Tips for Selling your Home – Part 2

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Play detective

Do a bit of detective work: try to keep track of real estate ads that appear only a couple of days (house could have been sold in just a matter of days) and ads that seem to be in the paper forever (why can’t the advertiser sell? What’s preventing him from selling?) This is where wording might clue you into the reasons.

Realistically speaking, my house is really worth…

Set realistic goals: if houses like yours in your area are asking for $250,000.00, don’t think you could make a lot more just because you have a rose garden and your neighbor doesn’t.

Deviating too much from the mainstream can work against you. Don’t stop buyers from calling you because your price is way too much the average prices for your area.

Play the real estate game seriously.

Bear in mind that the “no risk, no gain” philosophy may not always work in real estate. Real estate is a smart, serious business. It’s better to have brains than guts! Feed your brain with information you will need when you finally do sell your house. Real estate information is not a scarcity. There are thousands of web sites dedicated to real estate. And the library holds a wealth of information on the subject.

Get only enough to get you started

Too much analysis leads to paralysis. Arm yourself with adequate knowledge and then get moving! Don’t let fear or over-confidence immobilize you. If you want to sell your house successfully, fear has no place in the grand scheme of things, nor does arrogance.

Posted in Selling Tips | No Comments »

Tips for Selling your Home – Part 3

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

It’s the fitness thing, you know.

Do an inventory of your community’s attractions. How many parks, tennis courts are there? Is there a YMCA? All these facilities play a major role in the decision to buy, especially if the husband or wife is a fitness freak.
And what about concerts and that kind of thing?

Don’t overlook the entertainment factor: how many restaurants and movie theaters does your area have? What about concert halls and other cultural activities? Young couples, especially those with no children, like to eat out often.

They also want the assurance that if they don’t feel like entertaining friends for dinner at home, they can go for a concert or a show to spend a relaxing weekend. A very cultural community filled with activities is a huge factor, not only for them, but also for their children.
Will I fit in the area?

The ethnic factor: if your area has a strong multi-cultural presence, this might be an attraction for newly arrived immigrants in search of a house. The feeling of wanting to feel “at home” is a strong motivator. You may think it a trivial matter, but buyers do ask if there’s a sushi restaurant in the area, or if there are any Jewish Synagogues nearby.

Are there meeting places where members of ethnic communities can mingle and share views, cuisine and stores about “back home”?
Is there a doctor in the house?

Does your area have a good hospital? What makes that hospital a plus factor? Families that have aging in-laws in tow would like to know if they can get medical help immediately in case of an emergency.

Also, if your local area hospital is known for a particular specialization make sure you let your buyers know.

How is the transportation system?

How far are the major highways from your house? Where is the next largest city? How developed is your area’s public transportation system? Proximity to a subway station is typically seen by many as a benefit because downtown parking is expensive. This constitutes a great advantage also for teenaged children who attend university downtown.
No gossiping allowed!

Are you in friendly terms with your neighbors? If you’re selling a condo or a duplex, the next owners are usually curious about what kind of neighbors live in the same enclave.

Show your neighborliness, but don’t gossip about the neighbor on your right. Chances are prospective buyers are only interested if the neighbors are quiet or rowdy. They’re not interested in your neighbor’s alcohol problem.

Posted in Selling Tips | No Comments »

Tips for Selling your Home – Part 4

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Getting to know your house…for the last time

Okay, you have a good understanding of real estate, you know your community, and now it’s time to know your house like the back of your hand.

Every house has a hidden defect or a very visible fault. Take pencil and paper and do a tour, taking down all the weaknesses that can potentially be spotted by buyers when they visit. Go around your house several times to make sure you’ve covered everything.

You want to discover the defect before the buyer does. Spare yourself some embarrassment. Don’t underestimate the buyer’s ability to see through walls!
Did you say an in-ground pool?

If your house comes with a swimming pool, mention it! An in-ground swimming pool adds a lot of value to a house.

Make sure the pool is clean and there are no floating algae or fungi when the buyers come knocking at your door.

If there’s anything that can be quite disconcerting it’s a pool with no water, dead leaves and little creatures floating about, or large cracks in the pool. A pool isn’t fun without a heater. Let your buyer know that the pool’s heater is working.
I never promised you a rose garden.

Check your front and back yards. Are they well-kept or do they look like they’ve been neglected for the last six months? Is your grass healthy and green and well-manicured?
When buyers look for a house, they customarily concentrate on making adjustments inside the house; they understand that part of the house buying process is renovation.

At least they’re prepared for this event, but when they see that the outside of the house also needs major attention, they could get discouraged – and dismayed no doubt – to see such an unkempt front yard and backyard.

Wow, a home spa!

Pay attention to the bathrooms. Make sure they have good lighting, squeaky clean faucets and a shiny, sparkling bathtub. A stained bath tub is unsightly.

Hang some of your best linens for the visit. A bathroom that smells and looks clean can be a persuasion point. Count yourself lucky if you have a whirlpool or a large Roman bath.

