Princeton Mercer County NJ Real Estate - Secrets to Home Selling In A Bad Market

New Jersey real estate is being sold right now in the Mercer and Somerset counties in the Greater Princeton NJ area. Learn the insiders secrets of how to sell your home in this market. What should we do to sell the home now? What are the tips for successful home sale? What are the mistakes to avoid when home buying and selling? Why is my house not selling? Is now the right time to buy or sell our home? If you are a New Jersey real estate seller, these questions are on your mind. If you are thinking of selling in the greater Princeton area, or tried and couldnt sell your home, this article should provide helpful information.

For the people who owned their home for over five years the situation is not as difficult as for those who bought their home in the last two to three years. The answers you will learn in this article applies to home sellers in other towns of Mercer and Somerset counties: Hopewell, Montgomery Township, West Windsor, Lawrenceville and others.

I. Keys to selling the house in the Princeton NJ real estate market

Selling a home is not easy. You could expect to do a lot of work: make the beds, put away dirty laundry, collect kids toys, clear the kitchen mess from last nights dinner, and all of this before you rushed out to work. You need to do it you would be told, because a buyer might walk in any moment. On the weekends -you may have to leave for the day, while the Open House is held. You have a mad cleaning rush, leave the house (some with kids in tow) on a minutes notice, because the buyer may want to see your house in half an hour. You may get a call the buyers couldnt make it after all. There could be times when no one calls, they just dont not show up.

To go through all of this and to get low ball offers or not to sell the house is stressful. But it does not have to be this way.
Lets take a look at the critical issues that you need to nail to sell the house.

1. The first 30 days are key

There is statistical evidence that the best chance of selling the house and for the best price is in the first 30 days. I would be happy to provide the details of this phenomenon. After the 30 days you would battling not only buyers fatigue, but the price decline as well.

2. Pricing right from the start

Houses sell, if priced correctly, even in a weaker Princeton NJ real estate market. The only way to succeed early on is with the Correct Price. Let me tell you what the correct price is NOT:

    * Its not what you paid for the house
    * Its not what your neighbor sold for 3 months ago
    * Its not what you owe to the bank
    * Its not what you need to make to buy another house
    * Its not what you think is good as a 'starting price


So, what is this magical correct price, you may ask. The answer is: something that the buyer is willing to pay you TODAY. Most likely its the number that is a bit less than what is offered by your competition. Real estate pricing is both art and science. The only way to arrive at the correct price is by being an expert in local real estate. Even for the experts pricing is not easy and many get it wrong. You may ask why? One reason is that what the buyer is willing to pay today is a moving target and the price today may not be the same price tomorrow.

If you want to sell your Princeton NJ real estate - price it at a Market Price.  If you dont want to sell at market price or dont need to sell, do not put it on the market now, and save yourself a lot of work.


If you are thinking you can reduce the price later, read the next step.

3. Price-reductions are not a good idea

You may think that you could start at a higher price and reduce it later, hoping that the market will improve. Consider the following. When pricing, reducing the price down the line, would not allow you to catch-up. Buyers, who could have been interested, moved on to other properties. Its hard to sustain an emotional connection to the property, which is needed to generate offers, once the property was scratched off the list because of the price.

Reducing the price later in a declining market creates a bigger gap between the sellers and the buyers, to the disadvantage of the seller. In other words, its much harder to catch-up on the correct price, than to do the right price from the beginning.

The following are more secrets to selling the greater Princeton NJ area real estate like a pro.

The following are more secrets to selling the greater Princeton NJ area real estate like a pro.

4. Impeccable Home appearance


The simple way to put it -your house has to shine. No matter what price range you are selling in, the house has to be the absolute best it can be. I am not suggesting moving walls, or embarking on major renovations. Your house just has to be better then the competition. There are many tips everywhere on the Internet, as to what needs to be done before the sale, they are all useful and you should definitely implement them. But let me suggest something else: first -no matter how much you clean and scrub, its hard for anyone to see his or her home through the yes of a stranger. Second - almost every house needs to be 'packaged to sell. Use your real estate agents resources to make it happen. The investment in packaging your product is small compared to the return. New home builders have figured it out long time ago, the re-sale owners need to follow to stay ahead of the competition.

5. Getting the buyers to see your house

If you dont get buyers to your house, you will not receive offers. So, this step is critical.
We know that buyers search on the Internet. It just follows that what they see, should compel them to make an appointment. What they see are usually pictures. The pictures have to be professional to make your house stand out from the rest. Not everyone can take pictures that will make your home look not worth, but better.

