selling your home

Selling Your Home |Having A Tech Savvy Real Estate Agent Matters

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Selling your home doesn’t require anything other than a Realtor who is good at selling, right? Wrong! Having technology smarts as well is also really important in a real estate agent. Here’s why.

Technology Smarts

If a Realtor has technology smarts, he or she is going to be one of the best marketers for your home out there. There is so much out there to use.

A good Realtor will make use of the best, starting with showcasing your home in video via YouTube. How better to show all the best parts than with a video tour? A smart, tech savvy agent will use a good video camera, take professional looking videos and then post those videos all over their social media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and so on. Most buyers start their searches online, why not give them a sneak peek?

Email Marketing

Next thing they should be savvy in is email marketing. A good, tech savvy Realtor will have an email database of buyers who are interested in buying. Not just past sellers, but people who have contacted them looking for properties in your area. Being able to market to known buyers via email is a great way to get your property seen.

Websites

Of course that video and all the other photos your agent takes of your home should end up on their website and other real estate search sites like Realtor.com and Zillow.com. Again, more exposure for your property.

A Good Smartphone

Lastly, do they have a good smartphone and know how to use it well? A smartphone will give them the ability to respond to you and buyers at all hours via text and email, as well as being able to use the most up to date apps to keep on top of everything they need to sell your house.

Yes, being tech savvy is important in real estate.

The Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow – 5 Priceless Tips for Home Sellers

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is getting your home sold. It’s the reward for hard work and patience. Here are some tips to get to that pot of gold more quickly.

Pricing your home. This is actually the most important step. If you price it too high then prospective buyers who can afford your home won’t see it. Price it too low and you’re cheating yourself. An average home buyer will look at anywhere from 15 to 20 homes and your home needs to come out on top. If it’s priced too high, it’s being compared to homes with higher end finishes and amenities. How can it possibly compare? Then it will sit on the market, making buyers wonder what is wrong with it. That won’t give you the pot of gold! Home sellers make their biggest mistakes in pricing their home.

Hire a Realtor: When looking for a good Realtor, you need to find one with a great track record, but also one that has good communication skills. A good track record will tell you they have the knowledge and skills to sell your home. Communication is one of those skills that are a make or break it. Make sure that everyone understands the communication expectations from the beginning. You also need a Realtor instead of selling yourself. A Realtor knows how to price, market and sell your home, lead you through the entire process and get you more than you could without one, even when paying their commission. That pot of gold is closer now!

Clean and stage your home: Appearance and first impressions are a crucial element in any home sale. Make updates if you can afford to do so, clean the home from top to bottom, and pack up all your extras. Make your home look bigger, spotless and plenty of shine. Make sure you have it smelling good too. If you move to your new home before selling the old one, don’t leave the home vacant. Vacant homes are more difficult to sell and can cost you money during negotiations. Home sellers sometimes don’t understand the value of having a clean and staged home. Listen to your Realtor, they will guide you about what needs to be done.

Be smart when selling your home and quickly find your pot of gold.

How to Market Your Beachfront Property

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

If you have beachfront property you’d probably think it would be a breeze to sell. Not necessarily so. As with any other home, selling takes marketing and pointing out the positives of your home.

When people think of a beach house they think of adjectives like relaxing, peaceful, natural, fun, and millions more. So when you are marketing your beachfront property you need to convey that feeling to those who will be interested. Take tons of pictures of your home and the surrounding property.

Show the amazing views. Set up your deck or porch with chairs draped with beach towels, a drink and book. Show the living areas of the home, bedrooms and baths, making them look relaxed and carefree. Show the scenery: the beach on a beautiful summer day; at sunset; make sure people can see that your property is steps from the beckoning sea.

Next write descriptions of the home. Use descriptive words to convey the beauty of the area, the soothing sounds of the sea when falling asleep, how amazing it is to wake to a fun beach day every single day. Check out ads for other beachfront properties to see what catches your attention. Use the best ones you find as an example.

Don’t forget that beachfront properties are part of beachfront communities. Talk about the amenities in the community. What kinds of conveniences are close by; things like golf courses, boardwalks, cultural events and so forth.

If there are great places for water sports, point them out. Also tout schools, churches and shopping. Think about who will be looking for a property like yours, what kind of community they will be looking for and make it stand out.

Show off your beachfront property as the amazing place it is.

How to Stage Your Home to Sell

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Stage your home if you want to sell it faster and for more money. Ask any Realtor and they will tell you that staged homes do sell faster and for more money than homes that aren’t staged. If you want to sell your home, stage it. Here are some tips.

