Archive for Sell My House Fast

Sell My House Fast – Full Exposure

14 July 2011

To Sell My House Fast, we need to have the home priced properly, it must be easy for Buyers to see the inside, and it must be in good condition when they get there.

But all of this will be for nothing if no one knows it is for sale!

That is why choosing a Realtor who is a marketing expert is so important!

Sell My House Fast with Exposure! 

When you want to sell a car, you will place an ad in the newspaper.  Or maybe park it on a busy street with a for sale sign on it.

Well, this may be fine for automobiles, but it simply doesn’t cut it when selling your home anymore!

Today, you must market your home aggressively enough that anyone thinking of buying a home in your area knows your home is on the market.

This means a lot more than placing your home on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and having a couple of Open Houses.

It means making certain the MLS input form is completed in such a way that is comes up in popular Realtor searches.

It means having a Broker’s Open House where real estate brokers are invited without appointment to see the inside of the home – and where your Realtor can explain in person why your home is a good value.

It has been shown that most Realtors work with an average of three buyer clients at a time.  If you show thew home to 20 Realtors, that is like making contact with 60 potential buyers!

It takes more than placing the home as a featured listing on your website. Well-marketed homes have their own website!  And a video virtual tour of the interior of the home.  This way, the buyer can see what your home looks like – inside and out – from the comfort of their own home.

Open Houses are not just for Sunday afternoons anymore, either.  More and more, Buyers are out looking on both weekend days – and sometimes in the afternoon after work.  Check the traffic patterns in your neighborhood.  Your Realtor should have facts and figures about which days work best.

You simply cannot tell which one thing will sell your home – so you must do all things!  It is not enough to have a Realtor who is optimistic about selling your home.

They should be able to convince you that their plan will reach every single qualified buyer with enough information that they will want to come and see your home for themselves.

For me to Sell My Home Fast, it can’t be a secret to anyone!

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Sell My House Fast – Good Condition Sells!

13 July 2011

To sell my house fast, it must be in the best condition – which translates into the best value - of all the other homes in my price range.  Pretty simple, huh?

But what do we mean by good condition?

Sell My House Fast – Good Condition Sells

A home in good condition is one that looks clean, tidy, and well cared for.  It indicates to the Buyer that the owner performed regular maintenance and took an interest in their home.

This is important!  It inspires confidence in the home and let’s the Buyer feel more comfortable about making an offer.

Here are some tips for sending that message to your potential new owner:

Curb Appeal: Take a look at your home from the street.  This is the view the Buyer will have the first time they see your home. Trim the lawn, water the plants and shrubs, and even clean the windows. Blow away the cobwebs and any debris.  Extra bonus points for fresh paint!

Front Door: This is like your home’s necktie!  You wouldn’t show up for work with a ratty, food-stained necktie, would you? Give your home a chance to make a good face-to-face impression by cleaning or painting the front door and sweeping off the porch on a regular basis.  And no clutter - put the kid’s toys away and move your muddy golf shoes to the garage!

Inside the home: Speaking of clutter, no newspapers and unopened mail, please! Dirty carpet should be at least cleaned, but if it shows wear patterns, replace it! Make your bed, put away the shaver and curlers, and for Pete’s sake get the kids to put away their toys. Surfaces should be clean and free from personal items – Yep, even the electric can opener that your Mother-in-Law gave you!

Appliances and furniture: Anything that doesn’t work should be fixed. Any furniture that looks shabby and worn should be removed.  Studies have shown that most people have 35% more furniture than they should when selling a home.  Don’t just stage  your home, unfurnish it!

Clean is what I mean!: Dust, mop, scrub, sweep, vacuum, wipe, etc. Next week – do it all again! 

Yes, I know nobody really lives like this – the Buyers probably don’t either, but they think they do.

And when they walk in, you want them to feel at home.

I use the message of quality and value to Sell My House Fast!

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Sell My House Fast – Access For Success

11 July 2011

Sell My House Fast often means showing it to many people.  The more people who see it - in the shortest period of time - often spells a quick home sale.

Why would you want to stand in their way?

Sell My House Fast – Access For Success!

Sounds crazy, but a lot of home-owners make it difficult for those who may be interested in buying their home to even see it!

“Must give 24-hour notice before showing”

“No lockbox. Make appointment with occupant. They will meet you at the property”

“No showings between Noon and 4pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays”

Really?  In this market?? 

