Make Your House a Work of Art

02.25.17 by

Make Your Stuart House a Work of Art

Martin County - Sailfish fountain

Your house is a work of art; or at least it can be, in the hands of the right Realtor.

When you list your home for sale with a Realtor, rest assured that he/she will use a vast variety of marketing tools available in their professional arsenal to display and present your home to the very best effect; up to and including the portrayal of your home as a virtual work of art—and in a variety of interesting and increasingly high tech means:

1. The Realtor will photograph your home. Just about any residential sales listing will come complete with beautiful high definition photographs that showcase both the interior and exterior of your home. These pictures might appear on the Realtor’s website, in newspaper ads, and in the pages of real estate magazines, and will come accompanied by vivid and detailed written descriptions that also serve to define the benefits and selling points of your residence.

2. The Realtor will videotape your home. Many real estate professionals offer professional-style video shoots that capture the beauty and complexity of your residence; footage that will be streamed in the form of virtual home tours; videotaped open houses, so to speak, that will show interested home buyers every nook and cranny of your residence—and in what is literally in the best possible light.

3. The Realtor will draw your home. Even before the modern age of video and graphics, real estate professionals employed the use of detailed pen and paper illustrations in an effort to sell homes. These drawings could take the form of basic but defined illustrations created with a pencil, or a beautiful painted rendering that bears a strong likeness to a work of art. Traditionally real estate renderings have been included in packages along with press releases that advertise the sale of the home, and also have been printed as part and parcel of home for sale advertisements; whether they appear in newspapers, listing books and home magazines. These days one also can find renderings on the Realtor’s website, as a supplement to videos and high definition photographs that also show off the residence to the very best effect.

4. The Realtor will show your home. We all know that video, graphics and just the right lighting are not all that makes your home beautiful. Through open houses and prescheduled showings of your home, you and your Realtor can show potential buyers that your home truly is a work of art.

If you’re ready to list your Stuart (or Treasure Coast) house, give me a call (772-323-6996).

Gabe Sanders

Stuart FL Real Estate

Social Media Sells

11.12.16 by

Social Media Sells

Social Media

These days you can sell just about anything through social networking. Whether it’s a car, a book, an antique doll, a CD or DVD collection, the art of social networking has the miraculous ability to connect buyers and sellers with the merchandise you have up for offer. Have something to sell, in just about any service or product category? Then by all means Tweet it, Facebook it, Instagram it to your heart’s (and, or so we hope, your wallet’s) consent.

Yet if your current product up for offer happens to be a house, you may want to think twice about just throwing your residential listing up on your full range of social media accounts. Instead of trying to personally handle the sale of your home via social media, you instead may wish to ask your local real estate professional to do your Tweeting, Facebooking, Instagramming, etc., for you. Why, you ask? Well here are some of the reasons:

1. Professional Realtors know all of the various methods of selling a home. Furthermore, they know just how to use each method and means to the very best effect; up to and including social media networks. They know exactly how to word a Tweet, a Facebook posting, or other sort of message in a way that grabs the attention of potential sellers; listing the specifics and using the exact marketing lingo sure to secure optimum sales.

2. Professional real estate agents know how to present a home for sale without violating the guidelines and terms of service established through various social media networks. They make it their business to know the limitations and regulations associated with each site, and can post listings in a way that does not cast them into the realm of spam.

3. Professional real estate agents set up social media accounts for the specific purpose of selling homes. You, on the other hand, might wish to keep your private social media accounts just that—private. Some of your friends and followers might be dismayed at the appearance of any type of sales ad, regardless of how you phrase its wording.

4. People visit real estate social media networks and accounts for the specific purpose of buying houses. Their postings attract a vast multitude of potential buyers, all of whom will see and review the sales listing for your own beautiful home.

 

Tips to Help Choose a Realtor

07.04.16 by

Realtor

The purchase of a new home ranks among the most pivotal decisions in the life of any individual; but this is not an experience that you have to undertake alone. By hiring a professional real estate agent, you can acquire an invaluable friend and partner in the home buying business.

