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

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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.

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:33):
Hi there, this is Rowena Patsen with All-Star
Powerhouse brokered by EXPRoyalty, and today I want to
talk directly to you, thehomeowner who feels like they've
run out of options.
Just this morning I spoke with alovely lady who said something I
hear far too often these days,and honestly it breaks my heart.

(00:54):
This was a lady who'd beenlisted for over a year and
hadn't sold a house, and shegave me a call.
It sounded something like this.

SPEAKER_00 (01:05):
Rowena, I don't know what to say.
I've given up hope of selling myhome.

SPEAKER_01 (01:11):
If that's you, please don't give up.
The market may be shifting andin many places declining, but
there are more ways to sell yourhome than the old-fashioned
conventional approach.
Oh, we've always done it thatway.
Today I'm going to walk youthrough the higher hanging
fruit, the strategies mostsellers never hear about that

(01:31):
can completely change youroutcome.
First of all, start with thehidden gems, assumable
mortgages.
One of the first things I lookfor is does your home have an
assumable mortgage?
Because if you do, especially ifit's a low interest FHA or VA
loan, your home instantlybecomes more attractive.

(01:53):
Most government loans areactually assumable.
Who knew?
It doesn't matter if it's beensold on.
A buyer may be able to step intoyour existing rate, which could
be dramatically lower than whatthey can get today.
Just last week I called a homeseller and said, hey, that
mortgage, he he actually has hishouse listed with me right now.
Hey, that mortgage of yours, isit assumable?

(02:15):
He's like, Oh, I don't think so.
I said, Would you mind checking?
He did check and it took a fewphone calls because banks don't
really like doing it becauseobviously they're not making as
much money.
Sure enough it is.
And he's got a 3.3% interestrate.
But let me be careful here.
If it's a VA loan, we have topay very close attention to

(02:36):
eligibility.
You don't want your entitlementtied up forever.
Handled properly, this can be amassive selling advantage.
Handled incorrectly, it cancause big problems.
So we just have to check thatout.
That's why you need guidancefrom somebody who's navigated
these cycles before.
Number two, owner financing, acompletely overlooked power

(02:57):
tool.
So many people dismiss itthinking it's only for buyers
with no money.
That's simply not true.
You'd be surprised how manywell-qualified, well-heeled
people have a large amount ofcash, but for one reason or
another, don't want to get atraditional mortgage right now.
Here's how it can work in yourfavour.

(03:19):
A pie puts down a significantamount, sometimes enough to
cover all outstanding mortgages,liens, or repairs, and you
pocket money up front.
You receive a monthly paymentover an agreed term, usually one
to three years.
Then the buyer refinances whenthe term ends.
It creates a win-win and itoften brings you way more

(03:41):
qualified buyers than youthought existed.
It gets people in the door.
Getting people in the door tosee 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 mostpowerful tools is the walking

(04:02):
tour video.
Not a slideshow, not some bigbox uh how do I say this?
AI stitched together, not arobotic robotic stitched
together room tour.
This is a lifestyle story.
Imagine on a chilly holidaymorning, and you've got to
picture the video behind this asI'm doing the video of the home.

(04:23):
On a chilly holiday morning,sitting around this beautiful
stone fireplace with yourcoffee, or on a warm summer
evening, sitting outside on thisgorgeous deck with a martini.
Don't drink, don't worry, it canbe a cocoa.
Enjoying the breezes and themountain views.
Bring your home to life.

(04:44):
And buyers feel themselvesliving here.
This significantly increasesshowings and emotional
engagement.
And remember, everything isdigital now.
It's not about that flyer that'sleft in the house.
We need a video that goes out onYouTube.
I've got lots of followers onYouTube.
You can go and look at thewalking tour videos.
It's not, you know, cameralights action.

(05:05):
I don't believe in those,honestly.
I want an honest walking tourvideo around the house that
talks about the wood yourkitchen cabinets are made of.
The flooring, I was going to saywood, but now we've got so much
uh LVP, luxury vinyl plank.
It could be the colours on thewall, it could be your marble or
your granite or the name of it.
It could be that you've gotalmost teardown.

(05:28):
You've got an investor special.
We can bring that to life too.
Because you put that video outthere and thousands of people
look at it in all the marketswhere people can't just pop in
and go see the home.
Also, by the way, it cuts downyour showings.
Why would I be telling you that,for goodness sake?
Because that's not necessarily abad thing.

(05:48):
You want them to see the housein its glory.
The buyer's agent that's comingin in many markets doesn't know
about all the pieces of yourhome like your listing agent
does if they do a good job.
A walking tour video is you andyour listing agent, you don't
have to be in the video, talkingabout all the spectacular things
about your home that may getlost in translation when they

(06:11):
just look at the MLS sheet, orthe agent opens the door and
lets them in when it's a buyer'sagent that doesn't necessarily
know your home at that level.
Number four, never ever listwithout your home being
certified pre-owned.
This is mandatory in much ofCalifornia right now, and it's
spreading.
I've been trying to spread itsince 2007.

