Seller Question 1: What’s The REAL Bottom Line From The Sale Of My Home…?

The Super Bowl doesn’t just mark the end of football season – it marks the beginning of selling season! And if you are like most of our potential sellers – you want to know ONE thing: what is the bottom line? There are a ton of figures involved in a transaction – potential home improvement costs, title fees, transfer taxes, but the one number that matters most to everyone is what they are going to walk away with. After all, how can you plan your next step if you don’t know what you are bringing from your last one? Whether moving up, downsizing or relocating and purchasing multiple properties – your bottom line impacts everything you want and need to do next. Here is how we get there…

HOME VALUE. The first question every seller has is ‘what is my home worth?’. (And can we just say thank you SO much to those who ask us and don’t rely on Zillow to throw out a figure…click HERE for the entertainment value of THAT number). We determine the value of your home in today’s market by looking at the condition of your home, your location’s present and future desirability, what comparable homes in your neighborhood are selling for AND local inventory levels. We will also talk you through how what your home will sell for and appraise for can be two very different things. Those implications are HUGE when evaluating offers and selecting a buyer who can close.

COMPREHENSIVE NET SHEET. Transparency and integrity are the roots of our business, and we are committed to laying out every cost and who is responsible for it. Anyone can throw out a number (and many do, sight unseen!), but if you can’t see the road to how they got there, you may as well be driving in the dark. We’ll provide a detailed estimated net sheet and offer guidance on what fees are set in stone, which may be subject to change based on the course of the transaction and what you can realistically expect to have in hand upon the close of escrow.

THE HIDDEN COSTS. We’ve been doing this long enough to know that not every cost to you will appear on paper. Time is money – so we’ll talk about your timetable. Do you have a place already to move to and need to get there ASAP to avoid two mortgages? Is your next home being built and we need to figure out how to ‘buy’ time ~ without really buying it? How about the emotional cost of the process – change is hard even when it’s going to have a great result, right? Moving expenditures, time off work, the costs of wrangling/bribing the kids to pack their rooms… we get it. We are committed to making sure every aspect of this move makes sense and cents – and that you know exactly what to expect and when.

NOTE: If you are a Bay Area homeowner, you have probably received a phone call, a knock at your door or a mailer – followed by a promise of a REALLY big ROI and a really smooth process. But if that person has not seen your home, completed any inspections or sold any real estate in the last 30 days… that figure may be as accurate as a local weatherman forecasting from Ohio. PLEASE be sure you have the right representation based on real-time data from a trusted source – you know, like us!

Check back next week as we explore what every seller wants to know NEXT: how do I unlock my home's maximum value - without losing my mind or living in a museum?!

All our best,

Mark & Jason