As we discussed in the five earlier posts, you've decided to put your Long Island home on the market. You and your real estate agent of choice have determined the right marketing price, you've staged your home to sell and your Realtor has marketed it to a broad audience. Now you've received and accepted an offer, so what's next?
Here on Long Island, typically the next step shortly after an offer is accepted is for the buyer to bring 
in a home inspector. Even with new construction it is always recommended an expert check out the home's systems and structure to make sure the buyers won't be facing any surprises. At the same time, often purchasers, especially if it's their first time in the real estate arena, will bring in the family for their tacit approval. Assuming all goes well, at this point a contract of sale is prepared by the sellers' attorney and faxed or emailed to the other lawyer for review. Once they work out all the details to everyone's satisfaction, a time is set up for the buyers to meet with their attorney and sign the contract. At this time they hand over a check for the negotiated down payment, often 5-10% of the sales price. The check is placed in an escrow account until the closing. The contract then goes back to the sellers' attorney for execution by his/her clients.
For most of the 23 years I've been selling real estate on Long Island, you could usually sit back and relax at this point. Though a lot goes on behind the scenes, as long as all the participants knew what they were doing, it was relatively smooth sailing. That is no longer the case. With all of the mortgage issues of the past couple of years, getting a home to appraise has become more complex and should never be taken for granted. Within days of contract signing, if they haven't already done so, a pest inspection is done on behalf of the buyer, the results added to the package.
Generally speaking, attorneys handle any other issues that come up, such as a need to close out a building permit or getting a Certificate of Completion for work done on the house. Within 45 to 50 days (on average), the mortgage commitment comes in, usually with conditions. If it doesn't arrive on time, buyers, through their lawyer, request an extension.
Because time of the essence contracts are atypical in this area of the country, our closing date is almost always "on or about." I've found, over the years, that this ambiguous date is a cause for consternation by buyers and sellers alike. You can't make plans for the physical move because you don't have a finite time. Sadly, we as agents often don't find out the actual time and date of a closing till a few days to a week before it occurs.
Within the last few weeks, your agent should give you a list of things to take care of, to make your move seamless. Among them are transferring of prescriptions, notifying the post office and your credit card companies, etc. of your new address. Get medical records transferred to your new physician if your move is longer distance and arrange for your pets ahead of time to make your and their lives easier. Keep a box of things you'll need right away 
at the new location so you don't have to search for toilet paper or toothpaste and toothbrush in the middle of the move. Get your utilities transferred out of your name and set them up at the new location.
When you finally get to the closing table, you can expect to be there for anywhere from a half hour (for cash deals) to two hours or more. But at last you can shake your buyer's hand, turn over the keys and walk confidently toward your future.
Good luck with the sale of your home!
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About the author:
Geri Sonkin is a Licensed Broker Associate serving Long Island sellers and buyers for over 22 years. Areas of expertise include Nassau County, Suffolk County, Queens and Brooklyn. Specializing in resales, new construction, co-ops/condos, waterfront homes, estates, short sales and rentals. For more information: www.LongIslandsBestHomes.com For new construction: http://175Sherman.GreatCustomHome.com or http://2274Woodbine.GreatCustomHome.com 516-425-6098
All text and graphics contained herein Copyright © 2009 Geri Sonkin & its licensors. All rights reserved.
Please remember, when placing your Long Island home on the market, the ultimate goal it to get it sold.
We've been doing everything right. We've attracted the buyers through our marketing and you've kept the property in pristine condition and ready for showing at short notice. In a declining or buyers' market, often months go by before we finally can say, "we've got an offer." There are a few things to keep in mind when hearing those words spoken by your Realtor®. Your representative is merely the messenger, and you've no doubt heard the expression, "don't shoot the messenger." I mention this at this time because many buyers, after teetering on the brink and absorbing all the rhetoric about the current market, come in with astoundingly low offers.
Personally appalled by some of the numbers, but recognizing two things, I try to stay calm and rational under these conditions. 1. Buyers are in the driver's seat in negotiations in much of the country, and certainly here on Long Island's Nassau County and Suffolk County for the past two years and 2. It 
never matters where negotiations to purchase a home begin, it's where they end that is important. Please go back and read number 2 again. Don't let the initial offer get your hackles up and make you turn away from the person or people who may turn out to be your perfect buyer. They're playing the game based upon the rules as they understand them. Much has been written in the press for a long time now that would suggest the sky is falling and that homeowners are going to have to take massive losses (paper or real) to move in today's selling environment. Allow them their learning curve.
Now is the time to think of your home as a commodity. I know it can be difficult, especially if you've lived there for many years and raised a family within its confines. For the finite period of time that we're trying to make your home someone else's, don't allow the past to infiltrate your thought processes. Our goal, yours and your Realtor® representative's, is to sell your home for the most money the current market will bear, with terms and time frame that work for you and will the least disruption to your life.
