Here’s how Exactly keeps the home-selling process on track

By Laura Briedis

Just like the prices of everything from cars and gasoline to ground beef and fresh fruit have dramatically increased this past year, housing prices have skyrocketed.

“The same houses buyers were looking at last year when house hunting may now be out of reach because of rising interest rates,” says Kevin Wasie, owner of Exactly real estate company. “For example, buyers who were looking to finance $355,000 with $1,500 a month for a mortgage payment in January at a 3% interest rate can now only finance $255,000 at the current average 5.8% interest rate.”

The result? Buyers are not as qualified as before, so many deals are falling through midway through the process, as either prospective buyers are backing out of deals or they’re not getting approved for loans.

To help homeowners evaluate an offer that has the best chance of closing, Kevin shares these three tips.

• Ensure the buyer is pre-approved. The bank really matters, too. Some financial institutions will email pre-approvals without delving into all the documents, while others require a homeowner to submit tax return records and pull credit reports.
• Make sure prospective buyers have some skin in the game. You can gauge how committed buyers are by how much earnest money they put down. Typically, it ranges from 1% or $1,000 and up, so those who put more down are usually strong candidates.
• Consider how much money a buyer is putting down. As interest rates keep rising, many are putting less down and this may be an indication of the buyer’s strength of financing.

“At Exactly, we guide homeowners through every step of the home-selling process,” says Kevin. “We handle everything from pricing analysis and marketing of the home to negotiating the final deal and delivering the keys to the buyer for a $4,800 package fee instead of a percentage of the sale. We help you sell your home and eliminate stress—for a flat fee.”

To list your house or for more information, call 866-515-6789 or visit ExactlyUSA.com. Exactly Real Estate is located at 209 South Main Street, 6th Floor, in Akron.