Selling Tips

By Larry Schottenstein on November 10, 2009

I am working with a seller and their home is listed at $239,900, which is a very competitive price for their market of Gahanna Ohio. He recently received an offer of $225,000 but it quickly increased to $235,000. But the seller is still conflicted about what to do and hasn’t accepted the offer.  (he thinks he is selling it too cheaply and he is somewhat correct.  We can not find a buyer without making it a very good deal). Not surprisingly he wants to view his payoff and see how this offer will impact his bottom line.   A home is a significant investment so it clearly make sense to him to focus on the amount he will net.

The question is, how relevant is this to accepting the offer or not? The answer is simple but difficult for sellers to grasp. What you net is important and if you are upside down on the home and going to owe money to the bank then it’s critical to know your position. But it really has nothing at all to do with your sales price. The market doesn’t determine the value of your home based on your finances. If that was true you could get buyers to pay more because they had more money or larger downpayments. Plus holding out for potentially better deals likely won’t work and will have a negative impact on your finances.  Yes you need to be careful about the investment in your home  but it is even more important to be pragmatic and realistic about what matters most. If you aren’t then you may find your investment worth even less then you thought.