prospective buyers

You Really Do HAVE To Get Your Home Ship Shape To Sell

November 17, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You want to sell your home, but you don’t want to put the time or effort into changing it at all. Why should you? It’s been great for you since you bought it, someone will love it too. Right? Wrong. And even if it’s right, how long are you willing to wait while your home languishes on the market to find out? If you’re selling you must get your home ship shape.

Make a good impression

The first reason you should clean it all up is because you want to make a good impression on prospective buyers. From the first glance at the front door to the rest of your home, a dirty, clutter screams “I AM A LOT OF WORK THAT WILL COST YOU EVEN MORE MONEY” to prospective buyers. That should reel them right in. A clean, uncluttered home will invite them to buy because it is little to no extra work.

Packing

The second is that no matter if you clean it before you sell or not, you will eventually have to pack it all up and move it. Why not do it now, in a more relaxed manner. Doing it ahead of time will give you time to sort through and get rid of things that you don’t want or need any longer. If you do it later when you’re under pressure to get moved in time for settlement, you won’t have time to pack in an organized way or weed out things you don’t want. Why wait and move it too?

Want to get top dollar?

Lastly, if you want to get top dollar for your home, cleaning, decluttering and getting it in top shape is the key. Who’s going to offer asking or above on a house that looks dull, or worse, terrible. No one. In fact, if your home isn’t show ready you probably won’t even get an offer, let alone asking or above.

Do yourself and your bank balance a favor and make your home shine.

5 Things To Know About Who Might Buy Your Home

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Did you know that knowing information about who your prospective buyers are can help you sell your home? It’s called knowing the demographics and with that knowledge you can be sure to market and price your home correctly to appeal to them.

NAR white paper

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 2021 white paper entitled “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” spells out the characteristics of home buyers from June 2020 through June 2021. For instance, 31% of all home buyers are first time buyers. Eighty-two percent of buyers 22 to 30 years and 48 percent
of buyers 31 to 40 years were first-time home buyers. Behind these
groups, 22 percent of buyers 40 to 54 years were also first-time home
buyers.

Here are more stats

The typical buyer had a median household income of $92,150.00. 62% of buyers were married couples, 18% were single women, 9% single men and 9% were unmarried couples. 12% of buyers bought a multigenerational home so they could care for aging parents, returning adult children or extended family. 18% were veterans and 2% were active duty military.

So what does this, and other stats in the report show?

Well, life events and changes at different ages can and do spur home buying. Marriage can be a catalyst for buying that first starter home. Having children can spur looking for a bigger home in a good school district. Children growing up and leaving home can spur downsizing. Taking care of parents can mean looking for a different type of home. Life changes can mean buying a home, but the desire for a home of their own is still a part of the decision process.

How does this help you?

If you live in a great school district, you know you can target young families. If you live in an area where multi-generational families tend to live, target them. Make that extra space an in-law suite. Talk with your Realtor about the demographics in your area.

Why Overpricing Your Home At The Start Hurts So Much

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

In many areas, including yours, the real estate market has become a seller’s market. So does that mean you have carte blanche to price your home where you want to price it?

As always, the answer is no. Overpricing your home from the start is never a good idea and will hurt your chances of selling. Here’s why.

Range of prices

First and foremost, overpricing your home will keep your home from being seen by people who can afford and will want to buy your home.

Most people start their home search online. When they search they set a range of prices that ends with the top of their budget.

If your home is out of that range, they will never see it. So, you think, people who do see it can afford it, right? Wrong. Those who could afford it will be looking for a higher end home than yours. That will make your home look bad in comparison.

Let’s take a peek at Realtor.com where many buyers start their search!

As you can see here, the price breaks suggested by Realtor.com are at $120K, $180K, etc. If you try to “push it” and get $125K for your home, many of the buyers who are looking for affordable housing will not even see your listing.

Another thing to consider is that Realtors tend to search in bands like $250K-$300K. If you “pushed it” and did a listing for $306K you would be seriously shooting yourself in the foot!

