006, and of “The Fearless Home Seller,” to be published in February.

Take a look at everything from a buyer’s viewpoint. Try to understand what Florida home mortgage seekers are looking for. Actively.

“Get out in the car and spend a weekend looking at everything you can,” Razzi says. “Visit some weekend open houses. Just get a feel for what your buyers are looking at.”

Visit newly built houses and find out which amenities and incentives builders are offering. Eavesdrop on other visitors to open houses to find out if there’s something in particular they’re looking for - something you should do to make your house more presentable.

3. Make it a turnkey, not a turkey.
The word “turnkey” is used in commercial real estate. It means a property is ready for immediate use. Your house has to be that way when buyers have a cornucopia of houses to choose from. This may mean applying for a Florida home improvement loan.

“You have to make it a 100 percent turnkey situation,” Razzi says. “Everything has to be ready to roll, because buyers never want to buy a house that needs a lot of work unless it’s an absolute bargain. You have to take away all their opportunities to say no.”

Remember: those that have received approval on a Florida home loan want to purchase property. You just need to present it to them in the right way.