3790 Highway 95
Bullhead City AZ 86442
928-234-0982
Sandy@SandyHoldenRealtor.com
Featured Property |
10 Biggest Selling Myths Uncovered Selling a house can be a bit like having a baby -- everyone gives you advice that may or may not be true for you. Here are ten myths uncovered: 1. Myth: You should always price your home high and gradually lower it if it doesn't sell. You may think by listing high you can always accept a lower offer, but if you do, you'll miss the buyers looking in the price range where your home should be. Offers may not even come in, because interested buyers are scared off by the price and won't bother to look. By the time the listing price is corrected, you will have lost a large group of potential buyers. Your real estate agent will offer you a comparable market analysis. This is a document that compares your home to other similar homes in your area, with the goal of helping you to accurately assess your home's true market value. 2. Myth: Minor repairs can wait until later. There are more important things to be done. By and large, buyers are looking for an inviting home in move-in condition. Buyers who are willing to tackle the repairs after moving in automatically subtract the cost of needed fix-ups from the price they offer. You save nothing by putting off these items, and you may likely slow the sale of your home. 3. Myth: Once potential buyers see the inside of your home, curb appeal won't matter. Many buyers drive by a home before deciding whether or not to look inside. Your home's exterior will have less than a minute to make a good first impression. Spruce up the lawn, trim shrubs and trees, and weed the garden. Clear the walkways and driveways of leaves and other debris. Repair gutters and eaves, touch up the exterior paint and repair or resurface cracked driveways and sidewalks. Place potted flowers out front, hang a wreath on the door and put out a pleasing welcome mat for added curb appeal. 4. Myth: Once potential buyers fall in love with the exterior look of your home, you put interior improvements on the back burner. Remember that most buyers are looking for an inviting home in move-in condition. Spending a few thousand dollars for the right work on your home before you sell it, usually translates into a higher selling price and shorter marketing time. Your real estate agent will consult with you about the repairs and replacements that will benefit you most. 5. Myth: Your home must be every homebuyer's dream home. At some point, improvements that you make to your home can exceed what is customary for comparable homes in your area. For instance, there may not be another swimming pool in your entire subdivision. After spending $20,000 to install an in-ground swimming pool that you hope will lure buyers, you may find that it only raises the market value of your home by $10,000 because there are no other comparable properties to support the market value of the pool. As a rule of thumb, if your improvements push your home's value higher than 20% above average neighboring home values, don't expect to recoup the entire amount of improvements. Your real estate agent can advise you as to the scope of projects you might consider in preparing your house for sale. 6. Myth: Buyers are never swayed by sellers that offer creative financing options. You might consider offering seller financing, paying some of the buyer's closing costs, including a one-year home warranty, or other buyer incentives. Your real estate agent, who has professional knowledge of local market activity, can help you decide what incentives, if any, to offer. 7. Myth: You are better off selling your home on your own, thus saving the commission you would have paid to a real estate agent. Sellers who sell their home without a real estate agent often net less from the sale than sellers who use one. You visit a doctor when you're sick and take your car to a mechanic when it needs repairs. It makes sense to contact a real estate professional when you are preparing to sell your biggest asset! 8. Myth: Good sellers should be available to guide prospective buyers through the home, giving the whole process a more personal touch. The presence of homeowners during a viewing can make buyers feel like they are intruding. They need to be able to visualize your house as their home, which can be difficult to do when they are acutely aware that it is still your home. Your real estate agent will be happy to look out for your home during open houses or showings. 9. Myth: Successful sellers insist that the terms of the sale happen their way or no way. Both you and the buyer have the same goal: for you to sell your home and for the buyer to buy it. Work with your real estate agent to approach negotiations positively and with a win-win frame of mind. 10. Myth: When you receive an offer, you should make the buyer wait. This gives you a better negotiating position. When a buyer makes an offer, that buyer is, at that moment in time, ready to buy your home. Moods can change, and you don't want to lose the sale because you stalled in replying. Reasons why homes don’t sell If you have had your home on the market for several months and haven’t seen much activity or any offers, chances are that one or more of the reasons below are to blame. Your price is too high No doubt about it, the most common reason for a home not selling is that the asking price has been set too high. The reasons for setting your price too high to begin with are many. Ranging from over enthusiastic listing agents to unrealistic seller expectations. Regardless of the reason though, if you’ve priced your home too high, you’ve set yourself up for a number of obstacles to selling your home. Even if you do get an offer for the overly high asking price, the deal may fall apart before closing because the buyer may have problems financing at too high a price. Look at other homes for sale, ones as similar and as close to yours as possible. If they are going for less than you are asking, you may be priced too high. The fact is, your home is competing against those other homes, and what buyers are willing to pay is what will determine final sales prices. The condition of your home There is a lot of competition out there to sell homes. Your home has to compete against other similar homes for sale, as well as competing against shiny brand new homes. The more you can do to make your home look appealing to a buyer, the better your chances for a quick sale. Look at your home with a critical eye – put yourself in the buyers position. A buyer doesn’t want to have to do anything except move in. Your best “bang for the buck” in improving the condition of your home are paint and flooring. Make sure that all of the paint is in great condition, both inside and out. Repainting doesn’t cost too much, and will usually make the biggest impact on buyers. Make sure all of the