Want to Sell your Home?  The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University asked if I would write a blog article a couple of weeks ago directed to agents. The market has changed a lot in a very short time. As busy as I am, it has taken even me a minute to adjust, so it is hard to wrap my head around how hard it must be for new agents or even those less active than I. The article I wrote was about having a ‘show me the money’ meeting with buyers. Getting pre-approved for a loan doesn’t necessarily mean you have enough money to buy a home in Austin. It just means you qualify for a loan.

Want to sell your home in Austin? Things that make you go hmmm…
The ‘what-if’ conversations I have are not limited to just buyers. I need to take a journey into the imagination of how the seller side could play out as well. For sellers, I need to ask what the plan is for moving once the house sells. A cash buyer can conceivably close in 10 days or less. A conventional loan will close in about 30. With homes going under contract in days, not weeks, sellers need to have a plan.

Now tell me what you want,
what you really, REALLY want
It can be a loose plan, there can certainly be more than one, but a seller should think about what they want before listing their home, and I don’t mean just the proceeds. Do they want to lease back their home for a bit? Buy another home? This is a seller’s market, but the homeowner needs to know what they want in order to be able to get the right deal for them. Highest and best are not always the same thing.

Highest and Best isn’t always the same thing

Seller leasebacks are very popular right now. If a seller wants a 60-day leaseback, let’s tell prospective buyers upfront. If sellers need to harvest some vegetables and want a specific closing date, again let’s put that out to the universe. In the market we live in where homes are going under contract quickly, sellers need to have a few ideas in place in terms of what they want to see in an offer. Buyers want to know upfront too, so they can try to accommodate the seller. Remember, at the end of the day, a contract requires specific performance by both parties, so expectations should be set before it is showtime.