Why use a Real Estate Agent

Can you wait a year to sell your home? Are you comfortable having open houses or showing strangers your home? Do you know how to price your home competitively? What do you do when negotiations stall? Do you know how to properly execute a real estate contract? Do you know which lenders have the most competitive rates? Do you know what a title company can and can't do for you? Do you know what an escrow agreement is? Do you know what prorations are? Does your home have lead based paint? Do you know a good home inspector? Does you home have Chinese drywall or mold? Do you know what disclosures are needed? If you are not sure about any 1 or more of the answers to the above questions, you should ask yourself…You NEED to contact us?   Anyone can place a sign in their yard, but only a real estate professional can take you from sale to settlement!

Interviewing a Real Estate Agent

To assist in making the decision on which agent to choose, here is a list of possible questions to ask the agent:   Where do you think the buyer for my home will be coming from? Will it be a Move up Buyer (Upgrade), or a Renter (First Time Home Buyer)? How will you market to this particular buyer? What proactive steps will you perform to reach this specific targeted buyer other than the 5 P’s? (Please see the 5 P’s listed below) What do you do as an agent that is exceptional that sets you “above” the average Real Estate Agent in your area? (Please do not quote me your company’s statistics, show me and tell me what you personally do to promote your listings.) What could I do to improve the marketability of my home? What is the biggest drawback to my home? (Possible buyer objections), please be candid with me now so that I know what to expect. Do you think that a buyer incentive is called for on my home? What incentive would you recommend? When you are interviewing agents, it is also to your advantage to select an agent who not ONLY performs the 5 P’s, but also have many of the following “proactive marketing strategies” such as:   Installing a Brochure Box/Information Box on the Yard Sign; Uses QR codes on sign riders and advertising; Advertises listings on Facebook and other social media; Creating a Color Highlight Brochure for Buyer Showings; Internet Capability; Cable TV Advertising; Direct Mail Program; Personal Advertising Above and Beyond What Their Real Estate Company Advertises; Interior Highlight Cards; “800” Information Sign Rider Installed on the Yard Sign;  Personal Brochure and/or Professional Resume; Broker Caravan Tour with Lunch/Raffle Provided to Entice Additional Agents to View the Home The “average” agent will do the 5 “P’s” on a listing property. They will:   Put A For Sale Sign in Your Yard; Put Your Home in the Multiple Listing Service; Put Your Home in Advertising; Put Your Home on Broker Caravan Tour; and, Put Your Home on Public Open House.

Pricing Your Home

The Benefits of Proper Pricing There are several benefits of properly pricing your home. They include: 1) Faster Sale: When your home sells faster, you save carrying costs which include mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, and maintenance. A Quicker Sale Creates Less Inconvenience to You. If you have moved before, you know the energy it takes to prepare for a showing: keeping the home clean, arranging for pets, children, and altering your lifestyle. Proper Pricing Creates Less Demands on You, by Helping Your Home Sell Faster. At Market Value Your Home Will Gain Exposure to More Prospects Who Can Afford the Price. Sellers Who List at That High Price Are Looking for That One Buyer Who Will Pay It. Sellers often do not realize that they have discouraged many potential buyers who could have afforded the home. The Final Sales Price is Probably One That Will Be Affordable by More Purchasers. Sellers Often Accept a Much Lower Price at a Much Later Date Since That One Buyer Willing to Pay the Higher Price Never Comes, Costing You More in Time and Carrying Costs. The Three Major Things That Affect a Sale Are Location, Condition, and Price. You Can Not Control the Location, but You Do Control the Condition and the Price. 2) Increased Sales Agents Response: When Sales People Are Excited About a Home and Its Price, They Make Special Efforts to Contact All of Their Potential Buyers. Knowing that it is priced properly for its market, they expect it to sell soon and encourage their prospects to act quickly. Their excitement is contagious! 3) Better Response From Advertising and Sign Calls. Ad calls and sign calls to Real Estate Agents OR By Owners turn into showings when price is not a deterrent. Serious Prospects Are Well Educated About Asking Prices in the Areas They Are Seeking. Serious Prospects Do Not Waste Their Time on a Home They Consider Overpriced. 4) Higher Offers: Buyers Fear they might Lose Out on a good home when it is Priced Right. Sellers are LESS likely to receive “Low Ball Offers.” Better pricing Attracts Multiple offers, too! 5) Means More Money to Sellers: If a home is PRICED RIGHT, the excitement of the market produces Higher Sale prices. Sellers Net More in Terms of Actual Sale Price and by Less Carrying Costs. The Things That Affect a Sale Are Location, Condition, and Price. You can change two out of the three of these. You cannot change the Location. You can control the CONDITION by how you maintain your home inside and out. Good Maintenance shows Pride of Ownership and gives a possible buyer a comfortable feeling on the condition of the home. Price should be determined by recent sales of comparable homes in your immediate area. Pricing a home right at the time you first put it on the market is important since that is when it will get the most attention from buyers. You may think you want to start out higher and test the market but this usually results in you Losing Buyers that may have been interested from the 1st day on the market, not 6 weeks down the road. Think of it this way, for every month that your home is not sold due to being priced too high, you have lost money due to another Mortgage payment, taxes, utilities, possible association fees, insurance, and maintenance and by not being able to make the move you want to make. A quicker sale can save you thousands so being priced right at the beginning is very important.

Costs Related to the Sale of Your Home

What Costs Are Related to the Sale Mortgage Pay Off: Before the closing, you will sign a release for the Title Company or Attorney to get the amount that will be owed at the day of closing. This will allow the Closing Company to prepare the closing documents and they will issue a check out of your proceeds at the closing to pay off your outstanding mortgage.   Lines of credit or Equity lines: As with the mortgage payoff, you will have to authorize the closing company to get this information. If there is any amounts owed, they also will be paid off and any lines of credit closed.   Prepayment Penalty: Often, sellers think that all that is owed is the amount showing on their last statement. This is not always true. A prepayment penalty could be in your mortgage. You may also owe interest depending on the day of the month that you close.   Unpaid Taxes/Liens: This is why title work is important prior to closing to see if there are any liens or unpaid taxes on the title. These items will also have to be paid the day of closing. The closing company cuts these checks out of your proceeds and pays them on your behalf.   Special Assessments: Special assessments are things like water, sewer, road or other local government improvements that were assessed to the property. In most cases they must be paid off, in others, they can be assumed by the buyer. If they are to be paid off, again the closing company will pay these out of your proceeds.