Sellers Resources

Selling your home shouldn't be a stressful ordeal. Making the smart move of choosing a REALTOR® is your first step to ensuring that your investment in your home pays off. My services and experience allow you to focus on your move while I manage your home sale from our initial consultation to the closing deal, and beyond. I pride myself on repeat business and hope you'll come to understand why.

Avoid These 5 Pitfalls When Hiring an Agent

Seller Financing Can Be a Win Win

What I will do for you

Recent Home Sales

Getting the highest price

Closing Costs

Do You Owe More on Your Home Than it is Worth?

Avoid These 5 Pitfalls When Hiring an Agent

There is more to selecting an agent than a pretty photo or a friend’s recommendation. You should also ask lots of questions and avoid the following five pitfalls.

1) An Agent Who Buys the Listing

An agent who buys the listing may tell the seller that they can sell the home for $120,000 when they know the home is worth only $100,000. In this scenario, the agent does not win the listing on skills or marketing ability. Only the ability to fool the seller into thinking they can get them top dollar for their Salt Lake home. This is the same agent who will be asking for a price reduction every week on your home.

2) No Motivation

An agent that has no motivation to sell your home is not going to work very hard. They could be motivated by money, prestige, or just to help people. Motivation will usually show itself in consistency and zest to get the job done.

3) Nothing to Set Them Apart

Superior Salt Lake real estate agents will always have something that will set them apart. This may be web marketing, local connections, or a background in design. Whatever it is, just make sure there is something there that makes your agent special.

4) Discount

Your home is not a dscount home so why hire a discount real estate agent? Look at a Salt Lake City Real estate agent the same way you would look at a tax advisor; both can save you money. You pay the skilled agent a little to save a lot. Going the discount route can cost you thousands when you don’t have your property properly position in the market place. For example, you may only pay $500 dollars to put your home on the MLS but you are losing thousands as buyers skip by your home because of poor photos and poor pricing.

5) No Action Plan

An agent should have a specific marketing plan to get your home in front of buyers. The online marketing plan of your Salt Lake City real estate agent should include web strategies that will make your home stand out on the net. And offline strategies should attract those homebuyers out there actively looking.

Seller Financing Can Be a Win Win

Seller financing happens when the buyer makes payments directly to the seller instead of the bank. Usually, the buyer will make payments to the seller for an agreed upon term (often 5 years or less) and agreed upon interest rate. This can help the buyer and seller in a number of ways. For example, seller financing is often one of the best options for buyers who are not qualifying for regular loans. But why would a seller want to do seller financing?

Why a Seller Would Want to do Seller Financing

1) Stand out from the crowd. Offering seller financing separates the Seller from its heavy competition in the neighborhood. In Salt Lake County, only 3.6% of sellers are currently offering seller financing.

2) Make your home available to more buyers. More buyers are going to be looking at your property because of easier financing.

3) Tax Advantages. Because you are realizing your gain over several years you may be able to defer the amount of capital gains tax you pay. Be sure to consult a tax expert for this one.

4) Make more money. When you are the bank you get to make money like a bank does by collecting interest. Lets say you work a seller financing deal on your home. You sell your home to the buyer for $287,119 at 7% interest amortized over 30 years with the total remainder due (called a balloon payment) in five years. In five years:

The buyers would still owe you $270,269

And you would have collected $97,763 in interest!

As you can see, there are many advantages to seller financing. But there are also some risks that you should be aware of. Fill out this form for a free consultation to see if seller financing is right for you.

As Your Agent, I Will:

Complete a comparative market analysis that will compare your home's value to that of your neighbors.
Compile a comprehensive plan detailing all the efforts I will employ to sell your home, including Internet and local media.
Present your home to as many qualified buyers as possible getting your home maximum exposure.
Help you stage your home and generate curb appeal to ensure you get the highest price.
Assist with obtaining offers and help you in negotiating the best deal as smoothly as possible.
Help you find your next home and answer all of your questions about the local market area, including schools, neighborhoods, the local economy, and more.

Recent Home Sales

What are homes selling for on your street? Feel free to contact me to find out what neighborhood homes are selling for, free of charge, or to receive a more detailed analysis of the value of your home.

Getting the Highest Price for Your Home

Curb appeal is key and could make a difference whether people stop and take a flyer, or drive right by. Here are a few tips to increase the curb appeal of your home. Staging your home is important. Many buyers will stay in your home longer if it's staged appropriately. I have compiled some ideas to present your home in the most effective manner.

Closing Costs to Expect:

Title insurance fees depend on the sales price of the home.
Broker's commission is a full-service fee and will cost anywhere between 5% to 7%.
Local property transfer tax, country transfer tax, state transfer tax, and state capital gains tax are the charges that you'll pay for the privilege of selling your home. Credit to the buyer of unpaid real estate taxes for the prior or current year are variable and depend on when you close and when your taxes are due.
FHA fees and costs are all fees are now negotiable between an FHA buyer and seller.
Home inspections fees are in some circumstances paid for by the seller and include pest, radon and other inspections.
Miscellaneous fees can accrue from correcting problems noticed during the home inspection.

Do You Owe More on Your Home Than It is Worth?

If you owe more than your property is worth and need out then working with the bank to sell your home short may be a good way to go. When you do a short sale, you sell the home for less than you owe and the bank relieves you of your debt. It is much better for your record then a foreclosure. And it may be the only option for you if you can not bring thousands to the closing table.

In order to qualify for a short sale you must show the lender that there has been “involuntary inability to pay”. They are looking for divorce, job loss, or some other event that would prevent you from paying the bills.

It is important when negotiating a short sale to work with the bank and provide them with all the information they need. Also, you will want to work with an agent that can market the property, bring in offers on the property, and communicate with the bank until the deal closes. Fill out this form and I can help you determine whether or not you qualify for a short sale.

Your best option might indeed be a short sale. It could save you points on your credit score and prevent you from having to bring money you don’t have to the closing table.

Sellers Resources

Mark Alder