When you think of a hot real estate market you probably think springtime, however, fall can also be a great time to buy or sell a home. Fall is the second busiest time of year for home sales. Here are some reasons to sell your home this fall: 1. Inventory is lower. Less inventory on the market means that you have a greater chance of making a sale. 2. Fall is great for home staging. It is easy to make your home seem cozy and inviting to a prospective buyer. 3. It is easier to keep the house clean. Children are back in school making it easier to keep the house neat and tidy. 4. Fall is a beautiful season. Make your yard look more inviting by placing a variety of cheerful mums and other fall plants in your flower beds. A fall wreath on your front door and an arrangement of pumpkins on the steps can make your home’s entry warm and welcoming to guests and prospective buyers. 5. Since the days are shorter you can show off your home with warm accent lighting. 6 . Warm fall scents, like cinnamon, apples, and pumpkin, whether in baking or in candles, can make your home feel more inviting. ]]>
How to Sell Your Home Quickly
The real estate market remains in constant flux. However, this does not necessarily mean you’ll need a significant amount of time to sell your residence. Regardless of the size and quality of your home, there are many quick, easy ways to set up your residence for a quick sale, including: 1. Price your home appropriately. As a home seller, your goal is to maximize the value of your residence. Doing so, unfortunately, can be a major challenge if you fail to set realistic expectations. Getting your home appraised before you add it to the real estate market ensures you’ll be able to determine the true value of your home. Furthermore, consider any recent home improvements you’ve completed, as these enhancements may help increase your residence’s value. Also, don’t forget to check out the prices of similar homes in your area. This enables you to get a better idea about the value of your residence relative to others that are available. Pricing your home often can be difficult, but those who perform plenty of research will be better equipped to set a fair price that generates interest from many prospective homebuyers. 2. Make your home easy to show. Those who only enable homebuyers to view their residences at certain times will limit their opportunities for a quick sale. Conversely, you should try to remain as flexible as possible after you add your home to the real estate market to maximize your home showings. Homebuyers likely have many great residences at their disposal. And if you turn down an opportunity to show your house to an interested homebuyer, this buyer may choose to look elsewhere for his or her dream residence. Comparatively, home sellers who maintain a clean house can make their residence easy to show at any time. In the event that a homebuyer wants to show up on short notice to view your residence, you’ll be ready to depart and ensure this interested party can check out your residence without delay. 3. Ensure your home is listed in plenty of places. Your real estate agent should try to do everything he or she can to make your home an attractive commodity. As such, hiring a real estate professional who will showcase your residence to as many prospective homebuyers as possible is essential if you want a quick sale. For example, your real estate agent should have no trouble adding your house to a wide range of real estate listing websites. Social networks like Facebook also make it simple for real estate professionals to showcase your home to a broad range of prospective homebuyers. With a superior real estate agent at your disposal, you’ll be able to spread the word that your home is for sale to a large group of homebuyers. Thus, you’ll be better equipped to boost your chances of a fast sale, and potentially, a major bidding war among interested parties as well. Selling a home is rarely simple, but with these tips, you can improve your chances of optimizing the value of your home and selling your residence quickly.]]>
Enhance Your Home's Curb Appeal
Are you familiar with “curb appeal”? If not, you could be missing out on the opportunity to generate interest in your home. Curb appeal refers to the attractiveness of your home in relation to a homebuyer’s first impression of your residence as he or she passes it. For instance, a home with a great exterior, pristine front lawn and other dazzling exterior features likely will appeal to homebuyers the moment they see it. On the other hand, a home that includes a front lawn loaded with high grass and weeds, an exterior that consists of chipped and faded paint and other negative qualities is unlikely to garner significant interest at first glance. For home sellers, you’ll want to do whatever you can to increase your home’s curb appeal. Luckily, we’re here to help you do just that – here are three tips you can use to boost your residence’s curb appeal: 1. Use plants to your advantage. Who says you need to have a green thumb to set up a garden in front of your home? Fortunately, many wonderful plants are available that can help you add a splash of color to your home’s exterior. And ultimately, these plants will enable you to bolster your residence’s curb appeal as well. Ready-made plant containers are available, or you can try to grow your own plants with seed kits. Either way, incorporating plants into your home’s exterior is sure to help your residence generate attention from a wide range of prospective homebuyers. 