Archive for the 'Sellers' Category
Showing Your House to Maximum Advantage
August 19th, 2008 categories: Sellers
Here are some things to keep in mind when you get ready to show your house to prospective buyers:
Give all family members assigned jobs in advance that will go into action when a showing is scheduled with short notice. Everyone must know their duties and carry them out, so you don’t end up banging into one another trying to get everything done quickly.
Open every window covering. All drapes, curtains and blinds should be positioned to let in maximum light. Buyers like a house to be “light and bright,” so accommodate them! Turn on as many lights as possible.
Make sure the house smells good. Baking cookies may be overdoing it, but pet odors, smoke, or greasy cooking odors definitely will not work. Air out the house just before the scheduled showing, but close the windows (unless it is a perfect day) before they arrive.
No clutter, no clutter, no clutter! Those are six very important words.
Make sure everything is spotless. Pay particular attention to the bathrooms and the kitchen. In the bathrooms, towels should be fresh and clean, sinks and baths scrubbed, and the floor freshly cleaned. In the kitchen, make sure all dishes are put away and countertops and sinks cleaned.
Check the thermostat to make sure that the house is at a comfortable temperature.
Remove pets from the house, or at least, keep them outside. Pets under foot will quickly put a damper on an otherwise positive showing.
Make sure Fact Sheets are available and easily accessible. (The dining room table is an ideal place for them).
Before prospective buyers arrive, you should leave! If this is not possible, make yourself as inconspicuous as possible.
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Foreclosure Vandalism
July 31st, 2008 categories: Buyers, Investors, Sellers
You’ve seen or heard stories of angry homeowners who, when dealing with foreclosure, trash their house before leaving. Some spray paint the walls or siding. Others break every window with a baseball bat. Sometimes homeowners turn on all the water faucets and plug up the drains before departing.
These homeowners, angry at the bank for foreclosing, think it’s somehow permissible to turn the home into a total nightmare. They don’t stop to think about the consequences for the next set of first-time home buyers who have pinched, saved and worked hard to qualify to buy a bank-owned home priced at the bottom of the market, in “as-is” condition.
Desperate homeowners also strip assets from their house. These fixtures are not personal property, which mean they should stay with the house. The following items should not be removed from a home that is in foreclosure:
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Cabinets and counter tops
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Appliances such as stoves, built-in microwaves, dishwashers, etc.
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Furnaces and air conditioning units
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Plumbing and copper pipes
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Romex or other electrical wiring
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Light fixtures and ceiling fans
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Doors and hardware
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Flooring, ceilings and walls
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Windows and vents
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Medicine cabinets, sinks, tubs, toilets and showers
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Sink drains and faucets
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Built-in shelving / bookcases
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Landscaping, fencing, built-in pools and spas
People who vandalize a home they are losing through foreclosure are not harming the bank by their illegal actions. They are harming innocent home buyers who, just like they once were, are hoping to achieve the dream of home ownership.
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Home Staging Secrets for Selling Your House
July 29th, 2008 categories: Sellers
Who knew that getting rid of family photos and clearing off countertops could help you snag top dollar for your house? According to This Old House, these are just two secrets from Debra Gould, founder of Staging Diva. Gould, a professional home stager, has helped scores of homeowners clean up, rearrange, and style their homes to command top price. That can mean anything from putting extra books in storage to getting rid of moldy caulk in bathrooms to renting furniture to fill up too-bare spaces. The goal is to make your home clean, organized, and welcoming so potential buyers can picture living there. “Most owners aren’t seeing bidding wars the way they were a few years ago,” Gould says. “But with the right staging, you can get close to your asking price.”
For more tips, take a look at the entire article on This Old House.
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FSBO Is Tempting, But Beware of Pitfalls
July 14th, 2008 categories: Sellers
“For Sale by Owner” signs often pop up in front of houses only to be replaced by a Realtor’s sign in a few weeks. It’s tempting for homeowners to try the do-it-yourself approach, but beware of pitfalls in doing so. Most people have no idea what they’re getting into when trying to sell their homes. That’s why the for sale signs change quickly.
Many sellers think they’ll save money by not using a Realtor, but using an experienced real estate agent for selling or buying will save money. Realtors have access to the latest market information for determining your property’s value and can find buyer matches through the multi-list service. They also can provide information on schools and community amenities to potential buyers.
