Now you have to determine the price for your property. Keep in mind, it is a buyers' market. Most recent sales are the ones that determine the value of the neighborhood. Each neighborhood is different but the rule of thumb in Pinellas County and St Petersburg is always the same. Value is determined by the most recent sales. If you are serious about selling, you have to face the reality. Everything that is selling right now is through price. It is a hard pill to swallow, but that's the way it is. If you think that it will make a difference that your home is not a foreclosure of are short sale and therefore your property should be priced above those sales - sorry, that will not work. Let's go with the following scenario. You know your home is the highest priced home in your neighborhood, a buyer does meet your asking price which is over the market value. Most likely, that buyer will have to have financing right? So he will apply for his loan and the bank will send an appraiser. The appraiser looks at the most recent sales including short sales and foreclosures and determines an average price per sq ft. At this point the appraiser will go back to the bank and let them know that your home is for example $50,000 over market value and therefore, the buyer will not get the loan. At that point you'll start all over again or you adjust your price.

You have chosen a Realtor, signed the listing agreement and you are done right? That would be too easy. Now you have to start working on cleaning up and work on your "to do" list. Look at your home with the eyes of a buyer. The more neutral and cozy your home appears, the more anybody else can see themselves living there as well! The back yard and front yard look ok right? Really? Remember, you will never get a second first impression. You think staging is overrated and only works on TV? Guess again, we sold homes because the wife fell in love with a chandelier. Keep it clean, simple and neutral.

Now you have your first showing. Are you ready? If you are not sure, or can't "look through the buyers eyes", ask a friend or a neighbor to walk up to your home and get their feedback. Remember, to "de-personalize" your home. All those great wedding photos etc. put them in a drawer while the house is shown. Let the new owner, the buyer, picture it with their own photos. Turn on all the lights in the house, yes, even though the sun is shining. Light always makes everything look brighter and bigger. Also, show counter tops off. The great bowl you had for years, just put it in the drawer for an hour. Maybe light some scented candles and turn on some soft music in the house as a background. Good smell and soft music always turns even a bad mood into a smile. After your job of staging is done, take the puppy or the kids for a long walk. Have your Realtor call you when the showing is over, so you know when to come back home. Make sure you give them an extra couple of minutes, so you are not running into the potential buyer. Again, you want them to picture themselves in the house, not you. It is always good to get some feedback from you Realtor.

You have done everything! And the house is still not selling. For that are only two reasons. One, your price is too high, or two your Realtor's marketing campaign is not working. Since you had showings and your Realtor has given you the feedback from the ads and the website statistics, you'll soon discover, that his/her marketing is working. That leaves only the price. Sometimes to just keep reducing the price is not working. Again, talk to your Realtor about is. It might just be that your home is so unique that is takes a certain buyer, or the inventory in your neighborhood is just too much. You have to remember, it is a buyers market and sometimes is just takes time. So be patient.

Finally, after all that time, you are getting an offer. Take time to think about how motivated are you, how quickly do you need to sell, what is really my bottom line? The reason for that is, it is a buyer's market. All buyers are trying to get the best deal in town. Of course they want to find out "how motivated" you are and most likely they will submit an offer that is way lower than your asking price - what we call a "low ball". The most important thing to keep in mind is. Don't get offended. The offer is not mend to offend you but to "feel you out". Talk to your Realtor about the offer on your property. What contingencies does the offer have, such as financing, repair limits, closing times, etc. Then take another look at your competition and not only the recent sales, but also what is currently pending and still active. Decide then, if you want to take the offer, or counter the offer, or walk away. If you decide to counter, please make sure, that your Realtor is using a "counter offer form". Most likely, this paperwork will go back and forth several times before you as the seller and the buyer will have a contract.

Now it is time - the offer has been accepted by both parties. You can honestly say "we are under contract". Congratulations! This is a major step towards selling your property here in St Petersburg. The day, the last party has signed will be your "effective" day. That means, that all the dates scheduled in your contract, start counting that particular day. This is important! If a deadline is missed, one of you will be in "default" and the entire contract could fall apart. Remember we mentioned previously that you talk to your Realtor about all the contingencies in the sales contract? Yes, you have a legal binding contract, however, if some of those contingencies are not met, you are put into the position, where you have to start all over again. Once prime example is financing - if the buyer can't obtain the loan - you will not close on your home. That is another reason why cash offers are preferred to financing. We often had it happen, that one of our client offers was less, however, it was taken for that one simple fact, that there is no risk of not getting the mortgage. Anyway, if your buyer has qualified for the loan, you one step closer to closing. Then the buyer will need proof of insurance and most likely a survey. This is another hurdle you have to overcome. For instance, if there is a hurricane pending, no insurance company will underwrite any insurance. All those steps need to be carefully monitored and check in a timely fashion. It is always a plus if you are working with a professional Realtor on your site. All those hurdles are taken - congratulations, you closed on your home!

Copyright (c) 2008 Anna Hensel