When Bob Met Sally

Whenever a listing goes under contract in a subdivision, the question most neighbors want to know is, “How much did it sell for?” Of course, a listing agent cannot disclose the price until after a property has closed, at which time the price becomes a matter of public record. However, I caution residents not to just consider the sold price of their neighbor’s home when considering the value of their own. For example, suppose Sally Seller received a contract for her home for $200,000. However, buried among the eight pages offer was the request that the seller also pay $8,000 of the Bob Buyer’s closing costs. Furthermore, Bob Buyer has asked the Sally Seller to pay one year of the buyer’s Home Owner’s Association dues ($500) and also strip all of the wallpaper at a cost to Sally Seller of $1,000. With these incentives and adjustments, the Seller actually netted a true sales price of $190,500. Were Buyer not asking for any incentives, he probably would have only offered $190,000. The point to remember is that the contract price that appears at the registrar of deeds office, although accurate, does not tell the whole story. When considering the price of your home, you need to enlist a professional to research the terms of the sale to help establish real value, because most contracts in our current real estate climate do include seller paid extras.