Appraisal

So let’s say that someone in that lower range actually stumbles on your listing and falls in love with your home. Great, so you get an offer and jump at it. Problem will be that your home won’t appraise for the amount you asked and they offered. Sale falls through and you’re back to square one.

Days on market

So, you’re thinking, I’ll just lower my price if it doesn’t get any nibbles after a month or two or that sale falls through. Not a good idea either. That means that your home has been on the market for at least 60 days. That tells prospective buyers that because it’s been on the market so long and the price is lowered, there must be something wrong with your home. They see days on the market as an indication of how nice your home is, and you lose in the assumption.

Your Realtor

Work with your Realtor to find the best price for your home. Use their expertise and experience to make sure you set the best price.

Does It REALLY Take Longer To Sell My Home FSBO

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

People often wonder how long it takes to sell their home. If home sales are taking longer than they like in their area they often think they can do it better and faster by selling themselves. They would be wrong.

“How long will it take to sell my home?”

It is a common question: “how long will it take to sell my home?” Realtors can give a few different types of answers. One is average time on the market. But averages are really only useful for spotting market trends.

You can get a rough estimate of how long it will take to sell your home by taking a few factors into consideration and making a few assumptions. Basically, you need to assume that it takes about 20 prospective buyers touring your home. Then assume that it will take 2-3 offers before you actually get the house sold. It’s not foolproof, but it generally works.

So how does that translate to the time it takes to sell your home yourself? Well, that comes down to how effectively you get those 20+ prospective buyers through your door, and how well you negotiate the sale to get the 3+ offers. Easy peasy, right?

Do you know how to effectively market your home?

It’s not as easy as plunking a sign in the front yard, or throwing an ad up on the internet. You need to get the right attention from all over, not just your neighborhood. Do you know where to put your listing? Do you know what information to include to make it stand out from the rest?

Pricing your home

Then there’s how to price it. You just KNOW it’s worth a certain amount. It’s not. You are emotionally involved in the value of your home. It’s also not the average asking price of your neighbors. Asking and selling prices are two entirely different things, and your neighbor’s home may have amenities and upgrades that yours doesn’t.

Do you know how to sort through all those who respond to your ad or stop by because of your sign? How will you know if they are qualified to buy or not? Do you have hours to waste showing your home to people who can’t possibly buy it? Then there’s the question about whether you understand all the legal ins and outs of home sales.

Call a Realtor

It will take longer for you to sell FSBO, so don’t make yourself wait, call a us today! 727-410-0336 or check out our Selling FSBO mini course.

Why Am I Getting So Many Lowball Offers

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Your home has been on the market for some time and the few offers you’ve gotten are lowball offers. Now you want to know why. There are a few reasons, some might have to do with you, others with the prospective buyers.

A lowball offer is when prospective buyers make offers on your property that are well below asking price. First start looking at things you can control about the sale of your home. Start with price. Is your home overpriced? This can be a touchy subject as an owner. You have an attachment to your home and most likely think that it is worth more than it may be. Next is condition of your home. It ties in with price, of course, but even if your home is priced right, condition can be a reason you are getting lowball offers. If prospects are walking through your home and thinking “I’ll need to fix that, and that, and that…” then they are mentally taking the perceived cost of fixing up the home off the asking price. If you can afford it, update, paint and fix up your home. Yes, you may need to raise the price, but the prospects may not mind the higher price if it is in better condition.

If you listened to your Realtor, updated the home and priced it right, then price and condition may not be the issue. Over the last several years, home prices plummeted. Prospective buyers have become used to seeing great homes at bargain basement prices. Even though prices are now rising back to fair levels, buyers are still thinking that prices should be lower than they are. That may mean that you are getting more lowball offers than fair ones. Eventually buyers will come around, and in this situation there isn’t anything you can do to change things. Your hope here is to have your Realtor discuss pricing with the prospects or their Realtor.