Advice to a potential home seller

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

A GoToby.com reader from Palm Coast called me this week asking for advice. He owns a local rental home that he wants to sell. It's not a short sale. His most recent tenant just moved out, and he's simply tired of being a landlord.

Question: Should he accept the more traditional 6% listing commission or look for someone who would take the listing for 5%.

My response: If you sell a home for $150,000, the 1% commission savings would be $1,500. The right agent/broker can have a far greater impact, affecting more important factors — final selling price, time on market, staging advice, the amount and type of marketing effort, attention to transaction details through closing and more.

Many believe that a 6% commission ($9,000 on a $150,000 sale) is too much to pay an agent for the sale of a single house. Actually, that 6% gets carved up. Typically, half goes to the listing broker, the other half to the selling broker. The brokers, in turn, split their shares with their respective agents. Agents often work in teams. It's not unusual for commissions to be split between five or more brokers and agents.

Question: Is this a good time to sell or should I wait for the market to go up?

Answer: The Flagler market has entered its seasonal "slow" period. Fewer sales transactions close monthly between October and February. Peak closing months are March through September. Closings lag contracts by about 60 days, so March closings likely represent contracts signed in January.

Prices don't drop during the lull, but there are fewer active buyers, so homes don't sell as quickly. Locally, the shortage of homes for sale is putting some upward pressure on prices. I think the spring market will be strong. He's not a distressed seller. He should wait till January.

Question: Should he look for a new tenant in the interim?

Answer: No. He just finished paying for cleanup after the last tenant vacated. He'd have to repeat that expense soon if he had a short-term renter. A long-term renter is more problematic. Lease terms to the contrary, tenants can make it difficult to schedule effective showings.

I recommended that he spend the next few months preparing the house for sale, going beyond a typical rental cleaning. Consider sprucing up landscaping. Repaint the interior and install new carpet, if needed. Then, look at the kitchen and bathrooms for improvement opportunities: new doors and drawer fronts with updated hardware and grout cleaning. Consider replacing the front entry door and hardware. If the kitchen or other busy rooms are dark enough to need daytime lights, look into a solar tube. Finally, discuss staging the home with the selected listing agent.