A question I generally do not ask. The only times I have asked the question is when the seller has told me prior to meeting that they are going to have to short sale their home. In those cases I have asked upfront. But, otherwise what does it matter what they owe; if anything?
I know some Realtors will be offended by this.. ”THE VALUE OF THE HOUSE HAS NO BEARING ON WHAT THE SELLER OWES” . To many times I hear sellers tell me that the Realtors wanted to know what they owed on the house before they would present a market price. The market price of the house is our best estimate based on the data we have at that time. If a client has the ability to walk away with $50,000 or $5,000 should not matter to us. What should matter is we are giving the seller our best representation as to the value of the house.
A seller told me when they told the Realtor what they owed on the house the Realtor insisted on lowering the asking price down substantially. She felt he was more concerned about how quickly it would sell at a lower price rather than trying to market and sell it for fair market value.
AS we are in the spring selling season and more people are looking to place their homes on the market; I am hearing more and more often from sellers the same statement “You never asked me what I owed on the house?” and I give the same answer. “The value of the home has no bearing on what you owe on the house. If after deducting commissions and other closing related expenses you are not going to receive enough to cover your mortgage or walk away with what you expect; we can discuss options at that point”.
I think in this tough housing market pricing a home fairly from the start will only enhance your ability to sell the house. But pricing it or recommending a strategy based solely on what a seller owes on the house is doing the seller an injustice.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
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