Selling Your Home During The Holidays
The process of selling your home at any time of the year can be a stressful experience, but if you are trying to sell your home during the busy holiday season it may seem to be almost impossible. The battle to keep your home in model condition and host open houses while at the same time entertaining friends and family-all the work can seem like a difficult task. So what can you do to make selling your home at this time of year less stressful while still keeping your property in salable condition? Here are a few tips to make it easier! Keep The Decorations To A Minimum Even if your home is usually the brightest on the block, you will definitely want to tone down the seasonal decorations on both the interior and exterior of your home. You still want to make it easy for potential home buyers to see themselves in your home, and decorations can be a huge distraction from the features of your home, especially if the potential buyers are not of the same religious and cultural background as you. If you do decorate, keep the decorations tasteful and modern. Think of how a model home would be decorated for the season, rather than your own personal taste. Remember The Basics Of Home Sales When selling your home, the advice you receive from your REALTOR® includes tips such as keeping your home clean and clutter free, and this should not be forgotten just because of the holidays. Keep personal items such as gifts and homemade crafts out of sight, and be sure to tidy up promptly after parties and events. When hosting an open house, using the sense of smell can always be an effective strategy, and by giving it a holiday twist you can really give the effect of a cozy family home. Bake some holiday cookies and throw on a pot of mulled wine before the potential buyers show up. Overall, selling your home during the holiday season can present you with considerable challenges, but by trying to balance the needs of both your family and your potential buyers you can make this period as stress free as possible.
Selling Your Home In A Buyer’s Market: How To Maximize Your Profit
There are a number of reasons why you may need to sell your home in a buyer’s market, and though getting the most for your home in that situation may seem impossible, there are several strategies you can use to get the best offer for your home. Here are a few tips to getting the most for your house in a buyer’s market! Know Your Local Real Estate Market While the national housing market may be booming, your local market may be very different. A real estate agent can give you the information you need to determine how your local housing market is doing, and whether it is a good time to consider selling. Get A Home Inspection Knowing the condition of your home, and the strengths and weaknesses of your property, can help you make an accurate evaluation of what your home is worth and how best to market it. A home inspection can also point out any repairs that may be required, and you can even use the covered cost of a home inspection as a perk to potential buyers. Make Necessary Repairs Making repairs may seem like an unnecessary expense when selling your home, but these repairs, especially to rooms like the kitchen and bathrooms, can really increase the asking price of your home and maximize your profits. Also, having your home in move-in condition will increase interest in your home and ultimately get you a better price. Find Out The Competitive Price For Your Home Knowing the accurate market price for your home based on its size, condition, and location will mean that you are in a power position in getting the best price possible. Contacting a REALTOR® can help you determine the fair market value of your home. Have A Marketing Strategy Like any business, marketing is an important part of success; having a good marketing strategy means more people will know your home is for sale, and it will be presented in the best way possible. A professional real estate agent can help you market your home in the most effective way.
Staging An Open House That Won’t Cost You A Fortune
If you are thinking of putting your home up for sale, or already have your property listed, you may want to consider hosting an open house as part of your marketing strategy to get your home sold. An open house is still one of the most effective methods for getting a quick and profitable sale, and here are a few tips to hosting a successful open house that won’t eat into your profits. Clean And De-clutter This is probably the simplest and most inexpensive way to make your home its best for an open house. Be sure the kitchen and bathrooms are spotless, all the beds are made, and messes tidied up. Also remove any personal items and photos that may make it more difficult for potential buyers to see themselves in your home. Smell Is A Powerful Tool There have been countless studies done that have shown having pleasant, homey smells present during an open house has a positive effect on potential buyers. Baking cookies or sticky buns leaves an inviting smell throughout the home, and placing flowers in the hallways, bedrooms, and bathrooms can leave a lasting sensory impression. Clear Out Your Pets And Yourself Though your pets and family may be the most valued possessions in your home, they are not going to sell your home. People who attend an open house are looking to see if your home is a potential fit with their lifestyle and family life. The easier you make it for them to picture themselves in your home the better. This means that if you are not around, they will feel more comfortable in being objective about the home. Also, pets do not appeal to all people, and for those who may be allergic, keeping them out of the way can make a big difference. Make Your House A Home. Their Home! If your home has rooms with no obvious purpose, or rooms with little to no furniture, you may want to consider renting furniture or other home décor items to give your house a homier feel. You may also want to consider such things as the amount of light particular spaces in the house get, and whether or not you are emphasizing any sellable features such as fireplaces or finished basements. Overall, these simple and fairly inexpensive tricks can make your home a more inviting place during an open house, and will likely get you a sale more quickly and at the right price.
