Ten Rules To Follow When Selling A Home
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Selling a home in today’s market requires a knowledgeable professional, a REALTOR, leading the way. Gone are the days when you made up an asking price, threw a sign in the front yard, and watched as Buyers fought over the right to be the next owner. Today, you must price the property correctly and present it in an inviting manner. Then, and only then, might you attractive someone willing to buy.
The following are ten rules to follow if you want to be successful selling your property:
1) Hire a REALTOR (there is a definite difference between a REALTOR and a real estate licensee) who is knowledgeable of your community.
2) Look at your property as if you were seeing it for the first time. Go outside and look at the landscaping, condition of the roof, paint, door and walkway. If it is not drop-dead gorgeous, get to work. The first impression will impact future buyers and will oftentimes influence if they will actually enter the property.
3) Clean out the clutter. We collect as much stuff as our space allows. But when it comes time to sell, open spaces look best.
4) Fix all deferred maintenance items and brighten rooms with fresh, neutral colored paint. Make improvements that improve the “showability” of your property.
5) Depersonalize your property. An abundance of family pictures can distract buyers. Remember, you want them focus, and to picture themselves moving in, not on your memorabilia.
6) Have your REALTOR research and determine fair market value. Throw your preconceived ideas out the window and look at your property through the eyes of someone wanting to buy. While it is okay to challenge the value your REALTOR comes up with, in the long run, it is best to trust their educated, unbiased, opinion.
7) Prepare yourself for offers that do not match your asking price and have a plan on how flexible you can be.
8) Get pre-approved for your next purchase so when a Buyer does come and you’re faced with a decision to take the offer and move out within 30 - 40 days, or lose the Buyer, you are in a better position to immediately go out and locate your next home.
9) Do one last clean out and clean up. Go through your home one last time and determine what else you can remove and comfortably live, then have the windows cleaned, open the curtains and display fresh flowers. Also, scent is a very powerful sense. Candles, baked cookies or bread, and brewed coffee will enhance the buyer’s experience. A bright, open, fresh, house is a welcoming home!
10) Be ready willing and able to have your home shown at any time. Regardless if you are given a ‘courtesy call’ or not, if someone knocks on your door while it is daylight, be ready to show! A hard home to show is a hard home to sell!
- Scott Askew
Posted in: Tips for Sellers
Nine_Rules_To_Follow_When_Buying_A_Home
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Okay, so you want to buy a home. Where do you start? What should you do to insure as smooth of a transaction as possible?
Here are 9 get ‘rules’ to follow when you decide it is time to buy:
1) Commit yourself to live in your new home for 4 or more years.
2) Build a nest-egg. You need to have down payment money, money available for closing costs (yes the Seller may pay for some or all…but it is best to be prepared to pay these costs yourself), and some reserves.
3) Clear up your credit. Get a copy of your credit report from the top 3 credit bureaus (experian, equifax, and transunion) and if you find errors, take steps to correct the errors now, before you get started on the home buying experience.
4) Get pre-approved for a mortgage. I am not talking about calling a lender and giving them ‘numbers’; go in a actually start a loan application so that the lender will pull your credit and then is capable of giving you factual information of the best mortgage options, and actual loan amount, for you.
5) Determine a location that works for you. Pick a spot on the map that you want to be able to commute to within “x” minutes each day (your workplace, school(s), church, family/friends). The commute time to that place of interest will dictate where your home would ideally be located. However, be prepared to expand that driving-time-parameter!
6) Create a list of ‘must-haves’ and ‘want-to-haves’. And be mnidful of resale values. (Working with a knowlegable REALTOR is paramount!)
7) Research online at 14west.com for homes in your desired area and with your desired characteristics. (But know not every available home can be found online. Consult with a knowledgeable REALTOR!)
8) Secure the help of a knowledgeable REALTOR. Once you have found the professional you think is best capable of assisting you, sign a Buyer Agency Agreement so they are then permitted (by Georgia Law) to give you their opinion/guidance and worthwhile assistance. Then, give them your lender’s contact information and what you have learned online about your desired location, and let your advocate (REALTOR), research and preview properties so that no stone is left un-turned.
9) Set time aside to look at prospective homes and, once you’ve found the one that fits your wish list best, allow your REALTOR to assist you in writing and negotiating an offer.
- Scott Askew
Posted in: Tips for Buyers
Georgia foreclosure sales fifth highest
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Georgia’s foreclosure home sales declined in 2010, but we remained a top 10 state for that type of sale, according to RealtyTrac’s 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report.
The state had 27,657 foreclosure home sales in 2010, which is down 41.2 percent from 2009 and down 36.1 percent from 2008. Foreclosure home sales in the Peach State averaged a price of $119,940 and represented 29.4 percent of all home sales in the state last year. Georgia also had the fifth highest percentage of foreclosure sales in the United States.
A total of 831,574 foreclosed U.S. homes sold in 2010; a decrease of 31 percent from 2009 and a decrease of nearly 14 percent from 2008. The average price of those homes was $172,030 and they represented 26 percent of all national home sales.
The states with the highest foreclosure sales by percentage:
1. Arizona (49 percent)
2. California (44 percent)
3. Florida (36 percent)
4. Michigan (33 percent)
5. Georgia (29 percent)
6. Idaho (28 percent)
7. Oregon (28 percent)
8. Illinois (26 percent)
9. Virginia (25 percent)
10. Colorado (25 percent)
- James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac
Posted in: Intown Atlanta Real Estate News
Reasons to use a full service Broker like Fourteen West, REALTORS
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
1) Fourteen West, REALTORS assumes the risk of the sale whereas a “discount broker” places the risk on the Seller. How? Fourteen West takes a listing and expends significant time, effort, and money, marketing the property, showing the property, coordinating the sales efforts, and is compensated only if the sale closes. A discount broker, on the other hand, receives a fee upfront and therefore is not incented to provide any level of service. The Seller assumes more responsibility on showings, answering questions, and coordinating the events that take place before, during and after the property goes under contract.
2) Fourteen West will advise an owner on the correct price range to place their property based upon sales data and actual inspections of sold and active listings. Pricing a property properly is very important in the process of successful selling! Discount brokers typically will let the owner set the price, or will assist the owner to the extent a computer program will allow.
3) Fourteen West will assist an owner in staging their property to better showcase good features and minimize the impact any ‘negatives’ may pose. Owners are not always able to disengage themselves enough to notice flaws because they are emotionally tied to the property. We offer objectivity. Discount brokers will not bother… nor do they care.
4) Fourteen West will promote the property via multiple internet sites, flyers, both Atlanta area MLSs, caravans, personal contacts within the REALTOR community, etc. Owners do not have that capability and discount brokers are not going to bother.
5) Fourteen West will follow-up on showings and retrieve feedback whenever possible. Many heads are better than one…feedback is an important component in staying competitive with other properties on the market that are competing for the limited buyer ‘pool’. Owners do not have the time, and discount brokers are not incented to do this.
6) Fourteen West assists in the negotiations of an offer. An owner sometimes get’s emotional and/or scared; oftentimes resulting in leaving ‘money on the table’, or running off a good, potential buyer due to their hard-line tactics. A discount broker seldom gets involved in this part of the process.
7) Fourteen West will coordinate the activities necessary after a property goes under contract, and before the closing. An owner is blind to this part of the transaction and the discount broker, again, does not care.
- Scott Askew
Posted in: Tips for Sellers
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