Over the years I’ve been asked to do a lot of strange things regarding real estate sales. One of the least enjoyable of these requests is when a buyer that I am working with asks me to approach a homeowner and inquire if they would be interested in selling their house. To be quite clear, the potential seller is not someone that I have a relationship with or have ever met before. I get dressed up, knock on the door, put on my best smile and begin with an apology. It is appropriate to show a bit of compassion when you are about to ask someone if they want to leave their home. And in all fairness, I have received every kind of response to this somewhat insensitive question including a door slammed in my face, a polite “no thank you,” and surprisingly, “we were just thinking of calling you! What a good time for you to have come by.”
The most compelling answer, however, comes from those homeowners who immediately don a big smile on their faces and say “That’s so interesting! We weren’t planning on it but why not make us an offer?”
It feels like we are entering a period in time where everyone who owns a home is pondering the exact same question: What exactly is the “tipping point?” Some days I am simply sitting at my desk thinking about who I can call and say “do you realize how much your home is worth in today’s market?”
For those of you reading this and are sitting on the fence, there has never been a better time to name your price. I am sure for many of you the answer is quite simple. It’s not about the money, and that’s not why you moved to this area in the first place. If all you had been looking for was a good deal on a house or simply a piece of land there were other places to have chosen from. You have already paid a premium to live in a very special community. Simply put, benefits such as playdates for your children over the weekend are quite priceless.
But there are others amongst us who now have other needs or requirements whereby geographical location may not be as critical as it used to be. If this rings a bell and you might want to sell, quite frankly, now is the time to do it. As Bob Barker used to say “Come on down! The price is right!” (If you don’t get the reference, Google it!)
Nechama Polak is the Broker of Record and Owner of V&N Group LLC located at 1401 Palisade Avenue in Teaneck, New Jersey. Send your thoughts and comments to [email protected] or call 201 826 8809.
