8 Ways To Get Your Price

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by Sandy Sibley
on Monday, December 08, 2008

When in a buyers market, which we are definitely in, sellers must think out of the box to get buyers to even look at their homes with all the competition. Once you can get them to take a look of what your home has to offer, you need a way to make them think hard about why they shouldn't walk away from your house. Here are 8 ways to to help you sweeten the pot and get your home sold.

1. Pay Sellers closing costs. There are mortgage program limits to this, just ask the lender. A buyer is relieved in not having to empty their bank account to complete the sale. An old standby, but an effective one.
2. Pay off a lease. If your interested buyer loves your house but still has a few months left on their lease, find out how much their rent is and look into paying off the remainder of their lease. This approach may help you come out ahead on your asking price, versus waiting for a buyer who will give you a much lower offer.
3. Finish the basement. You may be able to finish an unfinished space for less than what the buyer wants to lower the price! Especially if you're the handy Do-it-yourselfer. More square footage will also bring more showings.
4. Buy down points to lower the interest rate. Many times it comes down to the monthly payment for buyers. Interest rates right now are very low, but if you can get that rate even lower, they will be able to carry a higher mortgage for a lower monthly payment because of the point money you gave them. 1 point equals 1% of the loan amount, talk to your local lender about this strategy.
5. Pay the HOA fees. Depending on the community, these fees can be as much as $500 a month - several thousand dollars in the first year. To a cash-poor buyer trying to get into his first condo or home, it could make the difference between selling now or selling later.
6. Decorating allowance. This is a good way to give the buyers what they want and coming out ahead by not dropping your price. If you're not interested in interior decorating and you've lived in your house 10, 20 or more years, chances are the house looks tired and there are just too many updated, fresh feeling homes for buyers to choose from. Offer cash for upgrades like new carpet and new paint, many buyers would love to have the money to spend the way they want on decorating.
7. Make their mortgage payments. Wouldn't it be wonderful to move into a house and not make any payments for 3-6 months? On a $300,000 mortgage at 6 percent interest the principal and interest payments come to 5,395.95 for 3 months, for 6 months $10,791.90. This is a good chunk for the buyer, and for the seller it can mean not having to reduce their asking price more than this.
8. Seller Financing. If you're in a position to offer a 1st trust mortgage it can mean an excellent cash flow. For example, a $100,000 mortgage offered at 7 percent over 5 years with interestonly payment followed by a balloon payment of $100,000, would actually result in the seller netting $135,000 over the life of the loan. Seller financing can be done as a first trust, second trust or even 100 percent financing. With the stock market being what it is these days, it may be time to consider this old standby.

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