There Are Three “Buyers” in Every Home Sale

由Jill Heineck, 助理经纪人
Heineck & 公司@凯勒 - 威廉姆斯地产桃树路

I know it’s tempting to focus just on finding a buyer when selling your home. So when I represent sellers, my goal is to make sure buyers’ agents and appraisers are sold on the properties too.

What buyers’ agents like to see

Buyers’ agents want to show their clients the best of what the market has to offer: homes that are prepped well and priced realistically. Price is so important – and not only in terms of getting a good deal for their clients. Savvy buyers’ agents (and listing agents) know the price agreed on by a seller and a buyer has to be in line with actual property value – the value that affects whether the bank approves the buyer’s loan.

Buyers’ agents will avoid investing their time and their clients’ time in properties that don’t show as well as they could or might require excessive price negotiations. And a buyer’s agent can make important decisions about a home based on the agent representing the seller. 换一种说法, the reputation of the listing agent can be a red flag or a glowing beacon.

Let’s say the listing agent you’re working with has marketed homes that have been poorly prepped or overpriced. When buyers’ agents suspect the same could be true of your home, they’ll show their clients other available properties.

But it’s a whole different story when the seller’s agent is known for listing homes that are both priced and prepped well. Buyers’ agents will make sure their clients know about your home and will be eager to show it. This puts you, the seller, in the desirable position of possibly receiving multiple offers.

Positioning with buyers in mind

You’ve probably noticed that I can’t stress pre-marketing prep 和 realistic listing price enough.

I’ve talked about how important they are for a successful sale in almost all of my posts. But here’s one more fact to drive the point home:

Prospective buyers look at several homes, comparing each against the other. A home that isn’t staged properly, isn’t in its best condition, or is overpriced actually increases the desirability of the other available homes. When I counsel the sellers I work with it’s to make sure their homes are the ones others have to compete against, not the homes that make others look good.

The appraiser’s angle

You’ve accepted an offer you’re happy with, and the buyer is pre-approved for a loan. Things are looking good. But now the bank has to think so too, and that’s where the appraiser comes in. If the appraised value of the property is not at least as much as the amount the buyer is financing, the deal will need to be renegotiated in most cases or the buyer will need to make a larger down payment. Either scenario can cause a deal to fall through.

The best way to maximize the appraised value of your home is to prep it so that it outshines the competition. And the best way to prevent a gap between selling price and a figure the bank will go for is to start out with a realistic asking price.

These are the same things that put your home in a favorable position with buyers’ agents and their clients. They are also the same things my clients and I strive to get right well before the “for sale” sign goes up.