0 Seller’s Guide: The Road to Closing

It might seem as though once a sale agreement has been signed that the selling process is complete. Not only is it not over yet, but some of the most complex aspects of a real estate transaction now begin. Your Realtor will be available to walk you through every step.

A sale agreement sets not only a purchase price for the home, but also a series of terms and conditions. For instance:

• Financing: Contracts routinely depend on the ability of a buyer to obtain financing, which is why most sellers prefer buyers with preapproval letters from lenders.

• Inspection: A growing percentage of transactions involve a home inspection, or a physical review of the home by a trained and independent observer.

• Seller’s Obligations: It's important to look at the sale agreement and review your obligations. For instance, if you have agreed to paint a room or replace the dishwasher, such work must be completed before closing. Your Realtor can discuss your agreement and the steps which must be taken to complete the transaction.

Once all of the terms and conditions of the contract have been met, it’s time to close on the home and move into your new place!

-Eric

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0 Seller’s Guide: Negotiating an Offer

The goal of every seller is to have a line of buyers outside the front door, each clutching higher and higher offers. And while this has been known to happen, in most markets there is some balance between the number of buyers and sellers.

How do you negotiate?

Real estate bargaining typically involves compromises by both sides. It's not war; it's not winner-takes-all; and it's not the time to take personally any comments made by purchasers.

Instead, negotiating should be seen as a natural business process; buyers should be treated with respect; and owners should never lose sight of either their best interests or their baseline transaction requirements.

Should I accept an offer?

A number of factors determine whether a buyer's offer is acceptable. They include:

• Is the offer at or near the asking price?
• Has the buyer asked you to pay for any additional costs—buyer’s closing costs, for example?
• What is the alternative to the buyer's offer? If a home has not attracted an offer in months, then you need to determine if a better deal is possible—recognizing that each month costs are being incurred for mortgage payments, taxes and insurance.
• Do you have enough time to wait for other offers?
• What if no other offers are received?
• What if several offers are received? Do you choose the high offer from the purchaser with questionable finances who may not be able to close, or a somewhat lesser offer from a buyer with preapproved financing?

In each case, sellers—with assistance from their Realtor—will need to carefully review offers, consider marketplace options and then determine whether an offer is acceptable to meet your goals.

What is a counter-offer?

A counter-offer is simply a new offer. Once an offer is received, the seller now has three options: accept the offer, decline the offer or make a fresh counter-offer.

Offers and counter-offers reflect the back-and-forth activity of the marketplace. It's an efficient and practical process—but also one that may contain tricky clauses and hidden costs. Your Realtor can explain the local bargaining process in detail and assist in the actual negotiations.


Finally, once both seller and buyer are in agreement, you are officially on the road to the closing table!

-Eric

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0 Seller's Guide: What to Expect

You've selected your Realtor, set a price and prepared your home for buyers. Now what?

Knowing what to expect when your house goes up for sale can be half the battle of getting through the transaction. Here’s a look at what you can expect once you sign a listing agreement:

Out of the gate. The first thing your agent will likely do is place your home in the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This notifies all other agents in the area that your home is for sale.

Soon, a for-sale sign will appear in the yard and a lockbox will be attached to your house, most likely the front door. The lockbox allows local agents access to the house when you aren’t home. It is important to be as accommodating as possible when other agents are wanting to show your home to buyers. A more convenient time for you may not fit into the buyers’ schedule. Plus, unless you’re in a hot sellers’ market, there will be plenty of other houses to see.

Open house. Your agent will want to have an open house to showcase your home to the public. It is recommended that you are not present during open house, since buyers want the freedom to look in closets and make comments which can be uncomfortable to do if the homeowner is present.

Neat freak. Keeping your house in tip-top shape, especially if you have kids and pets, is one of the more difficult parts of selling your home, but one of the most important. Remember, buyers will walk into your house and try to picture living there. Most people don’t have the vision to look past toys scattered throughout the house, dishes in the sink or pet food spilled on the floor. It doesn’t matter that they probably live the same way.

Changing course. Markets can change quickly, so there may be a time when you need to consider price and any physical changes or improvements that could enhance the home. This doesn’t mean you have to remodel the kitchen, but maybe realizing the garage should be cleaned out or the pink bedroom walls should be repainted can make the difference.

-Eric

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0 Seller's Guide: Staging Your Home

Home staging is about illusions. It's beyond decorating and cleaning. It's about perfecting the art of creating moods. Staging makes your house look bigger, brighter, cleaner, warmer, more loving and, best of all, it makes home buyers want to make it their own.

Think of it this way: How we stage is not how we live. It is how we want to live. We have all seen magazine pictures of beautiful homes and thought "I want to live there!" In reality, it took the owner weeks to get their home picture-perfect. They had to declutter, remove excess furniture items and deep clean to get their home ready for the magazine photographer. This is exactly what you are doing to prepare your home for sale. We want buyers to leave your home thinking, "I want to live there!", just like the homes in magazines.

Your Realtor should be able to provide feedback on how to best stage your home. It is important to remember to separate yourself from your home at this point. Your Realtor is not criticizing your decorating skills, they are simply helping you use what you already have to best accentuate your homes features. For example, you may have a stunning china cabinet in your dining room that you would definitely want to display in your personal home. However, by removing the china cabinet from your home while it is for sale, your dining room may appear larger. Buyers are looking to buy the space, not the china cabinet.


Here are a few staging hints to prepare your home to sell:

Depersonalize the space by removing family photos, trophies, posters, etc.

Clear high-traffic areas of excess furnishings to maximize feeling of space.

Highlight key features in each room, such as windows and fireplaces, by making sure they are not obscured by plants or furnishings.