The other audience your house has to be pitched to - be other real estate agents. Make sure that they know about your property and that its presented to them in the best possible way. Talk to your agent, about their way of accomplishing this.

6. Marketing that is not useful

Its important to understand how will the buyers find your home. Many agents will tell you about their or their agency web sites. Make it your business to understand how would anyone find your home among thousands that are on these web sites. If you are offered a single property web site, understand how would the buyers find 123Mainstreet.com?

Understand the usefulness of brochures, open houses, print advertising and other marketing that your property is getting. Deal with the agent who understands the intricacies of todays real estate marketing. There is a lot of advice on the Internet, the key is finding the right one.



II.  House inspection is key for a successful home sale

Real estate deals can unrevel even after you have a contact of sale. You are ready to celebrate - your marketing was successful and you found a buyer, negotiated a great price and have a contract of sale. To make sure the deal goes through can unravel and to smoothly get to closing there are several issues to keep in mind. House Inspection is an event that can often lead to a deal falling apart. What can be done to avoid such outcome?

The question often comes up, if its better for the seller to inspect the house prior to putting it on the market or wait for the buyers inspection. Lets look at the two possibilities.

1. Sellers Inspection

Is it helpful or not to do such inspection, since it can reveal potential problems? These problems most likely would have to be disclosed to prospective buyers, if a seller decides not to fix them. Some argue that such disclosure can detract prospective buyers form making an offer or cause them to offer a lower price. On the other hand, discovering the problems early in the process reduces 'surprises down the line from the buyers inspection and allows you - the seller to budget for repairs. Fixing the problems prior to putting the house on the market gives you a better chance to get to a successful close.

2. Buyers Inspection

Buying a home is a very emotional process. Home inspection in particular makes a lot of buyers very nervous. If the inspection reveals serious problems, buyers often doubt their decision to buy such house. They may want to get out of the contract or demand additional price concessions and it makes the process difficult for everyone involved. If the seller decides not to address the serious inspection problems and the sales contract is terminated, the seller would most likely have to disclose the inspection findings to the next buyer which brings us back to the original point.

3. The right answer

Working with sellers I describe the risks and implications of both approaches. This information gives them the basis to make their decision.

 

III. 5 More Tips For a Successful Sale.

Buyers sometimes agree to a condition in the contract, regretted it later and try to get out of the contract. As the back and forth goes on between the parties the good will and excitement are often replaced with negativity and mistrust. Sometimes buyers and sellers lose focus on the end goal even to their own detriment. To have less chance for the emotions to interfere with you goal of selling, take the time and effort to understand the contract and keep these points in mind:

1. Understand the contract and all the implications of what you are committing to. Understand the precise meaning of words. If it says documentation, specify what kind of documentation. You may not be able to go back and make changes after the lawyers approve the contract.

2. Act in good faith. Do not try to get out of the commitments made by parsing the words in the contract. It undermines the trust between the parties and creates problems along the way.

3. Understand the Inspection provisions - how many inspections and what kind, who will perform them, what would be the follow-up procedures, etc.

4. Use agents as intermediaries and trust their advice and opinions -thats what you are paying them for. The agents can separate the emotion from the reality and help parties focus on their end objectives.

5. The property belongs to the Seller until the end of closing. Buyers should understand this and not come to the property without the Sellers permission. It is against the law.

IV. Two More Tips for a Successful Sale

Contracts and Disclosure are so important and can make a big difference in the outcome of the sale.Once you have an interested buyer and a signed real estate contract, its important to know how to get to a successful close, since there are many steps between a signed contract and closing.

1.AS IS clause

Many contracts have a clause that says that the property is sold 'AS IS. These two words have a potential for a lot of misinterpretation that could lead to one of the parties canceling the deal. To avoid this - you need a 'tight contract. My apologies for such an unscientific term, but it seems to best describe my point. It is EXTREMELY important for sellers and buyers to have top-notch legal representation. I often see contracts that become disputed right after they are signed. What many sellers and buyers dont understand are the words 'AS IS. Sellers interpret them as I am not going to fix anything and buyers tend to ignore these words altogether.

* Sellers need to understand what kinds of problems they WILL and WILL NOT have to correct without jeopardizing the deal. Sellers contracts have to be as specific as possible, to avoid arguments as to what 'significant problems really means.

* The buyers have to understand that not all problems have to be addressed by the seller, and that they may not get out of the contract if this occurs. As much as we as agents can prepare and explain the contract to our clients, only lawyers can provide legal advise.

