Should I Stay or Should I Go?

11.27.16 by

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

open-house

If you are planning an open house, you as a home owner may find yourself humming the chorus of that old classic Clash song, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”

Why? Well for one, the Clash is totally awesome. For another, you as an individual making a concerted effort to sell your home may be wondering if you should stay on site for the occurrence of your open house event; or if in fact you should hightail it to a restaurant, shopping mall or movie theater for the duration of the event. Well before you answer that question, you first must resolve several others:

1. What is the opinion of your real estate agent? You just knew we’d mention that one, didn’t you? It is important, though, to consult your Realtor about whether or not you should remain with them on site at the home, or whether you should—to use the most technical terminology possible—vamoose.

2. Do you have kids and pets? If so, leave as quickly as possible—and take them with you! Seriously, though; the answer to this question depends entirely on the age and temperament of both your kids and your pets. Do your pets bite? Do your small children bite? Are both properly house trained? If your children and your animals are well behaved and unobtrusive, then it would be probably be fine to remain with them in the home for the duration of your open house. Otherwise, you may wish to leave and take them with you throughout the event.

3. Are you prepared to answer questions about your home? As a home owner, people will naturally approach you with questions about any and all aspects of your residence. Are you willing and prepared to answer them, in all honesty and to the best of your ability?

4. Are you prepared to hear criticisms of your home? If you stay on site for the duration of your open house, then you may overhear some not so nice things about your house. Even the most beautiful, well-kept residence may garner criticism from particular home buyers; some of which they may say behind your back but within your earshot, while other comments might be stated directly to your face. Either way, be prepared for them. And try your darnedest not to deck the guy.

Once you answer all of these questions, then you should be able to determine whether to stay—or whether to go!

 

Should I Stay or Should I Sell Now?

09.12.16 by

Should I Stay or Should I Sell Now?

should I sell

As the nation’s economy finally takes a turn for the better, home sales are also on the rise; with buyers in many areas clamoring to pay top prices for the homes of their dreams. It is indeed a buyer’s market, with house prices escalating and the demand for homes skyrocketing to levels unseen in recent years.

In this market, you may be experiencing a renewed interest in posting your home up for sale; casting your upscale, top notch residence out into the vast pool of potential buyers, to see if anyone bites—and buys.

Before you do so, however, you may wish to ask yourself these questions about your home; and, for that matter, about the real estate market in your community. These include:

1. Do you really want to sell your home? If you are still comfortable in your home and pleased with its condition and location, then you may just wish to stay put; delaying the complexities and difficulties involved in selling a home, buying a home, moving from one residence to another, etc.

2. Is the housing market in your area stable and successful? Although the housing market on the whole is on the rise at various points across the country, you may wish to check with local financial experts and journals to gauge the state and condition of the market in your area. Only once you are assured of a stable buyer’s market in your area should you seriously consider selling your home.

3. Have you researched your prospective sale? If you were to put your house on the market next week, for example, would you know the price and conditions under which you would like to sell the home? The decision to sell a home should not simply be a cash in on a trend; it should be a preconceived and well thought out plan that will benefit both you and your seller.

4. Is your home ready for resale? Is your house clean and in good condition, both from interior and exterior perspectives? Would you be comfortable presenting the house at a showing or open house? Of course the answer is probably yes; all the same, you may wish to assess your home’s overall salability before putting the residence up for sale.

5. Have you consulted a real estate agent? You just knew we’d say that, didn’t you? Seriously, though; a licensed real estate sales professional can answer all of your questions about the sale of your home—and also may be able to find you a buyer! (Always a bonus:)

If you’re in or around the Stuart Florida area, give me a call at (772) 323-6996 or visit my Stuart Florida real estate site.

 

Proven Strategies to Get Your Home Sold Faster

06.11.16 by

Proven Strategies to Get Your Home Sold Faster

sold

There is no right or wrong time to list your home; it really depends on your timeline. However, when preparing to sell your home there are some strategies to consider and maybe some repairs or updates you’ll need to complete prior to listing.

Seasonal Listing:

If you’re looking for less market time you’ll want to consider seasonal market movement. For example, spring and summer months typically have more activity while fall and winter months are less active; however, the lack of competition gives rise to a more captive audience. Also, consider that most people who are looking to buy in the fall and winter months are typically doing so as a result of job relocation or other factors that make them more motivated to buy.

