Expect that selling a home in North Park these days can happen quickly if properly executed. We keep hearing about how low the inventory is and what a great seller’s market we are in. Yes, we are in a seller’s market. However, because of this, we sometimes run across homeowners that believe they can get much more than what their home is worth, even though there are no comps that would support that amount.

For a homeowner that is thinking of selling their home, there are lots of things to consider.  Choosing which Realtor to work with to help you with this process is one of those things. Although, there is the occasional home seller that may even think that in today’s market it doesn’t matter who you pick.

Which Realtor Should I Choose?

When selling a home, a homeowner may choose a Realtor because they charge a lower commission or work in what is called a discount brokerage. They may even pick a Realtor because the Realtor said they can get that seller a  $50,000- $100,000 more than what the current comps say; even though there are not any comps to support that price. Some Realtors will say anything to get a homeowner to sign a listing agreement. Unfortunately, the home will sit on the market for months with no offers in-sight. In the meantime, the Realtor will try to get the seller to reduce the price and continue to do so until they get to a price where they eventually get an offer. Expectations were not set upfront and you now have an aggravated and unhappy seller. 

With so much online information at our disposal, I can see where a homeowner may even think they can try to sell their home themselves or pick any Realtor whatsoever. You may think that this will save you lots of money. In reality, what it will end up doing is costing the seller thousands of dollars more in the long run.

Falling Out Of Escrow

What you are not able to find online is the track record of fallouts from many of these discount brokerages or individuals that will discount their commission for almost zero. What I mean by this is the number of times a buyer falls out of contract and the listing has to go on the market again. However, now you have a ton of scary inspections left behind from the previous buyer. You will now have to disclose all of this to the new potential buyer. If a possible seller knew how many times this Realtor/Real Estate company has fallen out of a contract because they were not able to negotiate through and complete a SOLD transaction, they may put more thought into who they hire to represent them with the sale of their home.

Selling a Home 

There is more to selling a home than just putting a sign in front of the house, taking photos and uploading your home into the MLS.(multiple listing services). Besides pricing the home right, picking the right buyers that are financially qualified to get a fully approved loan; there is also what happens after an offer is accepted and the buyer does their home inspection. This is where real negotiating skills come into play.

In North Park, South Park and the metro area in San Diego, our homes are over 100 years old. If a Realtor is not experienced with selling older homes things could get a little hectic, to say the least. An experienced Realtor working with their homebuyer is able to walk them through the process of what to expect to see when a home inspection is done on these types of older homes. Even the prettiest homes that have been remodeled will scare the faint of heart when the inspector takes pictures under the house and completes his/her inspection. Foundations are old, roofs are old, windows are old. These are not cookie-cutter tract homes. Knowing this upfront will save all parties front lots of headaches. New home construction is not the type of house that you are going to find in San Diego’s Metro communities.

If you live in North Park you probably have one of these older homes.  If you happen to accept an offer from what seems to be a motivated buyer working with a  Realtor who is not experienced with these types of homes, it is time to hold on to your hat because the ride is about to get bumpy right about now.

All kidding aside, I have seen it many times and just heard of another case this morning. A colleague of mine accepted an offer from the “motivated buyer/Realtor” mentioned above. The home happens to be a 1930’s Craftsman Bungalow in South Park right by the park. After the buyer did their home inspection they were shocked to find out the foundation was old, the plumbing was old and some of the electrical was old. They went back and asked the seller of the home to reduce the price by $100,000 because they said the house needed a new roof, new foundation, new electrical, etc.  I think they may have thought they were buying a new house that only had the charm of an older home.

The listing agent received this notice of the $100,000 request, she then had her preferred vendors go to the house and give a proposal on the higher ticket items that came up in the buyer’s inspection. The proposal came back at $35,000. The seller was then willing to credit the buyer as a reduction in price and was willing to negotiate. However, at that point, the buyer’s agent without further notice sent in a cancellation. There was no communication, no negotiations, just a cancellation. The realtor working with these buyers was not familiar with homes in South Park, North Park or any of the metro areas. They had only worked in North County where most of the homes in their neighborhood were track homes that were newly built.  Folks, it really is important to work with a Realtor who is experienced and will negotiate properly on your behalf. 

When To Negotiate

Buying and Selling Real Estate is about negotiations and properly executing contingency periods. When I hear that someone just sends in cancellation papers without a conversation it makes me shake my head in disbelief. The buyer’s agent had no clue about older homes or negotiating through a transaction. Nor were they able to speak on the phone. This is simply a disservice, in my humble opinion to everyone involved in that transaction.

Unfortunately, when you fall out of escrow, the buyer’s agent will typically send all inspection reports that have been completed by a buyer’s inspector. When this happens, the seller will now have to show all of these reports to a new potential buyer. This is what is known as “material facts”. However, this taints your property and now shows on the MLS that your home has fallen out of escrow. Whether these inspections were completed by a competent inspector or not, the new potential buyer will look at these inspections and decide that the place is falling apart; when in fact, this is not the case. It is just an older home.

If this home was priced right from the very beginning, and certain inspections were completed right up front, in today’s market it would have most likely received multiple offers. The buyer would not have been able to say that they did not know the condition of the home. Also, with multiple offers, the sellers would have then had other choices and would have a “JUST SOLD” sign in front of their house today.

Thinking of Selling A House in North Park?

If you are thinking of selling a home in North Park, South Park, or any area of San Diego and would like to speak to a local Real Estate Expert in the neighborhood, please call the McT Real Estate Group at 619-736-7003 right now. We would be happy to speak with you about the process of selling and how we go about preparing your home to enter the marketplace. Feel free to search our online reviews and see what people are saying.

More Info About Selling A Home