"Can you show us houses?"

This is one of the most exciting times of your life,  and one of the most expensive.  The questions are, where do you start, how do you get started,  how fast can you get into your new home, and should you start packing now? At this point, I usually get the call..."Skip can you show us houses this afternoon?"  No question--I can show you houses. The problem is, YOU may not be ready for me to show you houses. "WHAT!  I just told you we are going to buy a house...what else do you need?  Let's go kick some doors down!"

Hold up there, killer, we may need to do one or two things first. As we get started, we need to know what your comfort level is with price. "Man, Skip, I just don't know. I think we would like to be around $100,000. What would the monthly payment be on that?" At this point we need to bring in the expert on mortgages so we can get you pre-approved for a loan.  As we move forward, this pre-approval will be critical in presenting offers to the sellers.  If you want a seller to take you seriously, you must attach the approval letter with your offer. This letter also guarantees we are looking at houses in the right price range.  If you think you about it, starting with a pre-approval keeps you from wasting your time looking at homes that are too high or too low.  Let's just say we started out looking at homes in the $220,000 range and found one you were absolutely in love with--after which you go for the pre-approval only to find you are only approved for $175,000. Ouch!  Take it from me, if you start in the higher price range and find you must come down, it will be difficult to reset your thinking to look at homes in the lower price range.

 Grace and Peace...

Skip Geiser

(850) 221-6442

http://www.skipgeiser.com/

SkipGeiser@live.com

The Geiser Team with Main Street Properties

We haven't had any showings after a month on the market...what should we do?



Skip, I have had my house on the market for a month and I have had no showings...What should I do?
 Well, a good rule of thumb to go by is two weeks with no showings or ten showings and no offer should throw up a red flag.
 But Skip we priced it right where it should be according to the CMA (current market analysis) that our agent brought over."
 Yes, I agree but the information from that report is now over a month old. Get an updated CMA to see if a price adjustment is necessary.
 Skip you don't understand...you haven't seen our house.  It is the best home in our neighborhood and yet other homes around us have sold.
Everything is going to boil down to price,  if your home needs work you can compensate by adjusting your price, if your home is in a declining area you can compensate with price.  Keep in mind your agent has the responsibility of marketing not pricing; that is your job.  You see, you control the price by taking the information you have been given and pricing your home to sell in the time frame that you want it to sell in. As an agent, by putting dollars into a marketing program it drives more buyers to view your home. I have no desire to just list your home, because you don't get excited when it is listed; you get excited when it is SOLD!

  Grace and Peace...

Skip Geiser

(850) 221-6442

http://www.skipgeiser.com/
SkipGeiser@live.com

The Geiser Team with Main Street Properties