3 Seller Stress Factors Once Under Contract

Today is all about the three biggest seller stress factors once under contract on their home and how to ease the stress. 

I won’t lie…selling a home is stressful!! A few episodes back, I talked about things that could stress you out when your home is listed for sale. Today I am tackling ways to keep your stress levels low once your home is under contract. 

Repairs

As a seller, you may be concerned that the buyers of your home will come back with a laundry list of requested repairs and you will either not have the time, money or patience to make those repairs. Plus, some of those repair requests may be frivolous in your eyes. 

How do you curb this stress? First, know that with the new South Carolina contract and due diligence being the only home inspection period option, sellers are not obligated to make any repairs.

However, the best way to ease this stress happens before your home is listed for sale. Hire a home inspector to inspect your home prior to listing your home for sale. You have time to make those repairs prior to listing your home and you could even provide that inspection report to potential buyers.

Most likely, buyers will still hire their own inspector, but at least you have a heads up to any potential issues.

Appraisal

The second biggest stress factor for sellers is the appraisal. Because the appraisal is the appraiser’s opinion of value, you cannot be 100% certain what the appraiser will determine. 

However, the appraiser has the same access to sold and active properties as I do as your real estate agent. When pricing a property, I take into consideration the sales price of similar recently sold properties. I also consider the market conditions. If we are in a sellers’ market like we have been for the last couple of years, it is okay to price your property a bit higher than the last sold property. A neutral market or buyers’ market may mean pricing the property at the same price or lower than recent sales.

Also, do not be afraid to talk to appraisers before you list your property for sale. Recently, I had clients that were thinking about selling their home, but it was very different from other homes in their neighborhood. Before we listed the home for sale, I talked to an appraiser I trust and got her opinion on the value of the home. 

Buyer Financing

The third biggest stress factor once your home is under contract is the buyers’ financing. While it is great to have an accepted contract, you want to make sure that contract actually closes. If the buyers’ are financing the purchase, you need to make sure the buyers’ financing is solid. 

What can you do to make sure the buyers’ financing is solid? Make sure you receive a pre-approval letter from the buyers’ agent with the offer. I like to call the lender the buyers are using. Their lender cannot disclose any personal financial information about the buyers, but I can ask if they have looked at W2s or 1099s, bank statements and tax returns before issuing the pre-approval letter. I also like when buyers are pre-approved with a local lender or someone I have worked with in the past. 

Final Thoughts

I’m sure you’ve heard the adage location, location, location when it comes to buying real estate. I think prepare, prepare, prepare should be the adage when listing your home for sale. Prepare as much as you can prior to listing your home for sale so you can avoid the seller stress factors once under contract.