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Real Estate Tips

Check your Curb Appeal . . .

  • Paint front door and all other areas that need attention
  • Repair visible damage
  • Landscaping . . . keep lawn mowed and trim plants, remove weeds and dead plants.
  • Sweep the front steps and entryway

Interior

  • Remove ALL Clutter - Have a garage sale and donate or haul away what's leftover
  • Get rid of clutter in hiding spots! People will look behind your doors, in closets, basements and crawl spaces
  • Clean carpets or replace worn out carpet
  • Correct any cosmetic flaws
  • Re grout tile walls and floors
  • Replace dated faucets, light fixtures, and the handles and knobs on your kitchen cabinets.
  • Pack anything you won't use between now and moving day. Store the boxes away from high traffic areas

Brighten the environment

  • Clean windows and other glass
  • Paint rooms that need it
  • Polish fixtures
  • While selling, switch low watt bulbs to high watt and turn on all lights even for daytime showings
  • Keep kitchen sparkling. Keep counters clutter-free

Pricing your home

Estimate the Value of your Home . . . You don't want to price your home too high or too low. An appraisal - which of course is costly will compare your home to other homes that have sold in your area and will help to predict a real good idea of the value of your home. This is a good starting point. Combined with the following steps, you should have a realistic listing price that is reasonable and competitive. You can also Estimate the value of your home or other real estate in seconds online!

Additional Costs . . . Consider the costs of selling your home (or preparing your home to sell) such as improvements, repairs and advertising. Include in your budget incentives. For instance, you may want to offer a "cash back at closing carpet allowance" if your carpet is old or a non-neutral color. People love to know they will get cash back at closing.

Test the Waters . . . It's critical that your home be competitive in price. Buyers do comparative shopping and act fast on a good deal. A good priced home will attract attention and generate activity from home buyers and brokers. If you aren't seeing the activity, it is a clear indication that the listing price is not satisfying the marketplace test.

Leave room for negotiation . . . Buyers like to know they are getting a good deal. If you list your house for $250,000 and refuse to negotiate an offer received of $245,000, your potential buyer may not feel that you are a willing participate in this (hence the term) "negotiation". If $250,000 is your goal for this sale, set your price at about $260,000 to $269,000. If you are negotiating a contract and come down to your desired price of $250,000 - then you are happy and the buyer get's a warm fuzzy that he got a good deal.

Effective Selling Tips

"For Sale by Owner" yard signs . . . Big red signs are the best. Everyone easily recognizes this sign.

Directional signs . . . Place these at the end of major streets. Use several if you live on a low-traffic street. Write your address on the signs with a permanent marker.

Flyer box flyers . . . It's very important to have flyers. When you upload your listing information, just print these pages to use as your flyer if you don't have flyers already. Post your flyer on church bulletins, local markets, and work bulletins. Many homes have been sold with this simple effort. Your buyer will be glad you did it too.

Internet Marketing . . . Take advantage of the Internet. In 2003, 35% of real estate sold was located on the Internet and each year, the statistic gets higher.

MLS . . . This has always been the real estate agent's magic weapon. But now, you too can list your property on the MLS. It's very effective! Put your home in front of real estate agents all across the U.S. Save thousands of dollars in real estate commissions by listing your home for FLAT FEE. With MLS advertising programs, if a buyer's agent finds a buyer for your home, you will pay the buyer's agent a commission. But you will not pay a listing agent commission. However, if you find your own buyer without the assistance of a Realtor, YOU WILL OWE NO COMMISSIONS! MLS is available in ALL AREAS thru flatfeelisting.com - click-here to read testimonials of past sellers. The MLS is the key to selling your home quickly, easily and for a good price.

Advertising . . . Newspaper ads, Bulletin Boards, Open Houses, Word of Mouth, all these ways can be an effective tool in selling your real estate.

Qualified Buyers Curious Lookers

Mortgage . . . Figure out how much income a buyer will need in order to qualify for a mortgage on your home. Learn to ask people about their finances before you begin negotiations. Otherwise, you are just wasting everyone's time.

Phone Calls . . . Watch out for callers who ask if you'll take no money down or carry the mortgage, especially if they don't seem to be interested in the amount of square footage in the house or other important information. They may have credit issues. If they don't have a pre-qualified mortgage, you may find yourself tied up for months in a contract that eventually goes nowhere.

Drive Buyers . . . Don't admit a stranger who knocks on your door into your house. Insist on an appointment time and as a safety precaution - a phone number, so you can "Call to confirm the appointment."

FSBO Contracts

FSBO Kit . . . It claims to have all the forms contracts you need to complete the sale of your home. Have you seen it? It's all over the Internet. Use caution before using the contracts from this kit when selling your property. The reason is very simple. Your state is very specific about the legalities of selling a home in YOUR state. Certain forms are required under certain circumstances (lead paint, age of house, disclosure, etc...) The FSBO Kit has generic contracts with generic forms that would most likely not satisfy your state's requirements. So how do you get the form's you need? EASY! Decide which title company will close your home in advance. They will be more than happy to supply to you with all the contracts you need and you won't have to worry about your state's real estate sale requirements not being met.

Title Company . . . A title company provides title insurance policies. The title company specializes in title searches and insures that title to real estate property will not be adversely impaired by undisclosed defects or encumbrances, and compensates the owner in the event that such impairments are discovered. Title company is the third, neutral party in a transaction. This company does not work for any specific person in the transaction, in accordance with state law. Their fees are reasonable and their service and experience are invaluable. You may have to seek the help of an attorney to make sure everything is in order when selling as a FSBO.

Good Luck selling your home!