First and always, declutter and repair! Take the time to pack up now, and put the majority of your belongings into storage. Keep only what you need to live for a few weeks. Then make a rule, for every one thing you bring into your home, one thing has to leave. Less is more. Take the furniture you have left after thinning it out, and group them to make the space look larger. Put sofas and chairs into cozy conversational groups. Place furniture so that there is a definite traffic flow. Use furniture pieces in different places in your home. Put an armchair in the bedroom to make a cozy sitting area or use your dining room table, without the extra leaves, under a window as a writing desk or library table. Think out of the box to sell your home.

Make that junk room into a room with a purpose. Use that unused furniture to make it into an office. Make each room have a purpose to add value to your home. Odd rooms or unused space that makes no sense will make buyers look elsewhere.

Make sure rooms are well lit, either naturally or with lamps. This also makes them look larger and more inviting. Paint. Freshen up rooms with paint. A small room can look larger if you paint it the same color as an adjacent room. Choose colors that are neutral and inviting. Neutral doesn’t have to mean white; it could be tan or light blue. Look for calming colors.

You should hang things on the wall, but not photos. Depersonalize as much as possible, but also place paintings or art in places that are not “usual” to get them noticed. Place things on tables in living areas to make them inviting as well. Use a “group in three” rule. Odd numbers when accessorizing are preferable, but don’t line them up, vary scale and group in a triangle or some other shape. Group by color, shape, texture or some other unifying element. Use the beauty of nature in it as well. Raid your yard for flowers or foliage to bring in some natural beauty. Staging your home is not really an option when selling your home.

Ask your Realtor for some guidance, and then get ready to sell your home!

Selling Your Home In December

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Thanksgiving has come and gone and December is here. Time to sell your home. Yes, really. December is a great time of year to sell your home. Selling your home in December means fewer homes for sale, more people from out of town looking and better chances for you.

December is a great month to sell your home

People are busy, but not too busy to house hunt. If someone is in the hunt for a home, using time waiting in line Christmas shopping to look online for homes to see is probably how they multi-task. The fact that the holidays are busy will work to your advantage another way. Who has time to just look? People looking will be serious buyers. If they are going to take time out of their busy holiday schedule to look, that means they are buyers to take seriously. That means that your Realtor will show to well qualified, pre-qualified buyers who are serious. Aren’t you busy at the holidays too? No wasted time for you either.

I bet if you asked others about listing in December they told you it was nuts. “No one ever lists in December!” Exactly, that means less competition. But buyers are still looking. New listings in December are few and far between, so it gets buyers looking jazzed. Now think about them looking at your home. How does it look this time of year? Decorated and at its best. Perfect!

Sales Ready

Getting your home sales ready in December is really much easier than you think. You are already making room for decorations and a tree, probably packing a few things away for the duration. So, use the opportunity to declutter and pack. Then tastefully appoint your home with holiday cheer.

Selling your home in December works to your advantage. So decorate, and get ready to move after the New Year! New Year, new home. Sounds good, doesn’t it!

Staging Your Home to Sell During the Holidays

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Staging your home inside and out this holiday season may mean the difference between selling your home before the New Year or waiting until after. Here are some staging ideas for your home this holiday season.

Staging your home means inside or out, your home must be clean! Outside, neaten up the yard, deck, porch and sidewalks. Weed and clean out planting beds. Prune trees and shrubs. Pack away bicycles, sports equipment, toys, and so forth and store them offsite. Inside, clean your home from top to bottom and declutter each room. Move excess furniture out of rooms. As you clean, inside and out, repair things that need it. Paint where necessary, caulk, and re-grout, spackle holes in walls and make things look new. Selling your home will depend on it being clean and repaired as well as staged.

Staging your home includes your garage and storage areas. Store anything you can off site. You want your yard, storage sheds, garage and closets/storage areas inside your home to be uncluttered and neat. The bigger they look the better. People buy space, especially storage space. If you are selling your home, just remember that you are going to have to pack and move anyway, so this will give you a head start.

It’s the holidays, so decorate. The key to staging with holiday decorations is to keep it tasteful. Don’t go nuts with lights and yard “ornaments” outside: no blow up Santas, snow globes or any other gaudy yard decorations. This is not the year to win the decoration contest in your neighborhood! Maybe lights on the shrubs, a wreath on the door. Another idea to make your home look attractively decorated is to find an old sled and dress it up with some greens and a bow and set it by the door. Festive, not gaudy.

Inside keep holiday decorations tasteful as well. A tree, maybe some greens on a fireplace mantel, decorated but not out of control. While Christmas and Hanukkah are religious holidays, keep these holiday decorations to a minimum. Yes, keeping true to your faith is important, but not everyone celebrates as you do.

Check on the web at places like HGTV or DIY Network for good ideas on how to decorate tastefully, but without going overly religious. Staging your home at the holidays is easy, just keep it tasteful and you’ll be selling your home in no time!

Technology Smarts

Email Marketing

Websites

A Good Smartphone

The Deb Ward Team