What's It Worth? Housing Outlook 2008

Sell Your Home in Any Market

Is there a right and wrong time to sell your home?

Jim Remley, author of "Sell Your Home in Any Market" (AMACOM, 2008), provides tips and strategies sellers can use to get top dollar during a home sale.

Remley has spent most of his life in real estate, starting at the age of 19. Within two years of obtaining his real estate license Jim listed over 150 properties in a twelve month period and became listed in the top one percent of the National Association of Realtors.

For more on local real estate, visit washingtonpost.com's Real Estate section.

The transcript follows below.

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Jim Remley: Hello -- my name is Jim Remley, I am an 18-year real estate veteran and author of the new book, "Sell Your Home in Any Market." I'm excited to answer your questions this morning.

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Fairfax County, Va.: Dear Jim, thanks for answering my question in advance. I live in a 2-year-old condo complex in Fairfax County that has 800 units. Our place is on the market. The prices on the units have been dropping, and call me pessimistic, but I think they will continue to drop for many years to come. I have reason to believe that most people have a 5-year ARM, and if so, many people will want to sell their place in the fourth year of the complex being open. Would you agree that there will be several hundred units in my complex alone for sale in two years? And if it is possible to sell a unit in any market, what do you advise us to do? Thanks.

Jim Remley: The condo market in many areas during the boom were overbuilt and this inventory oversupply has caused a build up in inventory. The good news is that I don't share your viewpoint that home prices will continue dropping for years to come. Once this oversupply has come back to balance, prices will stabilize. If you have to sell now though, the only way to overcome the over supply will be to be very competive with pricing.

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Arlington Va.: Hi, I've got my FSBO on the market for $625K and received an offer for $550! Should I be totally insulted? The house is in excellent condition, in a great location and the comps will support my price. By the way, the offer was not presented by the buyers agent in person. Instead, it came by email. Maybe the agent was embarrassed? I don't think I'm even going to counter. I will just reject it and go on...

Jim Remley: As I tell all of my sellers, all offers are good! Don't be insulted. What you have is a bargain shopper, who is trying to find a "good deal." The good news is you have activity!

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Washington, D.C.: How accurate are those HGTV shows that insist that you must have granite countertops and stainless steel appliances in your kitchen to sell your house? My husband and I are getting ready to replace our laminate countertops with Cambria quartz. We just simply don't like granite. We'd also like to replace our appliances soon from the current bisque to new finishes and models. But we hate stainless steel. When we eventually sell, will we get less money because of our choices?

Jim Remley: That's a great question. Buyers today do want a "turn key" home in other words they just want to move in. While a modern interior is always a plus, it's not necessary to spend piles of money to make your home more attractive. In some cases you can overdo it and the home can become too trendy.

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Herndon, Va.: We bought a 2006 townhouse in the 20170 part of Herndon, Virginia. Although we like the area very much and love our home, we would like to be closer to our new jobs in Maryland. Not surprisingly, our house has gone down in price since we bought. Would it still be possible to sell our home at a reasonable price (maybe 50k below the value we bought at or at the current tax assessed value) in today's market. If it helps, we have done some upgrades since we bought, such as installing better hardwood throughout the entire main level, having stainless steel appliances, ceiling fans/lights in all the main rooms and all the bedrooms, and light filtering blinds upstairs.

Jim Remley: The best way to determine value is by studying recents sales of similar homes, and homes that you will be competing with should you begin to market your home. The key is to look at your home through the eyes of a buyer. Unfornunately this has nothing to do with the amount a home owner has paid or invested in their home. In other words looking at the current inventory of available homes and prices what would you as a buyer pay for your home?

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Washington D.C.: Thanks for taking our question! I'd really like to hear your thoughts. We own a single family semi detached home in the heart of Capitol Hill, Zip code 20002, which we took a "risk" on purchasing nine years ago. The family thought we were nuts for moving into the city. Now it seems the only safe place to have invested was the city or the immediate surrounding suburbs. Our house still is worth four times what we paid for it, whereas my "less risky" family members now owe more on their houses in the ex-burbs than they are worth.

Do you expect this trend to continue -- over the next 10-15 years, do you expect to see the continued rejuvenation of our cities? What with the $3 gas, I am so happy to be participating in the return of the sidewalk, so to speak. And it seems like my fellow homeowners in the city feel the same.

