Selling Your House in a Tough Market: 10 Strategies That Work

An excellent and though provoking resource outlining a variety of strategies and considerations on how to selling your home in any market. Different market conditions determine the best stategy, but there are some basic rules to follow no matter the market. Although focused on various aspects of a down market, this is a good introduction to selling your house in any market. From the choice to sell to getting your house ready for market to choosing an agent or selling it yourself, buyer incentives, marketing, adjusting your strategy, renting, and negotiating a successful sale, Nolo's "Selling Your House in a Tough Market" is about as thorough as it can be considering its national audience. As someone who will soon be navigating these waters, I found some of the material here to be common sense (but presented objectively and well), but much of it was new, interesting, and matter-of-fact. I found the chapters on choosing agents, incentives, and marketing to be particularly useful. Each of these ten chapters is written with input from a real estate expert whose experience is particularly applicable to their chapter. There are many simple things you can do to get your house ready for sale, but have you considered how you (and your agent) will market your home? Have you ever negotiated a commission? Can you recognize "junk fees" and do you know the different kinds of inspections? Do you know what a title contingency is? Because of the book's general nature, this is the kind of book you want to read with your spouse/partner/parents/etc. and discuss what will work for you. As emphasized repeatedly, while relying on the expertise of a good agent is recommended, an informed seller will facilitate any sale. The format is easy to follow and straight gorward, includes links to websites with further information for your research as well as highlighted tips and cautions, and the expert profiles are informative and often humorous such as "Strangest thing (s)he's seen a seller do:" The index is very useful, especially concerning more technical terms. Remember that real estate laws are different in every state. Although driven to explore the various aspects of a down market, this is a good introduction to selling your house in any market. From the choice to sell to getting your house ready for market to choosing an agent or selling it yourself, buyer incentives, marketing, adjusting your strategy, renting, and negotiating a successful sale, Nolo's "Selling Your House in a Tough Market" is about as thorough as it can be considering its national audience. As someone who will soon be navigating these waters, I found some of the material here to be common sense (but presented objectively and well), but much of it was new, interesting, and matter-of-fact. I found the chapters on choosing agents, incentives, and marketing to be particularly useful. Each of these ten chapters is written with input from a real estate expert whose experience is particularly app

First let me mention that I have bought and sold several properties, both residential and commercial. I am a strong believer that the better you prepare, the bettter your outcome will be. This book falls into that category. For those who are not realtors, and especially for first timer sellers, I think this is a very informative and useful resource. Many things are common sense, however, there is enough useful information for just about anyone. I think that this would also be useful to a buyer, as it would give some incite to a sellers point of view. With that said, there are things I loved and somethings I did not personally agree with. You will not know as much as a good agent, however, how do you know you have a good agent?? The tips and suggestions here are very good. I think anyone can find useful information here and everyone will say some things are common sense. There is no magic formula to selling a home, but you can certainly stack the odds in your favor, and this book helps. If you are thinking about selling, then buy this book. I think the worst mistake is to start all this after you have put your property on the market. It would be wiser to start early. A last note: a realtor may be helpful, however, you need to keep in mind that they are looking to make a sale. They may push harder to accept a lower offer so they can make their sale and move on. I have had that experience on two occasions, and both times I considered their suggestions. One I accepted and one I did not. I did better when I did not accept. I do not regret accepting a lower offer on the other property (my first), but I could have done better, had I been better prepared. My point being, had I known a bit more, the cost of this book, and several others, would have been repaid MANY times over. I no longer disregard things so easily. Best of luck with your sale. My last bit of advise, look out for yourself, and don't be afraid to question anything. Ask your friends if you do not have experience. Ask you attorney. Use as many resources as you can to get as much accurate information and advise as possible.

