I Don’t Want to Give My House Away!!

This is what is now becoming a common statement during a listing presentation. It can also be followed by:

• I paid this amount for this home and I won’t accept less!!
• My friend, who watches houses all the time, looked up my home on Zillow* and they said it was worth much more than that!

*You can change that from Zillow to Trulia, or facebook, or any other social media sites out there

• I don’t care what the market says, I won’t sell for less than I think it is worth !!!
• I am waiting for the value of my house to go back to where it was before I sell.

Before you get angry with your Realtor, remember the price at which your house will sell  is driven by what a buyer will pay. So here are some thoughts to consider :

1. Why are you selling in the first place? Do you have to move to a new location for a job, downsize so you have more time to pursue other interests, do you need more room? Ask yourself the following: Is selling  at market value better for you, your family,  your life?
2. Look at your monthly expenses. How much does it cost you to maintain your house? Figure out your monthly expense for your mortgage, insurance, real estate taxes, utilities, Homeowners association fees, lawn care, etc. The higher your house is priced over market value the longer it will be on the market. Can you afford to wait and continue to pay these expenses or is it better to sell by bringing the price in line with the market?

What can you do to get the most money possible for your home?

1. The appearance of your home makes a huge difference in whether a buyer wants to see the inside of your home. The exterior “curb appeal” is the first impression a buyer has of your home. Are you willing to put the time, energy, and expense that may be necessary to get your house sold for the best price possible?
2. Listen to what your Realtor tells you about the market. If your neighborhood has a lot of houses on the market that are similar to yours, you have to price it to be the best house at the best price.
3. Make sure you and your Realtor understand what type of buyer will be purchasing your home and target the marketing to future buyers. With over 90% of all buyers researching homes online your Realtor needs to have a major web presence with a dedicated page to showcase your home above and beyond the MLS listing.

Realtors do not control market values. We can only report what is currently happening in the market. The price of your home is determined by what other homes in your neighborhood  have sold for, how many houses are on the market that are like yours, and how prepared is your home for the market.  With that knowledge you have to decide if now is the right time to sell for you and your family.

Preparing Your Home for the Spring Sales Season

The sun has finally arrived , the forsythia is blooming, and you are ready to sell your house! As mentioned in previous entries , look at the outside of your home and get it ready for sale as much as the inside.

Charlene Storozuk, a designer and home stager in Ontario, wrote an excellent piece titled

Selling Your Home? Tips On Preparing It For The Spring Housing Market .

Now is the time to fertilize, and put lime on the yard to make it green. Rake the leaves, clean the garden beds, and get rid of dead trees. Limb up branches of trees, and trim bushes to see windows and doors. Most importantly , remove all the debris from the yard – don’t leave it sitting around in bags, or piles. No one wants to see your trash!

Remember : Buyers drive by a house before contacting their Realtor to see the inside. If it doesn’t look clean and neat on the outside, they assume the same will hold true on the inside.A little bit of time and money spent on the outside can be the difference between selling or not selling your house.

Getting your house ready to sell

You’ve seen staging on HGTV and know how to depersonalize the inside of your home. But what about the outside?
Most home buyers drive past a home and decide if they want to be taken inside. Can you see the house through the trees? Do the bushes cover the windows? Is the yard filled with moss?
Take the time , or hire someone, to clean up the yard, limb up the trees, trim up the bushes, clean off the driveway, power wash the house, wash the windows and clean the outside light fixtures. Be sure you make the house inviting from the outside so that people driving by want to see what you have to offer on the inside.If they can’t see it why would they want to buy it?