Jim Remley: Unlike the stock market, or the bond market, the real estate market is really thousands of mini-markets spread out across the country. For instance what happens in Portland, Ore., won't affect home prices in Washington, D.C., so making long-term predictions about specific areas is always difficult. In general though home buyers are driven by some key motivators jobs, schools, affordability, lifestyle, and health care always seem to top the list. Communities that can offer home buyers these items will tend "outperform" the general market.

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Vienna, Va.: Hi. What advice regarding setting a sales price would you give homeowners who are selling a home in excellent condition but are competing with neighborhood homes that are selling for 10 percent less than the going price because they are in less than excellent shape?

Jim Remley: This is a great question, the three keys to selling a home are price, product, and promotion. Price today is the number one motivator, while you may command more money for a home in better condition without a competitive price you may never get the opportunity for the buyer to appreciate your product because the they won't make it past your price.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: What are your thoughts about the advantages and/or disadvantages of having an open house? Also, do you think offering a new flat-screen TV with the purchase of the house is a worthwhile incentive?

Jim Remley: Open houses can be a great way to generate traffic. To ensure success the home should be within easy driving distance, priced competetively, and in "show ready condition." To market the open house start early by planting signs a week in advance, advertising in the local paper, and handing out flyers to neighbors.

As far as giving away a TV, that can be a fun way to generate interest, but one fundamental to remember is that incentives like these only work if the price of the home is right, and the condition is right. In other words you can't bribe a buyer past an inflated price with the offer of a free TV.

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Long Island, N.Y.: Later this year I will be moving my mother into a retirement community and selling her house, which hasn't been updated in 50 years. Most of the houses in her neighborhood are gutted or even demolished by the buyer after they are sold. So I assume I should just empty the house and clean it well? Focus on making the front yard attractive?

Jim Remley: You may want to market the home to builders, and investors who have worked in the neighborhood. Also it may be worthwhile to have a bid on remodeling the home yourself to compare the remodeled value vs the as is value, perhaps it would pay to become the investor yourself.

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Oakton, Va.: We are retired and planning to move to N.C. this year. Our house in Oakton has a small mortgage which we can easily pay. Should we try and sell our house this spring, or wait until fall or even next spring?

Jim Remley: Most experts will tell you that if you don't have to sell it may be better to wait until the market returns to balance. (less inventory/more buyers). With that said, it's important to note that every market is unique, and there are many areas of the country which are still doing quite well despite the downturn. My recommendation would be to talk with a local real estate professional about the average days on market for the area.

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Philadelphia: How does one best evaluate a realtor? I have both sold and bought a house and I got the sense both times my realtor was quick to get me to make concessions to the other party that I did not feel as if the realtor was advocating for me. Do you have any advice on finding good realtors you believe will advocate for you?

Jim Remley: That's a great question. Over 70 percent of sellers work with the first agent they interview, I recommend interviewing at least three agents and having a detailed list of questions that you ask them. One way to evalute agents to look at their track record and to ask for testimonials from past clients.

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Washington, D.C.: My wife and I have been househunting, but recently decided to give it a rest and wait a year. We were more than willing to purchase a property -- but found that the listing in townhouse development we were interested in were (amazingly) $100,000 higher over the last three comps from Nov.-Dec. of last year. Now that we are renting for a year, some of the new listings are only $40,000 more than the comps -- but nothing is selling. Why are so many sellers still living in 2005? How long does it typically take for sellers to accept reality?

Jim Remley: Understandably, many sellers have a problem selling for less than what they paid for a home, especially if they purchased a home at the top of the market. Others are overmortgaged and simply owe more than the home is worth, and of course there are many sellers who just don't have to sell. Because of these factors many seller end up listing but never actually selling their home.

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Washington, D.C.: My wife and I were looking at houses in Reston, Va. We fell in love with a townhouse that was a "short sale" and being managed by the estate of the former owner. We prepared to make an offer. While walking around the neighborhood, one of the neighbors mentioned that the former owner passed away in the house. We had our realtor specifically ask if the death was the result of a violent act, or if it was a "hospice" or natural death. The listing agent was completely evasive and said that she did not know "exactly."

