A House Priced Right the First Time… is Half Sold!

One common question asked by Buyers is “How long has this home been on the market?” Often times, Buyers assume that if a home has been on the market for a period of time, they can “get a deal” on purchasing the home. Another common belief is that there must be a problem with the home and this is why the home has not sold; this alone may discourage the potential Buyer’s from even looking at the property or from even calling and inquiring about the property.

If a property is over-priced the first few weeks of the listing … we often will lose out on Buyers who will not consider writing an offer due to the home being priced more than similar homes in the area. Also during the first few weeks of a listing, Buyers are likely to see your home at the high price and move on to another home writing an offer on another home. By the time a Seller is ready to reduce the list price to where the price should be the “hot buyer” has already purchased another home.

We can’t stress enough how important it is to not go with an agent that offers to list the property at a much higher price than two or three other companies that have stated you should list your home around the same price. This could be extremely detrimental to you the seller in the long run and could mean a much longer time on the market even though it sounds good at the time.

If you are relocating to another area, this could really put you in a bind when the house hasn’t sold in 6 months, you are paying for 2 mortgages, when you thought the house would sell in 2 months as “promised” by the agent that just told you what you wanted to hear at the time.

Complimentary Valuation

Tips for Showing Your Home

First impressions count with Buyer’s who will be previewing your home. Of course every home is different, but this is some general information which will help you prepare for selling which have been helpful tips for our Sellers!

Maintenance

Oil doors that squeak

Tighten doorknobs

Clean and repair windows

Touch up chipped paint or walls that need repainting

Repair leaking taps & toilets

Touch up exterior paint

Fix broken sprinkler heads

First Impression

Clean & tidy entrance

Functional doorbell

Re-paint front door & trim

Clear driveway of leaves or debris. Clean Garage

Weed & edge gardens, pick up litter

Cut lawns, trim shrubs, seal or powerwash driveway
The Spacious Look

Clear stairs and halls

Clear counters

Clear off front porch and clean

Re-arrange furniture to make rooms appear larger

Clean closets & dressers to appear more sparse. Store items which you are not using to make rooms look larger

Clean, Clean, Clean

Clean refrigerator & stove

Shampoo carpets/have tile professionally cleaned

Clean other areas you would not normally clean weekly such as outside/interior windows, sidelight windows (next to doors), dust baseboards, vaccuum, wipe down appliances inside and out

Clean furnace and ac with professional heating/cooling company

Moving Tips

Pre-arrange moving company ahead of time… Often certain times of year are busier than others and you want to be sure to get your planned move date.
Use a reputable moving company… It may help to use a company that a friend has used or that a trusted source has done business with. This may get you a better rate as well!
Companies may deliver boxes… Check with the moving company to see if they will deliver boxes to your home free of charge – some will if you ask the question.
If you are moving yourself… Get reliable people to help you – you don’t want to end up alone on moving day. Banana boxes or liquor boxes work great and some supermarkets will save the boxes for you.
Pack ahead of time… Pack up items you are not using. Store items in the attic or against one of the Garage walls. You will need to pack eventually anyhow. Your home will show better & rooms will seem more spacious with less in them.
Cancel gas, electric, water, cable, internet, phone… Give these places a closing date ahead of time when the service will be ending in your name. Some companies will not actually take the info. until the actual date that you are moving, but some will accommodate you if you check ahead of time.
Leave everything specified in the contract… Sometimes there are items that are normally not part of a contract which stay. For example, if you agreed to leave a washer and dryer for the buyer. you need to leave these items in the property. Purchase offers also specify certain items which always remain. Check with your Agent.
Check with your Agent about your closing date… Often times there are obstacles which need to be overcome before a Title Company will schedule a closing date. Your Agent and/or the Title Company should be in touch with what is going on with your contract and if there are any obstacles. These should always be worked on before closing; not at the closing table.
48 Hours Prior to Closing… You, as the Buyer are entitled to a “walk through” of the house you are purchasing 48 hours prior to closing. A walk through is important since you inspect the house to see it is as you saw the house previously.
Pack a bag of clothing for the next day after the move… This always comes in handy for the next day after the move when you have a million boxes and don’t know where a clean shirt or your deodorant is!
Pack a lunch/dinner for your arrival… Keep this in the front seat of your car so you know exactly where the food is when you arrive at your new home.
Be sure to forward your mail… Pick up a change of address booklet at the post office or let us mail you one of our Seller/Buyer packets which includes one!