How to Get Fair Home Offers When Selling a Home

Selling a home can feel like an exhausting experience. And for all the effort involved, you want to be sure you close with the most money in your pockets. That’s why it’s so important to take proactive measures to make your home appealing.

With the right strategy, you can maximize your profits from a home sale. Read on to learn how to get fair home offers!

Choose the Right List Price

One of the first steps toward a fair offer is choosing a fair list price. To do this, you’ll want to look at the prices of similar homes in your area. Consider how much comparable homes have sold for and how long they’ve been on the market. 

Look for homes with identical square footage and amenities. For instance, this could include the number of bedrooms, the presence of central air, or the number of garage stalls. Homes that are similar to yours will be your direct competition on the market. 

Do research on national market trends, as well. What are the current mortgage loan interest rates for loans? Are people generally spending more than the asking price to buy a home?

The answer to these questions can help guide your listing price. And with the right listing price, you’ll be more likely to get offers that are fair and on target. 

Be wary of getting greedy with your listing price. If you go too high, you’ll get lower offers. People who’ve done their research will recognize that your home is overpriced and react with a lowball offer.

On the other hand, undercutting the price means you could take home less money. Yes, your home could sell more quickly at a lower price. But you don’t want to go too low and miss out on profits that help your budget.

Check Unsold Properties

When you’re seeking a fair offer on a home, another consideration needs to be the unsold properties in your area. After all, not every home sells quickly. Sometimes homes linger on the market, and in some cases, those homes are taken off the market. 

Do some investigating to understand why those homes didn’t sell. Especially if they are similar to your home, you can gain some important insights. For instance, maybe those homes were overpriced given their condition. 

Unsold homes can happen because the market is too saturated, too. Noticing an abundance of unsold homes means you might need to lower your list price to get a fair offer. 

Additionally, you can use inventory lists to get a sense of the speed at which a home will sell. You might notice homes are sitting on the market for weeks or months. In that scenario, consider nudging your list price lower to get a fair offer.

Evaluate Your Home’s Condition

Getting a fair offer for your home can depend on your home’s condition. Go through the rooms in your house to assess them for stains on the ceiling, stained carpet, or cracks in the walls. Make an honest appraisal.

Don’t try to overlook significant repair needs. Overlooking them to price your home higher is never the best choice, and it might not result in any offers. And if you do get offers, they could seem unfair to you because they will probably be low.

You’ll need to be honest about the state of your home when determining a list price. If your home needs lots of updates, you’ll want to price it accordingly. Issues like dated appliances or damaged floors can drag down a home’s value.

Water damage, foundation cracks, and drafty windows all should be factored into a home’s list price, too. These are more significant structural issues that will result in costly repairs.

It can be helpful to research the repair costs as you factor these into your home’s price. Doing so can help you arrive at a fair list price – and a fair offer.

Stage Your Home

When it comes to selling a home, looks matter. You’ll be able to appeal to more potential buyers and command better offers if your home looks its best. Consequently, you may want to invest in home staging.

With a staged home, a home stager will evaluate your home and rearrange, remove, or replace furniture pieces. The goal is to give your home a cosmetic upgrade that can help it get better offers once it’s listed.

A home stager can put together furniture pieces with harmonious color schemes. They also will use tasteful artwork to help create a homey or modern atmosphere.

Ultimately, home staging can make rooms look bigger and more desirable. A staged home is free of clutter, bulky furniture, and personal items. It also uses lighting effectively to highlight the home’s strongest architectural elements.

As a result, staged homes can help people envision living in that home more easily.  And it can expand your pool of potential buyers. 

In addition, spruce up the exterior of your home. Better curb appeal can help entice potential buyers. Trimming bushes, sealing cracks in driveways and walkways, and adding flowers are simple steps to take. 

Hanging wreaths or filling flower boxes are other simple gestures to make homes look more inviting. These actions can be persuasive, too, with buyers. When you want to get a fair offer from a buyer, every cosmetic effort counts.

Be Strategic with Counteroffers

Suppose you get an offer on a house. And suppose that offer isn’t as high as you would like to see. As the seller, you can make what is called a counteroffer.

With a counteroffer, you’ll make another offer to the potential buyer. To do this, you’ll need to be strategic. Going too high with a counteroffer can make the buyer lose interest and walk away.

So, determine a price that is above what the buyer offered but below the asking price. The goal is to get a motivated buyer to agree to the counteroffer. Think of it as a form of compromise. 

For any of this to happen, though, you’ll need to start with a fair list price in the first place. You’ll also need to be realistic about what a fair counteroffer looks like. Clinging to your initial list price too firmly can prevent you from striking a deal and unloading your property.  

Time Your Sale Well

The real estate market can be very volatile. During some months, buyers may have the advantage. As a result, sellers can expect below asking on the house they’re selling.

But during other months, a hot market can favor sellers. If you’re moving on a tight timeline, you might not have a lot of wiggle room for selling your home. But if you’re planning to sell your home and have flexibility, aim to list it in a seller’s market.

You’ll be more likely to get a fair offer that favors you as the seller. And in some cases, buyers may get into a bidding war and drive up the price. This can translate to more money in your pocket.

Look at trends in the market – and in the area where you’re selling. You may live in an area with a lot of upside. Even if your home is rough around the edges, a promising location can help nudge the list price higher.

Look for Cash Offers

A cash offer in real estate isn’t a common occurrence. Most people will go through a lender to borrow money to pay a monthly mortgage. As a seller, if you happen to score a cash offer, it’s worth jumping on it.

For starters, cash offers don’t require as much paperwork. You won’t need to wait for the buyer’s financing to be approved. This helps to shorten the closing timeframe and give you your money more quickly.

Cash offers also usually don’t come with as many contingencies, like home inspections. With contingencies, you’ll need to agree to certain conditions before the deal goes through. These can delay the process and jeopardize the deal.

An instant cash offer is even more desirable. In this situation, you’ll get an offer regardless of your home’s condition. In other words, you’ll be able to sell your home as-is.

So, if you have peeling paint or a busted HVAC system, that doesn’t matter. A cash buyer will consider your home’s condition before making a fair offer. But they won’t make you feel bad about it or require you to do any repairs. 

With a cash buyer, you’ll save on closing costs and other fees. You won’t be dealing with a drawn-out process. And you’ll get your money in as little as one week!

Get Fair Home Offers

Fair home offers make the process of selling a house more enjoyable. But you’ll need to account for market conditions as well as your home’s condition. You’ll also need to think about the timing of your listing and your approach to offers and counteroffers.

At We Buy Houses Memphis, we aim to help homeowners get the cash they need from a home sale. We’re a local real estate team, so we understand what fair offers look like in our market. Reach out to us today to learn more!