The Question Is Not: “Can You Afford To?” The Question Is: “Can You Afford Not To?”

January, 2007:  I brought a seller an offer of $ 175,000 on his condo.  In spite of my best efforts, he turned down the offer.   The condo is now marked down to $ 139,900, and it is still lingering on the market with no offers, in spite of my best marketing efforts.  He missed the boat...

September, 2007:  Past clients of mine who had their condo listed with a family friend for $ 279,900 for six months, came back to me and asked what I could sell it for.  I told them I could get them $ 210,000.  They said they needed a drink, but signed the listing anyway.  I got the job done within a few weeks.  Their neighbors, who had an identical unit on the market for $ 259,900 at the time, have now reduced to $ 189,900 and they still can't sell it. 

There is a lesson to be learnt here:  Discount now and sell, or sell later for a lot less...  I am now on a major price reduction campaign that goes like this:  take the lowest priced unit in that development and price your listing 3-5% lower and advertise, advertise, advertise! 

Whenever I present a low offer, I caution my sellers to give it a great deal of consideration.  Don't look at it as an insulting offer!  The fact that we even have an offer is actually a big compliment!  This may be the best offer we'll get in years!  I ask my sellers: "If you don't accept this offer today, how long can you afford to carry your property for?  What happens if you don't have another offer like this for the next few years?  Can you financially handle that?"  If the answer is no, they better take this one and bring money to closing!

Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection   Mirela Monte

www.MyrtleBeachHomes.us