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Posts Tagged ‘selling’
Avoiding Seller’s Remorse
Almost everyone is familiar with buyer’s remorse. It can strike after any purchase, but is felt the strongest after big purchases, such as cars or expensive furniture sets. Buyer’s remorse can be felt the strongest after the purchase of a home, with the knowledge of the amount of money spent and debt incurred. But that is not the only kind of remorse associated with the buying and selling of homes.
Your house is now for sale, or maybe you have already sold it, and are now living in your new home. Either way, there is a very good chance you might be feeling a little remorse. After all, you spent a lot of time in your previous home, fixing it up and making it your own. Maybe it was your first home, or maybe it was where you raised your children. Letting go can be hard.
It’s called Seller’s Remorse, and it can begin long before your house is sold. The first step to avoiding it is to determine why you are selling in the first place. Is the house too big? Too small? Do you just want something better? There are hundreds of reasons why someone might choose to sell their home; it’s good to know what yours are. Decide if these reasons are enough for you to move. If they are, keep them in mind. Being committed to the move can be one of the best ways to avoid seller’s remorse.
One of the most common causes of seller’s remorse is the leaving behind of a house that holds a lot of memories. A lot happens in a home, and the longer you have lived there, the stronger those memories may be. The best way around this is to acknowledge that these feelings are real, and that they are very common. It is hard to live in a place for several years and not get attached. Record your favorite memories, and take pictures of the places in the house that hold the most memories.
Seller’s remorse may also creep up in the current shaky economy. Maybe financial issues led to the need to sell your home for someplace less expensive, and you miss your old home, and the lifestyle that may have gone with it. Alternatively, maybe you had to move for other reasons, but you weren’t able to sell your home for what it should have been worth. Both situations can be difficult to get over.
If finances play into sellers remorse, remember that the economy is turning around, and that you may be able to move into a better home a few years from now, or that you may be able to make improvements in your new home until it fits your needs and wants.
It is easy for people to tell you that a house is just a house, and that anything that happened within the walls are memories that you can easily take with you. But the truth is, it’s hard to leave behind your old home, regardless of the reason you are moving. Take the time to think through your decision to relocate, and if it is the right time for you to sell, commit to it. If you have doubts, wait a little while, and take the time to really consider your options. It is easier to sell your home later than it is to deal with the regret of selling at the wrong time.
Views: 57Virtual Tour Tips when Selling
If you have decided to sell your home, it is important to consider all of your marketing options. You want buyers to see the value of your home and to get the best price possible. If you have already done an open house and even listed your home on the internet, there are some other options you may want to try. People like to see all sides of a home inside and out before buying and with technology these days, they can do so without leaving their computer. So, it is helpful to use a virtual tour to help sell your home. This will give buyers a good inside view before they visit and may help sell your home even faster. Here are some tips on how to create a virtual tour.
Ask your real estate agent for tips
Real estate agents know all about how to sell a home. They know what a buyer wants to see and what not to show them. Before starting your virtual tour you may want to ask your agent for helpful tips.
Shoot photographs of your home
You can start by taking photographs of your home and then if you decide to hire a professional, they can upload these photos for you. Make sure to include the bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, outdoor features and more.
Have a Two-Spin Minimum
This allows your virtual tour including your photos to spin around at least twice when uploaded and can give any buyer a good view of your home and is not very costly. You may consider other spins if you have a larger home or ask your agent for advice.
Stage the tour
Decide what elements your tour will focus on and try to pick the most interesting or most important features to include or zoom in on.
Add descriptions to your tour
Everyone likes pictures and words. If the pictures are a bit confusing or require an explanation, a description with the tour will help any possible buyer.
Following these virtual tour tips will help give buyers a better look at your home and its features. If they like what they see, they will drop by and you may increase your traffic and therefore, get more offers. As you can see, including a virtual tour when marketing your home to sell is a good idea for everyone.
Views: 44Mistakes to Avoid When Selling your Home
When you are planning on selling your home, there are many things to think about. There is what price to sell at, how to fix up your home, show your home to buyers, not to mention thinking about moving and going to your new home. It can be a very exciting but also a very stressful time. There are some mistakes sellers can make when selling their home that just make things a little harder. Here are some tips of things to avoid when selling your home. This way the process can go smoother and everyone will be happy.
Consult with your real estate agent
Trust in your agent. They do have experience in how to sell homes and they can offer you with some good advice. So talk with them before making major decisions.
