If you are selling your house and are trying to figure out how much money to sell it for, you are asking the wrong question. What you should be asking yourself is how to find the best team of real estate professionals who will help you to maximize profit on the sale of your house while taking the stress out of it for you. Your real estate attorney does not negotiate price for you. While lawyers are trained negotiators, when it comes to the housing market in Illinois, it is actually the realtor’s job to negotiate the best price for your home. The right real estate agent for you should know the market in your geographical area, and know it very well. Dealing with home values in your neighborhood is what realtors do day in and day out, and this is why it is best to leave the pricing of your house to them. Neither you nor your attorney should be setting the price of your home. While you are the one who is most familiar with the ameneties, beauties and flaws of your home, your realtor will be able to give you a realistic idea as to what you should list the house for and what amount you should accept. Knowing how to price a home correctly is an art and draws upon the realtor’s experience as well as solid data such as “comps”, or comprarable recent sales of similar homes in your neighborhood. The realtor will base the asking price on the current market in your area, the size of your house, the amenities, the condition, and so forth. Ask for a range and have your realtor run numbers for you so that you will have an idea as to how much money you are likely to walk away with. Remember, your realtor is earning a commission off of the amount of money that you sell your house for, so it is in his or her best interest to obtain top dollar for you.
Once your realtor has negotiated a price and you have a buyer locked into a contract, the realtor’s job is for the most part complete. In Illinos, you will need a real estate attorney to do the rest. To learn about what your real estate attorney will do for you, be sure to request a free copy of our Homeseller’s Guide, which also contains handy worksheets to help you figure out how much profit you will make on the sale of your home. Or give us a call at 630 250-8813 and I’d be happy to talk to you about the process.