Selling a home isn’t always as simple and easy as it seems on the face of it, especially in today’s digital selling environment. Selling today requires different marketing strategies, and you need to be prepared for the possibility of a long process. Because of the many potential challenges involved, you need to know what they are and how to overcome them. Read on, then, to find out about common potential roadblocks home sellers face in New Jersey and how you can get past them.
1. Local Market Conditions
Of all the potential roadblocks home sellers face, this one can be the most challenging. “If there is a very large supply of homes that are up for sale and not a lot of demand for these homes, it is possible that your home will sit on the market just because there is not a sufficient amount of people looking to buy. Now, this is something you have no control over but could possibly affect the speed and price of your sale.”
The best way around this roadblock usually lies in hiring a good local agent. Your New Jersey agent will be on top of local market conditions and thus will be able to deploy the best strategies the conditions call for. An agent’s pricing, marketing, and negotiating expertise can prove to be invaluable here. To discover more about this, call 908-448-2770.
2. Emotional Attachment
Another of the roadblocks home sellers often encounter is their emotional attachment to the home. If a house has been your home for many years, possibly the place where you raised your family, it may be difficult to see the selling process objectively. Often, such emotional attachment results in sellers asking too much, being offended by lowball offers, and/or not really doing everything required to sell the home owing to the inevitable reluctance.
So the first thing you need to do is to make certain you really do want to sell your house in New Jersey. Then, if you do, make sure you treat the whole process as a purely business transaction, trying to look at it as simply selling a house and not losing your home. Again, a good New Jersey agent can help you achieve the necessary emotional distance and objectivity.
3. Pricing to Sell
Pricing correctly is often a pretty tough roadblock to get past too. Both pricing too high and too low can negatively impact the sale. But pricing too high (which is often a result of the emotional attachment mentioned above) is usually worse.
Pricing too high can have devastating consequences. Typically, in this case, the home will sit on the market with few to no inquires or showings. And the longer your home languishes on the market, the lower your chances of selling it at a decent price – because buyers will then assume something is wrong with it.
So you have to price to sell, which means pricing in line with fair market value if you want to avoid this one of the roadblocks home sellers face. And the best tool for arriving at the right price is a comparative market analysis (CMA). You can do this yourself, but even better is to have your agent perform a CMA for you.
4. Preparing to Sell
All homes will require some preparation to get them ready for listing. The problem, though, consists in knowing what is really worth doing – that is, which of the many things you can do will yield a good ROI. Your agent can advise you on how to get around this roadblock.
Beyond repairs and renovations, there’s also staging to consider. Numerous studies have shown that staged homes sell faster and at better prices than unstaged homes. Out of all the roadblocks, home sellers face in New Jersey, this one may be the easiest to get past. All you have to do is consult your agent and hire a professional stager. “Together, your [agent]and home stager will maximize the desirability of your home, so it sells faster and at a higher price than it would if you tried to sell it yourself.”
5. Inspections
One of the most feared roadblocks home sellers face is the inspection(s). The inspector will examine your home from top to bottom, looking at all aspects of it and trying to find things wrong. Inspectors are trained professionals and try to remain objective, but there is, nevertheless, a subjective element.
So a good way to get past this one of the roadblocks home sellers face is to make everything as easy as possible for the inspector. “You’ll need to ensure that the inspector has access to every part of your home, including electrical panels, the furnace, under-sink plumbing, and so forth. You’ll also want to have documentation of the work you’ve had done on the home in the past handy.”
6. Choosing an Agent
Choosing the right agent is absolutely critical – if that is, you want to get past the common roadblocks home sellers face in New Jersey in the best way possible. You’ll have hundreds of choices when it comes to real estate agents. But not all of them have the needed experience and expertise, and a few of them will just be chasing a commission. So you will have to research and interview.
Of course, you could make it easier by contacting one of our qualified New Jersey agents. To avoid the roadblocks home sellers face, contact us today at 908-448-2770.