Blog

How To Market Your Small House For Sale

September 18, 2018 By Deborah Ward

You live in the cutest house. It’s not big, in fact it’s rather small, but it fit you perfectly, until now. Now you need to move, either to upsize or for a job, and sell your adorably small home. We aren’t talking tiny home, but smaller than most of the other homes in the area. So how do you market your home to sell?

Well, just like any other home! Do the same things the owners of those bigger homes are doing. Just on a smaller scale.

Decluttering your home before sale is actually a hugely important thing with a smaller house. Clutter will make it look ever smaller than it is. Making rooms light, bright and bigger is important. Clean it thoroughly and update wherever you can.

When repainting, go for lighter hues to give an airy and bigger feel. Remember, dark colors make a room feel smaller. Move bigger furniture out to storage and keep smaller, cozier pieces in place. You may love your king size bed, but if it takes up the whole room, it’s not a plus!

Is your small house a cape cod? Dress up those window nooks to be cozy spaces to sit and read or escape from the world. Make all available space livable. Finish the attic or basement (or both!). That bonus space will really help. Make everything as maintenance free as possible.

Target your updates to your target buyer. That would be a first time buyer or a downsizing buyer. A first time buyer usually can’t afford a bigger home, so a smaller first home is their usual go to.

Your downsizing crowd has had the big, costly and time consuming home and wants to lighten that load. Your smaller home, will less rooms to clean, lower utility bills and taxes is just what they are looking for.

A small home isn’t a liability when selling, just know how to market it to the right buyer and it will sell in no time!

3 Home Selling Problems… Kids, Pets and Dirt

September 5, 2018 By Deborah Ward

If you asked your Realtor what the three biggest home selling problems are, they would probably answer “kids, pets and dirt.” Unfortunately, if you have the first and/or the second, you definitely have an ongoing problem with the third! It can make life crazy for the time span your home is listed for sale. Here are some tips to keep your home show ready and your sanity intact, when selling with kids and pets.

Let’s look at pets first.

You have to keep in mind that while your dogs may be treasured members of the family, and Fluffy the cat is just the sweetest thing on 4 feet, not everyone likes pets. Some people are afraid of, allergic to or nervous around pets. Your pets are stressed because strangers keep coming into their territory and might just be a bit unpredictable. The best solution is to find somewhere your pets can stay while you are selling. It may not be the best thing for your emotional needs, but it is the optimal solution for selling. It means you can removed everything pet related out of the house.

If that isn’t possible, make sure that you do the following: fix all pet damage to the home. Clean or replace stained carpets, fix hardwood floor scratches or stains and fill in any holes your pups may have dug in the back yard. Also be sure to completely eliminate any pet odors. When you do your deep clean prior to listing, use an enzyme based cleaning product to remove odors. Keep new odors out by being absolutely scrupulous about cat little boxes being cleaned, carpets and furniture being vacuumed and use natural ways to scent your home, such as essential oil diffusers.

Along with that pack up all the pet accoutrement like toys and beds. Before a showing, scoop them all up, including food dishes, and hide them away in an out of the way area – NOT a closet, people look in those!

It’s much the same with kids.

Pack up all but a few toys, clean out and declutter their bedrooms, and enlist their help to keep the place in show ready condition. Request that your Realtor give you enough warning that you can vacuum through, pick up any toys, baby gear, pet stuff, grab kids and Fido and head out the door. If that’s one hour or three, make sure you have time to spare.

Hang in there and remember, you’ve got this!

How To Sell Your House When You Have Already Moved

August 21, 2018 By Deborah Ward

It happens. You have to move before you can get your home sold. Often it’s because of a job transfer, but whatever the reason, it’s not the optimal way to sell and move. So what can you do?

Your first order of business should happen before you move out. As you pack to go, clean. Make the place spotless. This will be easier to do when the house is empty of your belongings, but start as you pack. Also, consult with a Realtor to see if any updates are a good idea. Ideally, they can be done once you move out, and then you can list right away. These are a lot of the same things that any seller should do.

Now that you’ve moved out, deep cleaned the empty house and made any necessary updates, it’s time to get listed. Your best bet is to have someone come in and stage the home.

Empty homes are, unfortunately, harder to sell. Spending the extra money to make it look lived it, or at least give prospective buyers an idea of each room’s purpose, will pay for itself. If you can’t afford a professional service, see if family or friends can help with some furnishings and such to help out while it’s listed.

You also need to make sure the home stays spotlessly clean. Either hire a cleaning service to come through once a week, or have a friend or family member do it. Nothing says “empty house” more than dust bunnies! Make sure systems and appliances are in working order.

Same with the yard. Have a lawn service keep the yard mowed and weeded. Curb appeal is very important. Also make sure that your mail and newspapers are forwarded or stopped. Keep a few lights in the home on a timer so they go on and off regularly.

A lot of this is important for another reason as well. Empty homes are a target for break- ins and vandalism. Have friends or neighbors keep an eye on the home for you and call the police if there is anything hinky going on. That said, empty also doesn’t sell well, so making your house look lived in will help you sell.

