Cart Before The Horse?

Are you doing things backwards?

It would seem that the common conception is that when we want to sell our house we plan on what we need or want for our house and then set our asking price accordingly.

Are we not putting the cart before the horse here?

So lets say you own a horse. Not just any horse. A big old handsome horse. A horse that the Budweiser Horses would be jealous of. The kinda horse that the lady horses would want to date. Here is the problem. You need to sell it. It would seem that your brother has a love of football and gambling and has racked up some bills. You got a call and if you don't raise $10,000 "Vinnie" is going to take your horse to the glue factory (if only it was that no good brother). In order to avoid the sticky situation looming you have decided it might be wise to sell your horse, parlaying it into enough cash to cover your delinquent brother's debt. So you put up the ad for your horse at $10,000 on Horsetopia.com and hope for the best.

Problem is that the only other "Budweiser" horse you can find is going for much less ($2,500). Now given this horse is a gelding and nowhere near the horse that yours is, a difference is expected but the $7,500 price gap is not working in your favour. Had you done your homework you would have found out that your horse's market value is only $5,000.

It would seem this situation is common place in the real estate market. How are you going to price your home? Let's hope you price it right...before your horse runs off to the circus...


M