Virginia Real Estate

Sellers too often make a mistake in padding their price so that they can net their desired price after negotiations. They include fat onto the value so that the fat can be sacrificial and they can still walk away with what they really want for a price after it has been trimmed.

This is a silly and dangerous game.  At any given and exact time a property is worth a certain value and only that value. No more and no less. It is not worth more because the seller has big plans for the money no more so is a Volkswagen worth more because someone is selling it to purchase a Lexus. The property is not worth more or less because a commission is or is not being paid on the sale. The property is not worth more or less because an attorney is involved in the transaction. These are all expenses and they should be looked at as the cost of doing business.

Sellers need to be very careful and observant of their local marketplace. Pay attention and follow what is happening around your property. What is the actual market experience of like kind properties in the area. How long are they on the market? What are the sale prices compared to asking prices and most importantly how does your property honestly compare to the others. Bigger/smaller, better/worse, more/less features and then make sure your property fits in this scale exactly where it belongs. Not where you wish it to belong but where it actually fits in.

I am not saving that you take whatever offer comes along. Accept what is only fair. There are many bottom feeders out there that make ridiculously low offers. You can tell that this is their game because they make a low offer and walk away if it is not accepted. They do not come back and try to negotiate the deal. Steal it or they move onto the next victim is how they operate. So do not loose any sleep if this happens to you. Handle these players the same way, simply move along and do not respond again because if you do you are negotiating with and against yourself.

What I am trying to stress is that in this marketplace there is no room for games particularly if time is not on your side. By all means you need to be prepared in advance to attract a good buyer by establishing an accurate price from the very beginning.  Establishing a price too high in a declining market will result in a longer sale and your home will be worth less.