Here are 3 Strategies for Shorter Market Times: 

  1. Have Your Home Inspected:
    Overcoming a buyer’s objection with a home inspection can eliminate unexpected surprises. It’s far better to consider a listing price after you’ve addressed any necessary repairs and improvements; this allows you to limit potential surprises and market your home with confidence.
  2. Present Your Home in the Best Light:
    While your family photos and the kid’s kindergarten clay flower pots have made your home – well YOUR home – potential buyers need to envision their own home. By using neutral wall hangings and colors – you are helping your potential buyer create their own dream home.  Bottom line, the less personal your home appears the more personal it can be for potential buyers.
  3. Entice Buyers with Low-Threshold Giveaways:
    Adding some low-threshold giveaways to sweeten the sale can attract serious, qualified buyers. Some ideas include offering:
  • Home Warranty. Did you know a home with a warranty sells over 20 percent faster than one without? It’s a small investment and can make your offer more attractive when a buyer is deciding on a home.
  • Closing Cost Credit. The additional funds can help you not only seal the deal, but help your buyers purchase the extras they’ll need after moving.
  • Point to Buy Down the Rate. Offering one percent of the loan amount to help buy down your buyer’s rate can help open up the door to more borrowers. A one percent difference in rate translates into a reduced monthly payment for potential buyers.

At the end of the day, planning and being clear about goals prior to listing your home can give you an edge over others listing in your market.

Reprinted with permission from Partner Exchange

Selling Your Stuart Home? – Think Like a Buyer

05.23.16 by

Selling Your Stuart Home? – Think Like a Buyer

If you are planning to sell your Stuart home anytime in the near future, then you no doubt feel that your residence will make an exemplary addition to today’s flourishing real estate market. And while you are probably absolutely right in this assertion, you may want to take a moment and look at your home from the perspective of a potential Stuart buyer.

As someone who is bound to view and inspect a vast number of homes before they make a final buying decision, a buyer is going to view your home through a very special lens, and from a most unique perspective. As such, you must be willing to surrender your personal and highly sentimental view of your house (one that you hold with good reason, as your residence is beautiful), and investigate your home from the perspective of someone who might consider making it their own.

1. Does your home look buyable?  Your home no doubt holds a great deal of sentimental appeal for you. Yet if you were seeing the house for the first time, would you consider it clean and attractive?

2. Is your home competitive with other homes available in your area’s current real estate market?  Remember that today’s buyers have a rich selection of homes from which to choose; so it might benefit you to peruse current real estate listings advertised online, in the newspaper and in MLS books and real estate magazines. See how your house stacks up in terms of benefits and amenities offered, along with its asking price.

3. Is your home located in a desirable location?  It always helps if your home is located in a community that comes complete with rich and varied occupational, educational, cultural and recreational opportunities. The crime rates, tax rates, environmental landscape, and governmental structure of your community also might play roles in a person’s eventual decision to buy or not to buy your home. The better your community, the better your prospects of selling a home located in this community.

4. Is your home one that you would buy yourself?  If you were visiting your home for the first time, would you consider buying it?  It might sound like a silly question, but it is one you must ask when putting your residence up for sale—and answer to the very best of your ability, to get the optimum price for your beautiful home. Happy selling!

If you’d like my professional opinion on your home’s value, just call me at 772-323-6996.

Increasing the Value of Your Palm City Property in Four Steps

07.22.15 by

Increasing the Value of Your Palm City Property in Four Steps

Palm City FL real estate

As soon as you decide that you will be putting your Palm City property up for sale—whether soon or at some point in the foreseeable future—it’s also time to get strategic about growing your property’s value—starting with a generous dollop of objectivity.

The difficulty stems from a truth about how everybody perceives much of their property’s value. We escape from hurly-burly of daily living by retreating to the comfortable confines of our home—our place. A good part of its value to us and to our family is its sheer familiarity—the “hominess” that makes it our personal haven. But some of the very things that make it so comfortable to us will be off-putting to outsiders—and they are the prospective buyers.

Our great leather easy chair (the dark brown one that’s gotten a few shades lighter where we sit, and a little off-color where the spills happened) may look a bit peaked to the untrained eye, but it’s been that way for years: who cares? The back door needs to be bolted to stay shut…we do that without even thinking about it—hardly an issue! The sofa may sag, but it sags exactly right (for us)! The bathroom window that’s sort of stuck (okay, maybe it’s painted shut)…etc. etc. etc.