2. Replace old gutters and downspouts. Installing new gutters will help you enhance your home’s curb appeal as well as provide another feature that may help you differentiate your home from others on the real estate market. Gutters will deteriorate over time, but home sellers who install new snap-fit vinyl gutter systems can enjoy high-quality gutters that will look and perform well consistently. Remember, the benefits of replacing gutters and downspouts are two-fold, as they will allow you to improve your home’s curb appeal as well as give homebuyers yet another reason to consider your residence over others. 3. Add outdoor lighting. Curb appeal represents a 24-hour phenomenon, and those who want to ensure their residences look great at night should add outdoor lighting. Low-voltage landscaping lighting often is easy to install and can brighten up your residence’s exterior at night. Plus, this lighting can provide extra security – yet another feature that may help your residence stand out in a highly competitive real estate market. Lastly, don’t forget to consider the homebuyer’s perspective as you explore ways to enhance your residence’s curb appeal. And if there is a flaw that stands out as you look at your residence’s exterior, prospective homebuyers likely will see this problem too. As such, you should work to eliminate any issues that may damage your home’s appearance as quickly as possible. Dedicating plenty of time and resources to improve your home’s curb appeal is essential, and home sellers who understand the importance of curb appeal can work toward making home exterior improvements and generating significant interest in their residences.]]>
What Are Buyers Looking For?
There are some secrets when it comes to selling a house. There are some things you can do to help your home be more attractive to a buyer. Here are just a few things that often helps buyers sign on the dotted line: 1. A Welcoming Entryway A beautiful entrance is the first thing a buyer sees, remember you never get a second chance at a first impression. 2. Hardwood Floors Hardwood floors have longevity and never go out of style. Buyers don’t have to worry about replacing dirty carpets or worry about allergies from pets. 3. Closet Organizers Closet organizers make closets look bigger and buyers love storage. 4. Green Grass
Expensive Mistakes That Home Sellers Need to Know About
Selling your home can be an expensive process if you’re not careful. Fortunately, we’re here to help you maximize the value of your home and ensure that you’re able to avoid costly mistakes throughout the home selling process. Here’s a closer look at three costly mistakes that every home seller needs to know about, along with ways to avoid such issues altogether: 1. Selling Your Home Before You Are Qualified to Buy a New One Although you had no trouble buying your current home, the same won’t necessarily hold true when you look to purchase a new residence. For example, your financial circumstances may have changed between the time that you purchased your current home and now. This means that you may struggle to qualify for a home loan in the current economic climate. As such, you’ll want to get pre-approved by a lender before you sell your current house. You also should conduct plenty of research into areas where you may want to live in the future; that way, you’ll be better equipped to buy another house and relocate quickly if a homebuyer wants to purchase your current residence. 2. Guessing the Sale Price of Your Home It is unlikely that what you initially paid for your residence is what it’s worth now. As a result, you’ll want to understand the true value of your home before you add it to the real estate market to optimize the value of your residence. Getting a fair market appraisal will ensure that you can better understand what your home currently is worth. Furthermore, you should consider the upgrades that you’ve made across your home, as these improvements likely will boost your residence’s value. When it comes to the sale price of your home, why should you be forced to leave anything to chance? Instead, do your homework so you can determine the optimal sale price, i.e. a sale price that highlights your home’s true worth and will make your residence an attractive option for homebuyers. 3. Understanding the Stress Associated with the Home Selling Process A calm, cool and collected approach to selling your home often is ideal, particularly as the stresses commonly associated with the home selling process start to add up. For instance, a homebuyer may submit an offer and follow it up with a home inspection. But during the inspection, this homebuyer could find issues with your home that lead him or her to reconsider the initial offer and could put a potential home sale in jeopardy. Conversely, with the right real estate agent at your disposal, you’ll be able to minimize many of the stresses of the home selling process. This professional will possess the necessary skills and know-how to guide you during the home selling process, and ultimately, improve your chances of a fast, successful home sale. Costly home selling mistakes can put a dent in your wallet or pocketbook and cause your stress levels to rise. But home sellers who work with a dedicated real estate agent can benefit from the support of an experienced professional who can simplify the home selling process.]]>