2. How Much to Disclose


I am talking about disclosure by sellers and buyers. Disclosure by real estate agents should be governed by applicable laws. I cant count the times in my experience, when trust became the issue undermining the transaction. The minute the buyers suspect that something was covered up, the trust is broken and every step from then on can become a battle. When the seller thinks that the buyer is not on the up and up - the same holds true. The issues could be small, but the result can be devastating to all parties. Our role as agents is to make our clients understand - there is rarely such a thing as 'too much disclosure. We should represent our clients best interest and never to participate in cover-up. Again, consult an attorney before making important decisions.

V. Avoiding mistakes helps to sell

Buying and selling a home is high on the stress level - almost like changing or loosing a job, divorce and other lifes troubles. The difference is that in other aspects of life, emotions can help to energize and lead to a better outcome. Its rarely the case in real estate. How can we put the emotional energy to work for us and not against us?

1. During home showings

Sellers often look for feedback from agents who showed the house. If the comments are positive and the house does not sell right away, sellers get angry and confused as to why. They may think the agent is not doing their job. It could be that showing agents did not want to offend the seller.  If the comments are negative - the seller may take it personally and not want to adjust the price or maintenance issues that are suggested.
In both cases emotions are counter productive. A seller needs to look at the issues: is the price right, is the house staged properly, is the targeting on point, is the maintenance issues addressed, etc.? The energy put into these tasks will have a much better pay off.

2. During contract negotiations

Some of the sellers emotions are My home is worth much more; I dont have to sell to THEM. The buyers think 'We are offering a great deal; we are qualified buyers; there are many other houses out there for us. It is difficult to come to terms when the emotions take over. Instead, analyze the facts of the deal through objective data: prices of homes sold, your time frame, other costs involved if the transaction does not work out. Looking at facts allows for compromise, where emotions dont.

3. After House Inspection

I see too many deals fall apart at this stage. Emotions at this stage could be even harder to control, since its father along in the process and the stakes are higher. To put aside the emotions, buyers and sellers have to look at the issues and the contractual provisions. These are usually factual and could lead to resolutions, while emotions stand in the way.

4. Communications

It is always helps to keep the communication channels open, even in the face of adversarial relations. A good agent is invaluable in this regard and can do a lot to help focus on issues, deflect the emotions and get to a successful close.

VI. The 'right time and reasons to sell

Why do people sell their homes? A seller changed her mind about selling the home after it was staged for sale. She liked the new look and decided to stay put after one sale fell through. It made me think that sellers, buyers and agents need to better understand why they want to sell or buy. Sometimes selling a home is not the right time or thing to do.

1. Its not about the home

Homes for many people are an extension and reflection of who they are, their history, background, hopes and aspirations. When something in our life does not work we may think it the houses fault. I had a client who looked for a new home every time she had a problem in her marriage. I had to really get to know this client to realize a new home will not solve her problem. Not moving saved the client a lot of aggravation and money.

2. Stage for yourself

We get so used to our homes, we dont realize what exactly bothers us there. When people decide to sell their home they use staging to appeal to a prospective buyer. It is done for selling, not for living. Why cant it be the other way around?  'Stage the home for yourself and see if it appeals to you now. This could be a solution much easier and less expensive then the move.

3. Dreams vs. Reality

Many of us have a 'Dream House in mind. May be its our parents home, or the place we vacation in, or the 'Joneses house. These dreams make us look for another house: bigger and better, or smaller and better, or just different.  Then we find out that a bigger house is harder and more expansive to maintain, the smaller house does not give everyone needed space, the Joneses house does not fit our lifestyle or budget. Sometimes its better for a dream to be just that - a dream.

4. The Princeton real estate agents conclusion

I want my clients to be happy. The moral of this story - examine and re-examine your reasons to sell and buy. If after all the deliberations you are convinced its the best course for you - go for the dream. I will be at your service (609-553-4175).

You can learn more about buying and selling real estate in Princeton NJ Mercer County Real Estate, including West Windsor real estate, Hopewll real estate, Pennington real estate, Lawrenceville real estate, Plainsboro real estate,  and Somercet Conty NJ Mmntgomery Real Estate:

Princeton Mercer County NJ Real Estate -Secrets To Buying A Home Like A Realtor

Princeton Mercer County NJ Real Estate Sellers- 3 Things That Sell Houses Now

Princeton Mercer County NJ Real Estate - 5 Deadly Mistakes When Selling Your House

Princeton Mercer county NJ Real Estate - Prices of Houses Sold in Princeton -January 2008

Princeton real estate statistics -2007 summary 

Princeton area real estate housing prices - review of prices for the period of 2004-2007  for Princeton, Hopewell, Pennington, West Windsor, and Montgomery Township.