Don't Give Up on Your Home Sale - AND - Don't Wait For The Spring

Feeling stuck with a stale listing or worried the market has passed you by? We get real about what works when prices soften and inventory rises, sharing five proven strategies that put you back in control: assumable mortgages, owner financing, lifestyle-focused walking tour videos, Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) listings, and a full market cash offer for speed and certainty. This is a practical playbook for homeowners who want results without gambling on spring or chasing myths about what buyers want.

We break down how assumable FHA and VA loans can transform your marketing by advertising a below-market rate, why VA entitlement must be handled with care, and how to get lenders to confirm assumability. Then we dive into owner financing, dispelling the stigma and showing how strong buyers use flexible terms to move quickly, often putting enough down to clear liens and jump-start your plans. Next, we show you how a walking tour video—honest, detailed, and human—does what slideshows can’t: it tells the story of your home and sparks real emotional engagement from out-of-area buyers.

The heart of our approach is CPO. By inspecting upfront and disclosing everything, you cut contract fallout, avoid mid-deal renegotiations, and protect your price. We talk numbers, expectations, and why a few hundred dollars can shield you from costly surprises. If certainty is your top priority, we outline our full market cash offer—no repairs, no showings, just a clear path to closing. Finally, we explain the market cycle and why waiting often means more competition, not better prices. Serious buyers don’t need spring blooms, and winter views can work in your favor.

Want tailored guidance from a team that’s navigated upturns and downturns across the country? Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s stuck, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. Then call 828-333-4483 and let’s map the best route to your sale.

Chapters

• 0:00 A Message To Stalled Sellers
• 1:50 Assumable Mortgages As A Magnet
• 3:08 Owner Financing Without The Stigma
• 4:07 Walking Tour Videos That Sell
• 6:36 Make Your Home Certified Pre-Owned
• 9:24 Full Market Cash Offer Option
• 9:30 Why Waiting Costs You
• 11:21 Your Options And How We Help
• 11:59 Contact Details And Encouragement

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:33

Hi there, this is Rowena Patsen with All-Star Powerhouse brokered by EXP Royalty, and today I want to talk directly to you, the homeowner who feels like they've run out of options. Just this morning I spoke with a lovely lady who said something I hear far too often these days, and honestly it breaks my heart. This was a lady who'd been listed for over a year and hadn't sold a house, and she gave me a call. It sounded something like this.

SPEAKER_00: 1:05

Rowena, I don't know what to say. I've given up hope of selling my home.