Common Seller Mistakes
1. Basing the asking price on needs or emotion rather than market value. Many times sellers base their pricing on how much they paid for or invested in their home. This can be an expensive mistake. If your home is not priced competitively, buyers will reject it in favor of other larger homes for the same price. At the same time, the buyers who should be looking at your house will not see it because it is priced over their heads. The result is increased market time, and even when the price is eventually lowered, the buyers are wary because “nobody wants to buy real estate that nobody else wants”. The result is low priced offers and an unwillingness to negotiate. Every seller wants to realize as much money as possible from the sale, but a listing priced too high often eventually sells for less than market value. An accurate market evaluation is the first step in determining a competitive listing price. 2. Failing to “Showcase” the home. A property that is not clean or well-maintained is a red flag for the buyer. It is an indication that there may be hidden defects that will result in increased cost of ownership. Sellers who fail to make necessary repairs, which don’t “spruce up” the house inside and out, and fail to keep it clean and neat, chase away buyers as fast as REALTORS® can bring them. Buyers are poor judges of the cost of repairs, and always build in a large margin for error when offering on such a property. Sellers are always better off doing the work themselves ahead of time. 3. Over-improving the home prior to selling. Sellers often unwittingly spend thousands of dollars doing the wrong upgrades to their home prior to attempting to sell in the mistaken belief that they will recoup this cost. If you are upgrading your home for your personal enjoyment – fine. But if you are thinking of selling, you should be aware that only certain upgrades to real estate are cost effective. Always consult with your REALTOR® BEFORE committing to upgrading your home. 4. Choosing the wrong REALTOR® or choosing for the wrong reasons. Many homeowners list with the real estate agent who tells them the highest price. You need to choose an experienced agent with the best marketing plan to sell your home. In the real estate business, an agent with many successfully closed transactions usually costs the same as someone who is inexperienced. That experience could mean a higher price at the negotiating table, selling in less time, and with a minimum amount of hassles. 5. Using the “Hard Sell” during showings. Buying a home is an emotional decision. Buyers like to “try on” a house and see if it is comfortable for them. It is difficult for them to do if you follow them around pointing out every improvement that you made. Good REALTORS® let the buyers discover the home on their own, pointing out only features they are sure are important to them. Overselling loses many sales. If buyers think they are paying for features that are not particularly important to them personally, they will reject the home in favor of a less expensive home without the features. 6. Failing to take the first offer seriously. Often sellers believe that the first offer received will be one of many to come. There is a tendency to not take it seriously, and to hold out for a higher price. This is especially true if the offer comes in soon after the home is placed on the market. Experienced REALTORS® know that more often than not the first buyer ends up being the best buyer, and many, many sellers have had to accept far less money than the initial offer later in the selling process. Real estate is most sale-able early in the marketing period, and the amount buyers are willing to pay diminishes with the length of time a property has been on the market. Many sellers would give anything to find that prospective buyer who made the first, and ONLY, offer. 7. Not knowing your rights and obligations. The contract you sign to sell your property is a complex and legally binding document. An improperly written contract can allow the purchaser to void the sale, or cost you thousands of unnecessary dollars. Have an experienced REALTOR® who knows the “ins and outs” fully explain the contract you are about to sign. 8. Failure to effectively market the property. Good marketing opens the door that exposes real estate to the marketplace. It means distinguishing your home from hundreds of others on the market. It also means selling the benefits, as well as the features. The right REALTOR® will employ a wide variety of marketing activities, emphasizing the ones believed to work best for your home.]]>
How to Sell Your Home Fast