Of course it is well worth noting that the process of choosing a Realtor can in itself be daunting and intimidating. Whenever you surf the Internet or flip through a phone book, open a newspaper or community magazine, take a peek up at the billboards that line your community roadways, or turn on a local television show, you no doubt will see countless advertisements advertising the services of Realtors and real estate agents. They all look friendly and professional, to be sure; but the question remains, which Realtor is just right for you?

Well while we can’t select your Realtor for you, we can give you some basic guidelines that will help you make an informed and ultimately beneficial choice for you.

1. Check their creds. As with any trained professional, a real estate agent should hold the licenses and certifications that well qualify them to do their job—and do it well.

2. Interview your Realtor. Just as you would interview any professional that you wish to undertake any major job for you—from your plumber to your house cleaner to your interior decorator—you may want to sit down with your prospective Realtor and question them about their credentials and experience, as well as their solid and concrete plan for selling your home.

3. Take your time. Unless you have an urgent and pressing need to sell your home as soon as possible, you probably want to take your time in choosing a Realtor. Search local newspapers or phone books and search the Internet to find a number of qualified candidates for the job; then conduct a thorough interview process that will—with any luck—net you the perfect Realtor for the job.

4. Get to know your Realtor. By both conducting prolonged conversations with and perusing the website of your chosen real estate agent, you can really get to know your Realtor. Read their blogs, have coffee with them, check out interviews they’ve done with newspapers and real estate trade publications. Make a friend of your Realtor!

 

Listen to Your Realtor

05.16.16 by

Listen to Your Realtor

Realtor

In their quest to sell their homes for the best prices and under optimum conditions, people often hire a trained real estate professional to help them in their quest. And they may consider their Realtor as just that; a helper who will sell their home under their conditions, and under their specific dictates.

While your Realtor indeed has been hired to serve and assist you in what can be a challenging and even daunting process, you may want to slightly shift your perception of this trained real estate professional; thinking of he/she more as your informed partner as opposed to your employee.

When you think of it, the two of you together just may form the perfect and ideal home selling partnership. For while you have a great deal of inside information regarding your home and its many assets and amenities, your Realtor will have the knowledge and the experience to determine which of these assets qualify as verified selling points. And furthermore, they will know how to showcase these points to the very best effect.

You already know, of course, that you have a beautiful home. Yet your Realtor is likely to have a great deal of advice about how to sell this residence; and in a great variety of ways.

agent

1. Your Realtor has an endless and very helpful array of marketing tools right at their fingertips. They can photograph, videotape, compose written descriptions of and conduct physical face to face showings of your magnificent residence, and on websites and in newspapers, magazines and other publications that people consult for the specific purpose of shopping for a new home.

2. Your Realtor may have a more realistic view of your home than—well, than you do. Sorry! You may have the perception that your home is an ebullient showplace worthy of the top price on the market. Your real estate professional, on the other hand, can view your house through a substantially more objective lens; comparing its assets and drawbacks to those possessed by other houses currently on the market.

3. Your Realtor knows all of the rules and regulations involved in selling a home. Terms such as interest rates, mortgages, home inspections and closing costs may threaten to boggle your mind; yet with the help of a trained real estate professional, you can indeed navigate the waters of legal and efficiently conducted home sales.

So as you seek to market and sell your home, it is always important to listen to your Realtor!  And, if you are looking for a Realtor who knows the Treasure Coast of Florida, give me a call.

The Top 5 Reasons Every Buyer & Seller Should Hire a Realtor

04.29.16 by

Hire a Realtor

The number of homeowners attempting to sell by owner has dropped to record low levels. Now more than ever, it seems, homeowners and buyers alike recognize the importance of using a real estate professional. In fact, 87% of buyers last year used a Realtor, according to the National Association of Realtors. Most glaring, only 8% of homeowners were FSBO sales in 2015.

There are many reasons to use a Realtor, but here are The Top 5 Reasons Every Buyer & Seller Should Hire a Realtor:

1.  Agents Know What Buyers Want:  An experienced real estate agent can see what potential buyers will see – and perhaps details you have overlooked.  Agents are in tune with buyer needs, fears, nonnegotiables, and preferences.  Setting the stage for prospective purchasers is an extremely important part of the marketing process, and a good agent will provide you with tips, checklists, and feedback from a would-be buyers perspective.

