by Teryn Bonime www.teryndowntheroad.com

If you’ve ever purchased a home, you know how it can be an anxious time – on many levels.

Will they take my offer?

Will I miss out on a better property?

What will be wrong with the house?

Will the seller fix those problems or will I have to pay for it?

As a seller, you can do a lot to alleviate anxieties of both yourself and for your potential buyers by doing a pre-home inspection. Once you learn what issues the home has, you can either fix them or get bids on what the cost will be.

By fixing the issues, they go away. You may want to price the home higher because of its now better condition! Plus, you can tell potential buyers that the home is in great shape and ‘mean it’ instead of hoping it is the case.

By getting estimates on the issues, you know what to expect when a buyer asks for credits in resolving the issues. A buyer may ask for $2000 to install new carpeting when you know $500 would do just fine. That’s the power of knowledge and of negotiation strategy.

Once you share with potential buyers what the issues are on the property, they will make an offer based on that.  If you’ve already disclosed or have repaired the issues, what’s to negotiate?

It’s all about being one step ahead of the game and having options for negotiation strategies.