Don't Let Hidden Costs Trash Your Bottom Line when Selling . . . .

By Ron Rovtar

The K Company Realty
Boulder County CO

303.981.1617

There's a difference between selling for the highest price and making the most money.

A great contractual price is very important, of course. But it is not everything. Not by a long shot.

If you are not careful, potentially large costs, will sneak into your real estate deal  and reduce your bottom line by a lot -- perhaps tens of thousands of dollars !




With planning, care and good advice from an experienced real estate agent, these costs can be kept under control or entirely eliminated.

Here are several common factors that really make a difference when selling you Boulder County home:

Spending too much money getting your home ready to sell. This is a frequent mistake. You absolutely want your home to look great and appear extremely well maintained. But, few larger projects pay for themselves when you sell. Work with what's there and make small, strategic improvements that will be noticed. An experienced agent can show you how to spruce up your home without spending tons of cash that won't come back at closing.

Agreeing to too many -- or too expensive -- home inspection requests. Repairs can be costly. Sometimes buyers use these issues to negotiate reduced selling prices. At least they try. Your home is not new and buyers should not expect perfection. There usually are ways to keep buyers on board without breaking your bank account or promising more work than you can handle during a short period. This is where an experienced negotiator will be incredibly valuable in keeping your costs under control.

Agreeing to unnecessary closing delays or not closing at all. Moving and storage expenses balloon when deals unexpectedly fall through, or closings are rescheduled. Even short delays can be very expensive because they expand the costs of owning your current home longer than expected (taxes, mortgage interest, insurance, maintenance utilities, etc.). Before you list, ask for help  strategizing a smooth exit plan.

Paying inadequate attention to potentially important details. There often are costly consequences associated with low appraisals, HOA transfer fees, local government requirements, insurance company stipulations, and mortgage underwriting demands. It takes an seasoned real estate agent to keep these under control.

Timing your listing to take advantage of the best market conditions. Your home can fetch considerably different offers depending on when you list. In any given area, housing supply and demand ratios often change dramatically from week to week or month to month. The supply/demand balance usually trends best for sellers during specific months of each year. When housing is scarce, buyers pay more. But every location is unique. And the best prices are not always achieved during the busiest real estate seasons. Understand the trends for your area so you can make the best decision about when to sell.

This is hardly an exhaustive list of factors that can whittle away a lot of the money you expected to earn with the sale of your Boulder County home. Selling is a process -- a long, convoluted, sometimes tedious, process.

So don't forget your real estate deal is just starting when the agreement is signed by all parties.

If you want the best financial outcome you must pay attention to each phase of the process, always keeping a close eye on your wallet.


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Ron Rovtar, is a broker associate at The K Company Realty in Boulder, CO. Please call Ron with all your questions. Call him at 303.981.1617.  To learn more about Ron, please visit his website. For more about life in Boulder County and nearby, check out our facebook page. Ron Rovtar does business as Front Range Real Estate, Ltd.  

#RealEstate
#Boulder
#Selling
#Costs
#Homes
#Agents
#Realtors

Three Important Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Real Estate Agent . . .

  

By Ron Rovtar

The K Company Realty
Boulder County CO

303.981.1617

Real estate agents are not all the same.

Agents  bring different attitudes, skills, personalities and ideas about customer service.

Some agents are better marketers. Others excel in negotiations. Some agents are magnificent problem solvers. Others are adept at managing all the people involved in a transaction –– mortgage brokers,  inspectors, appraisers, closing company personnel, etc.

So it is important to ask a lot of questions before hiring any agent to sell what is probably your biggest financial asset.

Here are three questions that will help a lot:

1) What makes your services worth the money you will charge me?  This question usually is on every home seller's mind. Yet it rarely is asked. Don't be afraid! It is a valid question. Unfortunately, it often is answered the wrong way, or at best, in an incomplete way. Agents usually talk about financial risks they take with every listing. They talk about their expenses, experience, and education. These factors do play into their commission expectations.  But such answers do not tell you why you should pay what they ask. So you may need a follow-up question like: "How will you bring this much value to my real estate transaction?" "Value" is the operative word here.

2) How will you negotiate the best selling price and conditions?  Notice that this and the other questions here are all "open-ended," meaning they cannot be fully answered by a word, a simple phrase or a number. So don't accept simple answers like, "I'm a tough bargainer," or, "I'm a win-win person." Ask for  details and be suspicious if the agent cannot tell you exactly what "tough bargaining" or "win-win." means to him or her.  Ask for real life examples.

3) How will we communicate?  This may be the most important question of all! In today's technology-saturated world, it is entirely possible you will never physically see your agent between the day you sign a listing agreement and the closing table. E-mails, e-signatures and phone conversations can help move things along, but hashing things out in person almost always improves results significantly.  So you want to know you will regularly see your agent in person during important phases of the process.

You will have other questions, of course. But these three will get you a very good idea about how an agent really works. They also will help you decide if the agent is a good match for you.

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Ron Rovtar, is a broker associate at The K Company Realty in Boulder, CO. Please call Ron with all your questions. Call him at 303.981.1617.  To learn more about Ron, please visit his website. For more about life in Boulder County and nearby, check out our facebook page. Ron Rovtar does business as Front Range Real Estate, Ltd.  

#RealEstate
#Agents
#Realtors