2.  Agents are Real Estate Marketing Experts.  A real estate professional will provide you with a written marketing plan that outlines all the activities required to get your house sold at the highest possible price, in the least amount of time.  Real estate marketing is not about a yard sign, property flyers in an info box, or open houses. Real estate marketing is all about listing syndication, exposing your home to the greatest audience of buyers and their agents, and providing financing insight specific to your property.  Most important of all, a real estate professional will set the right list price from the start. They know that if you don’t price it right on day one, your chances of selling, and recouping your equity, will diminish with each passing day.

3.  Agents Know How To Handle the Multiple Sell.  Not only do they have to sell your home to a potential buyer, real estate professionals have to sell your home to the other agents in the area, and to the lender via the appraisal process.  An agent will guide you as to how to best position your property and your pricing to ensure the best odds of satisfying the often conflicting pricing opinions of all three.

4.  Agents are Skilled Negotiators.  A professional will be the calming influence you need in the midst of stressful negotiations. They’re also the objective third-party “buffer” in the process.  Experience has taught them that there are many creative ways to bring contract negotiations to a successful close.

5.  Agents Keep the Transaction Together.   There are many moving parts before the closing.  Inspections, financing contingencies, and title searches are such some of the steps that can derail a transaction.  A knowledgeable and experienced agent will take on these contingencies, renegotiate the details, and keep the transaction moving forward to a successful close.

If you’re looking for a top agent on Florida’s Treasure Coast give the Gabe Sanders BlueWater Realty Team a call.

Reprinted with permission from Partner Xchange

Sweet Sorrow? When it’s Parting Time with Your Realtor®

07.23.15 by

Sweet Sorrow? When it’s Parting Time with Your Realtor®

 

It’s true of any commercial offering: sometimes a perfectly saleable item doesn’t move off the shelves as rapidly as predicted. Real estate is no exception—not every Stuart home is sold as quickly as its owner and the property’s Realtor® wish. When that happens, and the term of the original listing expires, an important decision must be made: should the listing be renewed, or should another Stuart Realtor be enlisted to try a different approach?

If you have been dissatisfied with the amount of effort your current Stuart Realtor has demonstrated up to now, the decision will be easier than otherwise—especially if you have already communicated your impression and been less than overwhelmed by the response. You are right to expect that your Stuart Realtor will have posted attractive, accurate listing material for the MLS, has included your property in the advertising program that goes out to the community, and has been diligent and professional in showings and (if it was agreed upon) open house presentations. You should have been able to contact her or him within a reasonable amount of time when communications were called for, been satisfied by the punctuality of appointments when scheduled.

If performance in any of these basics has been unsatisfactory, it’s entirely reasonable to entertain a change in representation. On the other hand, if your Realtor has not disappointed in any dimension, you are left in a problematical situation—one which has no clear-cut solution. Whether or not your inclination is to stick with the team in place, to make the right decision you need more information. The best guidance is—get it!

  • Before you decide whether or not to extend the relationship, ask your agent to review the days on market (DOM) for similar nearby Martin County properties.  An analysis will show whether yours is the only slow-moving property, or whether it has simply hit a lull in neighborhood activity.
  • Ask yourself whether you have paid attention to the suggestions offered by your current Realtor.  If you have chosen to bypass any of them, this could be an appropriate point at which to reappraise.
  • If you have had many showings with few offers forthcoming, it’s a pretty good sign that your asking price is higher than prospective buyers believe is justified. If that’s the case, changing Realtors alone isn’t likely to have the desired effect. You’ll need to fix whatever problems visitors are seeing…or else lower the price.

If a hard-headed analysis tells you that switching Stuart Realtors is warranted, don’t worry too much about the reaction you will get. Most Realtors are very professional; they know that clients do occasionally change representation for a number of reasons, and that hard feelings are simply not warranted. Be ready to interview several agents and to compare what they offer. Pay extra attention to how they propose to stimulate activity—you are well-positioned to appraise their ideas!

