In spite of your best efforts, you may rub some people the wrong way.   Even if you do your best to treat others with consideration, they may have a different interpretation of what being considerate entails and end up angry.  Or they may be upset for a multitude of reasons and you just showed up at the wrong time and became the scapegoat.

Stay cool and try not to let it get under your skin.  Analyze the situation and try to see the other person's viewpoint; decide if there is any merit to their anger and whether you would do anything differently if you could do it over.  Make it a learning experience.

Change is inevitable, but most of us resist it.

Change can be inconvenient.  It may take time to reposition your life to accommodate the change and you may have to notify lots of people about it, such as change of address, name, or office.

Change can bring hardships, especially when it's out of your control, and you may think nothing positive can come from it.  However, there are stories of people who have recovered from devastating events  and built a life beyond their wildest dreams.  

Change can be beneficial, and this is usually the intent of changes we initiate ourselves.  If you're dissatisfied with an aspect of your life and/or have a general sense of boredom, that may be an indication that a change is needed.

My view is that when you get to a point (in just about any situation) where the perceived disadvantages/negatives outweigh the advantages/positives, it's time to make a change.  

Sometimes a small change in attitude will make a big difference;  other times, more drastic action is needed.  Investigate your options and try them out mentally for a few weeks.  If the proposed change feels good, go for it.

I have taken my own advice and recently moved my license to Advanced Realty at 2344 Centerville Road, suite 105, Tallahassee, FL 32308.

I've run into several sellers this year who really want to move, but their house isn't worth what it used to be and they'll lose money if they sell. They're not upside down and can afford to take the loss, but they can't bring themselves to accept the fact that they've lost the equity that they had with real dollars, not from appreciation. 

In all cases, these sellers were very unhappy with their current situation and hated where they lived. Three of them wanted to move out of state to be with aging relatives. But all of them decided that they would wait until their house appreciated sufficiently to make up for the equity they had lost. Unfortunately, it looks like they will be waiting quite a few years.

There are also a surprising number of homes for sale (in Tallahassee) that have been sitting vacant for many months, are owned free and clear, and are way overpriced.  The sellers "aren't in a hurry" and are stubborn about the price, so the homes sit without activity and lose value as time goes by.  And yet, the owners stress over the fact that the house hasn't sold and they have to keep paying property taxes, keep the yard maintained, etc.

Many of these are estate homes, left by parents to their children, so they're like "found money" that the new owners got without any effort.  After two years of an estate home being on the market, a neighbor remarked to one such new owner, "Honey, sometimes you just need to let go. It's not always about the money".

We sometimes forget that money helps us live a certain lifestyle and we make decisions that cause us unhappiness or stress for fear of losing some of it.  Is money more important than a happy life?

Could it be that the price is too high?  Regardless of its condition and location, if it were priced at $1, would there be plenty of buyers for it? As they say, "price fixes everything".

But every seller wants to get top dollar. And, not surprisingly, every buyer wants to get a great value, so sellers and buyers need to meet in the middle.

Sellers prepare their house to the best of their ability to make it appealing, and then price it so that buyers believe they are getting a great value.  The more appealing the house, the more money the buyer is willing to spend.

I was searching MLS (in Tallahassee, FL) today and found two active listings in a nice neighborhood that were both priced at $259,000, yet one of them was 1550 SQF and the other was 2300 SQF.  It didn't make sense. The last sale in this subdivision was one year ago for a 2200 SQF house that sold for $264,000. With falling home values, even the larger one may have been a bit too high. Hmm, I thought, maybe the smaller one is REALLY fantastic.

I checked the pictures and descriptions and all three (two active and one sold) appeared to have similar amenities and lot sizes and be in the same general condition.  Hard as I tried, I couldn't find any significant differences to account for the outrageous $168/SQF for the smaller house.  Average $/SQF for comps in this area is $127/SQF for Active listings and $117/SQF for Sold (no wonder inventory is so high).

Here's a simplified overview of pricing for anyone who doesn't know the basics:

1. Search MLS properties for the following:

• similar size (e.g. 200 SQF above and below the subject)
• within 1 mile of the subject
• currently active, pending, and sold in the last six months
• similar age (e.g. 10 yrs below and above the subject)

2. Review the sold listings and try to find at least three that are most like the subject.

3. Compute the average sale price and average $/SQF.

4. Compare this with the prices of the active competition.

This gives you enough information to begin to formulate a reasonable range and is probably enough to prevent blatant errors in pricing like that mentioned above. If the sellers in this example looked at comps and still came up with this price, they may be using the infamous Seller-Expense method of pricing.

Sellers want to get a good price for their homes, but setting a list price that is too high in a market with declining values ruins their chances of getting top dollar.  Hopefully, someone will tell them  that if no one comes to look at their house, it means it's way overpriced. Maybe then the sellers will reduce the price to something realistic.  Otherwise, the longer it sits on the market, the lower the final sale price will be.

