Don’t be “in a Pickle” Smart advice for the For Sale by owner

Did you know that for sale by owner properties will likely receive a certified home appraisal completed on it by a bank AFTER an offer has been accepted? And more common than not, the appraised value is less than what a buyer agreed to pay or more than what a seller thought they could sell the home for. Which leaves either the buyer or seller backed into a corner, not always knowing what to do, or what I call “in a pickle”. That is why I feel determining a property value is a science and should be performed by someone who actually knows what they are doing, like an Appraiser or a Realtor.

Before you consider Selling your home and pulling a “guesstimated property value out of a hat”, consider your options and receive a professional opinion. What would you have to gain from it? Or better yet learn? Realtors are usually more than happy to offer free home evaluations to potential sellers, in exchange, for you to sit through their listing presentation.

Believe it or not, every now and again, I/we like the practice. In real estate we call them Comparative Market Analysis Reports (CMA’s) and they take time, lots of research and it’s probably the most challenging part of our business. Even though we don’t always like to do them, it get’s our foot in the door to present our value proposition to potential Sellers. Sometimes we even get a listing because it also gives us an opportunity to talk over the risks Sellers take selling their home privately. Frankly, there are many risks some only professionals would know about and be insured against.

So what would you have to learn or acquire from a professional opinion? The only way is to seek out an Appraiser or Realtor in your area give them a call, e-mail text whatever and find out for yourself. I would pretty much guarantee that you would get ahead and/or learn something from your conversation. The first step is to start one…