The headlines and newscasts keep repeating doom and gloom for the real estate market from sea to shining sea. Obviously they missed the breaking news that all real estate is local and not every seller is ready and willing to take a rock bottom price for their home.
This week, I received an offer on a great home for sale in Harvey. I have a motivated seller who has looked closely at the market and what homes are selling for in the neighborhood. He then made a deliberate choice to price his home lower than any of the others in order to make it appeal to the largest number of buyers. And it’s working. I’ve had more showings on this home than on almost any other house I have listed, and I’m sure that it will be sold soon since it’s priced right, clean as a whistle and move in ready.
So I really felt sorry for the young couple who came with their agent and fell head over heels in love, only to find out that their very low offer was flat out rejected after we determined it was the most they could afford to pay. It was a waste of time all the way around for everyone involved and it could have easily been avoided.
When working with home buyers, one of the first things we do is arrange a meeting with a local lender who can pre-qualify them. It’s not a hard process…you give them your financial information in exchange for a loan approval and a budget for what you can afford to pay for a house.
Things we do to help you find a home
- Find out what type of financing you’ll be using (conventional mortgage, FHA or VA financing)
- Determine if you have enough funds for the closing or if you need a little help in that area
- Ask a lot of questions about your wants and needs
- Use all of our resources to provide you with a list of homes that meet as many of your wants and needs as possible while staying within your budget
- Use our market expertise to bring to your attention those homes that may be slightly out of your price range, but that we know are priced too high and probably have room for negotiation
Things we DON’T do to help you find a home
- Bring you to a neighborhood that is way out of your price range
- Allow you to get excited about living in a home that you can’t afford
- Write an offer that we know has a snowball’s chance in hell of being accepted
- Set you up for rejection and disappointment
It is your agent’s responsibility to represent your best interests, not to be the cook throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. Let’s sit down, determine your wants, needs and budget and keep you from getting this response on your next offer…
For professional real estate services across the West Bank of New Orleans, please contact the West Bank Living Team. It would be our pleasure to help you buy or sell your next home.
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