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Selling your home in today's market can be a challenge. We would like to offer our resources to help you make this challenge a little easier and more profitable for you.
Below are some articles that you may find helpful when preparing to sell your home. Click on the article title below. Property Flipping: Selling for a Quick Profit Preparing to show your home for sale Negotiating the sale of your home Preparing for the real estate settlement
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Property Flipping: Selling for a Quick Profit"Flipping property" is as legal and ethical as the person doing the flipping. It can be potentially lucrative if you know what you are doing. Potential buyers looking for the perfect house will not care that the house was purchased for less if the work and repairs were done in a professional manner. Many people do not have time to "fix-up" houses and prefer one that they can just move into without any hassle, as long as the house is not overpriced for the area. A vacant house with fresh paint, new kitchen, bathroom, windows, roof, etc., will give the buyer a better picture on how they want to decorate and arrange their own prized possessions. "Flipping" is when an investor buys a piece of real estate and then quickly resells it at a higher price, either a few days or months later. It has gotten a bad rap, though, for several reasons. In order to succeed, some investors have been known to commit fraud, often through the use of stretched appraisals that improperly push up the value of the property. There are also many honest investors who make good money by flipping properties, without disrupting their local markets. The strategy is to find properties that are underpriced with values that can reasonably be marked up after they are fixed or repaired before they are resold. Just be aware of the risks, which are considerable. If you plan to flip a property, there's a good chance you will have to pay a 6% realtor commission to sell it. That means if you are selling a $200,000 home, you will need to make $12,000 in profit just to offset your fees. You also have to factor in repair costs for the home, which can be substantial, plus all the time and labor you put into the process.
Seller's MarketsThe dynamics of the real estate markets are constantly shifting based on the number of houses currently available for sale, interest rates, and a myriad of other factors. If you are buying a home, this can impact how you negotiate the terms of the sale. When a market is said to be a "seller's market," that means that the buyer has less leverage--or power, if you will--than the seller. How? In a seller's market, local real estate companies are generally under-stocked with inventory, which means there are fewer homes for buyers to choose from and selling prices are generally higher. The fewer houses there are for buyers to choose from, the more competition there is among buyers. This frequently leads to bidding wars between buyers with houses often selling for more than the original asking price. Buyers in a seller's market need to understand the markets they are buying in so they do not pay unreasonably high selling prices. In the hot markets seen throughout the U.S. over the past couple of years, many buyers have begun using the services of a buyer's broker. Buyer's brokers work for you exclusively looking for the best property to meet your needs at the best selling price. Back To Top
Before rushing to get your home on the market take a few days or weeks to prepare the home for sale. Keep in mind that home buyers generally have plenty of choices in the marketplace and that you're not only competing with homes in your neighborhood, but also with homes in a fairly large radius surrounding your home, even new homes construction. If you haven't sold a home in a while, schedule some time to visit "Open Houses" to see what the competition's up to. It's a good idea to have a professional home inspection in advance of your sale to find any hidden defects that may affect your sale. Also consider having a professional "home staging" company preview your home for tips on how to present your home in the best possible light. Back To Top
The most important decision you'll make in selling your home is proper Home Valuation. It's been said by many real estate professional that 80% of marketing a home is Pricing Your Home to Sell. The number one reason For Sale By Owner home seller's fail is due to an overpriced home - incorrect home value or listing price. Priced too high and you're property will languish on the market, either getting no showings or a lot of showings with no contracts. Priced too low and you'll leave money on the table. Their are a number of online pricing services available today that are a good starting point, especially if your home is in an area where the homes are fairly similar to one another. It's always best to get a professional home appraisal for unique properties. Although generally not as accurate or detailed, real estate agents are usually willing to do a free comparative market analysis (CMA) of your home which will give you data on similar home sales within the past year. If not a trip to the local court house can help you determine the prices of recent, similar home sales. Back To Top
If you want to sell your home for the highest possible price, in the least amount of time (and who doesn't) you'll want to expose information your property to as many potential home buyers as possible. Of course the number one method for exposing your home to the public is the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The MLS is responsible for over 75% of home sales nationwide. By comparison, newspaper classifieds account for less than 10% of home sales. A listing in the MLS also gives your property exposure on the Internet. Most MLSs have data exchange programs so that properties listed in the MLS appear on websites like Realtor.com, AOL.com, Yahoo.com and MSN.com as well as and individual brokerage company websites. It's estimated that over 70% of home buyers now begin their search on the Internet, so a listing on the MLS not only provides marketing exposure to all of the Realtors in your area, but also home buyers around the world. Other methods of marketing include "Open Houses"- where you hold your home open to the public for preview, newspaper classifieds, homes magazines, Internet web pages, and For Sale yard signs. Back To Top
Preparing to show your home for sale Preparing your home for sale is an important step that many home sellers overlook. Getting your home in tip top condition before showing can mean the difference between a quick sale and a lengthy time on market.
