What Needs to Be Disclosed in Order to Sell Your Home?

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When selling your home, you have to be very careful about what you disclose to the buyer. I have seen a lot of FSBO sellers encounter legal problems because they did not disclose to the buyers properly.

Let’s say you have a home for sale. You’ll have to fill out a disclosure form that asks if your home has been damaged by fire or water. If you aren’t honest about these things, it can cost you a lot of money in legal fees. 

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IT'S BEST TO CONSULT YOUR LOCAL REAL ESTATE AGENT WHEN GOING OVER DISCLOSURES.

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Another problem with disclosures we see around here has to do with contaminated drywall. Sometimes people will fib about their pools as well, saying they are in proper working order although a pump or a drain is broken. Even though you can still swim in the pool, that does not also mean it’s in proper working order.

It’s best to consult your local real estate agent when going over disclosures. My team and I can help decide what you should and should not disclose in order to sell your home quickly and for a fair price.

We look forward to speaking with you!

How Do Sales Contingencies Affect You?

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Why are contingencies so common in real estate? When you buy or sell a home, there are issues related to the Louisiana Purchase Agreement. When a buyer purchases a home, we experience three common contingencies related to inspection, appraisal, and financing.

There is a fourth contingency, too. It accounts for when a seller can only sell a home if they have already found another one to purchase. Sometimes buyers will come in with contingent offers explaining they need to sell their own home before purchasing another. It goes both ways. 

Sellers dislike contingencies unless the buyer’s home is already under contract with another buyer. Contingencies create hurdles in transactions, which sellers prefer to avoid. We frequently work with people who need to buy and sell at the same time, and we make sure that everything lines up together.

The other contingencies that we see have to do with inspections, appraisals, and financing. If a buyer sees a bad inspection report or a bad appraisal, they may back out of the deal. Sellers may back out of a deal if they find out that a buyer cannot actually afford to buy their home. There are many reasons why deals fall apart during the contingency period. Inspections go poorly, finances get disrupted, and appraisals raise questions.

As a buyer, it’s best to remove any contingencies from your offer. Much the same is true for sellers. Nobody likes dealing with these issues!

Give us a call or send us an email if you have any questions. We would be happy to help you!

Navigating a Seller’s Market When Trying to Buy a Home

Selling your Louisiana Home? Click here for a free home value report
Buying a Louisiana Home? Click here to search homes for sale

There are a lot of multiple offer situations in our market right now, and buyers are getting discouraged because their offers are getting rejected. Today Scott, our buyer specialist extraordinaire, joins us to share some tips for buyers in this seller’s market.

Before you start looking at houses, sit down with your agent for a buyer’s consultation. We’ll go over what you should expect during your home search. You will also discuss your interests in particular homes.

Inventory now is low, so you can’t play games any more. You can’t try to get $5,000 off the list price of a home because someone else out there is going to offer the full list price. In this competitive market, if you don’t come in with a strong offer, sellers will ignore it. You may be able to negotiate with the seller on terms, but you have to go in strong on price in order to get the seller’s attention. 

You should also build a good rapport with your agent. Your agent will connect you with listing agents, and listing agents will tell the seller whether or not to work with you. Working with an agent who has strong relationships with other agents in the local market gives you a great advantage.

When you do submit your offer, there are a couple of other things you can do. For example, send the deposit check with the offer. Sending the check shows that you are ready to go ahead with the home purchase. You should also submit your pre-approval letter. It’s important to get pre-approved before you even look at homes because sellers are not going to waste their time working with an unqualified buyer in this market.

If you really fall in love with a house, you can write a letter to the seller explaining how excited you and your family are to live there. Remember, for the seller, it’s not just a house - it’s their home. Expressing how you feel about the property in your own words to the seller is a great way to stand out from the other buyers.

Finally, keep in mind that you can always call the listing agent and ask what it will take to get the deal done. It doesn’t hurt to ask, and the answer can save a lot of time during the transaction. Time is money, so make sure you get those things addressed if you are in the market to buy a home.

If you have any questions about buying a home in this competitive market, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!