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Real Estate and *stuff *

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5 Things to Never Say When Selling a Home

January 21, 2016

5 Things to Never Say When Selling a Home

It’s a lesson worth remembering: Home sellers need to watch what they say to home buyers and their real estate agents.

Real estate professionals recently shared with realtor.com® the phrases they say sellers should never utter:

1. “Our house is in perfect condition.”

“The home inspection may reveal otherwise, and, as a seller, you don’t want to wind up putting your foot in your mouth,” says Cara Ameer, a real estate professional with Coldwell Banker. “There simply is no such thing as ‘perfect condition.’ Every house, whether it is brand new or a resale, has something that needs to be fixed, adjusted, replaced, or improved upon.”

2. “We’ve never had a problem with …”

Sellers need to be careful to not utter any fibs, even those that seemingly are small, when selling their home. “You’re setting yourself up for potential liability,” Ameer says. “You may not even be aware of the problem at first, but it could  translate into an embarrassing moment upon inspection.”

3. “It’s been on the market for …”

Sellers should never talk how long the home has been on the market with potential buyers, says Pam Santoro, a real estate professional with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. The information is available on the home’s information sheet for buyers to see for themselves. Sellers who wish to highlight this may find buyers believing they can get cheaper since it’s been on the market longer or have buyers wonder what’s wrong with the home that it has been lingering.

4. “We spent a ton of money on X, Y, and Z.”

Sellers who think that just because they spent a ton of money on some upgrade to the home shouldn’t believe that upgrade will be so desired by home buyers nor will it necessarily get them a ton of money back at resale. “The buyer doesn’t care whether you spent $10,000 or $100,000 on your kitchen,” says Ameer. “They are only going to offer what they feel the home is worth in relation to area comparable sales.”

5. “I’m not taking less than X amount for my home.”

“If you send a message that you are inflexible or not open to negotiating, it may not invite buyers to even try to work out acceptable price and terms as they will feel defeated from the start,” says Ameer. “Word may spread that you have this sentiment as a seller, and people may start to avoid the house.”

 

Best Day of the Year to Buy a Home

September 11, 2015

buying-a-new-home1Mark Oct. 8 in your calendar. That’s the best date to close on a home at a bargain price, according to a new study by RealtyTrac.

On average, buyers have purchased 10.8 percent below estimated market value on this date for the last 15 years, the study shows. The next best buying dates for house hunters are Nov. 26 (10.1 percent below market value); Dec. 31 (9.7 percent); Oct. 22 (9.6 percent); and Oct. 15 (9.1 percent). RealtyTrac analyzed more than 32 million sales of single-family homes and condos to come up with the data.

Overall, October offered the most promise for bargain hunters. Over the last 15 years, the 2.7 million sales that have closed in October carried an average sales price 2.6 percent below the average estimated full market value at the time of sale. After October, the best deals are in February, July, December, and January.

Meanwhile, the worst month of the year to buy a home — but the best to sell — is April. On average, buyers who purchased in April over the last 15 years bought their home at a premium of 1.2 percent above estimated market value at the time of sale.

The study also found the best weekday to buy a home is on a Monday. Of 5.5 million single-family home and condo sales in the past 15 years that closed on a Monday, buyers saw an average discount of 2.3 percent below full estimated market value at the time of sale. Friday is the next best weekday, with buyers seeing an average discount of 2 percent.

Thursday, on the other hand, was found to be the worst day of the week to buy, with a 1 percent average discount.

By date, RealtyTrac found that the worst days of the year to close on a home purchase were Jan. 19 (buyers paid an average 9.6 percent premium above estimated market value); Feb. 16 (9.5 percent); April 20 (9.5 percent); April 6 (8.4 percent); and April 27 (8.2 percent).

Source: RealtyTrac