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Four reasons why homeowners should consider selling in the fall.
I’m sure you’ve heard that spring is always the best time to sell your house. While spring is traditionally a good time to sell, each other season also has its advantages. Here are a few reasons why you should consider selling in the fall:
1. Inventory. There’s less inventory in the fall compared to the spring and summer months. While there may be fewer buyers out there, you’ll also have less competition.
2. Buyer quality. The buyers during this time of year are typically more serious than those out on a nice day looking at an open house or touring homes to get decorating ideas.
3. School and weather. Summer vacation is over now, and kids are back in school. The weather is also very nice this time of year.
4. Autumn marketing. Fall décor will look great in the photos of your house. A cozy house is very inviting.
If you have any questions about selling or listing your house, please reach out to me at (608) 212-5743. I look forward to helping you.
Four ways to make your offer more competitive in multiple-offer situations.
Today’s real estate market is still competitive for buyers. If you fall in love with a home, chances are that other buyers have seen it as well, and you’ll have to compete against them to get your offer accepted. Even though interest rates have increased, there still aren’t enough homes to balance out our market. That means sellers have the upper hand, and buyers are forced to compete against each other. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can make your offer stand out to sellers:
1. Offer above the asking price. You’ll have to offer more than asking price if you want to win in a multiple-offer situation, but that doesn’t mean you’ll have to bring too much more money to the table. An extra $2,000 might be enough to draw the seller’s attention. As long as you don’t offer far more than the asking price, this shouldn’t change your monthly payment that much.
2. Limit your inspection. Many sellers worry about deals falling apart because of issues during the inspection. However, if you waive your inspection entirely, you could be on the hook for costly repairs. Instead, you can limit your risk by reducing the inspection period or agreeing to only ask for major repairs.
3. Cover the appraisal. With home prices rising so quickly, many houses aren’t appraising for their final sales price. Normally, the buyer and seller would negotiate to see who’s responsible for the difference. However, you can make your offer more attractive by agreeing to cover a potential appraisal gap. If you’re already fully underwritten, you can waive your appraisal contingency entirely. If not, then you can offer appraisal gap coverage, which is where you’ll cover any gap up to a certain amount you choose.
4. Be flexible. Sellers might want different things concerning the timing of their sale. You can work with the seller’s agent and either offer an extended closing or a quick closing to coincide with the seller’s needs. Doing so can help your offer stand out to the seller. To sweeten the deal even more, you can also offer a leaseback agreement or post-occupancy period, where you let the seller stay in their house after closing to give them time to move and/or find another house. These agreements usually last for anywhere up to 60 days and can be a great way to offer your seller a flexible closing.
If you’re tired of competing, have hope. Interest rates are rising, and it looks like the competition from buyers is easing up slightly. While we still expect to see a seller’s market for a while, it may get easier to purchase a home in the coming months.
If you’d like to take a look at what’s presently available on the market, you can view our multiple listing service here:
Click here to see all available homes in your area.
If you have any questions about making your offer more competitive or buying homes in general, feel free to call or email us. We would love to help you navigate this market.
What can you do if a home doesn’t appraise in this crazy-hot market?
In the Madison market, inventory is incredibly low. As a result, competition for homes is fierce, and prices continue to rise. When you want to buy a home, the bank or your lender order an appraisal to make sure the house’s true value supports the amount you’re paying for it. This usually isn’t an issue; however, when prices are rising so quickly, homes often don’t reach the agreed-upon price during appraisal. What can you do in this situation to make sure the deal doesn’t fall through?
In our current market, many buyers deal with this situation by skipping the appraisal altogether. They do this by either offering all cash or waiving their appraisal contingency. Unfortunately, this isn’t an option for everyone.
If you can’t waive your appraisal contingency, your real estate agent can help you dispute a low appraisal. The appraised value is supposed to be what the true market value is. If your agent can make a convincing case that the home is worth what you’re paying for it, you can successfully win your dispute.
