"3 Stages of Seller's Motivation TO SELL..." Which one are you?

When going on a listing appointment and talking with potential sellers, I usually like to gauge their motivation to sell in one of the three categories (a.k.a. "3 Stages of Seller's Motivation to Sell": 1. Want to Sell 2. Need to Sell 3. Have to Sell Typically these clasifications happen in successive order, though at times people don't always list their home at the "Want to sell" stage. Typically, every seller begins at stage 1 whether it be in the physical nature of listing their home or in the mental nature of realizing that for whatever reason, they "Want to sell!" In today's market, we are typically seeing homeowners hit this stage via the initial stages of financial uncertainty and s their financial distress progresses, so does the their stage of motivation to sell. This stage is where the homeowner has the most time and ability to get the "best price attainable" for their home on the current day's market. The problem is, most homeowners don't always list their home TO SELL in this stage, they typically think that something magical will happen and save them from their distress and "want to sell" mentality. Stage 2, the "Need to sell" typically is where we find most of our selling clients today. For whatever reason or another, they tried everything they could to save their situation during the their own stage 1 and typically have either burned themselves out and have given up or something critical and immediate has happened (i.e. loss of job/income to the household). The "need to" stage typically sets the stage something like "I need to sell because..." and is followed by an external factor. In stage 2, pricing the home TO SELL gets to be a bit more difficult due to the sellers situation (typically financially in today's marketplace). The problem is, at this point, seller's are typically in a fnancial bind and either don'thave the equity in their home to withstand the substantial price reduction they need TO SELL the homequickly or they just can't fathom taking a loss on their home because they "think" that they are responsible for coming to closing with money they most likely do not have. This is the stage that we typically see homes listed for sale as "SHORT SALE" opportunities. In today's real estate market, the short sale is the best option for he homeowner due to their situation...being able to sell the home at a very competitive price, as quickly as possible. Why you ask? President Bush enacted the Debt Relief Act of 2007 which states (in so many words) that a homeowner may be forgiven for the loss sustained on their PRIMARY residence in the sale or refinance of their home. For more information on this topic, EMAIL US. Stage 3: "Have to Sell" is typically the final stage of desperation for most sellers. At this stage, we typically hear the "I HAVE to sell or else..." and what typically follows is..."I will loose my home or will be foreclosed on." This stage is where an agent has to bring ther "A-Game." Reason being is at this point, the sellers are most likely in default on their loans, in a serious fiancial stress situation, and have very little time remaining to change their situation. Most of the time, the only answer is going to be, once again, a SHORT SALE. The difference with the short sale in stage 3 vs. stage 2 is that it typically needs to happen QUICKLY! So the trick here is to immediate reduce the price (if already currently listed) or quickly list the home for a price 20-25% below its current market value. Once lowered, market the home to the masses and charge your phone...the phone will soon begin to ring! Get the offers rlling in and get them to the bank and begin working with the homeowner on putting the paperwork that the bank requires together for the short sale process, and then let the game's begin! (you'll know what I am talking about if ou've ever worked a short sale before). For those of you who have never been involved in a short sale, I have one bit of information to give you...It's NOT as easy as it sounds. BE PATIENT and as nice to the people on the phone as possible. Remember one thing, they DON'T want to make this easy. Look at it from their point of view...You are typically asking the bank to loose 10's of thousands of dollars...would you be happy if it were you? As you can see, the 3 Stages of Seller's Motivation plays a critical point in pricing a home TO SELL (not FOR SALE). If you can identify where your seller (or you, for the homeowner's sake) is/are, then you should be pricing the home according to their situation. This is what I like to call "My Customized Market Analysis." Most agents are trained to know a CMA to be a "Comparitive Market Analysis." I shall blog on this topic here soon, but to touch on it, the difference is most agents doing their Comparitive Market Analysis only compare YOUR HOME to those that have recently sold within a particular timeframe and locale...we Customize your home's value based on YOUR SITUATION (3 Stages of Seller's Motivation to Sell) and your homes competition in today's marketplace. More further training on any of these topics or FREE Customized Market or Situational Analysis, feel free to CONTACT ME and see how we can assist you and show you how we can SELL YOUR HOME~!