(06:32):
I have a best-selling book onit.
If you take nothing else awayfrom this episode, take this.
Do not list your home without itbeing certified pre-owned.
At the very minimum, the low-endversion of CPO includes an
inspection up front.
People tell me, well, Rowena,won't the buyers do that anyway?
Yes, and that's exactly theproblem.
When buyers control theinspection, they control the

(06:55):
negotiation.
And in a buyer's market, buyersuse inspections to extract more
money from sellers.
In fact, I got a$1.3 millionunder contract just a few weeks
ago.
We put a repair request in for$43,000.
Now, it all did end up workingout quite well.
However, had it not and thebuyers had walked, that seller

(07:19):
would have left been left withall those issues instead of
spending$450,000,$500 up frontto take care of those issues and
make them go away.
Even brand new homes getinspection reports with 20
items.
A well-maintained home oftengets 40 to 50.
And here's the real shocker.
A typical contract has a 30%dropout rate.

(07:42):
You know what that means?
I'm gonna sell your house.
I promise you, I'm gonna sellyour house.
I mean, I don't have a magicwand, but I've got a very, very
good chance of it because of allthe programs we have, my
experience, and I'm at over3,500 sales.
30% dropout rate.
It means you've got astigmatized listing.
It's not good, guys.
It drives the price down evenmore.
With CPO, and remember the entrylevel to that is 400, 500 bucks

(08:06):
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 checkwhen the average agent lists
your house with a conventionalold-fashioned listing.
You've got a 93% chance ofgetting a check with CPO because

(08:27):
we're in the driver's seat.
We disclose everything up front.
You don't have to fix items ifyou choose not to.
This prevents renegotiations,delays, and heartbreak.
It's not fun.
And number five, yes, we alsooffer the full market cash
offer.
For some sellers, the fastestand most predictable way forward

(08:48):
is our full market cash offer.
No showings, no repairs, nohassle, just certainty.
Ask us about that option.
We run the program nationwide.
We can find an agent in yourmarket.
We're busy certifying them allday long, every day.
It's a free certification forthe agent using our app and it's

(09:09):
changing lives in this market.
Why timing matters?
The market cycle is real.
Now let's talk honestly abouttiming.
Almost everywhere in thecountry, prices are declining
right now.
In Western North Carolina, forexample, we crested about two
years ago.
We began really sliding about ayear ago.
And if Clemens Juglar's 1860economic cycle theory holds

(09:32):
true, and it has held true eversince, we still have a couple of
years to go before hitting thebottom.
People keep telling me, ohRowena, I'll just wait until the
spring.
They call me Roe, really, notRowena, but that's okay.
Please don't.
Spring brings more inventory,not necessarily more buyers.
In fact, lots and lots ofhouses.

(09:52):
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 yearago.
Supply and demand, guys.
So unless we go up two, threetimes the buyers, which given
Clement Juglas, 7 to 11 is notlikely.
Interest rates may ease alittle, but that won't offset

(10:13):
the rising number of homes onthe market.
And if you wait, you could bewaiting seven, eight, even ten
years for prices to return topeak levels.
Higher than the peak now, that'strue.
If you want to sell, now is thetime.
Not when the leaves return,serious buyers don't care about
the leaves.
And winter views are oftenbetter.

(10:36):
We can work around your holidayschedule, your travel, your
privacy.
Just don't wait and fall intothe trap so many sellers are
stepping into.
Everybody else thinks that way.
That's why you can get ahead ofthe curve.
So you have options and youdeserve to know them.
Whether you want to sell it now,rent it out, explore full market

(10:59):
cash offers, try assumablemortgages, look at owner
financing, or certify your homepre-owned, you deserve all the
options on the table.
And you deserve an agent who'snavigated both the upturns and
the downturns, someone who'sseen these cycles unfold before.
I've sold over 3,500 homes inthe Elton's.

(11:20):
I may talk funny, but I've livedall over the country and seen
markets of every shape and size.
And my All Star Powerhouse teamnow includes agents in New
Jersey, Connecticut, NorthCalifornia, Florida, Utah, and
other states that we're liningup truly coast to coast.
Let us help you.
This is Rowena Patton at AllStar Powerhouse, brokered by EXP

(11:42):
Realty.
Call us anytime wherever you'reat in the States 828 333 4483.
Yes, 247.
Someone will pick up, take amessage, or put you straight
through if we're not withclients.
Don't give up hope.
You can sell your home, and we'dlove to show you how.