So the offer comes in . . . listen to it objectively. Think of it as a chess game. They've moved their pawn. Now it's time for your move. The last thing you want to do is say, I don't like what they did, so I won't make a move. Remember, you can't win the game if you refuse to play. This is only step one. Here's another real estate truism, "your first offer, fully negotiated is usually your best offer." How can that be, you ask, when their offer is insulting? For some unknown reason, perhaps understood in the cosmos, that first ultimate number usually becomes the sign post of all the offers to follow. There's a mystical equation that takes place that puts most buyers within a few thousand dollars of each other, though they come through different agents from different offices and have no prior knowledge of what has preceded them. As time goes by, the offers get lower . . . and lower . . . and lower. Over the years I've heard two analogies for it. The first suggests your listing becomes like days old milk in the supermarket . . . which always sells at a discount to its fresh counterpart. The second offers a scenario of a clothing store which puts the new and fresh merchandise in the front for all to see. As months go by, when some models don't sell as fast, they're relegated to the sale or closeout rack, hence bringing a lower price.
If you trust the real estate agent you chose to represent you, and I hope you do, discuss your realistic options with him or her and factor it in when making your decision. Though you may get a lower price than you hoped for in a lackluster market, you will have accomplished your goal . . . to move on to the next chapter of your life. Reality will dictate your sales price and it will be unaffected by what your neighbor sold for two years ago, how much you invested in improvements, or what you need to get into your next home. On the plus side, if you have to buy another home in the same geographic area, or for that matter in many other parts of the country at this time, you'll pay a lower price for your new home.
My greatest wish for you would be a speedy sale, with a well qualified purchaser and an uncomplicated closing. In the best of all worlds you'll have just that. Good luck with your sale and your proposed move.
Be sure to come back for Part 6
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About the author:
Geri Sonkin is a Licensed Broker Associate serving Long Island sellers and buyers for over 22 years. Areas of expertise include Nassau County, Suffolk County, Queens and Brooklyn. Specializing in resales, new construction, co-ops/condos, waterfront homes, estates, short sales and rentals. For more information: www.LongIslandsBestHomes.com For new construction: http://175Sherman.GreatCustomHome.com or http://2274Woodbine.GreatCustomHome.com 516-425-6098
All text and graphics contained herein Copyright © 2009 Geri Sonkin & its licensors. All rights reserved.
WHEN SELLING YOUR HOME ON LONG ISLAND . . .
Tempting though it is, when buyers come through your home, just go into another room or into the yard, 
or better still, take a walk or a ride in your car. By following your broker around to show potential purchasers all the things you did to update your home can only be a hindrance. I know you're proud of the work you did, and rightfully so. The problem is you may inadvertently say something that will turn off a buyer with specific likes or dislikes. Real estate agents generally spend a considerable amount of time getting to know their buyers. They know what is meaningful to them and what may be a deterrant.
It's important to keep your home showing ready. What that means is you can have it presentable and primed for company within fifteen to thirty minutes at all times. With life often getting in the way, I know it's sometimes a challenge, but you'll get your home sold faster if you do. You never know which looker is the perfect match for your particular property.
Remember to put all the lights on and have natural light streaming in through the windows when possible. A touch of vanilla on a lightbulb or a light scent in a room will give off a homey feeling as people walk through your home. The feeling you want to evoke is a welcoming place that greets the senses with calm and serenity. Soft background music can add to the ambiance.
If you have to be away from home for any reason, give your agent a key or the ability to place a lockbox on the property. In challenging markets it's more important than ever to have access. You don't want to turn away potential buyers ever, but especially not now. The one who couldn't get in today may wind up buying the home down the street, even though yours might have been a better fit.
Your real estate agent will be updating you about activity or lack thereof and will discuss any new competing properties that have entered the marketplace. Listen carefully. We know this business and what it takes to get any home sold in a timely fashion. You might have to come down in price to attract a viable offer. Don't take it personally. The market dictates the price. And please, do yourself a favor and don't say "I won't give my house away." If the available pool of purchasers is not choosing your home over others, they're telling you the price is off. They vote with their dollars. And you can't give away what nobody is taking. Try to treat this as what it is, a business transaction -- no matter what memories or emotions are attached to the house.
Now good luck, and get it sold! Be sure to come back for Part 5
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About the author:
Geri Sonkin is a Licensed Broker Associate serving Long Island sellers and buyers for over 22 years. Areas of expertise include Nassau County, Suffolk County, Queens and Brooklyn. Specializing in resales, new construction, co-ops/condos, waterfront homes, estates, short sales and rentals. For more information: www.LongIslandsBestHomes.com For new construction: http://175Sherman.GreatCustomHome.com or http://2274Woodbine.GreatCustomHome.com 516-425-6098
All text and graphics contained herein Copyright © 2009 Geri Sonkin & its licensors. All rights reserved.
Once the early stages of preparing your home on Long Island for sale are complete, the next thing to determine is the best method to set it apart from all the other properties currently available. If you've ever looked on the Internet at home listings all over Long Island, you can't help but notice that some are head and shoulders above the rest in presentation.