Ten Tips To Successfully Market Your Home
There is a lot more to putting your home up for sale than placing a sign on the front lawn. Selling your home quickly and getting the best price possible requires marketing your property and using the services of an experienced agent. Here are some of the strategies you can use to market your home. Hire A Professional REALTOR®-The ability to market your home is always best served by hiring a real estate expert. They have access to resources that you as an individual do not, and their experience and knowledge are certainly worth the commission. Photograph The Exterior Of Your Home-Good high quality photographs of the entire exterior of your home can really spark the interest of potential buyers. These photographs can be used in a variety of online and print marketing campaigns. Photograph The Interior Of Your Home-Be sure you also have good quality photos of every major room in your home, especially the kitchen, bathrooms, and master bedroom. Also ensure that these pictures are taken in good light, and from angles that best highlight the space they are to represent. Purchase A Virtual Tour-Virtual tours are one of the latest and most effective marketing methods in the real estate industry. Essentially a virtual tour allows potential viewers to get a 360-degree perspective of your property from the comfort of their home or office. This method is also a great way to assure that only interested buyers show up at an open house. Your agent can have these tours put on multiple listing websites as well as on their own pages. Print Advertising-While this may seem to be a costly and outdated marketing method, there are still a considerable number of potential buyers who use print resources to find prospective properties. Signage-Be sure you have clear, visible signage on your property that indicates it is for sale. Also, be sure your agent’s contact information can be seen from a distance so that those passing by can take down their name and number. Direct Mail-Again, this may seem like an outdated method of advertising, but it is still effective, especially if your home may appeal to an older demographic. Open Houses-This is still the most effective way to get a sale. Be sure your home is in clean and presentable condition before hosting an open house, and ask your REALTOR® for advice about preparing your home for such an opening. Agent Tours-These tours can give agents a better look at your home without having the general public in your house, and can assist them in matching your home with their clients. Your agent can arrange these tours. E-marketing-Like print advertising, this is a fairly inexpensive and effective method of marketing your home that your REALTOR® can offer to you as part of their services.
When Should You Accept A Low Bid?
If you are selling your home and are motivated to get the deal done quickly, you may be tempted to accept a low bid. Whether you need to sell because you are being relocated or need to downsize to save your financial investment, there are several things you should consider before accepting a bid that is below your asking price. Here are a few tips on making that decision a bit easier. How Motivated Are You? The decision to accept a low bid should always be influenced by your actual financial position rather than simply wanting a quick sale. If you are in a situation in which you may lose your home due to foreclosure, accepting a low bid may be your only option. If, on the other hand, you are simply tempted to take a low bid because it is more than you originally paid for the home, you may want to reconsider. For most people, the motivation will lie somewhere in the middle, and balancing your motivation to sell and the potential financial loss of accepting a low bid should be carefully evaluated. Avoid Becoming A Motivated Seller The best way to sidestep having to take a low bid is by avoiding the position of being a truly motivated seller in the first place. If you are having trouble paying your mortgage, be sure you have exhausted any refinancing options that may exist. Another common reason people feel obligated to accept a low bid is that they have already purchased a new home and do not want to be in the position of paying two mortgages at once. So before purchasing a new home, first sell your existing home. No matter your reason for considering accepting a low bid for your home, be sure you get the advice of both a REALTOR® and a financial advisor to ensure you are making the right decision.