For my clients, in addition to an energetic marketing approach, I put a premium on keeping the highest quality communications flowing at all times. Give me a call whenever you have a Martin County real estate query!

Stuart Real Estate Pro Lends a Hand via Relocation Expertise

06.08.15 by

Stuart Real Estate Pro Lends a Hand via Relocation Expertise

 sailfish

Remember the good old days, when most people could depend on staying in the same job in the same community for an entire career? Okay; the truth is, I don’t actually remember any time like that—but I do remember watching TV shows about it… The truth is, as with so many other facets of 21st Century life, sudden career upheavals that cause a Stuart citizen to undertake an abrupt relocation are fairly common today. And accelerated timing requirements can make the situation more intense.

Even without that added obstacle, familiarity with the ins and outs of practical relocation is one of the most valuable assets you gain access to when selecting an experienced Stuart Realtor®. Especially when a relocation is in your immediate future (even if it’s a future that became apparent without a lot of warning), the reality of having to deal with the mass of details accompanying both moving out and moving in can seem like a huge gray, angry-looking cloud hanging overhead.

Just getting a handle on the details can go far to remove the mystery and dispel anxiety. A short list of the elements that need to be determined and coordinated are:

  1. Professional and school requirements
  2. Transaction imperatives in both communities
  3. Moving and storage details
  4. Utility requirements

Once a timeline is determined and a To Do checklist assembled, it will be possible to stay on top of the process. Most importantly, it will help highlight those details that seem to be falling behind— allowing them to get extra attention. Staying abreast of relocation details is the single most important keys that will lead to a smooth outcome. It’s one of Murphy’s Laws that, come moving day, any detail that has been put off until the last minute is likely to cause foul-ups of one kind or another. For instance, if the electric service wasn’t notified far enough in advance, count on the move taking place on the hottest day of the year. Unpacking cartons and moving furniture around without working air conditioners is a memory best avoided!

Any relocation is a challenge that requires a welter of decisions in areas that fall outside what people encounter in everyday living. Fortunately, it’s a challenge that your Stuart real estate professional encounters regularly. Help with practical relocation to (or from) Stuart is just one of the areas of practical expertise that is yours to tap into when you put an experienced Realtor on your team.

The days when most Americans expected to stay in the same community for a lifetime may be fading from memory, but being able to rely on your Stuart real estate professional to help master some of the most challenging upshots is still here. They may say that nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, but that shouldn’t stop you from giving me a call, anytime!

 

Questions to get the Most from Stuart FL Realtor® Interviews

06.07.15 by

 Questions to get the Most from Stuart FL Realtor® Interviews

 Realtor

Everyone agrees that getting the right Stuart FL Realtor® for your team is vital when you’re buying or selling a home­­. Defining ‘right’ isn’t hard, either: for some of us, that will be a Realtor with the kind of dynamic sales personality that seems to make obstacles just disappear; for others, the ‘right’ Realtor® is the one we just ‘clicked’ with instantly­­—somebody who speaks the same language—is on the same wavelength—who we sense immediately will be someone with whom we can work seamlessly.

Sometimes even veteran homeowners who have bought and sold residences over the years have never had to develop a penetrating interview plan. Their trusted circle of friends may have included a real estate professional, or they may have had a good experience with the Realtor who introduced them to the community. But if that individual is no longer available, it’s going to be necessary to find a suitable replacement.

It all comes down to interviews—and why it’s important to get the most out of them. Personality is a perfectly valid basis for weighing candidates who will be performing the kind of vital­­ service your Stuart Realtor will be called upon to do, but what if there is no single standout candidate in that department? If, after interviewing a host of equally sympathetic candidates, you can’t pare down the field with any degree of confidence­—what then?