Professionals are of one voice about the real value you add to a property when you go to the trouble of systematically depersonalizing it. It helps to approach doing that seriously and deliberately—to tackle it in an organized manner. There are any number of ways to go about that, but here is one way that will pay off:

Step 1: Make a list. Starting from one end of your Palm City property, note with pencil and paper every nit-picky detail that is other than what you would expect to find if it were a brand new home. This is not as easy as most people assume, because there will be such a great number of details, that

a) it will be very tempting to start skipping some of the minor ones, and

b) you will find it hard to resist the urge to start fixing the easy ones as you go along (don’t do it: you’ll derail the list-making!)

Step 2: After a decent interval, sit down with the list and re-classify each item into an Easy Self-Fix List and a Professional-Attention-Needed List.

Step 3: Get bids from the appropriate Palm City professional tradespeople, calculate which fit your budget, then schedule the work.

Step 4:  Get started on your own endeavors to address the Easy Self-Fix List. You’ll be able to organize your own efforts to finish up about two weeks after the last of the tradespeople are scheduled to finish their projects (a two week grace period is realistic: you are aiming to finish everything about the same time).

Following these four steps will put you well on your way to increasing the value of your Palm City property. And at any point in the process—from before Step 1 to the satisfying moment that closes Step 4—give me a call to discuss how to convert all that increased value into a profitable home sale!

Increasing the Value of Your Palm City Property in Four Steps

Hobe Sound Real Estate Marketing is a Risky DIY Project

07.15.15 by

Hobe Sound Real Estate Marketing is a Risky DIY Project

 Hobe Sound FL real estate

If you are bound and determined to try to sell your Hobe Sound house without the aid of a real estate professional, you will quickly discover that one critical element that can’t be overlooked is marketing. Just planting a ‘For Sale by Owner” (FSBO) sign on the front lawn and taking an 8-line classified ad in the Stuart or Palm Beach paper is a good first step—but that’s all it is. Not only must you immediately embark on a do-it-yourself real estate marketing campaign, you will be doing so against competition from all the similar properties which will be promoted by the veteran voices of the real estate industry. It’s a true David and Goliath situation; but Goliath isn’t just a giant—he’s a superbly well-organized giant. If you’re going to be a David, you’d better arm your sling with more than pebbles!

Start with the product you will be marketing. While you are putting your house into top-notch presentation shape, first banish any temptation to overlook areas that need elbow grease or budget dollars to bring them up to top condition. Any defects that go uncorrected will be reason for lowered offers (or no offers at all). Remember that competing properties have Martin and Palm Beach County real estate marketing channels open to them, and will have been put on the market after consultation with experienced hands. Your ultimate ace in the hole can only be that of having a desirable property, well-situated and clean as a whistle. But that ace will only be relevant if your marketing effort brings a critical number of potential buyers through the front door!

Another key will be to hire the best real estate photographer in Hobe Sound, and on the appointed day, to give her or him reason to relish the day’s project! Photographers are in the business of presenting eye-pleasing products, but they can’t create what isn’t there. On the day of the shoot, arrange to be at the photographer’s side to help clear or rearrange objects that the lens ‘sees’ as superfluous or obstructive. When spaciousness is mission critical—as it is in real estate marketing—less is always more. The pro you’ve hired will be used to working with professional real estate agents (who sometimes pay their fees), so be quick to help where needed. The difference between great professional real estate photos and poor ones taken by an amateur is more critical in a FSBO situation, where the seriousness of the endeavor is automatically subject to scrutiny.

Ditto, the video or virtual tour. Real estate marketing in Hobe Sound does not in all instances require a video component—but most FSBO campaigns are launched without even considering the option. What is not optional in any serious offering is a well-written, technically correct Hobe Sound listing, so you should do your best to use every web outlet available to position your offering online, including a web site that facilitates gathering data from interested parties. There are also services that, for a price, will help you place your listing. Generally, you pay more for more exposure—frequently six to 10 times the base rate—with the enhanced deluxe packages usually including an MLS insertion, which is vital. When you remember that you are competing against Goliath, it’s no time to skimp!