For more staging tips, visit the Designed to Sell section of Living the Home Life.

-Cara

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0 Seller's Guide: Setting Your Price

Putting a "for sale" sign in the front yard is just the beginning. Make sure you know what to expect as the sales process begins.

During this phase of the home selling process, your Realtor will help you set your list price based on:

Pricing considerations. In setting the list price for your home, you should be aware of a buyer’s frame of mind. Consider the following pricing factors:

If you set the price too high, your house won’t be picked for viewing, even though it may be much nicer than other homes on the street. But compared to other houses for sale, your home simply looks too expensive to be considered.

If you price too low, you'll short-change yourself. Your house will sell promptly, yes, but you may make less on the sale than if you had set a higher price and waited for a buyer who was willing to pay it.

Using comparable sales. No matter how attractive and polished your house, buyers will be comparing its price with everything else on the market. Your best guide is a record of what the buying public has been willing to pay in the past few months for property in your neighborhood like yours. Your Realtor can furnish data on sales figures for those "comps", and analyze them for a suggested listing price. The decision about how much to ask, though, is always yours.

Considering market conditions. When real estate is booming and prices are rising, houses may sell in a few days. Conversely, when the market slows down, average days on market can run into many months. Your Realtor can tell you whether your area is currently a buyer's market or a seller's market. In a seller's market, you can price a bit beyond what you really expect, just to see what the reaction will be. In a buyer's market, if you really need to sell promptly, offer an attractive bargain price.

Estimating net proceeds. Once you’ve been given an estimate of market value by your Realtor, you can get a rough idea of how much cash you might walk away with when the sale is completed. This can be particularly useful as you start looking for another home to buy.

Check back soon for Part 3: Staging Your Home.

-Eric

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0 Seller's Guide: Getting Started

Don't make the mistake of thinking that listing your house is the first step. Knowledge is power, so before you get ahead of yourself, get ahead of the game by doing your homework.

Even though many believe that selling a home is easy, it is in fact a full time job that requires more then just putting a sign in your yard. It requires knowledge of the laws, the entire purchase process and the ability to market the strong points of your home to attract potential buyers. As a result, you will need someone in your corner who will help you get the best price for your house. This is where selecting a good Realtor comes into play.

In selecting the Realtor that is right for you, there will be a number of questions you will want to consider, including:


What services do you offer? It is important to get an idea of what actions they will take to effectively market and sell your home.

Is real estate your full time career? You will want to work with a Realtor that is readily available to market your home, address your concerns, and do their best to get your home sold quickly and for the highest possible price.

How would you price my home? Ask about recent home sales and comparable properties currently on the market. Be sure to ask how their price opinions were determined and why they think your home would sell for a given value.

How will you market my home? The Realtor should be able to provide an explanation of how they market homes, what marketing strategies have worked in the past and which marketing efforts may be effective for your home.

What is your fee? Brokerage fees are established in the marketplace and not set by law or regulation. Typically, brokers who list homes are compensated on a performance basis--that is, the broker is not paid unless the home sells under the terms and conditions that are acceptable to you.


Once you find a Realtor that you are comfortable with and confident in their ability to sell your home, you are one giant step closer to listing your home and getting the ball rolling.

-Eric

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1 Seller's Guide: Seven Costly Mistakes

Real estate broker and author Sid Davis has identified in his book "A Survival Guide to Selling a Home," seven costly mistakes that many sellers make when it comes time to put their home on the market. From Little Rock to Las Vegas, these tips hold true.

The Seven Costly Mistakes

Mistake 1: Putting the home on the market before it's ready. Usually this happens because the seller gets impatient or has procrastinated and has pushed himself up against a moving deadline without getting the pre-sale work done. So it comes on the market with the horrible carpet (that gets replaced during the marketing of the home); or they are painting it while it goes on the market. Presentation is everything -- so get the work done before marketing the property.

Mistake 2: Over improving the home for the neighborhood. This happens with additions, bump outs, and upgrades that make the home stick out from among its competitors so much that it's an anomaly, instead of a nice addition to the community.

Mistake 3: Pricing the home based on what the seller wants to net. This pricing strategy always ends in failure. Sellers can control the "asking" price, but they don't control the "sales" price. The market does. It doesn't matter what the seller wants, the price is determined by the black-and-white, matter-of-fact reality of the market.

Mistake 4: Hiring an agent based on non-business factors. Make sure you're hiring a professional with a proven track record. It might be nice to hand over your largest asset to your nephew who just got his license--but you will need an experienced, full time Realtor to keep your deal from going south.

Mistake 5: Getting emotionally involved in the sale of the home. This is one of the biggest challenges home sellers face when putting their house on the market. Once you decide to sell your house, it's no longer your home, but a commodity. People are going to come in to kick the tires, so to speak, and you can't get emotional about how they may or may not appreciate the nuances of your home of seven years.

Mistake 6: Trying to cover up problems, or not disclosing them. Most states have a property disclosure/disclaimer form--use it wisely. Just because you disclaim doesn't mean you cannot be sued later for the leaky basement, or dilapidated heating/air system that's discovered 30 days after settlement.

Mistake 7: Not getting your ducks lined up before trying to sell. This would involve financing, reading the fine print on your current mortgage to ensure no pre-payment penalties, not listening to the particulars of your local market, etc. If your local market is dictating lower home prices, then lower it early, not later--it will cost you more in the long run.

Avoiding these mistakes is not that difficult. There are plenty of resources and professionals, who are there to help you step over the pitfalls, including the Living the Home Life Seller's Guide. Check back soon for Part 1: Getting Started.

-Cara

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