For couples just recently married, the whirlpool or spa might just bring you closer to finalizing that deal. One thing with house hunters: they start with a budget in mind, but watch how they’re easily swayed to stretch that budget a little more when they see amenities that they otherwise would not have thought about previously.

A house that’s safe and sound.

Buyers are likely to ask you about insulation and energy efficiency systems in your house. If you don’t know or can’t remember, be honest and say so.
Why am I selling?

You made the decision of selling the house. You went through the motions of going over your house and looking for things to repair.

Before you get to the next step – advertising your house in the paper and by word of mouth – spend some quiet time to yourself so you can gauge your true feelings about why you want to sell your house.

If you have compelling reasons or circumstances that force you to sell, this may affect your position as a seller. As the property owner, you should always be on the driver’s seat.

Only you can dictate the terms of sale. If you’re emotionally or financially disadvantaged, you may want to put off selling your house until you’re 100% convinced that you’re ready – emotionally and financially.

Posted in Selling Tips | No Comments »

Tips for Selling your Home – Part 5

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Not the time to be fickle…

If your house holds much sentimental value and you feel that parting with it will affect you psychologically, assess how strong your emotional attachment to your house is.

Once the house is sold, there is no turning back. Sale contracts are legally binding. You can’t appear at the doorway of the new owners and say, “Sorry, I’ve changed my mind. I acted irrationally by selling. I want my house back!”

Nostalgia is a strong feeling

You want to sell because you’re getting divorced from your husband of 25 years? If you no longer love your husband, but still love your house, think twice about selling.

If the house means that much to you, then perhaps you may want to re-consider. A house is not only a physical structure. It is a refuge, a reservoir of memories of a family that built a future together.

I’m in a bind…

Financially strapped? Many people think of selling their house to acquire much-needed cash. Your house is your only asset and perhaps the only asset that banks will look at if you apply for a loan.

Instead of selling, you may consider the option of using the equity you’ve built up in your home to apply for a loan. But don’t sell just because you need cash. Banks are often willing to give you room to maneuver on your house equity.

My home isn’t a hotel!

If you hesitate about selling your house because you want your children to have a place to stay when they visit, remember that you raised them to be responsible, self-sufficient adults.

If you really want to sell your house, this should be the least of your worries. Your grown children can perfectly manage on their own. Your house isn’t the Four Seasons!

Posted in Selling Tips | No Comments »

Tips for Selling your Home – Part 6

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Listen up, but stay with your convictions!

Remind yourself that it’s your house, so buyers should play by your rules. Don’t let some smooth talking buyer convince you that your house isn’t worth that much.

You did your homework, so you’re the only one who knows what you should be getting for your house. Remember it’s the buyer who needs a house, not you. If one buyer is starting to get on your nerves, there are other buyers.
I’m selling, no matter what.

Banish your fears and emotional ups and downs because they only lead to inaction.

Bolster your self-confidence by constantly saying to yourself, “I want to sell my house, I will sell my house, and I will make money from selling my house”. This mantra will guide you and make you stronger as you go through the motions of the eventual sale.

Even well-meaning friends can derail you!

Stay focused. Don’t surround yourself with friends who like to foretell gloom and doom. “You might regret it,” or “There’s just too much stress handling the sale yourself, let the experts do what they’re best at”.

These pieces of advice, no matter how well-intentioned, have no place in your goals. Don’t be easily swayed by what your friends or colleagues tell you. Refuse to listen to horror stories about meeting the strangest of strangers.

Time to go “pro”

Earlier we provided tips on getting to know your house and going around inside and outside to see what needs to be improved.

Now it’s time to closely inspect your home for hidden defects. It’s time for a professional inspector. Get him to examine those details that can make or break a deal.

One is the electrical wiring. A fire caused by faulty wiring is serious business. Instead of enjoying the cash from the sale of your house, your hard-earned equity is going towards paying damages and lawyers’ fees.

This isn’t a multiple choice test.

See to it that the professional inspector or home inspection company you hired provides you with a well written report.

The fill-in-the-blank forms and check boxes type of report may be accurate, but a written, detailed analysis looks better to buyers. It demonstrates to them that you’ve done your sacred duty as seller.

What’s that smell?

If you have a septic system, have a percolation test performed. If repairs are necessary, you either repair them before you sell, or disclose them to the buyers. Don’t kill your chances of selling your house because of this detail.

Actually, now that you ask…

Show all repairs in a written report to all prospective buyers. This will eliminate unpleasant surprises later that might delay the sale. Disclosing all house defects and problems will help reduce the time or process leading to the final sale.

Non-disclosure can even cause a re-negotiation of the sale price if the buyers discover the defects themselves. If there is anything you don’t want, it’s being forced to re-negotiate the price down because of non-disclosure of a fact that you were legally required to disclose.

Posted in Selling Tips | No Comments »

Tips for Selling your Home – Part 7

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

If I were buying this house…

After you’re satisfied that the professional inspectors did their job correctly, act like one. Take one, long last look.

Put on your eagle eyes, and ask yourself: if I were buying this house, what would I want done or repaired?

It’s the law, sir.