flooring looks good too. You may want to consider putting in new carpet. Again, it’s not that expensive but it sure does make an impact on buyers coming to look at your home. Location, location, location It’s the oldest cliché in the world, but it’s true. When it comes to real estate, it’s all about location! When it comes to homes, things like how good the schools are, crime rates, visual appeal of the neighborhood and noise or the smell of pollution can all effect how desirable the location is. If you’re in a bad location, a good real estate agent may help to minimize some of the impact by suggesting improvements to the house. But the only really reliable way to overcome a bad location is with a lower price. Simply put, an identical home in a bad location won’t sell for as much as the same home in a better location. Your marketing campaign is out of steam The best listing agents all use an aggressive marketing plan to market their listings. If your listing agent isn’t making sure your home can be found easily on the internet, isn’t actively touting his or her listings to other agents in the area, isn’t running ads in the local newspapers and real estate publications, then it might be time to change agents. The best agents might even run radio or television ads for their listings. If all your agent has done is put a sign in your front yard and add your home to the local MLS, then that agent isn’t coming close to doing all that can be done to effectively market your home. The market is slow You’ll hear it described as a slow market, or a buyers market, or maybe a cold market. But it all means the same thing. That home sales in the local area, or market, are slow. That there are too many homes for sale and not enough active buyers. There are several things you can do to combat a slow market. The most effective strategy is to sell at a lower price. Buyers are expecting to find bargains during a slow market. You can also help yourself by offering to pay some concessions to help a buyer that might not have a lot of cash. The ultimate way to beat a slow market is to simply wait it out. But that’s not always an option for many sellers. Your home isn’t easily accessible To get your home sold quickly, it’s important that other agents in the area show it to as many potential buyers as possible. When a busy agent is compiling a list of homes to show a buyer, the agent will naturally tend to show those houses that are easiest to gain access to first. Many homes on the market have “lock boxes” on them. The lock box is a device which holds a key to the home, that only qualified local agents can access. Homes that are listed as being “lock box, no appointment needed” will get shown more often than homes listed as “agent has key, call for appointment”. If at all possible, you should let your agent put a lock box on your home for easier showing. If not, you should do anything else you can to make it as convenient as possible for agents to show your home. Sounds almost silly, but it’s very true. If your listing agent isn’t liked or respected by other agents in your area, it could slow down the sale of your home. When an agent prepares to show properties to prospective buyers, the agent begins by talking to the buyer to find out what kind of home they are looking for. Then the agent searches the local MLS and other sources for homes that fit the buyer. If there are a number of good matches to choose from, and one of them has been listed by an agent that is hard to get along with, or arrogant, or has otherwise made himself unpopular, well… It’s just human nature to tend to skip over someone you don’t like. 5 Things to Do Before You Sell 1. Get estimates from a reliable repairperson on items that need to be replaced soon, such as a roof or worn carpeting, for example. In this way, buyers will have a better sense of how much these needed repairs will affect their costs. 2. Have a termite inspection to prove to buyers that the property is not infested. 3. Get a pre-sale home inspection so you’ll be able to make repairs before buyers become concerned and cancel a contract. 4. Gather together warranties and guarantees on the furnace, appliances, and other items that will remain with the house. 5. Fill out a disclosure form provided by your sales associate. Take the time to be sure that you don’t forget problems, however minor, that might create liability for you after the sale. 10 Ways to Make Your House More Salable 1. Get rid of clutter. Throw out or file stacks of newspapers and magazines. Pack away most of your small decorative items. Store out-of-season clothing to make closets seem roomier. Clean out the garage. 2. Wash your windows and screens to let more light into the interior. 3. Keep everything extra clean. Wash fingerprints from light switch plates. Mop and wax floors. Clean the stove and refrigerator. A clean house makes a better first impression and convinces buyers that the home has been well cared for. 4. Get rid of smells. Clean carpeting and drapes to eliminate cooking odors, smoke, and pet smells. Open the windows. 5. Put higher wattage bulbs in light sockets to make rooms seem brighter, especially basements and other dark rooms. Replace any burnt-out bulbs. 6. Make minor repairs that can create a bad impression. Small problems, such as sticky doors, torn screens, cracked caulking, or a dripping faucet, may seem trivial, but they’ll give buyers the impression that the house isn’t well maintained. 7. Tidy your yard. Cut the grass, rake the leaves, trim the bushes, and edge the walks. Put a pot or two of bright flowers near the entryway. 8. Patch holes in your driveway and reapply sealant, if applicable. 9. Clean your gutters. 10. Polish your front doorknob and door numbers. 5 Ways to Speed Up Your Sale 1. Price it right. Set a price at the lower end of your property’s realistic price range. 2. Get your house market-ready for at least two weeks before you begin showing it. 3. Be flexible about showings. It’s often disruptive to have a house ready to show on the spur of the moment, but the more often someone can see your home, the sooner you’ll find a seller. 4. Be ready for the offers. Decide in advance what price and terms you’ll find acceptable. 5. Don’t refuse to drop the price. If your home has been on the market for more than 30 days without an offer, be prepared to lower your asking price. Rent-to-Own Deals: Smart Questions to Ask... For Sellers: Who will tend to the property and pay for routine maintenance? Who pays for major repairs? What are the costs of setting up and managing an escrow account for the portion of rent allotted to the down payment? Will you manage the property yourself, or hire an agent? What if the renters change their minds? Who keeps the money in the escrow account? If the buyers change their minds, what will be required to put the property back on the market? |