Consider these things before trying to sell your home:
- Showing your home at all hours of the day involves a lot of time.
- Advertising can be expensive.
- Open houses are time consuming and people must be carefully watched.
- A contract is a legal document that must be exact.
- Realtors have access to more potential buyers through the multi-list service.
- Realtors can pre-screen and pre-qualify buyers.
- Realtors also have access to more market information.
More than anything, most people don’t have the time and knowledge to sell real estate. It’s not as simple as it sounds; it’s a very time-consuming and complicated process. By using a professional, sellers and buyers get worthwhile expertise and protection.
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Selling Your House in a Slow Market
June 19th, 2008 categories: Sellers
The Pittsburgh real estate market is in better shape than many other cities, but all of you home sellers out there may still want to read U.S. News & World Report’s 5 Tips for Selling a House in a Slow Market.
Here’s a quick summary of the five tips. Read the full article for more details.
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Make repairs
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Price appropriately
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Use an experienced agent
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Make your home available for showing
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Counter “low ball” offers
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Alternative Storage Solution for Homeowners
June 9th, 2008 categories: Around the House, Sellers
Have you seen these boxes popping up in neighborhoods? In case you’re wondering what they’re all about, the myway Mobile Storage website says:
“Forget renting a truck, paying for gas, and hauling your stuff to a stationary storage place. That means extra time and extra money! myway has a better mobile storage solution. We will bring our SafeBox storage containers to you. SafeBoxes are mobile storage units that you fill up at your own pace. We pick them up whenever you are ready. We will store your items in our state-of-the-art Security Hub storage facility. This climate controlled storage building will keep your items safe and secure. Whenever you want them back, let us know! You can schedule a redelivery at anytime.”
If you’re selling your house and want to get some of the clutter out of view from potential buyers (which is always a good idea!), maybe this is something you should consider. If anyone has used this service, let us know what you think of it.
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5 Things to Check Out after Listing Your House
June 4th, 2008 categories: Sellers
#1 - Pictures: Find your house on the Internet using your agent’s website and see how it looks to the rest of the world. Most realtors are not professional photographers but can take pictures that honestly portray your home, attracting buyers. It’s important to avoid:
- photos that are too dark
- rainy day photos
- people in the pictures
- lots of personal things
- pictures taken from inside the agent’s car with a camera phone
- photo trickery, it can be a real disappointment to the potential buyer
Check out some pretty bad photos featured on our blog.
#2 - Map: The listing should have a map. Check it out; you don’t want agents or customers to skip looking at your house because the map is missing or pointing to the wrong location.
#3 - Multiple Listing Details: These details are what can make someone dismiss or desire to look at your home. Have your agent give you a printout and check it closely, to be sure all the details are correct.
#4 - Directions: Somewhere on the listing should be directions on how to get to your house originating from a major, well-known point. Just check it out and make sure buyers are being directed correctly.
#5 - The Internet: Try various different ways to find your house on the Internet. More people start looking for homes on the Internet than any other media. If you can’t find it, then buyers probably can’t either.
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Little Pink Houses for You and Me…
June 2nd, 2008 categories: Around the House, Sellers, South Side
This house on the South Side has been beautifully renovated on the inside, but would the exterior paint color keep you from seeing it?
There are many factors involved in marketing and selling your home, and you can’t control most of them. But the curb appeal of your home plays a big role, and it’s one of the things you can have direct control over.
You’ll never get another chance to make a first impression of how your home looks from the street. If your home exterior needs new paint, or you made a poor color choice, potential buyers might not even get out of their car to come in and look.
Color can certainly make your house stand out in a crowd, but neutral colors appeal more to the masses and can give you better resale value. If you need a dramatic touch to make your house memorable, try being creative when painting the front door. That’s easy for a buyer to repaint if he or she doesn’t share your love of bright colors.
So does color really matter? When there’s a lot of inventory, buyers can afford to be extra picky and then pink could be a negative factor after all. What do you think?
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Increase Your Home’s Value for under $100
May 28th, 2008 categories: Around the House, Sellers
Here are HGTV’s tips for adding value to your home without spending a lot of money:
Tip 1: Spend an hour with a pro.
