Rethinking Assumptions about Selling Your Dewey Beach, DE House
Oftentimes those lists naysaying common “myths” about selling a house are actually addressing assumptions. If “myths” are stories handed down through the generations, “selling your house” is an unlikely topic to be part of family lore. Myths about selling your Dewey Beach, DE house are usually more like logical assumptions that many sellers make on their own, rather than information they’ve heard from someone else.
So here is a “Top 3” list of questionable assumptions sellers sometimes make about selling their Dewey Beach, DE house:
1. Homebuyers want to remodel after they purchase a home. Many people think that the average buyer “wants to make it their own” by wreaking wholesale changes to reflect their personal tastes. In fact, this assumption is contradicted by what is far more common: most buyers are attracted by properties that are “move-in ready.”
2. Remodeling will take so much time it will be impractical. Updating tired details in key rooms (kitchens and bathrooms are typical) can be accomplished speedily when the scope is narrow. In some instances, concentrating on details like light fixtures, faucets, and kitchen and bath hardware design—can wind up reducing the time on market.
3. Remodeling never pays off. This budgetary assumption actually could be close to a myth because it is often discussed. But it’s only true when indiscriminate remodeling is undertaken. Small upgrades that focus on areas that buyers center on can definitely result in a higher selling price. This is where outdated kitchens or bathrooms warrant thoughtful consideration.
Every Dewey Beach, DE house deserves to be recognized as offering its own unique selling proposition—independent of any prevailing myths (or assumptions). When you ask me to direct the selling of your own Dewey Beach, DE house, we’ll start by taking a strategic look at how its unique strengths and weaknesses are likely to fare in this fall’s selling market. To start, give me a call! Call/Text me Russell Stucki at (302) 228-7871, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., visit more listings at www.beachrealestatemarket.com.
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- Written by Jimmie Bachand
Selling Your Dewey Beach, DE Home Yourself? Don’t be Surprised if…
The single inducement for selling your Dewey Beach, DE home yourself is responsible for most FSBOs (“For Sale by Owner” offerings, pronounced “Fizz-BOW”). It’s some bottom line arithmetic that seems at least worth considering—the attractive notion of avoiding paying commission dollars to a real estate brokerage. Real estate commissions in Dewey Beach, DE are negotiated—usually 5%-6%. For a home that closes at $300,000, the idea is for a thrifty FSBO seller to pocket $15,000 to 18,000.
Actually, no—at least for most sellers.
Since 87% of buyers choose to hire a licensed Dewey Beach, DE Realtor® to represent their interests, that agent can be expected to require FSBO owners to agree to compensate them for their services. Since that one agent can wind up doing the work normally handled by two, that commission could be at least the customary split of 50%—in which case the FSBO owner actually “saves” only $7,500-$9,000.
Even so, there remains a hefty sum. So why do FSBOs account for only 7% of home sales? That top-heavy result is easier to understand when you consider the recent finding that “nine out of ten FSBOs end up hiring an agent themselves.” That’s pretty close to the latest NAR finding that 91% of all sellers were assisted by a real estate agent.
The bottom line reason is the bottom line itself: in 2017, even for the small number of FSBOs that did sell, the typical FSBO home closed for $200,000—contrasted with the $265,500 for agent-assisted homes. Many of those hoped-for “savings” of $7,500-$9,000 would have been costly indeed!
If you plan on selling your own Dewey Beach, DE home any time soon, before you decide on your best course of action, I hope you will give me an opportunity to put together a marketing plan. It will detail the latest comparable research pointing to how we might expect your property to perform. Of course, there’ll be no obligation! Call/Text me Russell Stucki at (302) 228-7871, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., visit more listings at www.beachrealestatemarket.com.
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- Written by Jimmie Bachand
Some Expenses Aren’t Really Avoided by Dewey Beach, DE Renters
That “things break down” is a truism as old as mankind—possibly preceding the invention of language itself. You can picture a furious caveman staring at the shattered remains of the wheel he’d just invented—after the first time it broke. Sooner or later, “things fall apart.”
When area residents mull over their personal living arrangement decisions, one of the logical financial arguments for renting Dewey Beach, DE homes rather than buying is the added cost of maintenance. Dewey Beach, DE renters reason that they don’t have to worry about saving up for a rainy day (as when the garbage disposal clunks out). For renters, it’s someone else’s problem (that is, the landlord’s)—as well as his or her expense. True enough.
But looking at the wider picture, you see that the universal ‘no free lunch’ rule applies. The landlord doesn’t really pay for the new garbage disposal except in the short run. Built into every rental agreement is a monthly charge into which the maintenance expense for the home or apartment unit has already been included. The average rates that residences experience breakdowns or require normal maintenance are well known—and the monthly pro-rated amounts have been reckoned and included.
It’s true that the inconvenience (and sometimes, shock!) of having to pay for sudden appliance breakdowns is largely avoided by Dewey Beach, DE renters, who may put a great deal of value on that advantage. But Dewey Beach, DE homeowners have more than one way to minimize the financial distress of inevitable breakdowns. They can either put something away in a rainy day account for that purpose only, or they can sign up for any of a number of home service plans.
The decision of whether to rent or buy your Dewey Beach, DE residence is one of the most highly personal choices there is—and one that can change from year to year. The best Dewey Beach, DE real estate decisions are made after taking all the trade-offs into account—which is one way I help my clients. Call me for a no-obligation conversation about your current situation—and Dewey Beach, DE’s many current alternatives! Call/Text me Russell Stucki at (302) 228-7871, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., visit more listings at www.beachrealestatemarket.com.
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- Written by Jimmie Bachand
Surprising Finding: Younger Persons may Afford Home Ownership
It may just be me, but doesn’t it seem as if the general drift of things is that it’s getting harder and harder to make ends meet? And that younger people are getting the brunt of it?
If that sounds familiar, it could be one generalization that’s no longer quite so valid when it comes to younger adults—specifically, about their prospects for owning their own Dewey Beach, DE homes.
If we are to believe the Pew Research Center, younger American households are doing pretty well. In fact, they’re doing better than their elders were at the same time in their youthful careers. Although you can argue that Dewey Beach, DE homes’ prices have risen as well, when you remember how close today’s home loan interest rates are to historical lows, the outlook for owning Dewey Beach, DE homes is hardly gloomy.
The Washington fact tank’s 2019 study is based on the latest census data. Some of the highpoints:
· Household incomes for those headed by Millennials (ages 22 – 37) are higher than at any time in the past 50 years.
· This is true even after the totals are adjusted for inflation.
· The effect is largely due to women in young adult households being paid more.
· The averages hold true even though slightly fewer young adult households are headed by two earners.
Younger earners aren’t the only ones whose ability to own their homes is looking up. According to the study, Baby Boomers’ household incomes are at record levels, and Gen Xers are matching the previous highs reached by that age group in the year 2000. As for members of the ‘Silent Generation’ (ages 73 – 90), “the income…in this age group cannot be accurately estimated.” It looks like the elders among us know how to keep a secret!
Owning your own Dewey Beach, DE home isn’t just a luxury to be enjoyed now—it’s also the tried-and-true way to build and preserve wealth into the future. I’m here to help with any and all of your Dewey Beach, DE real estate endeavors—call! Call/Text me Russell Stucki at (302) 228-7871, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., visit more listings at www.beachrealestatemarket.com.
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- Written by Jimmie Bachand
