Hello Owner, of a beautiful Anna Maria Island home that you clearly love, value and have invested time, money and sweat into! Now on the horizon, you see a smaller home on the beach or a bigger home for your boat, one in a more desirable neighborhood or perhaps you just like a new challenge. You call me and invite me to your home to get my opinion of what your house is worth.
I know your neighborhood well, and off the top of my head I form a number, but I do the right thing. I write that number at the top of work sheet and circle it. I pull information from our multiple listing services and do a Comparable Market Analysis, a CMA, comparing homes that have sold through Realtors. I take that number and write it under my estimate. I cull the tax rolls; finding those homes that sold without Realtors, do a quick market analysis on those. Yep that’s my third number. Finally I hit all the Internet sources, never reliable but where a lot of people see value, another number to add to my list. Finally I ask my broker and other agents in my office what their opinion of worth is.
My work sheet is a game I play with myself, I like to see IF what I think I know and what really is! It’s like a puzzle that I know the answer too, but need to figure all the variables out of why. Finally I have THE NUMBER, with all the facts to back it up, where I proceed to your home with all my paperwork ready to go.
After the pleasantries and the tour, I ask “HOW MUCH are you thinking?” I know, I know a lot of you like to wait until you hear my assessment of value, but I guess I like being an underdog, I want to battle uphill. I present first my worksheet with all the circled numbers, little notes out to the side. I find usually my assessment; CMA value and my fellow agents are pretty close.
Sales outside of Realtors are usually low, and the Internet sources are all over the place.
I wait for that sick or excited look, as you realize this is NOT going the way you wanted. My value is too low for you to list, or you would rather hold on than sell at that price. Excited if it’s more than you thought, for Realtors out there reading this, it has happened! I hand over the Market Analysis, as you try and convince me why your home is worth more. While I explain pricing it higher only keeps it on the market longer, I point out the listings that have been on the market forever and what price they started at.
At this point you either decide to list or wait or get other opinions. Or you strike out on your own to sell it yourself, where I point out the lower prices of homes sold without a Realtor. The other For Sale by Owners with unrealistic prices that have had a sign stuck in their lawn forever.
So Dear Owners do you really want to Sell?
Debi Varelis
Sato Real Estate
Anna Maria Island
Debi