Invite a realtor or interior designer over to check out your home. Many realtors will do this as a courtesy, but you’ll probably have to pay a consultation fee to a designer. A standard hourly fee is normally less than $100, and in an hour they can give you lots of ideas. Even small suggested improvements, such as paint colors or furniture placement, can go a long way toward improving the look and feel of your home.
Tip 2: Inspect it!
Not every home improvement is cosmetic. Deteriorating roofs, termite infestation or outdated electrical systems — you can’t fix it if you don’t know it’s broken. Hire an inspector to check out the areas of your home that you don’t normally see. They may discover hidden problems that could negatively impact your home’s value.
Tip 3: Paint, paint, paint.
One of the simplest, most cost-effective improvements of all is paint! Freshly painted rooms look clean and updated — and that spells value. When selecting paint colors, keep in mind that neutrals appeal to the greatest number of people. On average, a gallon of paint costs around $25, leaving you plenty of money to buy rollers, painter’s tape, drop cloths and brushes.
Tip 4: Find inspiration.
An alternative to hiring a designer is to search for remodeling and decorating inspiration in design-oriented magazines, books, TV shows and websites. Simply tear out or print off the ideas you want to try and start your to-do list. Keep it simple — when remodeling on a tight budget, do-it-yourself projects are best.
Tip 5: Cut energy costs.
Many local utility companies provide free energy audits of their customers’ homes. They can show you how to maximize the energy efficiency of your home. An energy-efficient home will save you money now, which can be applied to other updates, and is a more valuable and marketable asset in the long run.
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On-line Shopping for Real Estate
May 16th, 2008 categories: Buyers, Sellers
We all do it with clothing and electronics; some people even purchase vehicles on-line, but real estate?
It’s a great age we live in - the age of technology. Ebay and other on-line retailers have made shopping on a computer virtually effortless. So you purchase a $50 shirt on-line, maybe even a $700 computer, but a $150,000 home? Understand, I realize you are not purchasing homes on-line (although it does happen on eBay), but you ARE eliminating good homes based on pictures and descriptions you are viewing on-line. It’s a bad idea, and here’s why:
Back in the day, homes for sale weren’t available for viewing on-line. Agents will tell you they used to get books weekly with interior specs and black and white exterior photos of homes for sale - black and white, I know, can you believe it? In turn, buyers would do a drive by of the home and be forced to look at the number of rooms and room sizes on the sheet they were provided by their agent - nice color interior pictures weren’t an option. Agents will be the first to admit that on-line home shopping has made their lives easier and it definitely has. What I’m not sure of is the true impact it’s had on the buyer.
Let’s face it, some real estate agents are horrible photographers (just check out my worst MLS photos). Unfortunately for sellers, once a potential buyer views a not-so-good picture of their home it’s immediately thrown on the chopping block. At the same time, many agents are excellent photographers and can make a crappy little house look like a palace. How many times have you seen, let’s say, a sweater on eBay that looked beautiful and you just had to have it. You know where I’m going with this right? Your package comes and the sweater is something you wouldn’t let your dog sleep on! The same goes for real estate. Not that you would see a house on-line and make an offer sight unseen, but I can’t tell you how many clients call me and say ‘I just saw this house on-line I have to have, it’s perfect’. To be let down when we get there, as it isn’t nearly as perfect as it appeared in the photos. At the same time, a lot of times buyers immediately rule out properties due to really bad photos.
Not only are some agents bad photographers, some are also bad at selling a property. By ’selling’ I mean describing the positive features of a home. The one thing they do get right? Room dimensions. When looking at homes on-line, don’t just check out the photos, check out the room sizes. If you’re not good at visualizing room sizes, measure out the size of the rooms compared to room sizes where you are currently living.
One of my recent buyers was adamant about not looking at a house I thought would be perfect for her and her family. She told me she saw it on-line and didn’t like it (it was also on the market for a while because it was overpriced to start out - check out my article “Selling Your Home in Today’s Real Estate Market“). I literally forced her to see this house. We walked in and she instantly fell in love! She began raving about the room sizes and number of bathrooms. I asked her if she even read the info sheet I emailed to her - no, she just looked at the pictures.
Do yourself a favor and look at ALL of the information you’re given. In addition to seeing some ugly pictures, you may be pleasantly surprised with what you will find.
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