Getting offers on your house depends on whether or not the buyers see "value" in comparison to other houses they are looking at. Creating "value" starts when you are getting your house ready for the market and may require you to spend some money to do so, but in the end it will be worth it. Buyers notice and appreciate wood floors in excellent condition, bathrooms devoid of loose grout in shower tiles, up-to-date kitchen appliances and counter tops, clean basements, a not too old furnace or roof(10 years or less) and of course a tidy, clean house.
Not everyone thinks alike or agrees on cleanliness of a house, so if you are not sure about yours, ask a friend to come over and walk through the house. Be open to suggestions. Even after you have spent some money to fix up your house for selling it, you may need to clean and dust to really put the finishing touches on your home to make a buyer choose it over another one. Sounds simple and it is but so many sellers do not do these simple things.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Listing in a “Hot Market” vs. Listing in a “Tough Market”
Welcome to my blog site and thanks for visiting! As an experienced real estate agent, I am used to “reading” the market and translating what I “read” to my clients. If you are selling a home now in this recessionary market, the steps you must take are very different from the “hot market” of a few years ago.
First, a seller has to decide his/her own motivation for selling. Certainly now is NOT the time to “make fast money” as it could have been 3 and 4 years ago. Moving might be to relocate for a job, to downsize because of retirement, to buy a bigger house for a growing family, an illness etc. SO HOW DO YOU ACCOMPLISH THIS IN A DECLINING MARKET?
Real estate agents do make a difference! They are not all alike in terms of training, knowledge or experience. An experienced agent will tell you what you can expect to sell your house for. As a seller you should be prepared to disclose to your agent the amount of your mortgage balance and your home equity loan balance. Determining what you have to pay off when the house is sold will help determine IF you can sell your house now and reach your expectations. The thinking that, “well, I owe $180,000 on my house so I want to sell it for $225,000 will not work in this market if your RE agent has given you a “price to sell” of $195,000-199,000.
First, a seller has to decide his/her own motivation for selling. Certainly now is NOT the time to “make fast money” as it could have been 3 and 4 years ago. Moving might be to relocate for a job, to downsize because of retirement, to buy a bigger house for a growing family, an illness etc. SO HOW DO YOU ACCOMPLISH THIS IN A DECLINING MARKET?
Real estate agents do make a difference! They are not all alike in terms of training, knowledge or experience. An experienced agent will tell you what you can expect to sell your house for. As a seller you should be prepared to disclose to your agent the amount of your mortgage balance and your home equity loan balance. Determining what you have to pay off when the house is sold will help determine IF you can sell your house now and reach your expectations. The thinking that, “well, I owe $180,000 on my house so I want to sell it for $225,000 will not work in this market if your RE agent has given you a “price to sell” of $195,000-199,000.
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