If you would like some help getting your home sold, give the Deb Ward Team a call! 727-216-9247

Tips For Pricing Your Home When You Live On A Busy Street

July 24, 2018 By Deborah Ward

Smart sellers know that pricing your home correctly is one of the most important decisions when selling. It’s not an exact science and can be tricky. Nothing is trickier than pricing a home that sits on a busy street.

Given the choice between the exact same home with the exact same amenities, acreage and price; the only difference being one is on a busy street and one is not, buyers will take the not busy street hands down. And why not? Less noise, less danger from traffic and less worries about all of that. But you bought your home on that same busy street…why? What was it about your home that drew you in and enticed you to buy? Think about those things when you start to prepare your home to sell.

One thing is price. The reality is that you will need to hit the right price on the head right away. No overpricing to give you room to move that price. For homes on busy streets that probably means a lower price than comparables on less busy streets. Seriously, the typical difference between those exact same homes above is anywhere from 5 or 5 percent to 15 or 16 percent. That was probably the case when you purchased it as well. A bargain – something you couldn’t afford in another location but in your price range at the location it sits.

So what do you do to make sure it sells? Think about making the inside a quiet retreat. If you haven’t already done so, install new windows to dull any noise. Triple pane or noise reducing windows will do the trick. Make sure the weather stripping and caulk around the windows and doors facing the busy street are in good shape.

Always emphasize the plusses, even more so than with a home in a different location. Making sure the listing has all of the new updates front and center is a big help. Have your Realtor put an extra on the sign highlighting that it is fantastic inside to entice buyers to look. Add or spruce up your landscaping. First, trees or shrubs along the road can block sound and give some added privacy. If you can fence the front, that will block out sound too, although it will keep that gorgeous landscaping from view. That fencing will also make the worries about privacy and safety go away.

Most importantly, don’t bring up noise, loudness or anything like that. Loud or busy are words that will change with perspective. For someone who lived near an airport, a little traffic noise will be negligible! Should the subject come up, however, point out the things you’ve done to mitigate the noise or share your experience with how great it was living there.

How Real Estate Agents Determine How To Price Your Home

July 10, 2018 By Deborah Ward

Have you ever wondered how a Realtor determines the value of the homes we list? While the process may differ from Realtor to Realtor, we all use the same basics. It’s no big secret, so here are the basics.

A lot of experienced Realtors often have a “gut” feeling about what a home is worth, but we always back it up with the facts. One thing they use is a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA).

This is a pretty comprehensive report that takes a lot of things into consideration. First, a CMA will look at homes that are similar in size, features and amenities and that have sold recently.

That first part will give a starting range. Next, we look at home that are currently for sale.

While not as concrete as an actual sale, it can help narrow the range a bit by seeing what features and amenities are fetching a higher asking. In the same vein they also look at homes that failed to sell.

If a home that is very similar to the one we are pricing failed to sell, we can look to see why and avoid the same fate. Looking at all of these factors, along with anything special or unique about the property, such as it being waterfront property or having a lot of acreage will give the Realtor a tighter range.

Now we consider market factors. This is a big part of the equation. The market basically means are there more sellers than buyers, making it a buyers market, or more buyers than sellers, making it a sellers market.

Other things factor in, such as is there a lot of new construction in close proximity? What is nearby, as in shopping, dining and entertainment, and schools? How is the economy in the area; healthy and growing or downward and dying?

Using all of this, we then take the owner into consideration. Not only what the owner expects to sell for, but also how they will help or hinder the sale. Will they keep the home in showing condition or leave messes? Will they restrict showings and so on. The Realtor may lower their estimation based on the CMA and market factors a bit to compensate for an inflexible seller.

See, easy peasy… ok maybe not, if you want help pricing your Tampa Bay home, give us a call today! 727-216-9247

What You Need To Know About Financing Your First Home

June 26, 2018 By Deborah Ward

Want to be a home owner? You need to be aware if a few things financially before you get started. Here are a few.

As with any big purchase, knowing your credit score is important. You can get a free copy of your credit report from one of the big three reporting companies, or purchase a 3-in-1 credit report which will give you a report from all three. The three major credit bureaus are Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. If you find anything that is inaccurate, you should immediately start the dispute process.

Remember that the higher your score, the lower your interest rate will be. If there are no inaccuracies, you can move onto making sure you stay credit responsible.

So what, exactly, is being credit responsible? Start with don’t use your credit cards if you can help it. If you have balances on any credit cards, work on paying them down or off. Don’t make any big purchases while working on house hunting or while in the process of settling on a home.

So why is this important?

Most lenders want to see that you have a debt-to-income ratio that’s no more than 36 percent consistently.

Part of the process of applying for a mortgage involves providing financial documents. These documents will include: the last two paycheck stubs for all who are applying for the mortgage; W-2s for each applicant; tax returns for each applicant for the last two years; bank statements; proof of any income from any investments; and if anyone, such as friends or relatives, is gifting you money to help with a down payment, you will need letters from them documenting the gift.

If you are self-employed or work on a commission basis, the mortgage company will advise what they need, but you will need to provide proof of at least two years of income history.

Lastly, be realistic about what you can really afford to pay each month, keeping in mind that your mortgage payment will also include the monthly amounts of real estate taxes and homeowner’s insurance. Don’t mortgage yourself to the hilt and risk losing everything.

The Deb Ward Team