How Long Should You Keep Your Home On The Market?
Many a home seller has been there-the house has been on the market for months and there is no sign of a sale. At what point should you pull the house off of the market, assuming it is even an option for you? When you start to feel like you are getting nowhere, it’s important to step back and consider the facts of the situation before you make any decisions. Is The Season A Factor? If your house has been on the market through the summer and well into fall, and the holiday season is approaching, you may feel there is no point in keeping it listed through the winter. You may be right. The holiday season is a notoriously difficult time to sell, and you yourself may want to just take a break and enjoy your holidays without interruptions from agents and potential buyers. If you can take a step back and resume your efforts to sell in the late winter or early spring, doing so is usually a wise choice. Are You Asking Too Much? Before you consider pulling the house off the market, take an honest look at your asking price. If it is unrealistic and you have been holding off from dropping it, going to a lower asking price before you give up on selling altogether might be the wiser course of action. Giving up on what you feel your house is worth is difficult, but if selling is an urgent need you are going to have to do what is necessary. The Market Is Just Slow Economic factors have slowed the sale of homes all across the country. If the market is particularly slow where you live, you might want to consider taking the house off of the market for a while and waiting it out to get a better price later. If you have already moved out, consider renting the house for a while until the market looks up. Making the decision to pull your home off the market is difficult, and you should never do it without looking at all the details and discussing it with your REALTOR®. In some cases, however, it will be the wisest course of action and result in a sale for more money down the line.
Negotiating With A Buyer
Depending on the market in which you are selling, your position in the negotiations with a potential buyer can be either a very comfortable one or a difficult one. In a buyer’s market, you might not have much wiggle room in terms of price and contingencies. In a seller’s market, you might have a lot of room to negotiate. Either way, there are a few things you should know going in. How Low Will You Go? Before you even begin negotiations with a buyer, you need to have a bottom line; this is the lowest price that you will accept for your home. Your REALTOR® can help you to determine a realistic selling price for your home, but only you can decide what you are comfortable accepting. Be prepared to turn down offers that are below that amount, no matter how much you want to sell. Keep Your Cards Close Potential buyers don’t need to know that you have already bought your new home and badly need to sell this one. Keep that information to yourself and make sure your REALTOR® does, too. When a buyer senses that you are anxious to sell, you will quickly find that you have lost negotiating power. You do have to disclose any problems with the home that are already known, especially if there has been a home inspection and the issue was brought up. You don’t have to tell them about repairs you have already made unless it helps your sale, such as a new furnace or a new roof. Beyond The Money While the amount of money you get for your home might be the most important thing for you, to the buyer there might be other items that can help seal the deal. Try adding other incentives instead of going lower on your price when you counter an offer, such as taking care of some repairs or paying closing costs for the buyer. There are plenty of methods your REALTOR® can help you with to come to an agreement with a buyer without sacrificing the bottom line. Negotiating can be a tough process, but with a little help from a professional and some sound advice, you can get through it and get your house sold for a price you can live with.