Avoid Overpricing your Home
This is one of the worst mistakes a seller can make. If the price is too high, no buyers will bother looking at it, but if it’s too low, a buyer may get too good of a deal. Ask your real estate agent for some advice when pricing your home.
Market Your Home Properly
Many sellers may wonder why their home is not selling. Well, looking into the market and conditions may be a good idea first. You need to market your home in the best environment possible and ask your agent for advice.
Update the condition of your home
Make any updates or repairs needed, so your home will have a better chance of selling or getting potential buyers.
Make sure to take Quality Photographs of your Home
Take pictures of the master or largest bedroom. Avoid getting yourself in any pictures if possible. Take several photos of the kitchen. Finally, make sure living room photos show space and include the back yard and any side yards in photos. Consider hiring a company to take photos for a virtual tour of your home.
These simple tips will help you to avoid some common selling mistakes and make your home selling process easier for everyone. This way you can move on to your new home and bright future with less to worry about.
Views: 29Agent Checklist: What you should do to find an agent
There are good real estate agents and less-than-good ones, just like you find in most any field of work. How do you tell the difference? Sure you can throw a For Sale By Owner sign up—that’ll have real estate agents dropping by nearly every day to offer their services. Or you could stop by the nearest real estate office. Or let your fingers do the walking in the phone book.
No matter how you encounter prospective real estate agents, you still have to check each out before signing on with one. I recommend:
- Ask your friends. (And be careful to only ask people you trust—some agents offer finder’s fee to former clients who drive sales their way. That’s not the type of recommendation you want.)
- See how many active listings a real estate agent/office has. If they’re active, they’ll be happy to show you.
- Find out how many of its own listings this particular office has sold in the past six or nine months. Trust me—they’ll know.
- See how long the agent has been in the business. Unlike other fields, the learning curve in real estate can take awhile. Less than three years might be too little. More than five years, they’ll have earned a good education.
- What professional organizations does the prospective agent belong to? It should at least be a local real estate board and MLS service, plus the state association of realtors.
- Find out exactly what they would do to help your home sell. What type of action plan do they have? What type of advertising? How long would they like to have the listing? Are they interested in open houses?
The thing to remember is that this person is a part of the biggest purchase (or sale) that most people make in their life. You want to work with someone you think is professional, honest, and dependable. Anything less is bound to create trouble.
Views: 215 Ways to Expedite a Sale
Selling a home quickly remains a challenge in many markets across the country. Heidi Cole, an associate with the Corcoran Group in Palm Beach, Fla., offers this advice for anyone who wants to expedite a sale:
- Cut the asking price to 10 percent to 15 percent below what comparable properties in the neighborhood are selling for.
- Spruce up the outside. Update the landscaping. Power-wash the exterior and paint the door.
- Appeal to first-time buyers. Advertise on younger consumers’ favorite Web sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. Hire a photographer to shoot the house with a wide-angle lens so the rooms look bigger in online photos.
- Price the house in the lower end of the range. A $299,000 house is in the high end of the $250,000 to $300,000 range but a $301,000 home is in the low-end of the $300,000 to $400,000 range.
- Do what you can to make the deal close quickly. Be ready to move, offer to pay part of the closing costs, and/or throw in a year’s worth of association fees.
Source: Money Magazine, Beth Braverman
Views: 39Don’t Let Clutter Ruin the Sale
It’s a fact—people grow into a house. This means that if there are empty closets, you’ll find stuff to stuff into them. After a few years, the attic, closets, and garage are near-to-bursting. So what should you do when it’s time to move to a larger home (or, gasp, to a smaller one)?
De-cluttering is non-negotiable. While it’s okay to have your precious collection of Michael Jordan collector plates or ceramic pigs, you’ll want to box that stuff up before putting your house on the market. A lot of stuff can just be overwhelming to prospective buyers (and you never know—they might be Detroit pistons fans who hate the Chicago Bulls).
Here are four simple areas to start the de-cluttering process.
Area #1—Closets. Even if you’re still living out of the house, get rid of the closet clutter. Leave them half-full and well-organized. A super-stuffed closet says to a buyer, “This house is too small for you!” Leave the clothes and shoes you’re most likely to wear and move the rest out.
Area #2—Furniture. Less is more. It might be useful for every family member to have their own footstool, but the house has to feel airy, spacious, and inviting. Less furniture can help give it flow. Too much furniture can feel like a maze.
Area #3—Toys. Nothing screams “Disorganized!” louder than a closet (or space under a Disney princess bed) jammed with children’s toys. Even a barely-able-to close toy chest is too much. Cut the toy level by half to make the room (s) feel less crowded. (The same principle applies for adults and their toys: college paraphernalia, sports stuff, and knick-knacks. You don’t have to trash it, but box it up and get it out.)