We ended up asking the listing agent's broker-boss. He was also evasive. Suddenly out of the blue, we got an e-mail from the listing agent -- she had accidently hit "reply," thinking that her boss had sent the e-mail that I had copied her on. She thought she was telling her boss "I cannot help it that all of the neighbors know that she blew her brains out with a shotgun." In effect, we were lied to by the listing agent. In further researching the matter, I found that listing agents are not required to disclose such things --but does this give them immunity to lie and mislead? How can perspective buyers protect themselves from buying a property with hidden defects? If it was just me -- we would have bought the townhouse -- who cares? Trust me, you would care if you had teenage children that still believe in ghosts!

Jim Remley: Interesting question, state laws vary regarding disclosure of violent crimes or death in a home, some require disclosure other do not. To complicate matters in some states where disclosure is optional the seller or their estate may prevent the discloure by the listing agent. To protect yourself as a buyer you could write into any offer you present to the seller a disclosure request about violent crimes or deaths in the home. Check with a local real estate attorney about how to draft such a clause.

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Springfield, Va.: I was planning to put my home on the market at the end of this month. Suddenly a home that has been on the market in my small neighborhood has drastically reduced it's price. It's a foreclsoure home. How does that impact my bottom line? We were planning to put our home on the market for $40,000 more than this house now lists at; on top of this, the foreclosure home has one more bedroom. How do we sell?

Jim Remley: In terms of affecting your value, appraisers will often take into consideration the fact that a home was in foreclosure when sold and thus sold at a discount. So it may not be quite as bad as it appears. But in terms of getting your home sold, if both of your homes are comparable its a reality that the other home will probably sell first. If your home has any unique features, use these as a "focus point". One downside to buying a foreclosure is the unknowns, banks sell homes "as-is." You might emphasis the fact that you will be providing a buyer with full disclsoure about the home, and it's history.

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Silver Spring, Md.: The FSBO person in Arlington has had his feelings hurt by a low ball offer -- boo hoo. This is a time to check your tender emotions at the door and use your head. Do you have to sell the house quickly, do you have other offers, does that buyer see a huge defect in your home that has escaped your notice? You can accept the offer, ignore the offer or counter the offer but don't get all over-emotional and rightous like a stereotypical FSBO.

Jim Remley: Selling a home is rated as one of three most stressful events in a person life, so I understand when people become emotional. Afterall for most folks it's the largest financial assest that they own.

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Arlington, Va.: I have a question. I bought a two-bedroom/two bath condo one year ago in Virginia Square, one block from the metro in a nice building with pool, gym, etc. Being that I am one block form the Virginia Square Metro, and three blocks from Ballston, how do you think location to metro affects prices? Thanks.

Jim Remley: Buyers rate the quality of a neighborhood as the number one factor in buying a home, more important than even the home itself. Of the 13 items that relate to a "quality" neighborhood nine of them are related to "proximity" to services. So being closer to metro, in general is a a great asset when selling a home. As far as pricing, this will be determined by your competition -- what other homes are selling for in your market area.

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Arlington, Va.: Good morning. I'm selling my condo FSBO. I recently had someone view my property and gave me a verbal offer. I asked him to go home, think about it and give me a written (via email) offer that night. I have not heard from him since -- should I contact him? If so, what should I say?

Jim Remley: You did exactly the right thing. A verbal offer was just testing the waters, and probably shows the buyer wasn't really serious. Though I would follow up with the buyer, you might just call to see if he (or she) had any further questions you might be able to answer about the property. In all likelyhood though they would have already contacted you if they had serious interest.

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Fairfax, Va.: I am finally at a point where I can rent out my home for a profit. I would like to take advantage of the low interest rates and declining home prices and buy another home to live in. I know that the rental market for condos is not great right now, but what about single family homes? What do you think of the SFH rental market now and in the near future? I'm afraid that the homeowners who can't sell their homes will rent them out and creat an abundance of rentals on the market.

Jim Remley: Excellent question. This is a great time to buy investment properites. I actually think condo's may be a terrific investment as well as SFH's. Actually because buyers have stayed on the sidelines many are staying in rentals longer, so in many areas of the country the rental market has still done very well. I would call a few local property management firms and quize them about vacany rates, and their opinions about your local market.

