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SELLERS

When people are looking at homes, they are immediately trying to place their items in your home. They are thinking if the kitchen is going to be big enough, can the table fit, will the bed fit the same as the current bedroom, does the toilet have a door, it continues until the potential buyers make a decision to make an offer.

Until the point of making an offer, there are many factors that can keep potential buyers from staying interested in your home and ready to move on to the next one on the list.

1. Remove personal images from everywhere
2. Dust everything 
3. Clean every single window in the home
4. Replace bulbs with more watts
5. Pack up and stage where needed
6. Paint everything that needs it

When the time comes to list your property, it’s important to start looking at your home as a return on your investment – the next place is ‘your‘ new home. The current property, you’ve paid for, you’ve maintained, you may have raised your kids in, is now ready to go to another person / family and that person will (more than likely) not be interested in your property if it smells like cat urine and looks like the time stopped there 20 years ago.

BUYERS

You have it much easier, in my opinion. Sellers have to paint and clean and stage and box up their life and all you have to do is be real.

1. Be real about what you are looking for
2. Be real about what you can afford
3. Be real with what you are going to have to give on and what you won’t
4. Be real with clear communication
5. Be ready

We [Nashville] are in one of the strongest real estate markets in the country and that is a great thing for everyone. It’s great for the local and regional economies, it’s great for small businesses and it’s great for people that are buying and selling – because we have a lot of inventory available and it’s moving. If you have not connected with a real estate agent and if you don’t have a good understanding of the market, it can be a bit overwhelming to take it all in at one time. In today’s market, Buyers need to be prepared to have 1% (minimum) ready to put down for earnest money and be prepared to make an offer (over asking) in the case of multiple offers. In a strong market, like Nashville, this is the reality.

I had a few meetings with a local college professional that was interested in making an offer on this specific home. She’s lived in Middle Tennessee for many years and was completely caught off guard that she couldn’t offer $10k below asking – just because, with $500 earnest down. While this may seem acceptable, in a hot real estate market – it can be difficult to get Sellers interested in an offer that isn’t like the others they are receiving.

Here’s a slideshow of data since 2010, to give you more perspective.

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