Often, we’ve found that multiple-offer situations are a good piece of evidence to show an appraiser. Home values are increasing rapidly, so the more recent the data, the better. If you can prove that others were willing to pay a similar or identical price for the property, you could win your dispute.
This is a complicated topic, so if you’d like to talk about it, please call or email us. We are always willing to help!
Here are the top three remodeling projects in terms of return on cost.
When it comes to remodeling your home, which projects stand the best chance of getting your money back when you sell? Sellers often ask about home upgrades, so today I’ll talk about the three that will get you the biggest bang for your buck according to data from Remodeling Magazine. You can look over their Remodeling 2021 Cost vs. Value Report for 2022 here. These are the top three according to the report:
1. Garage door replacement. According to Remodeling Magazine, replacing your garage door has the No.1 return on cost, with a national average of 93.3%. It’s definitely a good way to increase your home’s curb appeal.
2. Installing manufactured stone veneer. Putting stone veneer on the outside of your home will spiff up your curb appeal, too. On average, you’ll recoup 91.4% from the project.
3. Minor kitchen remodel. On a full kitchen remodel, you’ll get about 50% of your money back when you sell. A minor kitchen remodel, however, will bring you a 71.2% return.
If you’re thinking about doing any remodeling, I encourage you to talk to your Realtor and get some estimates on the projects you had in mind. If you’d like my advice or have any questions, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to help you.
© 2021 Zonda Media, a Delaware Corporation. Complete data from the Remodeling 2021 Cost vs. Value Report can be downloaded free at www.costvsvalue.com.
Here are a few of the many ways to sell your home based on your situation.
It’s no secret that this is a tough market. People looking to buy and sell a home at the same time are in a tricky spot. Sure, you can sell your old house easily, but how can you buy a new one without going homeless?
In a balanced market, it isn’t too difficult to line up your home sale with your purchase, but we are far from a balanced market. There are many ways to accomplish this goal, but I can only share a couple in this short video. Please reach out to me to go through your specific situation.
In a hot seller’s market like ours, you have two main options:
If you have questions about which option is right for you, please give me a call or shoot me an email. I’d love to talk with you about your options and your specific circumstances.
Here are a few myths about the market that you shouldn’t believe.
If you’ve been entertaining the idea of a home sale, there are five myths that you might be hearing, and I’m here today to share the truths behind them:
Myth No. 1: You can overprice your house, and it will still sell. This is simply not true. We have a very limited supply of homes, but consumers are educated. When you overprice, they know it – they may even skip over your home entirely.
Myth No. 2: You can sell your house as is. Technically you can do this, but if you do, you’re telling consumers that something is wrong with the home. You should be willing to negotiate repairs as a home seller.
“If you don’t make repairs, it will be reflected in your offers.”
Myth No. 3: My house will sell in just a few days. While there are certainly cases of homes selling the day they’re listed, it takes around 20 days to get an accepted offer. Accepting the first offer you receive isn’t always wise. You want to expose your house to the most number of buyers before you take it off the market.
Myth No. 4: I don’t need to do any repairs or upgrades before showings. There are some simple, cost-effective things you can do to maintain or even increase your sale price. If you don’t do them, it will be reflected in the lower offers you receive.
Myth No. 5: I can sell without a Realtor. This sounds a little self-serving, but it’s the truth. There’s no way you’re going to market and sell your home effectively on your own unless you are a full-time agent yourself. The contracts are complicated, and having a Realtor on your side ensures you have an expert negotiating in your best interest.
If you have any questions for me about selling a home or real estate in general, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Looking to sell a Dane County home? Get a FREE home value report here
Today’s Madison market update is geared toward what sellers need to know.
Today I’m discussing what happened in our Madison area real estate market in 2021. I’ll also talk about how that affects our current market and what it will mean if you’re considering selling this year. Based on current conditions and what’s likely to come, now may be the best time to sell your house, and today I’ll explain why.
