selling your home

The Worst Home Improvements For Selling Your Home

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You’re thinking about selling your home but you know it needs some upgrading. You have a lot of ideas but you aren’t sure which will bring you the best return on your investment. Here are five things you shouldn’t do.

Pools

Pools sound like a good idea, especially in Florida, but they cost a lot to install, between an average of $20,000 to $60,000 or more. It will add value, but only about 6 to 11% for an in-ground pool doesn’t make the price tag worth it. An out of ground pool adds zero to value, so again, not worth it.

Garage as living space

If you have a garage and think that making it into extra living space, think again. Adding space onto a garage can cost up to $60,000 and only brings about a 60 percent return on investment. That’s not bad, but the problem becomes how the buyers will view it. If they don’t need the extra space won’t like it and if you make the garage itself into something like a man cave or family room may mean that those who would want a garage instead will look elsewhere.

Sun room or home office

Think making your deck into a sun room would be a good idea? Don’t! A sun room will actually drop your home’s value. The home improvement itself will actually lose 54% of it’s value. Keep the deck. Don’t think about adding an outdoor kitchen to that deck or patio area either. A barbecue is always a good addition, all the other additions aren’t and don’t add much, if any, value. If you have a bedroom set up as a home office, make it back into a bedroom for sale showings. If you think adding a separate space designated specifically as a home office think again. You can spend up to $30,000 constructing it and may only get about half of your investment back when you’re ready to sell.
Don’t make these costly errors.

Understanding Your Home’s Real Value When Selling Your Home

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

It is important when selling your home to understand it’s real value. A home that you have lived in, created memories in, and added your personal touches to, may hold more value to you emotionally than a buyer would be willing to pay.

By the same token, a home that you have outgrown and feel frustrated with, may seem less valuable to you than the buyer who sees it’s potential and may be willing to make an investment in, for the opportunity to “make it their own.”

Selling price

If the selling price of your home is too low, you could potentially miss out on some good money. If the selling price of your home is too high, potential buyers will look over it in favor of something more affordably priced.

A home that sits on the market for too long not only keeps dollars out of your pocket, but could also earn an unfavorable reputation making it harder to sell. The goal is to set a price that is fair and accurate for market value, without being too high or too low.

Market value

Market Value is the price at which a house in its current condition should sell for within 30 to 90 days given the current economy. A home’s fair market value is determined by a variety of factors including the quality of the build, the condition it is currently in, the size of the house, the size of the property on which it sits, the location of the home, and the price that other similar homes in the neighborhood have recently sold for. It truly takes a trained professional to understand all of these nuances and help determine a fair asking price for a home.

An accurate market value can help your home sell faster making the overall home selling process much smoother and more pleasant. So take the emotion out of pricing your home and let a professional such as Deb Ward help you figure it out. She can make selling your home a positive experience.

Give the Deborah Ward & Associates Team a call today to find out more about listing your Tampa Bay home for sale! 727-410-0336

Where Do Buyers Come From? Hint, Hint…Think Realtors

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You are considering selling your home, and you aren’t sure if you should sell with a Realtor or by yourself. Which will bring you more buyers? Think Realtors.

Some interesting things

The Association of Real Estate License Law Officials estimates that there are about 3 million active real estate agents in the US. In 2017 there were 106,548 brokerage firms.

So what are they doing? Well, the American Housing Survey said that in 2018 there was approximately 119.7 million occupied housing units. The typical home seller has been in their home for 10 years. They typical home size is 1,900 square feet and the typical homeowner is 47 years old in 202o as of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Of the sold homes in 2020 were 5.64 million existing homes and 822,000 newly constructed.

Realtors

The NAR has as of July 2021 1,534,008 members, 68% percent of Realtors are licensed as sales agents, and 20% of members specialize in residential brokerage. The median number of years of experience is 8 years. Most Realtors work a 35 hour work week and have some college education, or a degree.

Message? Most are hardworking and educated past high school to some extent. They generally pay attention to technology as well. The top three technology tools that most use or plan on using are an iPad, smart phone and digital camera. 91% use social media to some extent and the top sites for Realtors to place listings are realtor.com®, Zillow and Trulia.

Interesting results

Obviously, hiring a Realtor means that you will have a qualified person helping with your home sale, but how much of a help will they be? Well, the NAR showed that 88% of buyers purchased their home through a Realtor – a share that has steadily increased from 69% in 2001.

The average sales price for an agent based sale was $295,000. For sale by owner (FSBO) sales were 8% of home sales in 2020 and the average sale price was $217,900. That’s a difference of $77,100! They also don’t have the assistance of a professional who understands the process and paperwork.

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

October 27, 2021 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.

You Should Ask Your Clearwater Realtor For A Home Evaluation BEFORE You List Your Home!

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Selling your home for exactly what YOU want is a snap, right? After all, you looked up what your neighbors were asking for their homes. You know what you paid for it and what the value REALLY is… or do you? Before you go listing your Clearwater home, you better get a Realtor to evaluate it.

So why is your number most likely too high?

So many reasons! First, your emotional connection to your home will make you almost automatically value it too high. Your emotional attachment has no bearing on price. It can’t be quantified and added into the actual value. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can be objective. You have either good feelings about your home or bad, you don’t have objective ones.

Factors to consider when calculating price

As for what your neighbors listed their homes for, it has no bearing on the value of your home. Seems like it should, but there are too many other factors involved. Let’s list a few of them. Your homes may seem like they are the same size, but square footage of living space can be very different. Is their attic finished? Is yours? Is their garage a garage, or a finished rec room? Have they updated their home? Have you? What amenities do they have? Do they have a pool or spa? Granite counters? New appliances? All of these differences change the value of their home and yours.

What you paid versus current value

The amount you paid for your home also has no bearing on its current value. It certainly will help you figure out your equity, but the value then isn’t the value now. It could be lower or higher, depending on updates and how your area has bounced back from the real estate troubles of the last decade or so.

Call a Realtor

So how do you find out the actual value? Call a Realtor. They know how to value your home and get you the best price possible.

3 Ways To Get Ready For Your Showing! – Home Seller Tips

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

It’s finally time to get your home shown! Do you know what you should be doing before you leave to let the Realtor show it? Here are some great ideas on how to make your home show perfect.

Spotlessly Clean

First, make sure it’s spotless. Run the vacuum and dust through the whole house to pick up any dust, dirt or pet hair. No dust bunnies allowed!

If possible, change the filter in your vacuum to one that uses a room air freshener to freshen up the smell of your home. Make sure that you also clean through the kitchen and bathrooms. No spots on the mirror. Put away tooth brushes, toothpaste, floss, brushes and combs. Put away any clutter and wipe down counters. If you find anything broken, fix it.

Throw In Some Cookies!

Actually, before cleaning, throw some cookies in the oven to bake. The smell of fresh baked cookies is so homey and inviting. Since it would make a mess to whip up a batch from scratch, keep a package of “break and bake” packs of cookie dough to be able to quickly back up a batch. You could also make a batch of dough and then pull it out of the fridge when you want to bake a batch before a showing. While they bake do your quick (but thorough) clean through. Take the cookies out, put them on a plate, quickly wash the pan and put it away.

Let In The Light!

After cleaning, open all the curtains and turn on the lights in each room. All that light will make your rooms appear clean, bright and larger. A day showing will let prospective buyers see how much light streams into your home. An evening show will show how well lit your rooms can be. Light is your friend!

So set up your home for success.

Pools

Garage as living space

Sun room or home office

Selling price

Market value

Some interesting things

Realtors

Interesting results

The Deb Ward Team