How to Sell your Cayman Home FAST
Selling your Cayman Home like any home around the world can be surprisingly time-consuming and emotionally challenging especially if you have never done it before. The closer a home owner looks at selling their home, the more the little tasks are revealed and add up as crucial in preparing, marketing, and successfully selling their home.
In Cayman this is no different than the rest of the world. In fact, in my opinion, it can be more difficult due to the size and diverse demographics of buyers and sellers in Cayman both living and visiting Cayman.
When selling your home a strategy must be put in place or it’s simply the blind leading the blind. Below is what a professional realtor should be executing to sell your home at the best price possible;
The Realtor
1. The realtor should be experienced and knowledgeable about the different areas in Cayman. This is because potential buyers won’t just look at one area when they are evaluating were they wish to purchase. Don’t forget this is an educational process for the buyer and when a buyer visits your home the realtor should be able to walk them through the different options available to them to purchase and why your home is the best option. Remember how you felt when you were shopping for that home. Your realtor should also be able to evaluate the local market and compare home values by having access to this valuable knowledge. Knowledge is the key to successfully selling your home!
2. Your realtor should have some first hand knowledge about the potential buyers. Do they live in Cayman? Are they pre-approved by their local bank? Knowing the answers to some of these questions can save both the buyers and sellers a lot of time.
Listing your Cayman home for Sale
2. From the direction above the realtor should be in a position to suggest an appropriate listing price for your home. This is so important and especially in a small market such as Cayman because it saves so much time, effort and monies for you the seller. Let us explain this further;
a. Cayman is such a very small market and news travels fast whether its true or not. Only natural. If you list the sales price of your home too high it can place the property in a very vunerable position especially if you are not getting any showings. It means you now have to consider lowering the price to attract the attention of buyers. In turn and it’s proven, potential buyers whom have been out searching for property (familiar with the market) now thinks there is something wrong with your home. Also, these buyers have a lot more access to information than previously before. It can mean a whole new approach to selling your home and slowing the whole process down! Listing your home in line with comparable sales in your area is the proven strategy.
b. Most if not all offers made on Cayman properties are bank financed offers. Meaning potential buyers are using a local financial institution to loan them the monies to buy your home. Great! But for this approval to be given a valuation needs to be obtained by the buyer to prove the price agreed is in line with what the bank is loaning. This proves to the bank the home is worth the loan. Protecting the bank. I’ve seen so many times when a seller has an accepted offer and is 4-5 weeks into a deal only to find out that the valuation has come in lower. Meaning the bank won’t lend them the funds, the buyer must make up the difference in funds (seldom happens due to the high cost of purchasing property in Cayman) or the offer is renegotiated with the seller. An awful position to be in because the seller has already made plans to move out or indeed could be involved in buying another property dependent on the sale of their home? Knowledge again is the key here. Save time, efforts & monies!
Knowledge of Closing Documents/Attorneys Cayman Islands
Your realtor should have knowledge in helping coordinate preparation of disclosure and other needed forms and documents. This a must. It’s as if your realtor is shining a light down the garden path of your future sale. With the understanding how offers are written to protect you the seller, valuations are conducted, conveyance documents are to be prepared. Your realtor is anticipating every move, being ready and preparing sellers to be prepared so as to achieve a successful sale.
Marketing & Selling strategies
Creating a marketing & selling strategy that highlights your property to be discussed with the seller. This is so important as all parties should be going in the same direction. A seller is sure to be met with questions from friends, colleagues & family members when they seen their home been marketed for sale. The seller should be in a position to market their home as the realtor is so the branding is correct and powerful to why buying your home is the best option. This is achieved through extensive and repeated (permission marketing) market either through social media, email markerting, MLS Cireba Listing sheets, word of mouth or print advertising. AshmoreAlexander prides themselves on successfully been at the forefront of these types of marketing efforts with numerous sales to prove.
A realtors job never ends! Your realtor is 24/7 marketing and selling your home. Their time is no longer their time but time devoted to selling your home by accommodating potential buyers time to view. Weekends, week days, nights, mornings and especially if a seller in not living in Cayman organizing access and making sure the safety of their home. It’s most definitely a full time job!
Offers to Purchase/Contracts to Buy
Receiving offers to buy your home. Whether via email/mail or in person if other agents wish to formally present their offer. Your realtor is helping you/sitting you down and professionally based on their extensive experience evaluating the strength of each offer and strategize on issues like whether to accept or reject an offer outright or make a counteroffer, and whether to also look for or arrange a backup offer. Also direction on how funds in escrow are held as a commitment to the offer made. Usually at this point a conveyance attorney would be appointed and your realtor would then liason on the sellers behalf.
Sound like a lot and we may have only touched on samples of what it can take to sell your home? Indeed as mentioned at the beginning the little tasks can most certainly add up.
The bottom line is as a seller you need a professional knowledgeable realtor to guide you through to the successful sale of your home thus saving you time, efforts and monies. It can be an emotional journey but one that can be made so much easier.
We would value the opportunity to work with you in selling your home. Feel free to contact us anytime!