A good real estate agent will take many, many photos of your house, room by room, hopefully with a 
quality camera. If he or she doesn't personally have the capability of doing that, a professional photographer should be brought in. This is your home's first and only opportunity to make an everlasting and positive first impression. Hopefully after staging your home, the curb appeal of your property draws potential buyers and their REALTORS® in through the front door for a closer look.
Creating a flyer that makes your home memorable should be uppermost in your broker's mind as he/she looks at it through a potential buyer's eyes. How many unappealing handouts have you picked up over the years as you either searched for a property or attended Open Houses? Many more than not, I suspect. Sometimes with one photo, sometimes with none, these take aways rarely make it past the nearest trash receptacle, where they sit unceremoniously, stained by leftover coffee.
The best way to get any home sold, whether here on Long Island or elsewhere, is to attract eyeballs. The more people who see your home, the more likely it will sell faster and for a higher price. It's a little like an auction, the more people attracted to the item up for sale, the greater its perceived value, hence a higher ultimate selling price. Since statistically, buyers are found cruising the Internet in staggering numbers in pursuit of a new home, your property has to have a significant presence there for all to see. Here are a few examples of cyber marketing that feature your home and neighborhood for all to see. http://2274Woodbine.GreatCustomHome.com http://648Nassau.CheckOutMore.com http://2126Pemaco.IsNowForSale.com and http://trialtest3.homestead.com/2274-Woodbine---MerrickWoods-New-Home.html
There are so many ways to set your home apart from the competition in terms of marketing. Even presenting a photo album to engender an emotional response from your buyer, with an easy way of getting in touch with your REALTOR® is likely to increase showings, especially in a challenging market. You've done the tough part. You've made the decision to sell. You've chosen a real estate broker to represent you, together picked a viable market price and you've dressed your home for success. Now let's get it out there in a way that appeals to purchasers and you're halfway home.
Be sure to come back for Part 4 in the series and best of luck to you in your sale!
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About the author:
Geri Sonkin is a Licensed Broker Associate serving Long Island sellers and buyers for over 22 years. Areas of expertise include Nassau County, Suffolk County, Queens and Brooklyn. Specializing in resales, new construction, co-ops/condos, waterfront homes, estates, short sales and rentals. For more information: www.LongIslandsBestHomes.com For new construction: http://175Sherman.GreatCustomHome.com or http://2274Woodbine.GreatCustomHome.com 516-425-6098
All text and graphics contained herein Copyright © 2009 Geri Sonkin & its licensors. All rights reserved.
So to recap, you've made the decision to sell your home on Long Island and you've chosen an agent to represent you. The paperwork has been signed and she or he is eager to begin the process of getting your home sold. Now what's next? Before the first marketing piece is designed and before the first agent from the MLS tours your home, you have to walk through it room by room with your REALTOR®.
I often suggest to my homeowners that we take photos of each room so they can look at their house through the eyes of a buyer. When you live with anything long enough, you tend not to see it anymore. Even if you fall in love with a piece when you buy it, over time it simply becomes part of the backdrop and it rarely engenders the same feeling it did when it first took your breath away.
Aside from pricing your home right for the market you find yourself in, the second singular reason homes sell faster at any time, but especially in a downturn, is creating an ambiance in a way that only stagers can do. Builders understood this years ago and hired decorators to design model homes to appeal to a broad range of consumers. It worked so well that they've continued the process for decades. The resale market took some time to play catch up, but once it did, designing homes to sell became a phenomenon all over the country. Long Island, always a little late to the real estate party, now offers staging services to all savvy sellers, helping homes to sell faster than the competition and for more money.
A recent homeowner of mine clearly understood the value of investing some dollars to make his home stand out in a stagnant market in Long Island's Nassau County. In the worst economic downturn we've experienced in fifty years, his home (priced at the high end of the market), garnered eight offers in a few short weeks, putting him in the enviable position of choosing the most viable candidate, his property's next residents. An investment of a few thousand dollars can bring a return of five to ten times as much, and possibly more importantly, an absence of stress as you attempt to move on to the next step in your life's journey.
Even if you don't see how worthwhile preparing your home for sale by decluttering and depersonalizing would be, let your broker do the job you hired him/her to do. If you went to a doctor to cure an ailment you wouldn't likely prescribe your own course of treatment. Trust the person you chose to work with, it will pay you back in spades.
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About the author:
Geri Sonkin is a Licensed Broker Associate serving Long Island sellers and buyers for over 22 years. Areas of expertise include Nassau County, Suffolk County, Queens and Brooklyn. Specializing in resales, new construction, co-ops/condos, waterfront homes, estates, short sales and rentals. For more information: www.LongIslandsBestHomes.com For new construction: http://175Sherman.GreatCustomHome.com or http://2274Woodbine.GreatCustomHome.com 516-425-6098
All text and graphics contained herein Copyright © 2009 Geri Sonkin & its licensors. All rights reserved.
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