Home Solutions Group, Inc

HomeSolutionsGroupinc.com is known in the North Carolina area as a premier home buyer and seller in the Raleigh. Durham and the Wilmington area. Being involved in hundreds of home purchases, rehabs, flips and consulting for several Realtor's and Investors, we have the experience to help anyone who needs to sell their house fast. If you are trying to Sell your home in North Carolina, visit our website for more tips on how to sell your house fast!

WHO IS YOUR BIGGEST COMPETITOR WHILE TRYING TO SELL YOUR HOUSE?

As a professional house buyer for the last eight years, I get to talk to a lot of people trying to sell their house. Initially, they seem to think they will get top dollar for their house, even when the competition is fierce, the unemployment rate is rising, and foreclosures are at unprecedented levels. The whole world watches in wonder to see "how" and "if" America will be able to pull out of these turbulent times. Yes, measures are being put in place to try to resolve these issues, but isn't it safe to say that these measures will take time? While these measures are at work, how do you stop your biggest competitor from selling their house before you sell your house? More importantly, do you even know who your biggest competitor is in today's marketplace?

Your biggest competitor is the foreclosure. How do you stop it from winning the game of sales over you? Some think that time will stop this huge problem that is causing a continuing steep drop in house prices. What if it takes a year, two years, or more to stop the millions of houses from going into foreclosure? A lot of people do not realize how they are being affected by these foreclosures. There is not a day that goes by that I do not hear of people looking to buy a foreclosure. Why would this be?

Is it possible that there is a perceived bargain in buying foreclosures? In an area that I live in, I pulled a report of sold properties. Out of 60 sold properties in a zip code, 55 were foreclosures. Now, I am not the brightest bulb on the planet, but it seems to me that the numbers speak for themselves. This report shows me what people are looking for when searching for a house. People that can buy are looking for a bargain. AND, they believe the bargain is a foreclosure. I know for a fact, I have a harder time selling my property, even when priced better than foreclosures, if it is not listed as a foreclosure because my property will never even show up on a buyers search if that is what they want! If a buyer tells their agent, "I want a foreclosure", the agent isn't going to fight with their buyer to get them to look at non-foreclosed property. Why should they ignore their clients' wishes? Buyers today are like lottery tickets, everyone wants the winning lottery ticket, especially since there are so few out there.

With thousands of houses in my area in foreclosure, wouldn't you think the majority of the leads I receive from sellers would be great deals? Believe it or not, most of the sellers are asking more than what their house is worth. They price it high knowing they will have to negotiate. The problem with this theory is that buyers and agents go where the deals are, and if you are asking more than the house is worth, you aren't going to get the showings. In a lot of neighborhoods, not all, buyers seem to be going after the best deals they can find. They want the most square feet, in the best condition; for the lowest price and they believe the foreclosures offer all of those things.

Sellers believe foreclosures are all torn up and their house is in better condition so they should get more money for their house. So, I ask them, "when is the last time you looked at any of the thousands of foreclosures on the market?" That is an honest question, right? I analyze hundreds of house "deals" per month, and most sellers are not realistic about the price or condition of their house. The sellers of overpriced houses, constantly blame the market, but I caution this blame because there are houses that sell in a week or two weeks because it is such a great deal. Even if you get your agent to look at the amount of time a house sits on the market before it sells, the data isn't very accurate because the overpriced houses skew the numbers. If one house takes a year to sell and the other a month, the realtor will add the total days on market for both houses and divide by two, giving you the length of time houses sit on the market. This is so misleading for most sellers. They think it is normal to have a house sit there for a year or more. Explain to me how or why other houses sell in less than a month while yours sits there for a year or longer? The number of houses on the market is outrageous. In Raleigh, NC, the last time I checked we had close to 20,000 houses on the market. That is a whole lot of competition. Most of the houses with long days on the market are overpriced. I can tell you without a doubt that until we can stop the amount of foreclosures, it is going to be harder for ALL of us sellers, yes me too, to sell our properties. The inventory is too great and is going up in droves.

In order to sell our properties, the first rule must apply-be honest with what is happening in the marketplace. When my friends are selling their homes, the number one thing I hear is "I am not going to give it away". Yet, they don't see what this house is costing them. Sometimes you can't look at monetary gains or losses. I have friends that are desperate to be stay at home moms, but can't because they won't lower the price of the house to get it sold. They are losing time with their children because they don't want to discount their property. This burden now begins causing problems with their spouse. They begin running up credit card debt to cover a vacant home, since they are now living in one that they got a good deal on. Each month a house sits vacant, it is costing you, not just in money, but peace of mind.

The good news is that you have choices! You can rent it out, but I recommend hiring a Property Manager that knows the laws in your area. You can leave it sit vacant hoping the market will get better while risking vandalism, burglary, fire, and costing you money. You can ignore the problem and hope it works itself out on its own. You can sell it at a discounted rate. Next question is usually, "how much of a discounted rate".

I can't tell you where to price your property. If you aren't getting showings, that should be a sign, it is priced too high. The key is to get the showings, but if you aren't getting the offers, there may be another issue. Even if you are lucky enough to get it under contract, there will be challenges with inspections, and your buyer getting a loan.

You can always sell to an investor that will buy it as-is. A lot of sellers don't like this idea until they are about to declare bankruptcy or go into foreclosure because they think the investor won't give them anything for it. Unfortunately, in today's market, the buyers (not investors) are riskier than dealing with an investor, because their offers are coming in shockingly low, yet they have less experience dealing with inspection issues, or getting money for the house. If a house needs repairs, which trust me, they all do, a lot of banks won't lend on it until the house is fixed. A professional investor can see through repair issues and has money lined up to buy houses, especially if this is what they do for a living. Only you know what will work for you. Yes, an investor wants a deal, but so does everyone else out there. There is a reason this market is called "a buyer's market". One thing most people, except people selling houses, can agree on is that EVERYTHING IS ON SALE!!!!! You get to choose whether to accept the problem of the housing market and do something different to resolve your situation, or ignore it. The choice is up to you!!

Go to www.homesolutionsgroupinc.com to see if we can help. We offer free articles that may help give you tips on selling, even if you don't want to sell to an investor : )