I spend most of my time trying to coax other Realtors into putting my listings on their showing schedule. Why on earth would I put any hinderance between them and showing my listings?

The truth is – most of us lead very active lives with many demands on our schedule.  Dance class, Little League baseball games, and flex time work schedules can put limits on how much can be accomplished in any given day.

This is why the electronic lockbox was invented!

Only licensed Realtors and members of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) have access to the inside of the home, and their time of entry and length of stay are precisely monitored.  Ask that they call ahead of time so you know they are coming, then let them come when they are able. Ask that they leave a card so you know they arrived and showed the home. But don’t stop them from seeing it because of your availability!  

Your home and belongings will be secure behind your locked front door – even safer with the registry of who, when, and how long. 

Gone are the days where the Buyer must go through the listing agent to see the home!

So why all of a sudden are we seeing a rash of “By Appointment Only” showing instructions?

If this is the Seller’s idea, they should understand that they are really hurting themselves – in reaching the largest number of potential Buyers and in increased market time.

If this is the Realtor’s idea, I hope they can explain to their Sellers how this strategy helps rather than hinders the sale of their home.

The best strategy for selling your home for the most money in the shortest period of time involves presenting the property to the largest number of potential Buyers in the shortest period of time.  New listings, like many things, they are the most attractive when fresh!

The more you reduce the number of people who can see your home or increase the number of days in which they finally do see it, the more your home listing runs the risk of becoming stale – and languishing on the market.

If Sell My House Fast is your desire, then Open Your Door to As Many Buyers As Possible is my best advice for success.

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Sell My House Fast – Price It To Sell!

10 July 2011

Sell My House Fast is easy to understand. Price It Right is a little more difficult.

To price a home properly, we must first determine its fair market value. 

Sell My House Fast – Price it to SELL!

Market value is determined by looking at other homes that have sold and closed. - and the secret to that is in the word P-R-I-C-E itself.

Proximity – How close are other sold homes to yours? Down the street is a lot better than across town!

Recent sales - How long ago did these homes sell? No more than six months ago, I hope!

Interior of the home – How did the others compare as far as size, bedrooms, bathrooms, and other interior amenities to yours?

Condition – Now, be honest! Were they nicer than yours? Had they been recently remodeled of upgraded? Were they fresh and sparkly or old and tired?

Exterior of the home – How large was their lot? What about their landscaping? Where would you rather be on a sunny day, their home or yours?

There is no shame in admiting that the other homes that have recently sold in your area may have been nicer.  If they are, simply adjust your price accordingly! 

If not – and you have to be careful here! – you may be able to add a few dollars to your listing price.

Objectivity is your friend, optimistic disregard of these five factors is your enemy! 

While improper pricing is not the most common mistake, it is easily one of the most seductive. 

A Seller wants to make sure they receive the maximum reward for their years of hard work and loving care of their home when they sell.  Anyway, don’t Buyers usually offer a lower price when they make an offer?  This will give us some negotiating room!

That sounds good, but the trouble is that it does not work. 

When a Buyer is out looking for a home, they typically want to have several from which to choose. Usually, their criteria is based on location, schools, bedroom and bathrooms, and list price.

Over-pricing your home will result in placing your home in competition with other homes that are, frankly, a lot nicer!  Your over-priced home may actually result in selling their home! 

Unless they are paying you a commission, that is not a good marketing strategy.

“Well, what if we try it for a while and see if the higher price works?”  Beware!

When a Buyer sees a home they like, they ask me two questions.  Actually, they ask me a hundred questions, but the same two are always the first:

How much is the home?

How long has it been on the market?

If I tell them that a home has only been on the market for a week and they want to buy it, they usually offer at or very near the list price. 

If I tell them that the home has been sitting on the market for a month or two, they imagine streams of other home buyers going through the home  – and continuing to look at other homes.  Perhaps the Seller is getting worried that their home has not sold.

Perhaps they will take less. 

No matter how much they like the home - the longer the time, the lower they want to offer!

And this is not just MY buyers!  Studies show that almost all Buyers react this way.

So, while your improperly priced home was testing the market – with little more than foot traffic to show for it, homes that were priced to sell were allowing their owners to move on to their next home.

When I want to sell my house fast, I promise I will price it to sell!

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Sell My House Fast – A Proven Plan!

9 July 2011

Sell my house Fast.  That is what people seem to want.

Naturally, they want the most money and the smart ones want the new owner to be happy after they move in.  That often means a lot less problems later on!