"Selling Your House in a Tough Market: 10 Strategies That Work" by Ilona Bray & Alayna Schroeder (Nolo Press, 2009) ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Berkeley-based Nolo Press started out as a renegade outfit, teaching normal, non-lawyer people how to represent themselves in various legal situations -- against landlords, in lawsuits, etc. Recently they've branched out into what I would characterize as consumer-oriented titles, of which this book is a good example. It's certainly a timely release, as the global recession is still in full swing and the American real estate market (which was a trigger for the economic collapse) is still in a ditch. "Selling Your House" includes a lot of practical advice about how and when to sell, how to assess whether it would make more sense to hold on to the property, to rent it, or whatever. It also discusses how to hire real estate agents and "stagers" (people who stage an empty house to look cheerful and lived-in), how to advertise your listing, and how to assess the financial stability of prospective buyers. Better to have more information than less: every little bit can help, and this slim volume packs in a lot of expertise. (Of course, if it doesn't work, Nolo Press also has several volumes dealing with various kinds of bankruptcy... But this book should help you avoid having to buy those as well...) (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)

I didn't know what to expect from this book: the title is provocative and frankly, suggested a book that was rushed to market to take advantage of the current financial downturn. That initial reaction was utterly and completely wrong. Instead, I found a book that delivers and then some, with solid, practical and most importantly actionable advice. Published by a company that puts out many books of layman's legal advice, and written by lawyers, the book is informed by an impressive array of real estate experts. I also expected a bias toward hiring a realtor, and that bias is indeed present, but it is based on fact backed by solid explanation rather than a desire to push an agenda. And, a full chapter on selling on your own is provided just in case you wish to go that way. The book's title suggests that it concentrates on selling in tough markets, and while specific attention is given to this issue, the advice is really applicable to selling your house in any market. You will learn about the critical importance of pricing; the advantages of staging; how to advertise; how to negotiate; how to choose a realtor, or alternatively how to sell on your own; and how to rent if you no longer want to, or can't, sell your home. Every page has something of value, and what I particularly like is that the advice is actionable. You can take it and do something immediate and positive with it. There is little time spent on theory except to the extent that you need it, in order to actually do something to move you toward your goal of making a sale. The only downside, and it's minor, is that the book heavily promotes other books by the same publisher. However, if they are anything like as good as this one, that ceases to be an issue. We recently sold our home, unfortunately without the advice of this book. With what I learned from reading the book, though, I found that our realtor was on the money with her strategies, and indeed the proof is in the pudding: we sold our home quickly in a very down market. If you are selling your home, you need to get this book and read every single page, and then follow the advice you've been given. It's as simple as that.

Our house has been on the market for over a year so I was VERY interested in this timely book. It is written for right now- a housing market that is in a slump, with housing prices falling continually and still houses not selling. This book considers all kinds of scenarios and options, taking the house off the market temporarily and why, renting, staging, repairing, lowering the price of the house-why and when. The book has lots of web sites to check out to help you decide it the price you set is right. Setting the price right from the start is critical! THIS WAS CRUCIAL: Pricing is NOT about your own needs, paying the mortgage, the insurance the upkeep or getting out what you put in; it is about realistically evaluating the market and setting a fair price. This was a crucial piece of seemingly obvious advice, but sometimes you need to have someone tell you that to get back on track. A low offer in this market is bound to come and when it does, what should you do? A wise counter offer is to ask for dollar limits on paying for repairs that may come up at inspection, especially if you've lowered the price. A low offer requires you ask yourself: How often the house has shown? What's the interest level in the house? How long has it been on the market? Can you afford to wait? What's it costing you to not sell right now to not sell? What are the latest comparative sales showing you? *No matter how desperate you feel don't let people see you sweat! It is easy to start laying the blame at the realtor's feet and maybe it is his or her fault and maybe it's just the market, how do you discern? Times are tough, you need to sit down and ask some questions before you hire your realtor. You need to know how familiar they are with the local market, how will you reach them, how they would market your home, can you negotiate a commission... OR should you attempt to sell on your own- FSBO? This book gives you the statistics about FSBOs. Selling this way gives you some advantages: Reduced cost- which is probably the number one reason. More control Price competitively The downside to selling on your own are the challenges of advertising- this book tells you how to list on the coveted MLS and still sell your own home. Time and effort- you will be doing the showing and advertising Lack of experience- how well do you know the market, the legal issues? I highly recommend this book for all the details about the things I touched on in my review. My house has been for sale in this tough market for over a year and this book has given me the drive to go negotiate big changes with my realtor and have the knowledge to do it!