Your reasons for selling and how long you can wait will be an important part of your decisions on pricing your home. The value of your home is almost entirely dependent on what someone is willing to pay for it and how long you are willing to wait to find that person. Most sellers are not in the position to wait for the "ideal" buyer who will pay their "ideal" price. They want to find the optimum price at which their home will sell in a limited amount of time.
Typically, the most interest is generated in the first few weeks a home is listed. If you want to sell your home fast, you'll want to price it so that it stands out from your competition and comparable homes on the market. If you are willing to wait and to endure continuous showings, you can afford to price it above the competition. Sellers who try to hold out for the highest price, however, may find themselves reducing the price down the line. A house that has been on the market beyond the average marketing time generates little interest from buyers, even when the price is reduced dramatically. Most buyers will assume that the home has problems that they, understandably, want to avoid.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
What Makes A Great Agent?
Most agents say it’s experience. Some say it’s knowledge. Some say it's a great marketing plan. Some say its exellent negotiating skills and some say it's great closing and objection handling skills.
I say it’s a willingness to put your client's needs, wants, and desires ahead of your own. It doesn't matter if an agent is number one. The client should be number one. I say it's being honest and having integrity even when no one else knows the difference. I say it's caring about others. I say it's someone who listens more than they talk. I say it's someone who has no ego or try to show how much they know.
I believe a great agent is someone who treats real estate as a business, realizing they're handling their client's largest investment. I believe it shouldn't be treated as a job. There's simply too much at stake for the client.
A great agent is someone who is willing to continue learning, growing, and expanding. I believe it’s someone who studies the market inventory, statistics, and trends so they can properly educate their clients.
I strongly believe a great agent is someone who does not put his/her client as risk. I believe a great agent knows about mortgage as much as any loan officer. A great agent should never refer his/her client to a loan shark, who sells option ARMs, adjustable rate and interest only loans without fully educating the client.
I strongly believe a rgeat agent always consider the Debt-To-Income ratio of his client to avoid selling an unaffordable home to someone who will not be able to keep up with mortgage payments in the future.
I strongly believe a great agent should understand that real estate should be treated differently than before as future generations will be facing financial challenges that our parents and grand-parents did not face.
I believe a great agent should understand a home is not just a home with 4 walls and a roof, but an investment.
I strongly believe that a great agent should always show his/her clients that they should be buying low and selling high.
I strongly believe a great agent should educate his/her clients so they they understand that buying a home is one thing and another to keep it.
Now with the unprecedented real estate and financial crisis we're facing today you can determine if there are a lot of great agents or just a very tinty percentage.
I say it’s a willingness to put your client's needs, wants, and desires ahead of your own. It doesn't matter if an agent is number one. The client should be number one. I say it's being honest and having integrity even when no one else knows the difference. I say it's caring about others. I say it's someone who listens more than they talk. I say it's someone who has no ego or try to show how much they know.
I believe a great agent is someone who treats real estate as a business, realizing they're handling their client's largest investment. I believe it shouldn't be treated as a job. There's simply too much at stake for the client.
A great agent is someone who is willing to continue learning, growing, and expanding. I believe it’s someone who studies the market inventory, statistics, and trends so they can properly educate their clients.
I strongly believe a great agent is someone who does not put his/her client as risk. I believe a great agent knows about mortgage as much as any loan officer. A great agent should never refer his/her client to a loan shark, who sells option ARMs, adjustable rate and interest only loans without fully educating the client.
I strongly believe a rgeat agent always consider the Debt-To-Income ratio of his client to avoid selling an unaffordable home to someone who will not be able to keep up with mortgage payments in the future.
I strongly believe a great agent should understand that real estate should be treated differently than before as future generations will be facing financial challenges that our parents and grand-parents did not face.
I believe a great agent should understand a home is not just a home with 4 walls and a roof, but an investment.
I strongly believe that a great agent should always show his/her clients that they should be buying low and selling high.
I strongly believe a great agent should educate his/her clients so they they understand that buying a home is one thing and another to keep it.
Now with the unprecedented real estate and financial crisis we're facing today you can determine if there are a lot of great agents or just a very tinty percentage.
Avoid Sellers' Worst Costly Mistakes
In a buyer’s market like today, home sellers have little room for error when putting their home on the market or they risk having their property stay on the market for so long that their only solution is to reduce their price. Sellers should take caution to avoid the following common traps.
1. Overpricing the home. Home values have dropped considerably since its peak in 2006, but sellers still are often tempted to list a home based on what they paid for it. Eventually they realize their error and have to reduce their price, sometimes several times. In the past month, 23% of homes listed for sale have reduced their price. There is a financing strategy seldom used by real estate agents that can considerably reduce the needed price reduction. For more information contact us at 1-877-APPLYFREE.
2. Relying too much on just comps. Size up your competition currently on the market, not just the homes that have already sold. Evaluate homes with a listing price similar to yours to see how well yours stacks up against the competitions and how you can differentiate. You must be better than your competition if you want to sell your home. For more information on how to set yourself apart from your competition, contact us at 1-877-APPLYFREE.
3. Failing to take into account the home’s web appeal. Photos are key when marketing a home online. 90% of buyers start their search on the Internet before they decide which ones to visit. If your photograps don't appeal to the public, you won't get any visitors. Be sure to include lots of high-resolution photos of the interior, including of the areas in a home that buyers most care about, such as kitchen, living spaces, and bathrooms.
4. Hovering during showings. Sellers certainly shouldn’t be home for showings, but as a seller’s agent, either should you. Lurking sellers or seller agents may make buyers nervous. Other real estate agents often want privacy with their buyers so they can gather true feedback about the house.