You should also consider creating, printing, and distributing flyers, photo ads in the local press (real estate magazines, newspapers, etc.)—everywhere you are used to seeing Martin County real estate brokerage ads. All of which points to what most Hobe Sound home sellers eventually conclude: rather than reinventing the wheel, the other option is to team up with an Martin County real estate marketing professional…

If that’s your choice, I hope you’ll count me in!

Hobe Sound Real Estate Marketing is a Risky DIY Project

A Smile Goes A Long Way When Dealing with Multiple Offers

05.20.12 by

A Smile Goes A Long Way When Dealing with Multiple Offers

Indeed, multiple offers are back this season. I can actually count on more than one hand times that buyers have lost out on a home this season. It’s always devastating for them! The supply in south Florida, while still very high, does not have the excess investment properties, must-sell Sellers (who already purchased something else), and builder spec homes. 90% of that surplus of inventory dissipated in the past 6 years like a slow dripping faucet. Eventually the drips (buyer purchases) add up and the bathtub overflows. If the bathtub size (supply) were expanding, this would be ok, but builders have been constructing homes at historic lows. In Palm Beach County, we have seen a 12% drop in supply from this year compared to last year. Today’s buyer on average also has different values. They want new construction (which is now defined as 2000+ since there is no new inventory), low HOA fees (this has replaced luxury items), and location-location-location. Homes fitting this description are the ones typically receiving the multiple offers. The other category are short sales, since they are marketed at a must-sell price or sometimes below. Whether the short sale gets approved or not is an entirely different story. If a buyer is purchasing in this category, they need to be aware that they aren’t in a complete buyer’s market anymore. Below are the following strategies I work on with Buyers.

Prepare a Buyer
It’s important the client is aware of what is available, what is under contract, and what has sold. Going through details of statistics in advance is vital.

Exhaust Them
Most clients just don’t believe the market isn’t god-awful until they lose out on something. It’s important to show everything and then some. Sometimes looking at everything gets the point through.

Story Telling
I share stories about how clients lost something in advance.

Visualize
I ask my clients to visualize that they lost the house and how would they feel in a week if they lost it. Try to picture the future.

Promise
Visualizing is not enough. I make them promise and shake my hand that they won’t come back and say I wished you pushed me harder. This gets them to really think about it.

New Properties Will Come On Higher
Homes that have been on the market the longest are often the ripest to sell. When homes sell faster, prices go up. The new listing is going to want more for a least the first 90-180 days.

Give The Lady What She Wants
An old selling by Chicago merchant, Marshall Fields. Give the Seller what they want. Be nice, offer cash or at minimum a preapproval letter, close to 10% down, closing time that the Seller wants. No one wants to do business with an insulting bottom dweller. The Seller doesn’t want headaches. Present yourself as the nice person you are. A smile goes a long way.

Speed
Like in the Rocky Balboa movie. Mickey had Rocky chase those chickens. Get your offers in fast with the same day or next day acceptance time. Sellers will take the time that is allotted to them. Make decisions faster and cut down on the possibility of multiple offers from coming in from the get-go.

Awareness
Sign up for internet IDX automatic emails on an hourly basis. Knowing about the listing first will give you a head’s-up over the competition.

AS IS Contracts
While not always great for the Seller, they offer free options on tying up the house. Once under contract, Sellers will usually agree to repair items because they will have to fix it up for the next guy. Once under contract, the negotiating power will even itself out.  

This is a guest blog courtesy of Jeff Lichtenstein who specializes in luxury real estate in Singer Island oceanfront condos and  Jupiter real estate in South Florida.  His website is at www.JeffRealty.com

Don’t Take Everything

07.09.10 by
If you plan to move while your home is still listed for sale, you may face a marketing challenge – the vacant home. While lived-in homes may be more attractive during showings, there is much you can do to present your vacant property successfully.On the outside, give your home an occupied look by asking a neighbor to park their car in your driveway, open and close your drapes, and retrieve any mail that still arrives. During the warm season, have a lawn service maintain the yard (in the winter, a snow removal service may be in order).

On the inside, create a sense of space by leaving some strategically placed pieces of furniture, like a few chairs, tables and lamps. You can create a “bed” by covering an empty mattress box or several moving boxes with a thick comforter.

