The Seller “Prep” Talk For Hawaii Real Estate

The Decision to Sell Includes Finding Who to Trust Your Home With

There is a lot the seller must prepare for and not all of it has to do with the house. This means protecting your valuables, your privacy, and having, above all else, loyalty. Gaining a seller agent means having an advocate who understands what you want, what you need, and what you hope for.

Your seller agent can help you prepare your home by suggesting staging or making suggestions. A photo shoot is a must. When a formal listing agreement is signed, your agent has created for you a Fiduciary Contract, which means you are a client who our brokerage represents. Great agents are waiting at Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers to assist you.

Preparing to Move Means De-Cluttering and Cleaning a Property

Preparing a property is so any buyer will feel comfortable imagining themselves living in the home. Once the listing goes “live” the daunting showings and cleaning tasks continue until the first offer arrives. The negotiating begins and the buyers may not come in at full price or even near it. The seller may wonder, “Doesn’t anyone understand the cost of building materials, labor, and a great location to boot?”

The seller keeps up his chin and with at least the sympathy of his agent, who understands the value of his home, one day the right offer comes along. Finally, the tenacity of the agent hits upon the right buyer and after negotiations, the agent opens escrow with the fully executed contract. The harps play music and an Irish jig is danced (in some instances).

The Home Inspector Appears

Like a Charles Dickens character (Dodger in Oliver Twist), the home inspector appears and suddenly the buyer agent submits a 15 to 54 page list of repairs after the “As Is” addendum was already signed by the buyer. (Home inspectors offer a great service, but for the flavor of the story skewed to the seller’s point of view, the report may seem like a specter of gloom).

The seller twitches and looks fretfully at his agent with one question in mind, “Do I have to do this now?” The seller agent responds lovingly, “No…no you don’t…but if you are tired of cleaning and you want to move on….and you are motivated to sell, you might consider it.” The seller, at least given a clear option to “reject” something, is clearly empowered enough to endure a compromise on repairs to get to the next point.

The appraiser may show up to find the value of the property is also lower than sales price. All the new regulations in his industry pressure him to give a very conservative value and usually all the short sales and foreclosures have destroyed the comps.

The lender also has new guidelines and the buyer had better hope the appraisal value comes in so the loan will make sense. The sellers, in some cases, are already bringing cash to the table just so he can walk away. After all the contingencies are met, finally escrow closes and someone gets the “keys” to the castle to which the locks are all usually changed immediately anyway.

The seller is just happy it is all over and he is happy he didn’t have to go through this alone. His agent stayed through the whole process and if it wasn’t to assist him in making a profit, it was to help him liquidate at a loss. Those are the facts with real estate investments. They don’t all pencil out at a profit.

What Was Wrong With the Story?

You’re right…it didn’t really seem to have a happy ending, but this is still a buyer’s market and one day soon the seller will be King again. Sometimes the biggest preparation a seller faces is understanding the marketplace. As the market gains strength, those sellers eventually gain their power back. They get multiple offers on their home. They don’t have to bring cash to close the deal.

Pricing

Right now is a good time to re-enter the market for sellers who may have not been able to sell in the past. Home sales are gaining and with the demand usually prices start to follow.

Our job is to market your home to the best advantage and sell your property. We can give you a current market analysis of what homes in your neighborhood are selling for. Starting off with the right price, ultimately helps a home sell faster and usually a seller will end up making more than if the home is overpriced and ends up in the pool of unsold houses on the market.

For a listing consultation contact:

Diane C. Chavez, RS, ABR, GRI  
diane@hawaiilife.com 
808.987.8294