You won’t have to flip a coin (or consult a fortune teller!) if you’ve asked each candidate the same group of relevant questions. Some of them will differ depending on whether you are choosing a Realtor to help you buy or sell a property, but these are universally relevant:

  • How long have you been working as a real estate professional? How long here in Martin County?
  • How do you keep your clients informed of progress?
  • What if I need to get in touch with you?
  • What kind of Martin County service providers can you connect your clients with?
  • Will you represent me only, or will you represent both buyer and seller?
  • What kind of team do you work with?
  • What is the proposed fee arrangement?

If you make note of the answers to these and other similar questions, you should emerge with a feeling that you’ve gotten the most from the interview process. Along with the ‘track record’ materials every candidate Realtor will be sure to volunteer, at the end of the day, you’ll have with a solid basis for comparison. I hope you won’t hesitate to include me in your group of candidates!

The Best Realtor® is the One Who Knows Stuart FL

05.11.15 by

The Best Realtor® is the One Who Knows Stuart FL

Realtor

When you Google “seeking the best professional,” in about a half a second you are presented with 403 million candidates (not to play favorites, Search-Engine-Wise, when you ask Bing the same thing, it gives you a mere 62.6 million…which might actually prove more useful, since it would only take you a little more than a year to scan each for 2 seconds).

Narrowing the quest, when you Google “seeking the best Realtor®,” it gives you just a few less than 2,000,000 likely results. Since anyone seeking the best real estate professional to buy or sell their home isn’t after one eight states away, almost everyone quickly narrows the search to ‘best Realtor in Stuart FL’ That number varies from time to time, but almost always more than 500,000 show up (the ones at the top are paid ads).

This isn’t actually as whimsical a quest as such results suggest: it’s a quite serious undertaking. Even if you are a veteran homeowner—someone who has bought and sold homes multiple times in the past—today’s market is so vastly different from what it was even ten years ago (thank you, Internet!) that you need to connect with a Realtor in Stuart who will bring you success in this vast new arena. This will be someone whose marketing knowhow is as current as this morning’s Tweet—but whose depth of knowledge and experience in adroitly handling the old-fashioned local workings (and, alas, paperwork) are also encyclopedic. Today, your “best Stuart Realtor” will have mastered it all.

So, what’s the right way to go about finding her/him? What’s a homeowner or prospective home buyer to do when they are bound and determined to actually find the best professional in Stuart There are positive steps to take:

  1. Word of mouth: ask around to people whose opinions are substantial. Even if you are looking to sell and someone whose opinion you trust has experience only as a buyer, take the agent’s name. The best Realtors in Stuart are great on both fronts!
  2. When you are out and about in the neighborhood, note the “For Sale” yard signs planted in the lawns of appealing-looking properties. Jot down the agent’s contact number.
  3. Check the newspapers (and even notices posted on local store bulletin boards) for open houses…then attend them!
  4. Check the Martin County MLS: see which agents are prominently represented in the Stuart listings—especially for properties in the same general price range. Look for eye-catching, well-written listings.

And finally, having compiled a list of your likely suspects, take the final and most important step of all:

  1. Stop Googling—and start interviewing!

The search for the best Realtor in Stuart will take a bit of energy—and a bit of your time—but given the significance of the task ahead, is guaranteed to be worth your while. Since you’ve found my Stuart blog, I hope you will put me on your list of best Stuart Realtors—or better yet, why not Google me and see what you get.

Your Stuart Realtor® Selection Should Include Team Chemistry

04.25.15 by

Your Stuart Realtor® Selection Should Include Team Chemistry

 BlueWater Realty Team

When you find yourself poised on the brink of any new real estate venture, there’s no more important initial step than seeking out a great Stuart Realtor® to round out your team. Without even thinking about it, everyone automatically knows that they want a real estate professional with the technical experience, communication skills, and local knowledge that such serious business requires. It also won’t hurt if your Realtor has bottomless reserves of energy and a positive attitude to match—as well as the sympathetic human traits that makes them a pleasure to work with.

There are lots of conventional channels that make it easy to identify perfectly well-qualified Stuart FL Realtors (and we are lucky to have many talented ones here in the area)—but when you’re looking for the one who will sync with you and your ultimate goals, that level of rapport will most likely take an extra proactive step or two to secure.

