What Appraisals Mean to Both Buyers and Sellers

How can an appraisal affect the sale of your home? Let's take a look.

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What are appraisals and why are they important? Today I want to answer these questions from both the buyer's and seller's perspective. To start with, what is an appraisal? When you're looking to purchase a home with a mortgage, your mortgage company will want to make sure that the value of the home matches what you're paying for the home. An approved appraiser will come to the home and do an inspection of the place and then compare it to other properties that have sold on the market in that area. As a buyer, how does an appraisal affect you? To answer this question, consider this scenario: If you're buying a home and agreeing with the seller to pay $200,000 and an appraiser decides that the home is only worth $150,000, that's a $50,000 difference. This will make it very difficult for the bank to give you a loan for $200,000 and, as a buyer, you could be asked to pay that difference or you won't be able to get the loan.

"When you're looking to purchase a home with a mortgage, your mortgage company will want to make sure that the value of the home matches what you're paying for the home."

How does an appraisal affect you as a seller? Looking at the same scenario, that buyer may be unable to purchase your home. And, it may mean that other buyers are also unable to purchase your property, so you may need to adjust the sales price of your house entirely.

So, why is an appraisal important? From the very beginning, as a seller, you want to think about the value of your home and how you're pricing it because it could mean whether or not a potential buyer can get the loan to buy it.

If you have any questions about the appraisal process, or if you're interested in buying or selling, please feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to speaking with you soon.

How to Stand out and Win in a Multiple Offer Situation

What’s the key to standing out as a buyer in a multiple offer situation? Allow us to shed some light on this question, today.

Selling in the Austin area? Get a market analysis report

Purchasing in the Austin area? Get full MLS access

When the market is hot and competition between buyers is high, what is the best way to stand out from among the crowd? What’s the secret to having your offer accepted over the numerous others a seller might receive? Some buyers may speculate that it’s best to wait and see what other offers on a given home might look like before submitting their own, but this strategy doesn’t generally reap results. If you’re interested in a home, submit your highest and best offer as soon as possible. Yet, if this advice goes to all buyers, how can you make sure your “highest and best” is superior to another buyer’s? There are actually many steps you can take to set yourself apart. Offers above list price, offers with a high down payment, and offers with favorable terms will all spark a seller’s interest.

"If you’re interested in a home, submit your highest and best offer as soon as possible."

One tactic that may be less obvious, though, is to submit an offer letter. Writing the seller a letter that details why you’re interested in their home, and how living there would benefit you and your family could add the personal touch your offer needs to win. 

Of course, such tactics will be much more effective if you employ them under the guidance of an experienced, qualified real estate professional. Our team would love to help serve you on this front. We don’t like to lose and we would be happy to help you win.

If you have any other questions, would like more information, or are interested in how we can help you secure your dream home, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

How Home Sellers Should Handle Multiple Offer Situations

How should you deal with multiple offers as a seller? This is what we recommend.

Selling in the Austin area? Get a market analysis report

Purchasing in the Austin area? Get full MLS access

Today we are going to talk about multiple offer situations and how you should handle them as a home seller. A multiple offer situation simply means that your home is in demand and there is more than one person out there who seriously wants to buy it. When you have a multiple offer situation, is the highest offer always the best? Not necessarily. While you want to get the highest price possible, you want to make sure that the sale will close too. Is the buyer paying cash, or do they have a loan? Are we worried about the appraisal? When do they want to close? There are a number of different questions to consider and the highest priced offer may not always be the best.

"A cash offer is great, but it is not always the best option"

How do you select the right offer? Cash is always great because you don’t have to worry about the appraisal or a loan being underwritten. However, cash offers may not be in your best interest if the buyer is trying to lowball you. If a buyer with financing offers more money with a solid loan, that could be a better option.

A qualified professional can really help you out in a situation like this. My team and I deal with multiple offer situations all the time, and we always make sure that we are dealing with offers that are going to get your home sold. Anybody can write an offer, but it is our job to make sure that we choose the right offer with the right price and the right terms to get your home sold as quickly as possible and meet your needs.

If you’re looking to sell your home and have any questions about multiple offer situations, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.