Quick Clutter Fixes For Unexpected Showings
When you have to continue living in a home at the same time you are trying to sell it, keeping it ready for a showing at any time can be a challenge. This challenge is doubled when you have children in your home. You want to be able to accommodate a showing whenever possible in order to get your home sold quickly, but when asked to let people in unexpectedly, getting things in order fast can be a challenge. Here are a few simple tips to get ready for a showing in a hurry! Keep Some Drawer Space Free Keep a drawer in your kitchen as empty as possible so that it can be a catch-all for the clutter that is hanging around, including unopened mail, pens and pencils, and other general kitchen clutter. When you need to pick up in a hurry, simply open the drawer and toss in whatever will fit. This can clear off your countertops in a hurry and make your kitchen ready for showing. A Few Smart Hiding Places Pick up a few storage ottomans and place them strategically around the house-in the entry, at the end of the hall, in the living or family room. When you need to clean up quickly, simply lift the lid and hide your clutter inside. People coming to see the house aren’t going to open them, so you don’t have to worry about filling them with all of the random clutter that can accumulate during the day. You can simply fit them into your home décor and they won’t be noticed at all. Under bed storage bins are another quick and easy place to hide clutter fast. Slide them out and fill them with anything from that load of laundry you haven’t had time to put away to the kids’ toys in their bedrooms. Then slip them under the bed and no one will be the wiser. Clutter has a way of building up in any home, but when you are trying to sell and need to clean it up fast, it’s a little more than a nuisance. Be prepared ahead of time by keeping your clutter hiding places ready to go, and you won’t ever have to stress about an unexpected showing again.
Selling A Home When You Have Kids
Selling a home is stressful for everyone, and having young children in the house can add to the stress for the parents. Let’s face it-kids have a way of making a mess in a hurry and leaving it behind for someone else to deal with. They are also problematic in other ways when it comes to selling your house. Of course, you can’t ask your kids to move out while you sell-but you can find some smart solutions to the difficulties of selling a home in which children are living. Lower The Clutter Quotient During the home selling process, pack up some of your kids’ excess toys and other items and put them in storage. Let them help pick which items will stay out, and if the sale process goes on for a while let them trade a few items now and then. Removing a portion of the clutter that comes with kids will make it a lot easier to keep the house clean and ready to show, preventing the stress of trying to clean up a mess of toys when people are on their way to see the house. Set Up A Showing Plan Whenever possible, you should try to show the home when your children are not there. They can be a major distraction to potential buyers and may say or do things that could cause you some embarrassment or put the buyer off. Try to set up showings while your children are at school or extracurricular activities. If you have to do a showing when they are normally home, enlist help. Ask a friend or family member if they would mind having the kids over for a while, or even just taking them for a walk while the house is being shown. Kid Friendly, But Not Too Kid Friendly For some buyers, a home that is set up for kids is a plus; for other buyers it might cause them to see the house in a different light and pass on it. Try to keep the kids’ items contained to one space, and reduce the number of kid-friendly features such as high chairs or potty stools that buyers might not want to walk around when they see the house. Some things can be moved just before a showing if you need them every day, but others should be removed entirely during the selling process. Your kids are a big part of your life, and it’s their home, too-but bear in mind that buyers sometimes have trouble seeing past clutter and too much kid stuff. Keep it as clean as possible, while still livable for the whole family.
Should You Show An Empty Home?
If you have already moved out of the house you are selling, you generally have two choices. You can do home staging-either on your own or by hiring a professional-or you can let the house be shown empty. There are pros and cons to both, although many will lean toward the staging option. Consider the possible benefits of showing an empty home, however, before you spend money and time on staging. A Blank Slate When a buyer comes into an empty home, it is easier to visualize their own items in the home. They can picture just where their couch will fit, where to wall mount the big screen TV, and which wall will best showcase their favorite painting. The blank slate that is provided by an empty home lets the imagination of the buyer take over, allowing them to see the house as they would make it and not as you have made it. A Cost Savings Professional home staging can be expensive. So can renting furniture on your own. Leaving the home empty saves you all of those potential costs, and if it means the house takes a little longer to sell, you have still come out on top in the money department. Especially if you are on a tight budget, home staging might be a cost you just can’t afford. Less To Worry About There is nothing to steal or damage in an empty home, so you don’t have to worry about anything being ruined during an open house or a showing. You can also rest easy knowing that there is no real reason for anyone to break into a home that is standing empty. While many experts will recommend home staging as a method of making the home more attractive to buyers, it isn’t always a necessity to get your home sold. Consider the possible benefits of an empty home, and then make a choice as to whether or not staging is right for you. Remember that you can always bring staging in if you are having no luck selling the home while it is empty.
