Report 1
Selecting an Agent to Market Your Home
Choosing a real estate agent is the first and most important step in selling your home. You should strive to find an agent who will work hard to achieve six basic goals: 1) obtaining the best possible offer, regarding both price and terms, from a qualified buyer, 2) doing so in the quickest possible time-frame, 3) doing so with the least inconveniences to you, 4) taking care of all details to assure that the transaction closes, 5) always representing your best interests throughout the course of the transaction, and 6) keeping you informed at all times.
Obtaining a good offer in a relatively short time-frame requires an agent with good marketing skills. Ask your agent for a specific marketing plan on how he/she plans to sell your home. Find out if the agent plans to use the benefits of the multiple listing service to allow other agents to show and sell your home. Ask about advertising, flyers, open houses, and other specific ideas which your agent may have.
Obtaining a good offer also requires proper pricing. Be sure that your agent is familiar with your area and that he/she researches comparable properties to help you determine price. Don't pick an agent based on price alone. Always use comparables and objective data to set the price.
Some agents make the mistake of thinking that the marketing efforts need to be heightened near the end of the listing period, when the house still hasn't sold. Actually, for best results there should be a marketing 'blitz' during the first few weeks that the home is on the market. The gives you a much better idea if price or exposure is the problem. Make sure, though, that your agent intends to continue a basic marketing strategy throughout the listing period.
Choose an agent who is dedicated and diligent. You're not only paying a commission for the agent's real estate knowledge, experience, and marketing expertise, but also so you can relax and avoid the many headaches involved with a real estate transaction. Make sure that your agent is committed to making the necessary phone calls, obtaining and delivering the required documents and paperwork, and meeting with inspectors, appraisers, surveyors, lenders, and escrow agents, among others, to assure that your sale proceeds smoothly.
And, don't underestimate the importance of the agent's overall real estate knowledge. An agent's practical experience can often help you avoid the pitfalls that inevitably come up in so many real estate deals. It sometimes requires a great deal of creativity to hold a deal together, so it doesn't hurt to have someone on your side who has dealt with similar problems in the past.
The issue of agency is also vital. When you sign a listing agreement you are choosing a person and a company to represent your best interests at all times, including pricing, marketing, and negotiating. Be sure that your agent is fully aware of his or her duties and responsibilities, both legally and ethicaly. Not only should your agent protect your interests during the course of the listing, but he or she should also comunicate regularily, informing you of all pertinent details, so that you can make intelligent decisions.
In most cases your best interests are served by an exclusive right-to-sell listing. However, be sure to understand the specific contractual agreements, their implications, and the time-frame involved before signing a listing agreement.
Report 2
5 Steps to a Quick Sale
One of the major factors in getting your house to sell quickly is simply put: make it attractive. Most buyers select their home based on emotion and then justify the decision with facts, so it's important to make the house inviting and pleasant. Yours is not the only property the prospective buyer will see. You are competing with model homes, homes that may have been professionally decorated, and homes that have no children, no pets, and Mr. and Mrs. Perfection as owners.
1. Go through room by room and pack up to 30% of the accessories. If you doubt the wisdom of this, go back to those model homes and compare their counter tops with yours, their coffee tables with yours. The cardinal rule is this: "The way you live in a home and the way you sell a home are two different things." I know this will take some time and may seem like a nuisance, but remember you are in competition with other properties. He how winds the Good Housekeeping Award will probably sell their home first... and for the highest dollar. Also look at it this way, you are going to be moving anyway so just consider it advance packing. Specifically, pack any collections and family photos you have displayed. Too much of your personality in evidence does not allow for the potential buyer to mentally move in.