If you remove furniture that reveals blemishes on the walls, repair and repaint those. If you notice that the carpeting is faded after you’ve moved furniture, consider replacing it if possible.

Keep it feeling pleasant indoors during all seasons by keeping your power on after you move, and having a neighbor or family member set the temperature at a minimum comfortable setting according to seasonal conditions.

We have even more suggestions for marketing a vacant home, so put our experience to good use!

If you’re planning to sell your home soon and would like accurate and up to date information on its current value, visit our website or call us at (772) 888-2885.

Do You Have to Sell?

12.19.09 by

Do You Have to Sell?

In the worst of scenarios, you have to sell your home quickly in this challenging market. Be prepared to swallow a large dose of reality and take some radical steps to increase your home’s scalability. Here are a few proven techniques that could make a quick sale a reality:Selling Your Home Under Pressure

There is a myriad of possibilities for exposure in today’s internet-driven society. In addition to the traditional newspaper, magazine and Internet advertising tools, new social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter can also promote your home, especially to younger tech-savvy first-time buyers.

However, no matter how well the marketing effort is, price is still king, plan on setting your price ten to fifteen percent below your competition. All other things being equal, your home will readily appear as the best value.

Also, consider the price “range” your home will fall into and make sure you’re on the lower end of that range. For example, a $199,000 home falls into the upper end of the $150,000 to $200,000 range, but that same home priced at $201,000 is in the lower end of the $200,000 to $250,000 range. Buyers tend to look in ranges of prices, so again, make yours look like the best value.

And don’t forget about incentives you can offer, like paying buyer closing costs or a decorating allowance. If you must sell, these may seem like difficult decisions, but they will produce results. If you’re located in a declining market, this is the only way to sell your home.

the Gabe Sanders real estate team

Stuart Florida Real Estate

Residential Homes, Condos and Land
Waterfront and Golf Course Communities in Martin and Saint Lucie Counties

Search All Hutchinson Island FL real estate

Do You Have to Sell?

Selling Your Home? Dollars vs. Days

11.10.09 by

Once you’ve decided to sell your home, the second step is usually setting your asking price. You should strive for a balance between generating offers and receiving top dollar.

Your chosen real estate advisor should perform a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) to produce an estimate of your home’s “fair market value,” or that price that educated buyers will pay based on listings and sales of homes similar to yours. The agent will not establish the price, but only provide the information you need to make that decision yourself.

In a hot market, you have the advantage, but would still want to avoid overpricing, which is always unproductive. However, in a neutral or buyers market, you’ll have to be particularly cautious in your approach to setting a price.

In soft markets, price reductions become more common, as well as fewer offers and longer listing periods. Often in slower markets, establishing too high of a listing price will result in a much lower sales price as values decline and you may find yourself chasing a declining market. During your listing period, your agent should also keep you advised on any market activity near your home and in the immediate communities. Be prepared to make the necessary adjustments as changing market conditions dictate.

Have a third party, like your agent, help you see your home as a commodity, with positive and negative selling points. Price your home objectively and competitively, be prepared to negotiate to reach an agreement with buyers, and exercise patience as you prepare your move.

the Gabe Sanders real estate team

Residential Homes, Condos and Land
Waterfront and Golf Course Communities in Martin and Saint Lucie Counties

Search the Martin County MLS

Time Is Money

09.26.09 by
Whether buying or selling a home, the Offer To Purchase is the starting point for making the sale go through. If the sellers do not accept the offer outright, they may make a counter-offer, which the buyers may likewise accept, reject or counter again.
In the interest of speed and success, it’s best to keep counter-offers to a minimum. If you are trying to sell with urgency (and who isn’t?), weigh the buyers’ offer against your need to move quickly. Perhaps the value of the concession is quite small against the profit you’ll see upon a sale.
If you are asking $200,000 and receive an offer of $196,000, that’s equivalent to just 2% less, which is like offering $.98 instead of $1. Similarly, buyers must also be realistic about the possible costs of “over negotiating” in today’s rapidly changing economic atmosphere.
If you balk at the sellers’ counter-offer now, and decide to walk away and begin your home search over again, you could be facing higher interest rates and/or rising home prices. Today, time literally is money, and the longer you postpone your purchase, the more it will likely cost you.
Before making (or accepting) an offer, discuss the offer and counter-offer process with your agent, so that you know what to expect and can be more prepared to see the deal to a successful close.
If you need information to help you solve a real estate puzzle, visit our website or call us at (772) 888-2885.
Residential Homes, Condos, and LandWaterfront and Golf Course Communities in Martin and Saint Lucie Counties