Fix any house problems that the law requires you to. Get a Sustainability Report done on your property – in Queensland it is now mandatory to disclose certain efficiency related features of your house and the requirements for reporting are only going to get tougher over time. Agents AND sellers can be fined if these mandatory disclousres are not provided. See http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/sustainable-housing/sustainability-declaration.html for more details.

You and I are different.

Little things that make a difference are those tasks or jobs that you’ve somehow delayed or never got around to doing.

Remember that what may be petty to you may not be petty at all to your prospective buyer. No two people think the same way. Selling and buying a house are two different perspectives, two different people, and two different mindsets.

Did you inherit these doorknobs from your grandmother?

Try not to overlook old doorknobs and plates on light switches. If they look lifeless and worn, replace them to liven up the living areas. Try to go for neutral designs.

If your buyers are young, upward mobile professionals, you could go for bolder designs. Make sure that whatever you put on, the buyers can take them off easily should they decide to do so.

Is this door going to fall on me?

Does your house have doors that sag, don’t close properly, squeak or have a knob missing?

There are beautiful ready-made and custom-made doors in your local home centre, so why don’t you pay them a visit; get an idea of what kind of doors would breathe life into your house?

More tips soon!

Posted in Selling Tips | No Comments »

Tips for Selling your Home – Part 8

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

How many insects do you have here?

What about broken screens that have ugly-looking holes gaping at you and your visitors? A simple thing such as broken screens can be a huge turn off so show consideration for your buyers by taking care of these minor fix-its.
For you or the buyer?

Some experts say that little repairs that can potentially annoy you or your buyers must get fixed.

Getting small, minor jobs done will help increase your chances of selling your house.

But getting big things fixed, they say, will only mean profits for the contractor and buyer, not you. This is a matter of personal opinion.

Is this a good time to sell?

Market. Market conditions are influenced by key factors such as interest rates, supply and demand of houses in your area, competition and the general state of the economy.

Real estate is a cyclical phenomenon. The beginning of 2000 witnessed a surge in home building. All of a sudden homes were being sold faster than contractors could build them. When there’s a real estate boom, this is an excellent opportunity to make a killing!

Posted in Selling Tips | No Comments »

Tune your House – Home Maintenance over Summer

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Australian homeowners have been urged to protect their greatest asset, their home, with a summer tune up.

Many homeowners ignore basic maintenance issues which can develop into costly problems.

With fire prevention a major issue over summer the condition of roofs and guttering, which can become a deadly fire hazard if full of dried leaves and sticks, is a top priority for attention.

In summer we usually experience a number of thunderstorms with heavy rain and high winds which could dislodge tiles, fill gutters with debris or loosen roof sheeting. Homeowners need to make sure that heavy rain can drain away as quickly as possible.

People should check their gutters and any stormwater drainage pits for blockages and the perimeter of the house for rubbish build-up that can prevent water draining away and lead to flooding. Homeowners in low-lying areas should consider excavating some trenches around potential water entry points to ensure that no water enters the house.
Water pouring down the walls or a section of plaster collapsing is often the first indication that there is a leaking roof problem. People who put off fixing leaks could be putting themselves and their families at risk, especially if the water is likely to enter the electrical system or appliances.

Following major storms leaking roof problems can lead to dangerous situations where water can penetrate walls, roof linings, and insulation leading to the growth of mould and deterioration of the home.

Apart from the exterior visual condition of the roof, it is also vital that inside the roof cavity is inspected for structural soundness.
A summertime tun
e up on the home over the Christmas holidays is a practical money saving activity which protects the value of the asset and improves the quality of life of families.

Posted in building | No Comments »

Trim down at Christmas

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Most Australians splurge during the festive season with boisterous feasts and oodles of presents. But to have a good time, is so much expense truly necessary? This Christmas, why not clear debt rather than create it?

Christmas holidays can present quite a challenge for those managing a mortgage, as well as those looking to enter the real estate property market in the new year.

It is important to ensure excess Christmas spending did not affect the ability of people to meet loan repayments. If you stick to your budget for food, beverages, presents and travel costs over the festive season you will ultimately reduce the potential for more personal debt and save money during what is often the most expensive time of year. Not only that, if you have a mortgage you can contribute leftover savings from the Christmas budget into your home loan, which will save time and money off your loan and can help you cope with further interest rate rises.

Of course avoiding debt and maintaining a good credit history is important at all times for all borrowers, both potential and existing.

When applying for a loan lenders will take into account your credit history and assess your ability to budget and manage repayments.

Avoid silly season spending with some of these tips:

Create a financial buffer throughout the year in preparation for the summer holidays. By repaying your mortgage above the required amount you will have more funds at your disposal, if need be.

Revisit your purchases from the last year and make a list of things that were not consumed, were left over or unused.

Then, create a well thought out detailed shopping list before you arrive at the shopping centre, to save you time and money spent on unnecessary items.

Plan for the year ahead and budget for your next summer holiday spending.

Organise your repayment strategy and increase your contributions when you can. Start preparing your new year budget and, based on this year’s festivities, decide what you can cut back on for next year.

Simply stop and think. Sometimes a minute of consideration is enough to prevent impulse buys.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »