What Is Your Home Worth?
17.08.23
Are you interested in what your home is worth? Are you needing or wanting to sell but also want to ensure you receive a fair offer in a reasonable amount of time? Have you heard or seen advertisements telling you that you can get a fast cash closing, a strong cash offer, and no showings or open houses?
BEWARE! As the saying goes, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." The fact is that most such ads are by investors or real estate agents working for investors. What this means is their first interest is in serving their own interests. How bad is it? Frequently investors offer 60% or less of a home's true value. They prey on those unaware of their psychological tactics, such as fear, pressure, and supposed fast and easy timelines to close in order to convince home sellers to take their offer NOW! Often a quick offer will be drawn up in minutes and given a timeframe of acceptance of only a few hours. The point here is not to give you the time needed to think things through rationally or provide a chance to do additional research.
Before falling for one of these tactics, let's talk facts. Understanding the market and having a little patience could mean literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in your pocket vs. theirs.
First, the Nashville, Davidson County, and Middle Tennessee (TN) markets are HOT!!! While other markets like California and New York are falling fast, markets in the Middle TN area are not only holding, but some are in fact, growing at a solid rate despite fears of recession and the current administration's push to increase interest rates.
For example, single-family homes in Antioch, TN (37013), one of the most affordable areas in Davidson County, have increased in value on average by nearly 14% over this same time last year. The Priest Lake area (37217), located just outside of Antioch, has experienced a 5+% increase year over year. Most of the surrounding zip codes show similar trends. In fact, as a whole, the Nashville market median sale price has increased 12+% since this time last year. So, in short, "losing out on current home value and equity" in a slumping housing market is merely a scare tactic that many investors will use to capture the equity they hope you will walk away from out of fear, pressure, or ignorance.
So, you may be thinking, great to know, but how long will I have to wait for my home to sell? You may be thinking, I really need/want to move as soon as possible. Again, the average days a single-family home is on the market in the Nashville area averages just around 30 days.
Let's assume your home has a current value of $400,000. An investor offers you 60%. This means for a quick sale, at $260,000, you could be walking away with well over $100,000 in lost opportunity/equity. Is a timeframe to final closing of 30 days vs. 7 days really worth losing that kind of equity value? Even if you are at risk of foreclosure, the process typically takes longer than that. No matter the scenario having an extra $100K+ in your pocket can make a huge difference in future opportunities.
You may have heard the commercial where the seller explains the time, they saved was priceless, in not having to simply fix a screen door. REALLY!!! That is not likely what they thought as they went to work each day and worked for an hourly paycheck or salary. So, what they are saying is it is worth losing $100,000+ not to spend the time to fix a simple screen door. Sadly, some people actually buy into this marketing propaganda.
So back to the original question of how much is your home worth? Again, you may run into those who can claim to give you a value sight unseen by phone or email. It may seem like they have some magical ability to push in a few keys on their proprietary keyboards and spit out a report in a matter of minutes. In most cases, this is merely a tactic to get you to contact them so they can begin the hard sale process. The truth is ALL HOMES are unique. While many agents will tell you they use what is called a comparative/comparable market analysis (CMA), the fact is your home is unique, and a CMA alone cannot tell the value of your home. The CMA is merely a tool that a responsible agent uses in the primary stage of valuation. Such CMA's may include short sales, such real estate agents unknowingly include, which can devalue your property's assessed value. Many agents, when completing a CMA fail to account for upgrades such as new flooring, appliances, trim, landscaping, or expansion opportunities such as unused garage space that can be easily converted into additional living space.
The only way to get an honest assessment of value from a real estate agent is to have an honest agent do an in-home evaluation. Such an agent must have a keen idea of how upgrades and new amenities will improve not only the value of your home but how they will affect its salability and time on the market.
If you are looking for an honest home value assessment and a reasonable expectation of how long it will be on the market, you need an ethical professional on your side - one who puts your interests first. You need an agent whose first thought is how can I make sure my client gains the most equity from their home possible. With over 40 years of housing experience, intimate knowledge of value-added upgrades, and a drive to maximize client equity, value, and bottom-dollar proceeds, SpruceRoost has the right agent for you.