Area #4—Kitchen. Get rid of the cookbooks, the gadgets, the rows of little appliances, the rack of coffee mugs. Empty out the junk drawer. Get a silverware drawer if you don’t have one. Make the kitchen clean, open, and organized. Think Emeril meets Martha Stewart.
If you have to rent a storage locker for a few months, do it. Get the mountains of books, mismatched furniture, desks, file cabinets, and stacks of old children’s toys out. Yes, it’s a pain. Yes, it takes a lot of time and effort. But if you want to make a quick and easy sale, the roomy, comfortable feeling that’s left in your now-spacious house will be inviting and effective.
Views: 50What is Home Staging, and How Can it Help You Sell?
You have decided to sell your home, and now there are potential buyers coming over to view it with a realtor, or perhaps you are preparing for your first open house. You want your home to look its best, without making it look too set-up. After all, you are still living there. How do you juggle between keeping your home a livable environment and presenting it as a showcase for potential buyers?
It’s called staging, and it is usually fairly easy and inexpensive to do. Staging moves past the typical cleaning, organizing, painting and repairs that most owners do to prepare for a sale. It requires using props to create a certain effect in each room. Essentially, it shows buyers all of the potential your home has. As a seller, you want to call attention to the best features of your home, and staging can help you to accomplish that.
For example, do you have picture windows with a scenic view? Perhaps you could trade darker, heavier shades for lighter ones that really bring out the lighting potential and maximize the effect of the windows. Beautiful hardwood cabinets can be returned to their original sheen with a few squirts of orange oil. A basket of fruit, a vase of flowers, and the use of mirrors or throw rugs can greatly alter the look of a room, and usually for very little money.
Sometimes, the most effective staging does not involve adding more to the home, but taking stuff away. All clutter should be removed and packed up. Knick-knacks should be arranged in groups of one, three, or five items. Extra blankets on furniture, overstuffed shelves, or bulging closets should be minimized. If a room feels small, try removing some of the furniture. Less is more, especially when trying to sell your home. Potential buyers want to imagine their own things furnishing the house; this can be a difficult thing to do if too much of your own stuff is in the way.
Staging shouldn’t be done only on the inside of your home. Trimming back bushes and trees, adding in some better lighting, and creating a stone walkway can entirely change the look of a front yard and entryway, giving even the blandest home a lot of curb appeal. Planting a flowerbed or bringing out some patio furniture can change a boring backyard into a place that will encourage potential buyers to imagine themselves hosting barbecues and relaxing with friends on a summer evening.
Just be careful; it can be easy to go too far with staging. Don’t. Remember that you are selling a home, not a showcase. It should both look and feel lived in.
Views: 105Preventive Maintenance – Keep your money
How important is preventive maintenance?
Preventive maintenance can mean the difference between maintaining the value in your home or depleting the equity you might have gained; keeping hard earned cash in your pocket, or throwing it into the wind with an unnecessary or unexpected expense.
The best way to help maintain any appreciation and protect your investment is to do minor routine tasks, proactively and systematically, to help keep the home operating and functioning normally. Avoiding major operating malfunctions or complete failures can easily be avoided if homeowners take just a few minutes to do some routine minor household tasks.
Many of these items can be done by the homeowner, cutting costs significantly, although the cost of hiring a professional is usually better than not performing the maintenance at all. Having to spend money on replacement appliances and installation costs can be several times more costly than the simple maintenance of them.
Maintenance Check-List
1. __ Service heat&a/c system once a year.
2. __ Change the filters in your heat&a/c system once a month.
3. __ Drain hot water heater once a year.
4. __ Don’t leave light sockets without bulbs.
5. __ Periodically run a pitcher of ice cubes through garbage disposal to sharpen blades.
6. __ Replace dripping faucets immediately to conserve water.
7. __ Don’t allow toilet tanks to drip – replace ballcock assembly.
8. __ Check weather stripping around doors for air leaks.
9. __ Visually look at roof after high winds to detect loose shingles.
10.__ Visually look around outside roof line to find holes where animals might enter.
11.__ Check batteries in smoke detectors monthly/replace annually.
12.__ Wrap outside pipes in winter to prevent freezing.
13.__ Remove garden hose from outside faucet in winter.
14.__ Water around foundation during dry periods to prevent cracking or shifting.
REMEMBER: better maintained homes sell faster and for higher prices
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