Positive word-of-mouth is a good way to start, but it’s realistic to remember that the one making the referral may or may not share your priorities in a working relationship. You will be working together for a while, and depending upon each other to make some significant decisions—some of which could be made under pressure. When the team has good chemistry going for it, those decisions will come easier. A few ideas that people have found helpful in finding the right Realtor:

Check out our BlueWater team‘s Open Houses

This is a good way to see us at work. Whether you are buying a home on Florida’s Treasure coast or selling your own, dropping in unexpectedly will allow you to listen to what they say and how they interact with prospects. Don’t hesitate to be upfront about your own situation: a great Realtor will be able to help other potential buyers and deal with you without missing a beat!

How we Use Social Media

You can also start conversations with us on social media to gauge how long it takes us to respond, whether or not we can give you detailed answers, and to see how we engage with other members of the public. This is a good way to tell if we use social media skillfully, building our brand while clearly valuing the people who interact with us.

Consult with Other Professionals

The opinions of contractors, mortgage brokers and repair people can be valuable, too. Professional people have an insider’s view of Stuart Realtors who work hard to get the job done efficiently.

Of course, fine-tuning your choice should include doing the conventional legwork, too. Look at our listings, ask us about our track record, read our reviews, and where we live. The rest is up to you. Needless to say, I hope we make the final cut!

Your Stuart Realtor® Selection Should Include Team Chemistry

Florida has money for foreclosed owners but few apply

01.17.13 by

Florida has money for foreclosed owners but few apply

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jan. 17, 2013 – With a Jan. 18, 2013, deadline looming, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office, working with Rust Consulting, Inc., has started picking up the phone in a last-ditch effort to contact Floridians who may be eligible for cash payments under the national mortgage settlement.

People who went through the foreclosure process between Jan. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2011, are eligible for money if they had mortgages serviced by Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase or Wells Fargo.

“It’s difficult to reach homeowners who lost their property, because there isn’t always a clear trail once they’ve moved,” says Florida Realtors Senior Vice President of Public Policy John Sebree. “Some foreclosed owners moved to hotels; some moved out of state; some may even be homeless. Attorney General Bondi’s office has made a good faith effort to find these deserving homeowners, but not enough people know about the money.”

Bondi’s office says that claims received after Jan. 18 may be considered, but payment to those claimants isn’t guaranteed. To date, only 44 percent of eligible claimants have submitted the proper forms.

Payment checks will be mailed in mid-2013, according to Bondi. A valid claimant can expect at least $840 and probably more.

This $25 billion settlement between the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers, federal government, 49 states and the District of Columbia earmarked about $1.5 billion in payments for 2 million borrowers. In Florida, approximately $170 million will be used for the claimants. All available funds will be distributed, Bondi’s office says – none will be returned to the banks or used for any other purpose.

For more information about eligibility and filing a claim:

• Visit the master claim website: NationalMortgageSettlement.com

• Email: administrator@nationalmortgagesettlement.com

• Call toll-free: 1-866-430-8358 (hearing impaired: 1-866-494-8281). The line is staffed Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central.

© 2013 Florida Realtors®

Happy Labor Day

09.03.12 by

Happy Labor Day

 

In the late 1880’s, labor organizations began to lobby various state legislatures for recognition of Labor Day as an official state holiday. The first states to declare it a state holiday in, 1887, were Oregon, Colorado, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Then in 1894, Congress passed a law recognizing Labor Day as an official national holiday.

Today, Labor Day is observed not only in the U.S. but also in Canada, and in other industrialized nations. While it is a general holiday in the United States, its roots in the working class remain clearer in European countries.

It has come to be recognized in the U.S. not only as a celebration of the working class, but even more so as the unofficial end of the summer season. In the northern half of the U.S. at least, the summer vacation season begins with Memorial Day and ends with Labor Day.