This strategy involves calculating all the seller's expenses and then basing the price on that, to ensure that the seller makes a profit, or at the very least, breaks even.  This method of pricing is often used by un-informed sellers when there is little or no equity in the home and the seller doesn't want a short sale on their credit and/or can't afford to bring money to closing.  

Typical expenses for sellers include:

• Brokerage fee for both listing agent and buyer's agent
• Documentary stamps on the deed
• Pro-rated property taxes
• WDO (wood destroying organism) inspection and repairs
• Mortgage satisfaction and recording fee
• Payoff of mortgage(s) and equity line(s) of credit
• Home repairs

Unfortunately for the seller, this strategy probably won't work unless the price developed in this manner is roughly equivalent to or less than market value. 

I heard someone say recently that they were entitled to speak their mind because "that's what America is all about".  This person was describing an ugly closing where both agents were shouting at each other and disparaging one another's competence.  You would think that someone who had earned a PhD in Business would have shown more maturity and self-control, but obviously, even well-educated people may lash out at others and place blame, instead of focusing their efforts on finding solutions.  

In America, we appreciate our freedoms and guard them carefully. We sometimes forget that along with freedom comes the need to act maturely and responsibly and not impinge on others' freedoms.  No one wants to hear an angry dispute that degrades into name-calling, especially in a professional setting.  And who wants work with someone who loses self-control under stress?

The more knowledgeable and better prepared the seller, the easier it will be to negotiate and resolve issues when an offer is presented.  Selling a home can be stressful, especially in a declining market when home values are falling and sales are slow. Understanding the process and discussing typical scenarios with their Realtor will give sellers an advantage when they are presented with an offer. 

First, it's a good idea to determine a realistic price range based on active and sold comps and then review probable expenses and estimated net proceeds at both the upper and lower ends of the range.  

The seller usually focuses at the top of the range and should understand that it's possible that the house will sell at the lower end, and be OK with that.  (Note that comps should be reviewed at least every two weeks and the range adjusted as needed, in accordance with activity.)

Second, it will help the seller to become familiar with the contract and understand the norms for their area.  In Tallahassee, FL, for example, the buyer typically pays for the home inspection and the seller typically pays for the WDO inspection and repairs.  Most items are negotiable and the more familiar the seller is with the contract and possible terms, the better equipped they are to recognize a strong offer and get a good deal.

Third, the seller should know that there are other negotiations along the way after the contract is signed and be prepared for them as well.  Most notably, buyers may ask for repairs based on the home inspection and further negotiations may be required if the appraisal comes in lower than the purchase price.  

When you buy something expensive, like a house, you're usually both excited and nervous. For many people, once they've signed their name on the dotted line, some level of anxiety sets in, otherwise known as buyer's remorse.

You might have a case of buyer's remorse if ...

• You wonder if you selected the right house
• You think that maybe you could have gotten a better deal
• You're worried that you can't afford it (even though you have discussed it thoroughly with your lender and the monthly payment is well within your comfort range)
• You take comments to heart by friends and family questioning your judgment

Buyer's remorse is stressful, but shouldn't stop you from your home purchase. If you have done due diligence in understanding the home buying process, have saved some money for expenses associated with buying a home, are working with a trusted Realtor and lender, and the home you've purchased meets your most important criteria and fits your budget, your concerns may be unfounded and a simple case of buyer's remorse.

If you start having any of the symptoms above, discuss it with your Realtor and lender. They can help you determine whether you have a valid concern or just cold feet. 

Inspectors serve a useful purpose - to identify issues with major systems in a house and inform buyers of items requiring repair immediately or in the near future. It's a good way for buyers to determine whether a house is structurally sound and how much maintenance goes with it. If there's a lot of deferred maintenance, the buyer can either ask the sellers to take care of it, re-negotiate the price, walk away from the sale, or accept the house in its current condition.

 Good inspectors are thorough and are able to assess the severity of an issue and describe it without scaring the buyer away from what may be a good house.

 A seller I know was happy to get a contract soon after listing his house. The house was in good condition and there weren't any major problems that the homeowner was aware of. It had a new roof and the kitchen had recently been updated. The inspection came back with a large list of items that needed repair including a suggestion to put a roof over an atrium to prevent possible flooding - even though this had never been an issue during the 10 years (and one hurricane) the homeowner had lived there. After reading the long list of issues, the first-time homebuyer decided to cancel the contract even though she loved the house and none of the issues were major.  The inexperienced agent didn't help by commenting that the house was obviously poorly constructed.

The seller soon had another contract and was surprised when the second home inspection turned up an entirely new list of issues, some with items that the previous inspector had declared were working as designed and vice versa. This time, the buyer was familiar with home maintenance and was able to put the issues in perspective.

Some lessons:

• If you're not familiar with home maintenance, you may need assistance from a trusted contractor to help decipher the home inspection. A home inspector is giving their opinion about what the important issues are and two different inspectors may see things very differently.  
• Before hiring a home inspector, ask around and find one who has a good reputation for thoroughness and common sense.
• Agents who aren't expert in home construction should be careful about drawing conclusions based on a list of issues in a home inspection that they don't really understand.