How To Avoid Spending More Than You Need to Prep Your House for Sale

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When it comes time to put your property on the market you want to get the best value from the sale.  The first instinct that many buyers get is to fix up their home, bring it up to code and make it as enticing as possible to lure the best offers.  Here’s the thing though: it ends up costing way less money to do this when you work with a professional who sees this on a regular basis. 

We’ve outlined some mandatory items that must be kept up prior to the sale of a home, some optional items that would certainly improve the outlook of your home sale and a few things that would only end up being wasted dollars spent.  Remember, the end goal is to get the best price on your home – so you want to accomplish this in the most efficient way possible. 

It’s Not Entirely In Your Hands

One thing to keep in mind is that home values fluctuate with a changing real estate market. What this means is that in today’s market what may be valued at around $350,000 may be a property that was valued at $380,000 just a few years ago.  While some things are in your hands, how the market impacts housing prices is something that no one can alter no matter how many improvements or adjustments are made to the home. 

It may be a good idea to call your Realtor before selling your home so they can give you an official estimate.  The figure would be determined by a number of factors including the general condition of your property, the mean price of other similar homes sold in the area and also current market conditions.  An advance appraisal may give you an edge over other competitors to accurately price your property so you don’t end up wasting dollars on unnecessary upkeep.

Bringing Things Up To Code

What you do have control over, however, is whether you fully comply with housing code and regulations, required to be fully in order prior to listing a property on the market.  Depending on the region you live in, this can mean things like making sure a set number of smoke detectors, fire extinguishers or carbon monoxide detectors are installed.  Sometimes, there are plumbing requirements that must be fulfilled, such as ensuring that low flow toilets have been utilized.  Outdoor electrical wiring must meet certain fire safety regulations and also, major appliances may be required to be strapped down in some regions (like water heaters in California due to earthquake susceptibility). 

Making It All Nice and Neat
The single most important part of a home sale is generating the interest of a buyer, of course.  If your home is set up in a way that allows potential homeowners to visualize themselves living in the space, you have a better chance of success.  Things that are optional but have a huge impact on the success of your sale include presenting a clean home with little or no signs of personalization, tidied up living and storage spaces plus no clutter to distract potential buyers.  The home’s exterior is also a good opportunity to make the home inviting and yield a better offer. 

Stop Short of Overkill

There is no end to how much you can do to improve a home before sellingit, but the key is to understand where to draw the line.  While a fresh coat of paint might be great, redoing the kitchen wallpaper is a waste of time since potential buyers may not like the new look either. 

Jumping the gun and getting things that may have come up on a building inspection may or may not backfire.  For example, if a termite inspection is called for and subsequent treatments are needed, it may serve you better to make sure where the potential buyers stand on the issue before spending any cash. 

The single best way to avoid wasting money on the preparation of a home for sale is to consult with your Realtor.  They deal with this on a daily basis and are in the best position to advise you before you end up spending too much.
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At the end of the day you want your home to sell.  By following these simple guidelines and through the expertise and knowledge of your trusted Realtor, you can and will save yourself a lot of wasted time, energy and resources. 

How To Recognize Winning Real Estate Agents That Will Get Your House Sold

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Real estate agents may sound the same, say the same things and even be equally as enthusiastic – but the telling fact of whether an agent is successful or not is the number of homes sold.  There are some surefire signs of a good Realtor that if you can specifically seek when searching for an agent to hire, there is a good chance you will be successful in your home selling endeavor.

Ten Percent of All Agents are Selling Ninety Percent of the Homes while …

Ninety Percent of All Agents Are Selling Ten Percent of the Homes

Which side of the fence do YOU want to be on?

As long as you can weed out the top performers, you can bet on a home sold with less Days On Market , at a better selling price and with less hassle. 

Past Performance Is a Good Indication of Future Results

Every agent has a track record and every potential client should examine the track records of agents they are considering before deciding on which one to hire. Even though the average number of home sales is two to four per year, the question is more about how does the person or team manage the sales on their roster.  Even though often you will end up working with an organization, it is the reputation and performance of the individual Realtor you should focus on.  The key factor that will illustrate the agent’s viability is how successful they are in today’s challenging real estate market. 

A Solid Marketing Plan Is The Cornerstone Of Successful Selling

Some would say that “marketing” is a fancy word for sales – but that is hardly true. While marketing entails some sales within its realm, it covers a bigger picture that includes promotion, awareness, publicity, and of course ultimately, sales. 

In real estate especially, there are two basic brands of marketing that are used primarily – passive and active. 

PASSIVE MARKETING

This is the traditional way that Realtors have sold properties.  They list the home in the newspaper, on the Internet and in magazines.  They utilize Multiple Listing Services and conduct traditional open houses and walk-throughs.  Essentially, though the agent lists the home in several mediums, they are waiting for the property to sell itself on its own accord.  When it comes to the selling price of a home in these instances, the highest possible price is not necessarily realized.

