Selling a Santa Cruz home in this economy can be challenging. There’s a lot of fixing up, cleaning and planning that goes into putting a house on the market. So when sellers get a bite, they might jump on an offer a little too quickly.
If you’re about to put your house on the market, you should be prepared to counter lowball offers and outrageous contingencies. On the other hand, you need to be ready to accept an offer that meets your demands. Take into consideration the following tips so that you’re prepared when a buyer strikes.
• Closing costs assistance – Many first-time Santa Cruz home buyers have barely enough money to cover their down payments. So if you want to close the deal quickly, you might want to have money set aside in case they ask you to help with their closing costs.
• Offer contingent on sale of buyer’s home – Even if the offer is good and you accept it, don’t hang all your hopes on it. Most of the time the contingency is that buyers are waiting to sell their current property. In this economy that could take two months or two years.
• Closing date extension – This will cost you more money. You’ll have to continue with the upkeep of the house and fix any unexpected disasters in between. Sometimes it’s better to just say no and hope that the buyer agrees to your initial date. However, if the extension isn’t very long or if this is the only offer you’ve had in years, you may be better off accepting it.
• Multiple offers – If you’re lucky enough to have this situation on your hands, just remember that the highest offer isn’t necessarily the best. Be sure to read through the fine print and consult your real estate agent before making a decision. Also remember that you can always counter on the lower offer to see how much they’ll increase their bid.
In such an unpredictable real estate market, there’s a need to weigh your options and talk through offer scenarios with your real estate agent in order to be as prepared as possible to make the best decision.
Thinking of selling your Santa Cruz home? If you’re looking for a professional real estate agent who can help you achieve your real estate goals, please call 831.662.6522 or email me at Lauren@LaurenSpencer.com for more information.
For additional information please visit my homepage at www.MySantaCruzRealEstate.com.
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