Negotiating the sale of your home Negotiation involves knowing what you absolutely are willing to give up and what you won't give up under any circumstances. This can mean price, but it can also mean terms such as closing date, repairs and closing costs. Having a written set of negotiations "must haves" can make the negotiation process smoother for you and help set the tone for negotiations. Knowing what outcome you want in advance will help you avoid haggling over minor items that could cost you the sale. Successful negotiations involve being strategically flexible.
Preparing for a home inspections If you followed the advice in the "Preparing Your Home For Sale" Tip, this part of the home selling process should be a breeze. Home buyers will most likely request an inspection of the home and having had your own home inspection in advance of putting the home on the market will help you avoid unexpected repair costs. Anticpate the buyer's home inspector finding something wrong with the home - it's shows the buyer they're doing their job. But keep in mind that repairs ARE negotiable. Some things that home inspectors find wrong with a home are really "shoulds" instead of "have tos". Unless the requested repair is an actual defect in the property, it's not appropriate for you to bear the cost of remediation. Rotted siding is a defect; old or worn paint or wall paper is not. Even an old roof doesn't necessarily need replacing as long as there is some useful life to it. Again, it's all negotiable. If it's an actual defect in the property, you still don't have to repair it, but then again, the buyer doesn't have to buy your house either. Back To Top
Here's where most sellers (and agents) drop the ball. Just because you have a signed contract and the home inspections and contingencies have been satisfied doesn't mean closing on time is assured. It's important to follow-up with the mortgage lender and the closing company, be it a title company or real estate attorney's office, to make sure everything is going along as anticipated. Sometimes buyers can drag their feet getting requested documents to the lender which delays the entire process and, of course, delays the closing date. This can become a huge issue if you have moving trucks lined up and utilities set to go off on a certain day. It's a good idea to check in with the loan officer and the closing paralegal at least once a week to see what's going on. Also, make sure that any repairs that need to be made are taken care of well in advance of closing and receipts for any work you've done forwarded to the closing company. Back To Top
The key to a successful move is preparation. Get as much done as soon as you can and you'll avoid much of the stress associated with home moving - and anticipate the stress. Relocation is never easy or simple, so having a checklist is a great idea. If you're planning on hiring a mover, get moving quotes at least 2 months in advance. Now's a good time to get rid of things as well. If your attic looks like you couldn't possibly get one more thing in it, you may want to consider a yard sale or donating some things to charity. If you borrowed anything from neighbors, this would be the time to return it. Don't wait til you've moved and have to mail it them. Pack early and often - especially little used items The more you can do before the week of the move the better. If you're planning a long move, have your cars serviced in advance. Back To Top
Preparing for the real estate settlement If you've followed the above steps, closing should go fairly smoothly. Find out from the closing company or attorney if you are expected to attend closing. This can vary depending on tradition in the area. If you don't have to attend the closing make sure that the closing company has a signed deed to the property properly prepared by an attorney. You'll also want to drop off any keys to the house as well as remote door openers and alarm codes and instructions. Before money can be disbursed from a real estate closing, the proper documents have to be recorded at the courthouse. This can take up to a day or more for you to get your settlement proceeds unless you arrange in advance for the recordation to take place on the day of the closing. Make sure the settlement company knows when you need the funds to close on your next home so that they can plan accordingly. Back To Top
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