Gabe Sanders | REALTOR, e-PRO, SFR | Premier Realty Group
Main 866-899-7977 | Dir 772-323-6996 | Website |

How to Sell Your Florida Home Quickly

11.08.11 by

How to Sell Your Florida Home Quickly

If you want to sell your Florida home and move on to a new one quickly, here’s how to get your goal accomplished:

First, make the outside of your home attractive. Drive-by prospects are more likely to be interested in winter if the lawn is cut and there are no toys or miscellaneous objects in the yard. Flowers near the entry are a plus. If one or more rooms are a loud or unusual color, repaint them in beige or a more neutral color.  Remove wallpaper. Stage the inside of the home. Buyers decide whether they are interested in a home within 30 seconds after opening the front door. Rent a storage building and put your extra furniture into it. Make the home look more spacious by removing ALL unnecessary furnishings and personal items. Send the extras to storage or to a charitable organization. Organize closets and drawers. Prospects will open them and look inside.Depersonalize the house. Leave no personal objects in view on bathroom counters. Remove family photos from bookshelves and walls so prospects can visualize themselves in the home.

Make sure that your realtor takes quality photos, or have them hire a photographer to take photos of the interior, exterior and special features. Quality photos get the buyers’ interest and will result in them coming to look at your home.

Have a For Sale sign in the yard. Many homes are sold to friends and family of people driving in the neighborhood and noticing an attractive home for sale.

Price the home correctly. You might think it’s worth $250,000, but if comparable homes are selling for $175,000, buyers will go elsewhere. Your Realtor will help you set a competitive price.

Have a flyer copied for distribution to interested parties. It should tell the home’s square footage, have an exterior photo, one or more interior photos, a listing of the home’s special features, the locations of parks and schools, and information about property taxes and utility costs.

When a showing is scheduled, first make sure the house is clean. Some home stagers say the home should appeal to all five senses:

Sight: Open the blinds and drapes to let in natural light. Keep your pet out of the home.

Smell: Put out flowers and candles in the main rooms and a colorful bowl of fruit on the dining table.

Taste: A hot pot of coffee helps with taste and aroma.

Hearing. Turn off the sound on all television sets and computers. Have background music playing softly.

Touch. Ask your agent to have the guests sit on the softest couch.

Space. Unless absolutely necessary, do not be present at showings.  Buyers are much more comfortable speaking among themselves and with their Realtor if they are not worried about offending the owner or the owner’s Realtor.

For more information, visit our website or call us at (772) 888-2885.
Our market reports are here!

 

Should I buy a short sale?

01.29.11 by

Q:  Friends have told me that there are some great deals to be had right now in homes offered as a short sale.  What is a short sale? Should we be wary of one?

A:  In a short sale, a buyer pays less than the amount a seller owes the lender.

There are more cases of ‘short selling’ in markets where home values are dropping as in many areas of the country today.

Typically, when a homeowner can’t pay his mortgage because he has suffered some sort of hardship — loss of a job or divorce for example — he simply sells his home.  But when home values are dropping, this can be a problem. In some cases, a homeowner might find he owes more on his mortgage than his home will sell for.  In these cases, lenders will be asked to accept less than the amount owed on the home, assuming the homeowner doesn’t have other assets that can be sold to make up the difference. The lender then doesn’t have to go to the expense of going through the foreclosure process.

The question you have to ask yourself is: Are you really getting a great deal?

If the house was purchased at the peak of rising home values, then the homeowner might have paid a premium price for the property.  Since values are dropping today, the lender may not be able to discount the value to a price that is attractive.  It is important to do your homework and compare the true current market value to the price offered.  In most cases, you may be able to purchase the property at a discount from the current market value if the lender (or lenders) agree and there are no other liens or encumbrances on the property (taxes, HOA fees, mechanics liens, etc.)

Probably the most important thing you can do if you decide to purchase a short sale is to team up with a Realtor that is experienced in short sales and can find out from the seller or the seller’s Realtor, the circumstances of this particular sale.  Armed with the right information as well as knowledge of the lender(s) track record, your Realtor can give you a much better idea of the odds for a successful short sale.

If you have the patience, as this can be a time-consuming process, and select good representation, you can expect a very good deal when pursuing a short sale.

For more information, visit our website or call us at (772) 888-2885.
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