Home selling Tips

Why Foreclosed Homes Are A Home Sellers Biggest Competitor

When you are trying to sell your home, you might initially think you’ll get what you’re asking, maybe a little more. This is in spite of a rising number of people out of work and foreclosures at never before seen levels. The entire world wonders if the United States will be able to pull itself out these trying times. Measures are in place to help curb these problems but these are going to take some time to work down to the people who need help. During this time, how are you going to stop your biggest competitor from taking your home before you even have a chance to really sell it? The biggest issue facing homeowners is your biggest competitor. Who is that?

What Is A Homeowners Biggest Competitor?

A homeowner’s biggest competitor is actually foreclosure. How do you keep foreclosure from winning over you? Many people are under the assumption that time will stop the falling housing prices but it could actually take more than one or two years to stop this monster altogether and keep more than one million or more homes from falling into foreclosure. Most people think they are not affected by other peoples’ foreclosure but that’s not true.  More and more people are buying foreclosed homes but why?

 Foreclosed Homes Are Seen As Bargains

Is it because purchasing a foreclosed home is seen as a bargain? Look at your hometown. How many foreclosed homes do you see? Now do a search on how many sold homes were actually foreclosures. Does it seem like more people are looking for the bargains they find in foreclosed homes? It would seem so. It would seem that foreclosed homes have a higher selling rate than homes not in foreclosure. Many buyers will ask a real estate agent, “I want a foreclosure home”. Do you think the agent is going to argue with them why they shouldn’t get a foreclosed home? They’re going to abide by their wishes. Buyers and investors of foreclosed homes look at them like lottery tickets; who doesn’t want a lottery ticket that always wins?

Many homeowners looking to sell their home will boost the price of the home to more than what it’s actually worth. They know by doing so they’ll have to negotiate. However, the problem with this is that agents and buyers are looking for deals. If you’re asking more on the home than what it’s worth, you’re not going to show it to potential buyers. If most neighborhoods, buyers are seeking out the best deals such as square footage, best condition, lower price, etc. They believe foreclosed homes can give them all of them.

Sellers assume that foreclosed homes are rundown homes and that their homes are in much better shape so they can ask for more money. However, this is a false believe. Look at the homes in your neighborhood especially the ones foreclosed on. Do they look rundown to you? The truth is is that sellers have no real clue about how to price their house and they don’t know the overall condition of it. Many sellers who have marked up the price on their home blame the real estate market. However, this isn’t a good place to lay blame because people who don’t price their homes high are selling them.

Sellers are often misled about how long houses stay on a market because of the method their real estate agent uses. For instance, one home is on the market for a period of one year but another is sold within a month of going on the market, the real estate agent will take the total number of days they both sat on the market and divide it by two.

 Why Do Some Homes Sell More Quickly Than Others

It’s really crazy how many homes are on the market. For instance, in Hampton Roads, Virginia, there are close to 20,000 homes; that’s a lot of competition to buy a home. Most homes that have been sitting on the market for some time are indeed overpriced. Until the housing crisis settles down, it’s going to be difficult for any seller to sell their home.

If you want to sell your home, you have one rule you must understand and that is: Be truthful about the happenings in the market. When you’re friends tell you they want to sell their homes but they won’t give it away, they are certainly not looking at the big picture. Each month they have that home… it’s costing them money. It isn’t always about the monetary gains or losses that you need to look at. For instance, families who have children who would like one parent to stay at home are unable to because they refuse to lower the price of their home. They also run up credit card debt to deal with this vacant house. A seller’s peace of mind is not at rest until the house can be sold.

 Choices To Help Sellers With Their Homes

When you have a home and you can’t seem to sell it, you have choices. For starters, you can rent it out. Make sure to hire a property manager so that he/she knows what they are doing. Don’t let the home sit empty because you run a risk of three things:

•  Burglary
•  Fire
•  Vandalism

 On top of these things, sitting there empty will cost you money. You can always ignore the issue and hope that everything is settled quickly. You could also sell it for a lot less. You may ask yourself how much should you discount it at?

That doesn’t have an easy answer. The best way to deal if your price is too high is gauge how many people are coming to your home. If you aren’t getting offers on your home, there may be another problem altogether. You could also have problems after a contract has been signed such as inspection challenges or your buyer qualifying for a loan.

Some investors will buy the house as-is. However, the majority of sellers don’t like this route unless they plan on going into bankruptcy or foreclosure if they believe an investor won’t give them much for it. It’s riskier to deal with a buyer than an investor especially with the market the way it is currently. After all, these kinds of offers are low and they have less experience with inspections or obtaining money for the home. When you’re home is in need of repairs, banks tend not to loan money unless the home is fixed beforehand. However, experienced investors will have the money all lined up since this is what they do. While an investor wants a deal so does anyone whose anyone in the market.