If you are buying a home for sale in South Lake Tahoe, CA, chances are you likely had to do a lot of work on your end to prove to sellers that you are serious about buying their South Lake Tahoe real estate. You probably started with pulling your credit to check for any errors and see just how much debt you need to pay off. You probably also had to save money for quite a while for a down payment and then pulled all your financials before going to the bank to get pre-approved. In most scenarios, buyers plan to buy and take all the necessary steps months and even years before they actually start hunting for a home. But what do sellers have to do to prove they are serious? One would think that by having their home listed, they are committed to selling but that isn’t always the case. In the industry, we have “buyers” who are more interested in window shopping and have no plans of buying in the immediate future. There is also a seller’s equivalent that is really just testing the market to see what they can get. So after all your hard work proving you are serious, how do you find a seller that is too? There are some signs you can keep an eye out for, and if they are present, you should have a chat with your South Lake Tahoe Realtor® to see if this South Lake Tahoe real estate for sale is worth pursuing.
Hint #1: The house is way overpriced
Real estate news is telling consumers that the housing market is on fire right now. We are in a seller’s market which means there is not enough inventory to meet the buyers demands. The result of this is correctly priced homes are selling fast and a lot of times with multiple offers that end in an over asking selling price. If someone has their home priced incorrectly for the market, they could simply be checking out the market to see if they can get their dream dollar figure. Or they are working without a qualified Lake Tahoe Realtor® and don’t know what the appropriate comps are. Both reasons indicate one of two things: the seller is either not serious, or they are simply uninformed. Find out before proceeding ahead.
Hint #2: The seller won’t change the price
If a home owner isn’t willing to reduce the price after a Lake Tahoe, CA home for sale has been sitting, they likely don’t care too much about whether or not they receive offers. After all, time is as valuable as money so if a seller wants to be unreasonable about the price, they could be lacking the motivation that suggest they are serious.
Hint #3: The Multiple Listing Service status changes….a lot!
While some South Lake Tahoe, CA Realtors® will wait a certain amount after the property has expired to relist, a property that has a lot of “stop & go” activity is one you should be wary of. If it is constantly bouncing from active to temporarily off the market to back to active this means the seller is being fickle. Which also means that unless they made some major repairs or have a good explanation for this reasoning, they may not be serious. Of course, as in any scenario there could be a very reasonable explanation. Talking with your local Lake Tahoe Realtor may yield some details a buyer wouldn’t know.
Hint #4: The house is in pretty bad shape
Once the property is actually active and the seller is allowing tours, pay attention to how they prepared the home for sale in South Lake Tahoe. Everyone knows that houses that get a lot of action are clean and show nicely. Houses that are filled with clutter, dirt, grime and obvious repairs are not going to get a lot of offers. If someone can’t take the time to make sure the property is in showing condition and there is no reasonable explanation-such as an injury or illness, they may not really be interested in selling.
Hint #5: Negotiating is almost impossible
Want to know for sure if a home owner is serious about selling? They will likely want to work with you to get the property closed. When they reject a great offer, it indicates they don’t have that sense of urgency. In fact, some seller’s will turn down asking price offers simply because they hope to be in the middle of a bidding war. Another scenario is accepting your offer but then taking their sweet time because they hope something better will come along. Extensions are common in real estate but if the seller is holding up the process without a valid reason, you may want to consult with your Lake Tahoe real estate agent on how to proceed, if at all.
If you are buying South Lake Tahoe real estate and want more information, give us a call at (530) 308-4762.
