Selling Your Home In San Antonio: The Art And Science

By rerockstar • September 11th, 2009

A little Picasso, A little Hawking.

When thinking about selling your home in San Antonio, you’re probably going to have lots of questions. The goal is to get your home sold for the best value in the shortest amount of time (some people have slightly different goals, but I would say 9.9 times out of 10, that’s the goal). There are two basic principles that govern getting that done. Art and Science.

Art? Science? I thought it was more math? I thought it was more legal? I thought it was more personality? It is all these things and more, but all can be worked at with the simple concepts of Art and Science. Art is free form and carefree. Art is subtle, forgiving, and what you make of it. Science is rigid and serious. Science is factual, unforgiving, and results based. Having one without the other will get you nowhere.

Much like my earlier post for buyers, “San Antonio Home Buying: The Art And Science,” selling your home in San Antonio can be broken down into these two skill sets.

The Arts Of Real Estate.

Your home. You can look at this in so many ways. Call it curb appeal, decorating, staging, interior design, or just plain old upkeep. Your home needs to look great. Great Art inspires people and your home should inspire buyers. The aesthetics of Art are always at work in selling your home in San Antonio. Make your home shine and you can be packing sooner rather than later.

Working through the listing period. While your home is on the market, you may experience anxiety and frustration. Keeping a clear head will only help you move towards the goal. Selling a home can be very stressful on the mind and body. The constant showing, the unrelenting thoughts, and the uncertainty about your future are hard to handle for everyone. Learning to let go, relax, and clear your mind occasionally can be a huge help. It’s the hardest thing to do, but will make the experience much more pleasurable for you.

Looking at the offers. Offers are based on numbers and numbers are Science, right? Yes, the offer has a strong Science side, but the first thing I see when I present an offer? Emotion. Emotions are tied to Art – they can no be calculated, plotted, or graphed – they just are. Although it is an emotional time, when looking at an offer, it’s time to shift gears and look at Science for guidance.

Negotiations. Much like I mentioned in the buyer’s post, negotiations are an artful dance. It’s easy to say “let’s counter offer $10,000 more,” but knowing why you’re doing it and trying to imagine the buyer’s response is key. Your San Antonio real estate agent (hopefully, me) should be taking care of you and only you, but by showing you how a buyer might react, you can prepare and be several steps ahead of the buyers in the negotiation.

The Sciences Of Real Estate.

Numbers, numbers, numbers. There are a lot of numbers (most having dollar signs attached to them) involved in selling your home. Knowing your numbers is key. What do you want? How much do you need? Can it be done? Having a local San Antonio real estate agent who knows the market and can show you how all the numbers stack up is vital.

Pricing. Probably more Science than you’d like it to be. Pricing is about the numbers. Many sellers get emotional at this point and hold onto to unrealistic prices. The problem? The market dictates the price. If homes similar to yours are selling for $150,000, why would someone want to pay $200,000 for yours? Art can come in to play with home prices, as a well maintained home that shows beautifully may sell for more and in a shorter amount of time, but your agent should have already taken this into account before discussing a range of prices to discuss before making your final decision.

Marketing. Marketing has an element of Art to it, but it is strongly rooted in Science. Does your agent send out 10,000 emails announcing your listing? Sounds great right? You know how many people never read them? If you’re marketing is targeting the wrong areas, people, or financial demographic it is wasted time and money. Don’t just pick an agent because they say they’ll send out 100 flyers to your neighborhood or advertise in the local paper. Ask questions about their marketing strategy and more specifically, their internet use and presence – this is where buyers are shopping for their homes. Make sure you’re reaching them via your real estate agent.

The devil is in the details. Once a contract is signed and delivered to a title company (and even before you sign it), your San Antonio real estate agent should be going over the details, making sure that they are good details. We use standardized contracts here in Texas, but you’d be surprised at how many times a little mistake on one slips by or a detail is missed by an agent. Having an agent that knows and understands the forms they’re filling out and asking you to sign is crucial.

HUD-1 Settlement Statements. The HUD-1 Settlement Statement is a list of all the charges in a real estate transaction. Think of it as the accounting for the home buying and selling process. These numbers can’t lie – and if they do, we better go back and figure out where the mistake was made! Make sure your San Antonio real estate agent or escrow officer (also called a “closer,” this is the person at the title company who gets you to sign all the paperwork) reviews this document with you carefully. I’ve seen mistakes made and we don’t like mistakes in Science! Making sure you’re not paying for something that was a buyer’s cost per the contract is very important (who wants to spend more money than they have to?).

And Everything In Between…

Knowing what you face as a seller in San Antonio will make your job easier and our time together more productive. Go ahead, ask me questions and don’t be shy about it. That’s what I’m here for. I want you to be an educated home seller. I may be the real estate agent, but it’s your home. By working in concert with one another, as Artists and Scientists, we can get your home sold and accomplish your goals. By knowing when to be an Artist or a Scientist, we can weave our way through the transaction and come out on the upside.

photo courtesy of adamiwebb