Home For Sale In Alamo

Alamo Home For Sale

Everyone wants to be able to sell their house quickly and effectively; but how? The answer is complex and is composed of many factors...

Go It Alone or Choose An Agent?
Some homeowners decide to sell their homes on their own to save the commission charged by a real estate professional. Commission rates may vary depending upon the area you are in (it is generally upwards of 5%). You may think that you are saving a lot of money, but handling your own sale means you will be responsible for placing ads, answering phones, and showing your home to strangers. What's more, buyers who know you are saving on an agent's commission may offer less for your home - thus negating the financial incentive to do it yourself.

Here are some of the advantages a professional real estate agent offers when deciding to sell a home:

• Establish a fair asking price for your home
• Promote your home to other agents and list your property in multiple listing services
• Create, pay for, and place advertising for you
• Schedule appointments to show your home to prospective buyers even when you are not there
• Weed out buyers who will not qualify for a mortgage
• Refer you to sources for insurance, inspections, legal counsel and financing
• Help you negotiate with the buyer
• Walk you through all of the paperwork and ensure the legality of your contract

Set A Fair Price
Naturally, you want to get top dollar when you sell your Alamo home but, at the same time, you don't want to scare off potential buyers with a price tag that's too high. Setting an artificially high price may cause your property to languish on the market for months and reducing your asking price down the line may lead buyers to wonder if there is something wrong with your home.

Here are some of the factors to consider when pricing your home.

• Your location
• Economic conditions
• Supply and demand in the local housing market
• Local schools
• Average home prices in the neighborhood
• Your home's extras -- pool, fireplace, central air, etc.

Qualifying A Buyer
Either you or your real estate agent will want to quickly weed out potential buyers who cannot really afford to purchase your home. A number of factors will help determine whether or not you are wasting your time negotiating a sale.

• The buyer's debt and credit history
• The buyer's current income and employment
• The buyer's cash position and availability of a down payment
• The length of time the buyer needs before closing on your home
• How interested the buyer appears to be in your home versus others

Other Tasks That A Real Estate Agent Can Do For You
In addition to the above tasks, a real estate professional can...

• Walk you through the selling process from beginning to end
• Provide comparable information about the sales prices and demographics of neighboring properties
• Share information about your home to potential customers through the Multiple Listing Service and the Internet
• Place advertisements in newspapers, on the internet, or in magazines for your home
• Field phone calls from "looky-loos" and potential buyers
• "Qualify" potential buyers to make sure they would be financially able to buy your property
• Alert you to potential risks concerning the sale
• Comply with all of the disclosures and inspections required by law
• Provide you with an estimate of all the closing costs that you will incur
• Help you prepare for a smooth closing of the transaction and sale of your home

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