SPEAKER_01: 1:11

If that's you, please don't give up. The market may be shifting and in many places declining, but there are more ways to sell your home than the old-fashioned conventional approach. Oh, we've always done it that way. Today I'm going to walk you through the higher hanging fruit, the strategies most sellers never hear about that can completely change your outcome. First of all, start with the hidden gems, assumable mortgages. One of the first things I look for is does your home have an assumable mortgage? Because if you do, especially if it's a low interest FHA or VA loan, your home instantly becomes more attractive. Most government loans are actually assumable. Who knew? It doesn't matter if it's been sold on. A buyer may be able to step into your existing rate, which could be dramatically lower than what they can get today. Just last week I called a home seller and said, hey, that mortgage, he he actually has his house listed with me right now. Hey, that mortgage of yours, is it assumable? He's like, Oh, I don't think so. I said, Would you mind checking? He did check and it took a few phone calls because banks don't really like doing it because obviously they're not making as much money. Sure enough it is. And he's got a 3.3% interest rate. But let me be careful here. If it's a VA loan, we have to pay very close attention to eligibility. You don't want your entitlement tied up forever. Handled properly, this can be a massive selling advantage. Handled incorrectly, it can cause big problems. So we just have to check that out. That's why you need guidance from somebody who's navigated these cycles before. Number two, owner financing, a completely overlooked power tool. So many people dismiss it thinking it's only for buyers with no money. That's simply not true. You'd be surprised how many well-qualified, well-heeled people have a large amount of cash, but for one reason or another, don't want to get a traditional mortgage right now. Here's how it can work in your favour. A pie puts down a significant amount, sometimes enough to cover all outstanding mortgages, liens, or repairs, and you pocket money up front. You receive a monthly payment over an agreed term, usually one to three years. Then the buyer refinances when the term ends. It creates a win-win and it often brings you way more qualified buyers than you thought existed. It gets people in the door. Getting people in the door to see your beautiful home is an important thing. And then we have number three, the walking tour video. Your home story comes alive. One of the simplest and yet most powerful tools is the walking tour video. Not a slideshow, not some big box uh how do I say this? AI stitched together, not a robotic robotic stitched together room tour. This is a lifestyle story. Imagine on a chilly holiday morning, and you've got to picture the video behind this as I'm doing the video of the home. On a chilly holiday morning, sitting around this beautiful stone fireplace with your coffee, or on a warm summer evening, sitting outside on this gorgeous deck with a martini. Don't drink, don't worry, it can be a cocoa. Enjoying the breezes and the mountain views. Bring your home to life. And buyers feel themselves living here. This significantly increases showings and emotional engagement. And remember, everything is digital now. It's not about that flyer that's left in the house. We need a video that goes out on YouTube. I've got lots of followers on YouTube. You can go and look at the walking tour videos. It's not, you know, camera lights action. I don't believe in those, honestly. I want an honest walking tour video around the house that talks about the wood your kitchen cabinets are made of. The flooring, I was going to say wood, but now we've got so much uh LVP, luxury vinyl plank. It could be the colours on the wall, it could be your marble or your granite or the name of it. It could be that you've got almost teardown. You've got an investor special. We can bring that to life too. Because you put that video out there and thousands of people look at it in all the markets where people can't just pop in and go see the home. Also, by the way, it cuts down your showings. Why would I be telling you that, for goodness sake? Because that's not necessarily a bad thing. You want them to see the house in its glory. The buyer's agent that's coming in in many markets doesn't know about all the pieces of your home like your listing agent does if they do a good job. A walking tour video is you and your listing agent, you don't have to be in the video, talking about all the spectacular things about your home that may get lost in translation when they just look at the MLS sheet, or the agent opens the door and lets them in when it's a buyer's agent that doesn't necessarily know your home at that level. Number four, never ever list without your home being certified pre-owned. This is mandatory in much of California right now, and it's spreading. I've been trying to spread it since 2007. I have a best-selling book on it. If you take nothing else away from this episode, take this. Do not list your home without it being certified pre-owned. At the very minimum, the low-end version of CPO includes an inspection up front. People tell me, well, Rowena, won't the buyers do that anyway? Yes, and that's exactly the problem. When buyers control the inspection, they control the negotiation. And in a buyer's market, buyers use inspections to extract more money from sellers. In fact, I got a$1.3 million under contract just a few weeks ago. We put a repair request in for$43,000. Now, it all did end up working out quite well. However, had it not and the buyers had walked, that seller would have left been left with all those issues instead of spending$450,000,$500 up front to take care of those issues and make them go away. Even brand new homes get inspection reports with 20 items. A well-maintained home often gets 40 to 50. And here's the real shocker. A typical contract has a 30% dropout rate. You know what that means? I'm gonna sell your house. I promise you, I'm gonna sell your house. I mean, I don't have a magic wand, but I've got a very, very good chance of it because of all the programs we have, my experience, and I'm at over 3,500 sales. 30% dropout rate. It means you've got a stigmatized listing. It's not good, guys. It drives the price down even more. With CPO, and remember the entry level to that is 400, 500 bucks for an inspection. You don't have to fix anything. With CPO, that drops to 7%. That put that another way, you've got a 70%, it's actually 67% chance of getting a check when the average agent lists your house with a conventional old-fashioned listing. You've got a 93% chance of getting a check with CPO because we're in the driver's seat. We disclose everything up front. You don't have to fix items if you choose not to. This prevents renegotiations, delays, and heartbreak. It's not fun. And number five, yes, we also offer the full market cash offer. For some sellers, the fastest and most predictable way forward is our full market cash offer. No showings, no repairs, no hassle, just certainty. Ask us about that option. We run the program nationwide. We can find an agent in your market. We're busy certifying them all day long, every day. It's a free certification for the agent using our app and it's changing lives in this market. Why timing matters? The market cycle is real. Now let's talk honestly about timing. Almost everywhere in the country, prices are declining right now. In Western North Carolina, for example, we crested about two years ago. We began really sliding about a year ago. And if Clemens Juglar's 1860 economic cycle theory holds true, and it has held true ever since, we still have a couple of years to go before hitting the bottom. People keep telling me, oh Rowena, I'll just wait until the spring. They call me Roe, really, not Rowena, but that's okay. Please don't. Spring brings more inventory, not necessarily more buyers. In fact, lots and lots of houses. We're going to go up 30, 50, 100% on what we have now. And by the way, in most markets, we're up two or three times the inventory we had just a year ago. Supply and demand, guys. So unless we go up two, three times the buyers, which given Clement Juglas, 7 to 11 is not likely. Interest rates may ease a little, but that won't offset the rising number of homes on the market. And if you wait, you could be waiting seven, eight, even ten years for prices to return to peak levels. Higher than the peak now, that's true. If you want to sell, now is the time. Not when the leaves return, serious buyers don't care about the leaves. And winter views are often better. We can work around your holiday schedule, your travel, your privacy. Just don't wait and fall into the trap so many sellers are stepping into. Everybody else thinks that way. That's why you can get ahead of the curve. So you have options and you deserve to know them. Whether you want to sell it now, rent it out, explore full market cash offers, try assumable mortgages, look at owner financing, or certify your home pre-owned, you deserve all the options on the table. And you deserve an agent who's navigated both the upturns and the downturns, someone who's seen these cycles unfold before. I've sold over 3,500 homes in the Elton's. I may talk funny, but I've lived all over the country and seen markets of every shape and size. And my All Star Powerhouse team now includes agents in New Jersey, Connecticut, North California, Florida, Utah, and other states that we're lining up truly coast to coast. Let us help you. This is Rowena Patton at All Star Powerhouse, brokered by EXP Realty. Call us anytime wherever you're at in the States 828 333 4483. Yes, 247. Someone will pick up, take a message, or put you straight through if we're not with clients. Don't give up hope. You can sell your home, and we'd love to show you how.