Highlands County Talk

Lucky me! One of the agents in my office, Elaine Ramirez, is also an appraiser and she was kind enough to be a speaker at our last office meeting. Honestly, I don't know much about appraisals. I do BPO's and fairly well, but appraising goes a lot deeper than that.

Anyway, she explained to us how a transaction can go pretty sour and pretty fast if the appraisal comes back unfavorable. Again, lucky me, I got to hear Elaine's presentation but what about the FSBO's and Discount Broker clients out there? What if their buyer's appraisal comes back lower than the agreed upon selling price and the buyer isn't willing to put up the difference in cash? No Sale!

I received a phone call last night from a seller I was in contact with earlier this year. Back then he decided to list his properties with an agent he already knew.

When we spoke last night, his main complaint was that his previous agent didn't bring him any offers, not even one. Next to "My agent never called me", I'm hearing this a lot. While I believe that for me to call and keep in touch with my clients is the most important thing, I can't magically make offers appear out of nowhere, and neigher could the previous agent.

Let's examine what might have gone wrong and why you might not have received any offers on your listing either:

Pricing!
Did your agent furnish you with a detailed market analysis? Were you aware of what comparables in your immediate neighborhood sold for within the last 6 months? When it comes to pricing a home, many sellers have already determined a price tag for their home and more often than not, the listing price is determined by how much the seller wishes to realize. This pill might be bitter but the seller's profits are completely irrelevant.
Let's say you have $50,000 in your pocket and want to buy a brand new BMW. After some searching and comparing, you found that Dealer Bob has exactly what you want for $49,000. Dealer Jim has the same car for sale but he's only asking $45,000. Which car would you buy? Yep, that's what I thought. You do not care at all that Dealer Bob might have more overhead and therefore is asking more for the car. You buy your car from Dealer Jim, and so would I.
Now back to your home that has been sitting on the market for months without an offer or even a showing. Again, are you aware of the market situation in your immediate neighborhood? Do you know what similar homes have sold for within the last few months? Do you know what the list price on the home down the street is? Are they offering any concessions?  How is your listing holding up against its competiton and is the competition receiving the offers you have been waiting for?

"My previous agent didn't even bring me an offer" Copyright ANDREA MILLS 2008 *All Rights Reserved

This article was originally posted on http://sebring.activerain.com/

July 7 - Horse & Pony Rides - Monday's 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. $5 donation per child, all proceeds support Heartland Horses & Handicapped's free riding program for children and adults with special needs. Located at 118 E. College Dr. Avon Park. For more information call 863-452-0006 or check out
 www.heartlandhorses.org

July 7 - Sebring Recreation Club 333 Pomegranate Ave.  Ice Cream Shuffleboard 6:30 p.m.  For more information call Ed Straub at 863-386-0245

July 7 - 10 ~ Summer Horseman Day Camp offers children ages 6-16 Costs includes lunch, snacks, drinks & all riding equipment.   Camps can be broken down into daily rates.   For more information call 863-655-1582 or www.orchidhillstables.com

July 8 - Sebring Chamber of Commerce Membership Breakfast at Florida Hospital Heartland Division. Sponsored by Big Brothers Big Sisters. 6:45 AM. $8 per person. (Members Only)

July 12 - Saturday Night Cruise Car Show on the Circle, Downtown Sebring, 6 pm.  Call 863-385-4803 or email rjk1rjr@aol.com for more information.

July 12 - 13 ~ Heartland Triathlon ~ This summer they will do it all over again ~ They Swam ~ They Rode ~ They Ran ~ They Conquered ....... Location: City Pier Beach, 356 W. Center Avenue, Sebring, FL 33870 On line registration at www.heartlandtri.org or call Greater Sebring Chamber of Commerce at 863-385-8448.

Andrea Mills - "Celebrate Caladiums" Copyright 2008 *All Rights Reserved

This article was originally posted on http://sebring.activerain.com/

Sebring

Days on the Market: 187
Number of Sales: 31
Average List Price: $162,168
Average Sale Price: $149,221
Sold to Original Ratio: 79.68%
Sold to List Ratio: 92.02%

Amount of Sales by Price Range:
Under $100,000:                  7
$100,000-$150,000:           9
$150,000-$200,000:           10
$200,000-$250,000             2
$250,000-$300,000             1
$300,000 and up                  2

Absorption Rate: 25.06 (increased 1 month from May)
It will take 25.06 month to sell the current inventory if no new listings enter the market.

Andrea Mills - "market stats for sebring 6-2008" Copyright 2008 *All Rights Reserved

This article was originally posted on http://sebring.activerain.com/