How To Sell YOur Home

Janet Fullmer (Network Real Estate) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:38:52 -0500

How To Sell Your Home.

Once you decide to sell your home, you want the process to go as quickly and smoothly as possible. Earning top money would be nice, too. So besides hanging a "For Sale" sign out front, what can you do to improve your chances of getting the sale you want?

1.Get your house in shape for a succesful sale:

Walk through your home, looking at it through a buyer's eyes. The marks on the walls showing the growth of the kids or the family pictures covering all the walls, or the collection of bath toys in the bathroom may be sweet, but they wont be to a potential buyer. An inexpensive,quick fix for the kitchen cabinets (if they are wood stained) is to use a polish that has a stain in it. Try to use a wood cleaner first and match a light or dark stain with the type of wood. Some times just a wood soap and light mineral oil rubbed on will bring back a shine. Change the handles and knobs. Try new light fixtures. Some of the bulbs are dim and make the home seem darker. Erase pads for about a buck, erase marks on walls and trim without having to repaint.

One of the most important things is curbside appeal, possible buyers may not even look at your house if the yard is not presentable. Does the grass need to be watered more often, or would a new layer of paint look good on the house? How is the extra "stuff" stored along the side of the house helping to sell it? These are just a few things that will attract buyers. Remember curbside appeal can be a major factor on whether or not your house sells. Consult a realtor also, a realtor can give you a professional opinion on what needs to be done to help make your house more presentable; they can also provide a (CMA) comparable market analysis to help you decide what price your house at. Small changes such as mending fences, planting flowers and painting can be huge.

2. Decide whether or not you want to use a realtor:

Are you going to use an agent or will you sell the house yourself? Real estate commisions typically run around 6 percent of the sale price ( half will go to the buyers agent). Because of the cost many people decide to handle the process themselves, until later on they realise the specialized knowledge and experience it takes to go through the process smoothly. Using a realtor is often the best choice to make. If you are an easy going person who will be taken advantage of by the Buyer, you especially need a buffer. You may be lose money to the buyer that would have paid the agent to help you do it all.

3. Avoid surprises by getting an inspection beforehand:

It's worth the few hundred dollars it costs to get a proffesional home and pest inspection. Do this sortly before listing your home so that the information is current and as accurate as possible when prospective buyers start touring the property. The report will give you an idea of what items might trigger an interested buyer to start bargining. While most buyers will want to have there own inspection done. This will place you with the knowledge beforehand and also create a possibility of better intial offers. You know your net better and you will be able to fix the repairs at your leisure or without the demands a buyer may have to how it is done. You may also be saving money if you can fix it yourself or have your own handyman do the work.

4. Set the right price:

Your real estate agent will reccomend a specific price or range based on recent selling prices of similiar homes in your neighborhood and their experience in the market.You might also want to go to neighborhood open houses to compare them to your property and see what sellers are asking. Research prices on the internet. Check the newspaper. Home prices will fluctuate with the market, a professional appraiser can also give you a great base to price your property on.

5. Open up your house:

Your agent will want to have open houses to promote your house to the other local agents in the area. You will always need to have your house neat and clean, never knowing when your agent will schedule people to come and see it. When listing the house keep valuables put away as buyers will want to look everywhere to see if everything fits there requirements. Staging is also a very important for of marketing. Creating a warm atmosphere in the house will make buyers feel more at home. You can stage it yourself or higher a professional.

6. Accept an offer and pack up:

Your realtor will help you understand each offer and decide which one is best for you. After choosing an offer your realtor will help you tie up the final details and you are ready to move.

It's A Buyers Market

Janet Fullmer (Network Real Estate) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:57:25 -0500

It's A Buyers Market

Pending home sales in California have dramatically dropped 20 percent since this time last year, but, if you're looking to upgrade to something larger or make a first purchase, it may be the right time to buy.

How much time do you have? Expert opinions vary. Real estate optimists say the national downturn, which started in 2005, may last only a year; others think the window could linger up to five years.

So what does that mean to you as a buyer-today? For the next 12 to 60 months you have opportunities to get the home you want with proportionally higher savings than any other period in the last 10 years.

Look at the percentage of cost savings

The market is brimming with homes for sale due to subprime foreclosures and variable-rate loans that are peaking with new, harder-to-afford payments. Sellers are concerned about the drop in value of their properties.

The fact is tht everyone with a home for sale is in the same situation. In any given market, prices will drop at about the same rate for all the available homes. The cost savings in dollars to you as a buyer will be proportionally greater for a more expensive home. There is no guarantee about the value of your home by the time prices recover, but if you find the home you want for well below last year's price, you have a margin of security against a further drop in value. For the next 12 to 60 months you have the opportunity to get the home you want. Renters are in a particularly good position to get into a home now.

The good new for first-time buyers

Interest rates are still low. Prices are dropping. House availability is high. Renters are in a particularly good position to get into a home now since they don't have properties of their own to sell, which can slow down or kill some transactions. With a short lease or month-to-month payments, good credit and a down payment, this buyers' market could be a golden opportunity to get into a home at long last.

Janet's Blog

How To Sell YOur Home

It's A Buyers Market