But most homeowners want their home to be on the market as short a period of time as possible with a minimum of fuss and disruption to their family.

To do this, you need four prime ingredients:

Price

Accessibility

Condition

Exposure

Price is listed first because it is probably the most important.  In this day of information literally at our fingertips, home buyers can be as knowledgeable as their Realtors when it comes to price… and more importantly – overpriced listings! 

Nobody will be fooled and you will be the one that pays!

As tempting as it is to over-price your home, limiting the accessibility for it to be shown to potential buyers is the most common mistake I find. Look at it this way: Home Buyers usually schedule their home tours in groups of listings. They frequently take time away from work and must coordinate with their Realtor to visit the inside of the home.  By asking them to reschedule or causing them to go extraordinary effort to see your home can mean they end up dropping it from their list.

And if they can’t see it, chances are they will not buy it!

The condition of a home often tells the Buyer how well the home was cared for.  A tidy home bespeaks care and appreciation.  A messy homes tells a different tale. And as far as smells – whether is from the family dog, a litter box, or a cooking experiment – keep them off the menu.

Remember, you want the Buyers to come inside, not run back out holding their nose!

That leaves the one thing that sets good Realtors apart from the mediocre – exposure.  It is not enough to have one Open House and mail out postcards to the neighbors anymore.  Today’s successful marketing exposure demands reaching the largest number of potential Buyers in the shortest period of time!  

Make certain your Realtor knows who the potential Buyers are, where they come from, and a little bit about their needs and wants.  If they don’t know that, how on earth will they ever find them?

Oh, and one more thing – All of this must be accomplished in a matter of a few weeks!

I will go into detail on each of these four items – Price, Accessibility, Condition, and Exposure – in my next four posts.

This will make the difference between maybe I will sell my home eventually and I want to sell my house FAST!

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Welcome To The Curb Appeal Club

6 June 2010

Many people say they know curb appeal is, but not a lot of people know how it works.

I can’t tell you how many times I have pulled up in front of a property with a perspective Buyer and had them say:

“Don’t bother, Bob.  There is no reason to even get out of the car!”  They know right away that they will NEVER buy this home, so why waste the time to see the inside?

I have also had folks say, “This is IT. This is the house!”, before I have even had a chance to stop the car.

The difference between the two homes?  Curb appeal.

Even on your first visit to a home, you probably know what city you are in, you probably know about the school system, and you know how long it will take for you to get to shopping and work.

What you do not know is how the home will affect they way you feel about IT until it stares back at you.

It’s like art: “I don’t know how to describe it, but I’ll know it when I see it”

When you see the home from the street – the “curb” – you make certain judgments about the inside and the people who live there.  It doesn’t make any difference whether we are buying or coming over for dinner.  We all do it.

When you see the fashionable color scheme, you say to yourself, “Gee, this home looks so… modern!  These people obviously have good taste.”

When you look at the green lawn and the neatly-pruned shrubbery, you say, “Boy, it takes a lot of pride and effort to keep a place looking as nice as this!  They obviously take good care of their home and don’t defer any maintenance!”

When you look down the street and see other well-kept homes, you say to yourself,”Gosh, all of these homes look great!  The people who live in this neighborhood are probably successful and have respect for their neighbors!”  We assume that this is a good family environment because good families live here.  You decide right then and there that you want to be one of these people!

All without leaving the car!  And without seeing the inside.  In fact, seeing the inside is usually only to confirm your positive feeling.

Membership in this club sends a message.  Fortunately, the cost of this membership may be financed and the interest costs tax-deductible.

It is not about bricks and boards and plot plans.  Those things are dry and logical.  The process of choosing which home to purchase is in large part emotional.

As I said in my previous post “You Know More Than Your Realtor” , it is difficult to become emotionally attached to numbers of bathrooms or square footage.

It is easy, however, to have a positive feeling about providing a safe and happy environment for your family and projecting an image of financial success and security.

Even though our conscious mind understands that the lawn may have been installed a week ago and the exterior paint may be barely dry, our subconscious mind imagines how happy our family will be living in this environment.

We imagine how our friends will feel as they drive up to see our new home.  We picture the family sitting around gleefully awaiting a well-prepared Holiday Dinner.  We will be able to add our new, genteel neighbors to our list of friends and our kids will play with their kids.

And, in those instances, “This is IT!” is often followed by “Let’s make an offer!”

That’s Curb Appeal!

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