ACTIVE MARKETING

Professionals who utilize this extra dimension of marketing are far more apt to achieve the success they set out to achieve – as they are building complex strategies that include many angles of reach to potential buyers.  Active marketing in terms of real estate is when Realtors go out and grab potential buyers for the homes they have listed, using tools and techniques that involve venturing outside the box.  The actively seek to fill gaps and literally work on matching properties to prospective buyers by calling their agents directly.  Agents in this scenario are far more successful in getting higher selling prices on the properties they sell.

Having Viable Current Clients Vouching For An Agent Shows Credibility

It is no secret that most references provided by a real estate agent (or any professional for that matter) will be hand picked and carefully selected to put forth the best image possible.  If you think about it, that is not the most reliable source of a person’s credibility because they can easily conceal a number of bad experiences other clients may have had with them.  A better approach is to request a list of current or most recent clients with closed or pending sales in the last 30 to 60 days.  This will not only offer a glimpse into the way the agent is handling today’s issues but it will also demonstrate performance on various levels, depending on where the current stage is for each client. Questions to ask include “does the agent follow through with the promises they make?” and “does their marketing plan provide results?”

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The importance of having is a solid professional presence, with a proven track record of an agent who has worked and can demonstrate valuable marketing skills and techniques is paramount to real estate selling success.  One strategy many homeowners adopt is to carefully conduct their own “market study” to determine exactly which of their neighborhood Realtors fits the bill according to their specific needs.  The key is preparedness and knowing what to look for.

Buyers Who Wait Too Long May Live to Regret Missing Out On This Historic Opportunity!

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You simply can’t go wrong by buying a property these days if you are even remotely in the market to do so.  In fact, we are seeing an influx of existing property owners getting into second, third and rental homes to take advantage of the great savings in terms of interest rates and the awesome choice in terms of inventory.  Here are five solid reasons why you just can’t go wrong by buying now:

INTEREST RATES HAVE NEVER BEEN LOWER

We are looking at historically low interest rates and this will simply not last.  The thing about most mortgages is that they are typically 30-year or 15-year fixed rate loans.  What does this mean to the savvy buyer who opts to seize the opportunity that lies before us now?  It means that you will lock in interest rates that the industry has not seen since when your parents were in high school!

FORTUNE MAGAZINE:  “Forget stocks, don’t bet on gold – after 5 years of plunging prices, the most attractive asset class in America is housing”

INVENTORY IS SKYROCKETING

There is a plethora of homes to choose from today!  Be it because of distress situations, relocations during our ever evolving job market or simply other homeowners wanting to cash in on the fabulous chance they have at hand and buy up into a newer, bigger or better home.  You can’t go wrong when you have a huge selection to choose from and what this means to many buyers is that regardless of demographics, chances are the right home is out there.

SO LOW PRICES THAT YOU SHOULD GO FOR IT!

While this can be a bad thing for homeowners who are not savvy during this market and choose to hold on to their property as they watch it plunge in value, in this case, what goes down WILL come back up.  Housing is no exception.  Trading into a better home and leveraging the current low prices is a fantastic way to move into a home that you may not have been able to afford otherwise.  Even though we may still see a further dip of up to 10%, the post slump period will give us a stretch of stability.  Housing prices will creep back up, but ever so slowly.  Why not live better in the meantime?

IT’S NOT GOING TO GET ANY EASIER TO SECURE A LOAN

Banks are tired of the reasons that created the mess that we’re in these days to begin with, in part.  The last thing they want to do is to make hasty and ill-informed decisions about mortgage approvals.  Before the government further regulates the real estate market and before we see the belt tightening even more on lending parameters and standards, it is a good idea to borrow money now, when varying types of lenders are still in the game.  If it reaches a point, which is highly likely, that only private lending institutions are those that provide mortgage loans, then the going is going to get real tough for borrowers.

BARGAINING AND NEGOTIATIONS ARE IN FULL SWING

One thing we are currently seeing with sellers wanting to get out of their homes and buyers looking for the best deal among a sea of options to choose from is a mutually beneficial negotiation and bargaining stance taking place between both parties.  This means that there are more concessions and additional perks that sellers are throwing in to sweeten the deal so that their home sells.
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Just like sellers who have chosen to sit the market out and now regret not seizing opportunities that presented themselves in the past few years, the same thing could easily happen with potential buyers who do not jump on the bandwagon in time and grab the home of their dreams while it’s available with these great terms.  It will not last forever, but there is still definitely time to get out there and buy now.  And we’re not just saying this because we’re Realtors!