Feel free to watch the full message above, or use these timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video:
0:00 — Introduction to today’s topic
0:58 — Number of homes on the market
2:05 — What prices are doing right now
2:35 — What interest rates are doing right now
3:03 — What to expect from the second-home market
3:58 — What all this means for you
4:34 — Wrapping up today’s topic
If you’re ready to get the selling process rolling or have any questions, give me a call or send an email. I would love to be your real estate resource.
Here’s why the winter is a fantastic time to sell your home.
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As we get into winter, many people are asking whether it’s a good time to sell their houses. Most people think it isn’t, but is that true?
“There are typically fewer buyers, but they’re genuine.”
In my last video, I talked about how inventory levels are very low. At the beginning of November, we hadn’t seen inventory levels that low in over a decade. However, houses are still selling, and as we head into winter, it’s an excellent time to put your house on the market.
We didn’t see much of a slowdown last year, even though the real estate market usually slows a bit in the autumn and winter. We had a slew of pent-up demand, and we’re continuing to see that. In the winter, we also have more serious buyers; would you schlepp through the snow and ice just to look at houses for fun? No, but if you need a house, you can find one. There are typically fewer buyers, but they’re genuine.
If you have questions about selling your home in the winter or anything else, give me a call or send an email. I’ve had friends and past clients say they didn’t want to bother me with something, but you’re not bothering me! I would love to help you. Also, let me know if you have a topic you’d like me to cover in a future video.
Selling your own home is probably a little more difficult than you think.
Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.
Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.
Check out the new app now!
If you’re thinking about selling your home and looking at the market conditions, it’s tempting to try and sell it yourself. Homes are selling quickly and over asking price on a regular basis, why not just save on the commission and list the property yourself?
You might be able to sell your home for a good price and get a little bit extra in your pocket, but maybe not. The thing about FSBOs is that buyers are looking for deals on them, too.
You could be leaving thousands on the table by not selling with an agent.
The danger in selling your own property is not properly exposing it to the market. A recent client we were working with was leaning toward accepting a cash offer with no contingencies. We convinced them to list with us and they were sure glad they did. Once the home was listed, it ended up selling for $200,000 over list price after receiving 24 different offers.
I understand the thought process of sellers who just want a quick sale and an easy close. Maybe it is the right answer for you. However, you could be leaving tens, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars on the table by selling your own home to a cash buyer.
I recommend interviewing a Realtor and spending some time with them to see what the numbers say about what you’ll sell for with one versus without one.
If you have any questions about selling a home or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Here are my answers to common questions from potential sellers.
Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.
Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.
Check out the new app now!
Today I’m answering some common questions I’ve been getting from potential sellers in this crazy market:
1. Why do I need an agent in this market? People think that because this market’s so red-hot and there are buyers everywhere they can just list their property as for-sale-by-owner and have tons of offers. In my experience, you need to expose your house to the most buyers possible. Your house also needs to be on the MLS, and you need to hire a great agent to get you through all the hiccups that come along the way. They will help you expose your home to the market, price it correctly, prepare for closing, and help you get it set up with a title company.
Get an agent who has a thorough understanding of where we are in the market right now.
2. How do I determine who’s the right agent to help me? Find a trustworthy agent. Maybe it’s an agent that has been referred to you and vetted. You need to make sure they’re not just a great salesman, but also have experienced multiple-offer situations, have been in the market long enough to understand how things work, how to negotiate multiple offers, how to present those offers to you in a meaningful way, and how to price your house correctly.
Even though the market is kind of nuts and things are selling for over list price, if you price too high, your house is going to sit. Get an agent who has a thorough understanding of where we are in the market right now.
I’ve been in real estate since 2005, so this is my 16th year in the business. I can help you price correctly and negotiate in multiple-offer situations so that you get the best price on the best terms in the time frame that you desire.
I’d welcome the opportunity to speak with you to see whether we’re a good fit. If you have any other questions, please contact me at 608-212-5743. Feel free to leave a Text—that is the best way to reach me. Have a great day.
