Stuck in Limbo & Other Home Selling Tortures – in today’s buyer’s market be prepared for Limbo as a seller.  Be prepared for things to take a while and to feel like there is something wrong with “your” house. 

As if it’s not bad enough that you had to de-clutter, organize, and remove any & all personal items that made your house a home, now you’ve got to keep your counters speck-free, your beds made, your dishes put away and in model-home condition 24/7 just in case someone decides to make an appointment to come see your house in the next 20 minutes.  If they can’t come see it in the next 20 minutes, they probably can’t come at all so you better make sure they can come see it now!  Then you need to get out of the house and take the kids and dogs with you.  Turn all the lights on (even on a sunny day) and skeedaddle, only to find they are late, they didn’t show up or they got the keybox stuck and now you need to have your realtor come by and get a new key made. 

As you do this the market is declining and the neighbors are now selling their house on the same street only for $50K less than your asking price!  Sounds like fun huh!  This is what you’re going to have to get used to in today’s buyer’s market, that and the big “For Sale” sign in your front yard!

There is hope of course and that comes in two forms – 1) a great pricing strategy and 2) an “accepted” offer from a buyer.

1) Great Pricing Strategy – pricing is the #1 key to selling your home.  Price it low and it will sell fast.  Even in this ‘buyer’s market if it’s priced low enough, you will get multiple offers.  Every real estate cycle has a “market price.”  Price it too high and be ready to sit back and enjoy the ride of “my house is on the market.”  Then there is the “death by a 100 price cuts” formula which is not recommended by any means.

2) An “accepted” offer from a buyer – the key word here is “accepted.”  That means you and the buyer have already negotiated a price and some terms that both parties are agreeable to.  This is not always an easy task, but can happen.  Once you have an “accepted offer” be ready for more negotiations to begin during the “inspection” phase when you get to find out if your house will still be standing for another week or not by the inspector who is “CYA-ing” all the way through 50 pages of what’s wrong with your house (and usually that includes photos these days!)

Check back for more details on getting that House in Limbo – out of Limbo!