A Lesson For Sellers (From Buyers)

09.19.09 by
If you’ve found the right home, how can you be certain you aren’t paying too much? Once you make your choice, it’s quite likely you’ve also become well informed about property values. How is this so? Because before you made that choice, you probably looked at a variety of homes, possibly as many as six to twelve properties. That’s called “comparison shopping.”
As you visited each home, you made value judgments based on the size, features, and amenities offered, as well as the condition of the homes. Without realizing it, you compared prices, looking for the greatest value for your dollar. Nevertheless, another aspect of your purchase further protects you from purchasing an overpriced home. Called an “appraisal,” it’s a required step in the mortgage approval process. Your mortgage lender, who is putting up the majority share of the purchase price, also wants to be sure the home is not priced above the market.Thus, the lender asks a licensed appraiser to determine the home’s value for the record. If the appraised value does not at least meet the purchase price, the lender may not approve the loan or, at the very least, may ask for a higher down payment.

As the buyer, however, it’s easy to spot the overpriced homes. They are the ones that have been on the market for some time – but remain unsold.
Residential Homes, Condos and Land
Waterfront and Golf Course Communities
in Martin and Saint Lucie Counties

Don’t Take Everything

08.14.09 by

If you plan to move while your home is still listed for sale, you may face a marketing challenge – the vacant home. While lived-in homes may be more attractive during showings, there is much you can do to present your vacant property successfully.

On the outside, give your home an occupied look by asking a neighbor to park their car in your driveway, open and close your drapes, and retrieve any mail that still arrives. During the warm season, have a lawn service maintain the yard (in the winter, a snow removal service may be in order).

On the inside, create a sense of space by leaving some strategically placed pieces of furniture, like a few chairs, tables and lamps. You can create a “bed” by covering an empty mattress box or several moving boxes with a thick comforter.

If you remove furniture that reveals blemishes on the walls, repair and repaint those. If you notice that the carpeting is faded after you’ve moved furniture, consider replacing it if possible.

Keep it feeling pleasant indoors during all seasons by keeping your power on after you move, and having a neighbor or family member set the temperature at a minimum comfortable setting according to seasonal conditions.

We have even more suggestions for marketing a vacant home, so put our experience to good use!

If you’re planning to sell your home soon and would like accurate and up-to-date information on its current value, visit our website or call us at (772) 888-2885.

Sell Your Home Fast or Sell It for Less

07.18.09 by

When facing a mortgage default, most homeowners try to sell their homes – fast. The technique that works in these stressful situations also works for the rest of the sellers – namely, aggressive pricing.

As a seller, you control the three factors that determine how quickly your home will sell: marketing, condition, and price. Let’s focus on that last element.

First, be clear about your goals. Can you hold out for the highest price you can get, or do you want to move on quickly? Unfortunately, the fact that you paid more than what homes in your neighborhood are selling for is irrelevant in today’s market.

Forget about salvaging equity, and price your home aggressively against the competition. Overpricing keeps many buyers from even seeing your listing in their affordability zone. They’ll see lower-priced homes as a better value, while you’ll wait until the lowballers come out of the woodwork.

Start your pricing decision with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) performed by your real estate representative. If you’re truly motivated to sell quickly, price your home 10% lower than the selling (not asking) prices of other homes in your area.

Now your home becomes a bargain, and it will attract the attention of other agents and their qualified buyers. An attractive price, good condition and savvy marketing will result in offers and ultimately, a sale.

If you’re planning to sell your home and would like accurate and up-to-date information on its current value, visit our website GabeSanders.com or call us at (772) 888-2885.

Up On The Downsize

06.27.09 by
For any number of reasons, more people than ever are downsizing these days. Whether it’s a reduction in income, a reduction in family size, or just a desire for easier living, smaller homes are becoming more attractive.There are challenges associated with downsizing, but experience has taught some valuable lessons that you may find useful. Once you’ve decided to sell, start the moving process immediately. Your home will even show better once you’ve begun packing things away. As you decide what to keep, consider donating unwanted items or holding a yard sale.