2. Off-white walls are best. If painting is required, use a flat latex except in kitchens and baths where you will use semi-gloss latex. If walls are dirty, experiment to see if scrubbing them is better than painting. If you have wallpaper, make sure it is clean and up to date. If not, strip it (some wallpaper is easy to strip if first sprayed with window cleaner). After stripping it, either paint or rewallpaper, depending on the condition of the walls. Sponge painting is also an easy, attractive alternative. Repair badly cracked plaster, loose door knobs and crooked light fixtures. Correct faulty plumbing. Leaky faucets can discolor porcelain and call attention to plumbing. To remove mineral stains from such leaks, pour hydrogen peroxide on the stain, and then sprinkle cream of tartar. Leave this for 30 minutes before scrubbing. Bad stains may require 2 or 3 applications.
3. Next, make your home sparkle. If you don't have the time or the inclination, hire someone to thoroughly clean the house. Clean windows, mini-blinds, curtains, and drapes. In the kitchen, clean appliances inside and out. Remove grease and grime by scrubbing with undiluted vinegar. Scrub the inside of the refrigerator with baking soda; not only does it not scratch, but it removes odors by pouring hot sale water down the drain twice a week. Grand citrus peeling or apple cores in the garbage disposal. Leave a small uncovered container of vinegar in the corner of your kitchen counter. Have bathrooms scrubbed to pass a white glove inspection. If tubs or sinks are rusting, have them reglazed. Clean grouting of the tiles with Tilex. Recaulk the tub and shower. If you have some appliqués in the tub which have seen better days, remove them by scrubbing them with a kerosene soaked cloth. Then rub the remaining adhesive with a cloth and cooking oil until all traces of the adhesive are gone. If you are at home, light a small candle for atmosphere and pleasant aroma. Hang a set of designer bath towels on the most prominent rack complete with verbal instruction to your family not to use them.
4. Pets should be out of sight and out of smell. If you have pets, you need to get rid of the pet odors and it is recommended that pets themselves be kept out of the way and out of the house during showings if possible. Some people are uneasy around animals and they may detract from the prospect's attention. Getting pets out of the way is, unfortunately, much easier than getting pet odors out of the way. If flooring has been repeatedly stained with animal urine, you'll probably have to replace it to get rid of the smell. And that means the carpet, the pad, the carpet strips, and the baseboard trim; the sub flooring will need to be treated to kill the odor. Put a small uncovered dish of vinegar in the room where your pet sleeps to remove smells. Of course, put the dish off the floor so your pet doesn't drink the vinegar. To absorb odors in the cat litter box, add a cup of baking soda to the litter. Food smells can work for you or against you. Baking bread, cookies, and pies all smell good. Spaghetti sauce is a delicious smell. Frying fish or liver and onions is objectionable. And of course, nowadays the smell of cigarette smoke is offensive to many. If your house has an unpleasant smell, use scented candles, fragrant fresh flowers, or the proverbial vinegar in a dish. Two other options are Ozium, a commercial preparation to remove odors from the air rather than masking them, and Glade Plug-Ins which you find at your grocery store.
5. Lighting also plays an important role. During the day, have all your curtains and blinds open. If the day is cloudy, turn on all lamps as well. At dusk, put blinds down but leave them open. Turn on all lamps. Overhead lamps should be turned on but dimmed by 40% (installing dimmers is easy and very effective for setting the stage). At night, use the same lighting formula as above, but close all the binds, curtains and drapes. Adding candlelight is very effective. Turn off televisions during all showings of your house as they are distracting. Put on soft background music (smooth jazz is always a winner). Once you have set the stage, leave the house for the agent to show it. Prospects can more easily look at the house with no distractions. They will also feel free to ask questions to the agent. Finally buyers can mentally move in better without current owners around. You should be comfortably warm in cold weather and moderately cool in warm weather.
Report 3
Home Seller's Guide
This handy guide has everything you need to know about selling from searching to closing.
Such
AS...
- Using an Agent to Sell your home
- A checklist for preparing your house for sale
- Showing your home - do's and dont's
- The purchase and sale agreement - explained
- Home inspections - what you need to know
- Worksheet - Calculating your net proceeds
- Moving Tips
- Packing Tips
- Settlement - who pays what
- Glossory of frequently used terms
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