Real estate agents guide home buyers and sellers through the process of selling or purchasing a home. It’s no wonder our clients have plenty of real estate questions for our team of expert agents. Part of being a successful real estate agency is building trust with clients by answering their tough questions.
We’re bringing our experience to you by answering the top 4 real estate questions our agents get asked by our clients.
#1: Should I sell my home before buying a new one?
“When it comes to selling your home before buying a new one, you need to see if you can qualify for a loan without having to sell your house first, that is the ideal situation. In our current market, many sellers are not accepting offers if it is contingent upon the selling of property. This has not always been the case, but in a strong seller’s market, where the demand far exceeds supply, sellers can be very picky. Another benefit of not selling before you buy is the reduced stress of moving. You can calmly transfer from your old home to the new home and then staging, listing and showing your old home will be much easier and stress-free.”
Susan Stelling, North Carolina Broker and Realtor®
#2: What is the MLS?
The MLS, or multiple listing service, is a tool that real estate agents use to market properties that they are selling. It allows agents to provide verifiable and hard data on properties that other agents can search for and reference for their clients. The MLS puts all of the known information about a property into one place, where any agent affiliated with that MLS can access it, which levels the playing field so that any firm or agent is given the same opportunity and information to sell a property. MLSs are privately run and funded by local real estate associations and can typically only be accessed by licensed agents. Agents can share a “portal” with their clients, which allows them to be notified of listings and to do some searches of their own. Real estate websites such as Zillow.com and Realtor.com syndicate from local MLS sites to provide their data, but since it’s taken second-hand, it’s not always as accurate as an MLS listing would be.
Jordan Sellers, North Carolina Realtor®
#3: When I sell my home, how much of the sale price do I get?
“The answer to home much of the sale price you get after you sell your home depends on a few factors. First, do you owe any money on your house? If you have an existing mortgage loan or other outstanding loans on your home, that balance gets paid off with the money from the sale of your home. Also, if realtors are involved, which they should be, in my opinion, the agreed upon commission is taken out of the proceeds at closing. Depending on the purchase contract, you may also have seller paid closing costs and attorney fees that get paid at closing.”
Emily Shack, North Carolina Realtor®
#4: What happens if my home doesn’t appraise?
“In a very competitive market for buyers, homes not appraising at value seems to happen more often. A lender will only lend a borrower on the appraised value of a property. If the appraisal comes in below the contract price, there are several options for buyers and sellers assuming everyone wants to still make it work. Here are some of my suggestions:
- The seller can reduce the price to the appraised value.
- The buyer can bring extra funds to closing to bridge the gap between the appraised value and contracted price.
- They can split the difference
On rare occasions you can review the appraisal and if something looks very off, you can reach out to the appraiser and ask for re-consideration by offering alternative comparables.”
Sarah Long, North Carolina Broker and Owner of 828 Real Estate
Get Answers to Your Real Estate Questions
Ultimately, the goal of buying and selling real estate is to create a win-win where everyone in the deal walks away satisfied. To ensure all parties have a good experience, we strive to answer as many real estate questions as you may have.
At 828 Real Estate, we’re here to get you answers to those questions and be a resource for your buying or selling journey in the High Country of North Carolina. From finding the right property, to home owner advice and local information, we help you ever step of the way. Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to get more answers on all your burning real estate questions sent right to your inbox or submit a contact form to have one of our experts assist in finding your solution!