Solicit family members for help, and see how many belongings might be passed along to family and friends. After all, they say that charity begins at home, right?

You can also “digitize” paper records with a scanner, save them on your computer, or use an online storage service for an added layer of security. Just be sure electronic versions of certain records are legally acceptable.

If you’re still left with a lot of furniture and accessories, you should strongly consider including such items in the listing for your home. First-time buyers may be particularly attracted to such an offering, saving them time and money on furnishing their home, and expediting the entire transaction.

These tips may help you downsize, but of course, any move presents its challenges. If you’re planning to sell your home soon and would like accurate and up-to-date information on its current value, visit our website GabeSanders.com or call us at (772) 888-2885.

The Difference Between Selling And Dwelling

05.30.09 by
There is a special mindset associated with “staging” your home to sell in a soft market. Staging refers simply to the act of improving your home’s appearance in order to appeal to the widest segment of potential buyers. The approach you must adopt is to see your home with an objective eye.
Stop looking at your home as your “home,” and start visualizing it as the “product” it becomes when it enters the market. Both a real estate agent and a professional home stager can help to market your product successfully by highlighting positive features and downplaying less attractive aspects.
Since you may have a strong emotional attachment to your home, you may not fully appreciate hearing about a better way to show your offering, but try to recognize that the way you decorate to SELL may be quite different from the way you decorate to dwell. The appearance of space often trumps its functionality when impressing buyers.
Your goal is to sell quickly at a fair price. A survey by a large national real estate brokerage showed that staged homes sell in half the time, and another survey of REALTORS® showed that a $500 “staging” investment recouped 343% of that cost. So be prepared to swallow a little pride, move some furniture, and field better offers on the road to your successful sale.
Understanding real estate dilemmas and their solutions is our business, and we’ll happily share our knowledge with you. For more info, visit our website GabeSanders.com or call us at (772) 888-2885.

Launch an Offensive

05.16.09 by

When buyers become scarce, sellers have to step up and make their offerings stand out to attract attention. Without spending a fortune, sellers can easily highlight several of their home’s features.

First, beat buyers to the punch with a pre-listing home inspection. By discovering and fixing problems before buyers ever see the home, you can impress them with a worry-free, move-in-now opportunity. Leave your repair receipts out during showings, so that buyers can see all the improvements you’ve made just for them!

Once the mechanical and structural features of your home have been addressed, move on to the aesthetic details. First impressions count, so make sure your home is inviting from the curb. Spiff up landscaping, paint, entries, and windows.

Inside, pay attention to bath and kitchen details, because those rooms are often the most important when buyers are making a decision. Aside from deep cleaning, consider updating bath and kitchen features with new and contemporary drawer pulls, faucets, and even sinks.

Finally, get a jump on your moving by organizing your closets and ditching or packing all you possibly can. A good guideline is to reduce your closets to half-full so that the buyers can easily picture the space for their own storage needs.

A few “preemptive strikes” should be all you need to attract buyers and offers, so ask your agent for tips today!

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

Turn Those Red Flags Green

04.17.09 by

When selling a home, two situations may occur which are red flag indicators of a lengthy sale time. Each requires the property owners’ attention in cooperation with their sales agent, and involves either the price or condition of the home.

The first involves a home that has been on the market for 60-90 days, but has been shown only once or twice. More buyers are beginning to enter today’s real estate market, and homes for sale should be attracting a number of prospects.

When buyers choose not to tour a home, the reason is often the price. Homes that are attractive, but not being shown, are often priced “above” the market. The key to increased showings, then, is to learn the market price of the home, then reset the price.

The second “red flag” occurs when a home is being shown often, but neither sells nor attracts offers. The home’s condition is often the culprit in this situation. Buyers learn the price, then drive by, making a judgment that it is an attractive home. Once they see the home, however, their interest evaporates.

The solution can be a critical “walk-through” by the sellers’ agent to identify needed repairs and cosmetic improvements. Until corrected, traffic is likely to remain high, while the chances of selling remain low. Remove these red flags and prepare for a sale!

If you’re planning to sell your home soon and would like accurate and up to date information on its current value, give us a call at (772) 323-6996 or visit us on the web at www.GabeSanders.com or www.TreasureCoastFLHomes.com. Our office is located at 2391 SE Ocean Blvd. in Stuart, Florida; please ask for Gabe Sanders.