Even if you think you have all the time in the world to sell your home, once you put the for sale sign in the yard you will start to feel antsy. If you want to sell your home quickly it’s important to have a strategy. Here are some tips and tricks for getting more buyers interested and selling your home quickly: 1. Lots of photos: The more photos the better. Image is everything and you want to make sure your home has a good one. Studies show that 10 or more pictures can help reduce your home’s days-on-market time by up to 42% and improve the selling price by as much as 3.8%. 2. Host an Open House: According to the National Association of Realtors, 45% of home buyers reported they used information from an open house in their home search. Open houses bring potential buyers into your home for a first hand view. 3. Staging: This can really help a home sell quickly. Statistics show staging can help a property sell 50% faster and can increase the selling price by 6.9%. Staging allows buyers to imagine their own life within the home. 4. Price it Right: Work with your real estate agent to price your home competitively within the current market. Use a Comparative Market Analysis or CMA to compare your home to others like it in your neighborhood. This will give you a value price range in which your home should sell.]]>
Cheap Fixes to Add Value to Your Home
Are you looking for inexpensive ways to add value to your home without breaking the bank? Whether you’re getting ready to sell your home or just making some home improvements for your own enjoyment, it isn’t that difficult. There is an old saying that kitchens and baths sell homes so these tips focus on those two rooms. Here are some good strategies to help you started: The kitchen For just a few hundred dollars: -Replace the kitchen faucet -Add new cabinet door handles -Update old lighting fixtures With a slightly larger budget: -Give the cabinets a makeover by refacing them -Get a facelift for your appliances buy ordering new doors or face panels for them The bath -Replace the toilet seat -Add a new pedestal sink -Replace the old bathroom floor with easy-to-apply vinyl tiles -Re-grout the tile and replace any chipped tiles in the tub and shower -If a new grout job won’t do, try a complete cover-up with a prefabricated tub and shower unit Remember the actual cost of the renovation, and the value it adds to your home, depends on many factors including the real estate market value in your area.]]>
Add Value to Your Home on the Cheap
Are you looking for inexpensive ways to add value to your home without breaking the bank? Whether you’re getting ready to sell your home or just making some home improvements for your own enjoyment, it isn’t that difficult. There is an old saying that kitchens and baths sell homes so these tips focus on those two rooms. Here are some good strategies to help you started: The kitchen For just a few hundred dollars: -Replace the kitchen faucet -Add new cabinet door handles -Update old lighting fixtures With a slightly larger budget: -Give the cabinets a makeover by refacing them -Get a facelift for your appliances buy ordering new doors or face panels for them The bath -Replace the toilet seat -Add a new pedestal sink -Replace the old bathroom floor with easy-to-apply vinyl tiles -Re-grout the tile and replace any chipped tiles in the tub and shower -If a new grout job won’t do, try a complete cover-up with a prefabricated tub and shower unit Remember the actual cost of the renovation, and the value it adds to your home, depends on many factors including the real estate market value in your area.]]>
Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Home
Why isn’t your house selling? It may not be the market, instead it could be what you are or are not doing. Believe it or not you can ruin your chances of selling your home. So, how can you capture the attention of potential buyers? Read on to find out if you are making any of these mistakes. Missing or Bad Photos Buyers love to look at photos. They love to look at lots of photos so include lots of photos in your online listings. There is such a thing as a bad photo though. Pictures of unattractive rooms, toilets and messy areas can also turn a buyer off. Make sure every photo has great light, shows off your home and shows a neat and clean home. Place the best shots at the beginning so it is the first thing the buyer sees on the listing site. Lack of Curb Appeal Most buyers will search for homes online and then jump in the car and drive by. If your home has bad curb appeal they may eliminate it before they even walk through the front door. Be sure to create curb appeal by trimming the trees, fertilizing the lawn, and sprucing up the landscaping. Remember first impressions mean a lot. Bad Advertising The words that advertise your home are vitally important. Avoid clichés and instead use your creativity and talk about the best features of your home. You only have so much space for text so make it count! Price Too Low/High Pricing a home too high won’t produce an offer, but sometimes pricing it too low leaves buyers wondering what is wrong. Use a real estate professional to help you strategically price your home to sell in the current market. You’re Hovering When potential buyers are looking at your home there is nothing more awkward than finding the homeowner is still there. Buyers can’t picture the home as their own if you are there. When the house is being shown make sure you are not home. There are things in your control in the selling process of your home. Take the time to make sure your home is staged and looks ready to sell and avoid the above mistakes and you should have a sold sign in no time.]]>