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Tampa: My husband and I relocated to Tampa last August. We put our home in Monroeville, Pa. (outside of Pittsburgh) on the market in June 2007. While we have had a steady parade of people looking at the home -- no offers yet. We have recently changed realtors and are looking to at least get the house rented by the summer. Pittsburgh isn't a hot-bed of real estate movement, but our home there, three-bed, 2 1/2 bath, built in '93 is in a great neighborhood. About two years ago, houses in our development rarely stayed on the market more than two months. We can't pay two mortgages forever. What can we do?

Jim Remley: Interesting question. In general when you list your home for sale -- and no one comes to see the home this is a signal that the home is overpriced, the price is the barrier for people. But in your case it sounds like your having lots of showings but no offers in this case it's likely that there is something about the product (the house itself) that is causing buyers not to make an offer. Ask your agent to begin quizzing the buyers or their agents to find out what their objection was to the home, if you find a common theme -- fix it, and sell it.

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Fairfax, Va.: I've decided that now is the time to move up into a larger house. I have plenty of equity in my current home (which is a townhouse condominium) and would prefer to price it to sell quickly rather than to maximize my profit. Should I try to sell my house at the same time I am looking for a new home, or should I try to sell it first? I don't think I would be able to afford two mortgages for more than a few months. Some townhouse condos in my complex have sold within weeks of being put on the market, and some have languished for months. Some have been foreclosed on. What's your advice?

Jim Remley: In most cases it make more sense to sell your current home first before purchasing your next home, this gives you a much better negotiating position, as your offers will then not be contigent on a home sale.

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Fairfax County, Va.: This is a great discussion Jim! We've read that the market will normally determine the final selling price of a home. We plan to pick the first selling price for our house somewhat below the average recent selling price, hoping that this will attract more people and hopefully result in many offers. Do you find that this is true... that the final selling price of our home should move upwards to the average if we originally price it low? Thanks!

Jim Remley: This is a very aggressive strategy which will no doubt get your home sold very quickly. I would look at both the homes that have sold, and the home currently on the market for sale. Also look at the average market times for the homes currently for sale, if they have all been sitting on the maket for a long time, their pricing may be off the mark.

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Anonymous: Selling "as-is." I just want to sell my house. I don't want to upgrade anything or whatever, just sell. It will be clean and it's a pretty nice house that has been maintained (new windows, new roof, new HVAC etc.) but I'm not financially or mentally able to do anything (else) to this house. I'm willing to price accordingly. How might I fare in this housing environment?

Jim Remley: In the current market because there is such an abundance of properties it is somewhat of a beauty contest amoung homes, buyers when given the choice prefer to buy homes that are turn key ready. That being said, buyers can always be motivated by price. I would recommend talking to your agent about a price that will motivate a buyer to accept the condition.

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Upper Marlboro, Md.: I am selling my house which is located in the neighborhood of Perrywood. Perrywood was, unfortunately, featured on the front page of this paper as having lots of foreclosures. Should I be very nervous? My reason for selling is not this sub-prime mess, but due to divorce. I can pay the mortgage till the cows come home, but I don't want to. I'm seeking to down-size. The house is staged beautifully... it's vacant! Tell me I have nothing to fear and will be able to sell since it is the second to the lowest in terms of sales price?

Jim Remley: The reality is that you will have to be competive with the homes in your neighborhood in terms of price to sell. This of course includes foreclosures. But because your home is actually owned by a person, professional staged buyers may find your home more attractive. As I mentioned in another post banks sell homes "as is" because of this you should have an advantage because buyers will no what they are getting into.

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Washington, D.C.: Regarding this statment "product (the house itself) that is causing buyers not to make an offer. Ask your agent to begin quizing the buyers or their agents to find out what their objection was to the home, if you find a common theme - fix it, and sell it."

Is the exterior paint color a big enough reason for people not to make an offer? It is the only comment about things "buyers would change" feedback from my agent. In my mind it is the easiest thing to change, not necessarily intrusice or expensive, and as a buyer would be happy to pick out my own color if I didn't like the current color. Thoughts?

Jim Remley: Actually buyers are terrible at visualization, we like to think they'll envision their own paint, and carpets, and bathrooms... but they don't they see the home the way it is and reject or accept it based on its current condition.

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Jim Remley: Thank you for a lively discussion. You can pick up my new book, "Sell Your Home in Any Market: 50 Surprisingly Simple Strategies for Getting Top Dollar Fast" at major book stores nationwide and online.

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