1. Overpricing the home. Home values have dropped considerably since its peak in 2006, but sellers still are often tempted to list a home based on what they paid for it. Eventually they realize their error and have to reduce their price, sometimes several times. In the past month, 23% of homes listed for sale have reduced their price. There is a financing strategy seldom used by real estate agents that can considerably reduce the needed price reduction. For more information contact us at 1-877-APPLYFREE.
2. Relying too much on just comps. Size up your competition currently on the market, not just the homes that have already sold. Evaluate homes with a listing price similar to yours to see how well yours stacks up against the competitions and how you can differentiate. You must be better than your competition if you want to sell your home. For more information on how to set yourself apart from your competition, contact us at 1-877-APPLYFREE.
3. Failing to take into account the home’s web appeal. Photos are key when marketing a home online. 90% of buyers start their search on the Internet before they decide which ones to visit. If your photograps don't appeal to the public, you won't get any visitors. Be sure to include lots of high-resolution photos of the interior, including of the areas in a home that buyers most care about, such as kitchen, living spaces, and bathrooms.
4. Hovering during showings. Sellers certainly shouldn’t be home for showings, but as a seller’s agent, either should you. Lurking sellers or seller agents may make buyers nervous. Other real estate agents often want privacy with their buyers so they can gather true feedback about the house.
How To Build Wealth With Real Estate
For decades, homebuyers have viewed a home as more than just a place to live. It was a virtual piggybank that buyers could use to pay for college education, vacations and new cars. One way to keep your head above water is to resist the temptation to borrow against your home.
Conserve your equity. Your home is not an ATM Machine. Use your equity to build wealth to enjoy your retirement.
Conserve your equity. Your home is not an ATM Machine. Use your equity to build wealth to enjoy your retirement.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Keep Safety During Open House & Showings
While real estate professionals generally "do a good job" of relaying potential risks to their clients, "safety often takes a back seat" when the sales professionals are hurrying to prepare for a showing.
Homeowners should always be careful if they become suspicious of someone touring their home. They should not allow strangers to enter their home without an appointment, especially if they are alone. They should ask for a visitor's driver's license, address, phone number, and license plate number; take down a physical description; and provide the information via phone to someone as an extra safeguard.
Unknown agents should be told to enter using the lockbox, and all the lights should be turned on and the shades and curtains opened during a showing. Among other things, sellers should remove valuables from the home, allow prospects to enter a room first, refuse to answer any unusual and unnecessary questions, and plan an escape route just in case.
Do open houses sell houses?
I think many sellers see an open house as a sign that their real estate agent is making an effort to sell, and agents are sales agents are eager to show they are doing something to sell the home in a difficult market. So they want an open house. The irony is that many real estate agents say they mostly hold open houses to convince the seller that they are trying. It seems to be fairly common wisdom in the real estate industry that open houses don't sell houses.
The real fact: Serious shoppers make appointments. They are represented by an agent and have been qualified to buy a home for a certain price.
There's another thing sellers should know: Agents aren't just agreeing to hold open houses as a form of appeasement. An open house is a wonderful place to find new clients, people looking for a new home, and those thinking about selling.
This is not necessarily good for the home seller. Just think about a potential buyer who walks into your home. They want to buy a home, have not been pre-approved for a loan, but they're not sure this is the right one. 'No problem!' says the agent. 'I've got more homes similar to this one. Maybe you'll like one of those better.'
There are just two valid reasons for an agent to hold open houses and neither of them has much to do with selling the house being held open.
Reason 1: find motivated buyers (those that do not have an agent) and become their agent.
Reason 2: meet neighbors who will later want to sell their home.
For buyers, I think the advantage is it lets you see houses on your maybe list without having to make an appointment. Sometimes someone buys something. But very rarely.Chances are that it won't happen. Serious buyers went through the process of having been pre-qualified and they are represented by an agent. They have viewed property online, looked at pictures and they visit those properties they are interested in.
Homeowners should always be careful if they become suspicious of someone touring their home. They should not allow strangers to enter their home without an appointment, especially if they are alone. They should ask for a visitor's driver's license, address, phone number, and license plate number; take down a physical description; and provide the information via phone to someone as an extra safeguard.
Unknown agents should be told to enter using the lockbox, and all the lights should be turned on and the shades and curtains opened during a showing. Among other things, sellers should remove valuables from the home, allow prospects to enter a room first, refuse to answer any unusual and unnecessary questions, and plan an escape route just in case.
Do open houses sell houses?
I think many sellers see an open house as a sign that their real estate agent is making an effort to sell, and agents are sales agents are eager to show they are doing something to sell the home in a difficult market. So they want an open house. The irony is that many real estate agents say they mostly hold open houses to convince the seller that they are trying. It seems to be fairly common wisdom in the real estate industry that open houses don't sell houses.
The real fact: Serious shoppers make appointments. They are represented by an agent and have been qualified to buy a home for a certain price.
There's another thing sellers should know: Agents aren't just agreeing to hold open houses as a form of appeasement. An open house is a wonderful place to find new clients, people looking for a new home, and those thinking about selling.
This is not necessarily good for the home seller. Just think about a potential buyer who walks into your home. They want to buy a home, have not been pre-approved for a loan, but they're not sure this is the right one. 'No problem!' says the agent. 'I've got more homes similar to this one. Maybe you'll like one of those better.'
There are just two valid reasons for an agent to hold open houses and neither of them has much to do with selling the house being held open.
Reason 1: find motivated buyers (those that do not have an agent) and become their agent.
Reason 2: meet neighbors who will later want to sell their home.
For buyers, I think the advantage is it lets you see houses on your maybe list without having to make an appointment. Sometimes someone buys something. But very rarely.Chances are that it won't happen. Serious buyers went through the process of having been pre-qualified and they are represented by an agent. They have viewed property online, looked at pictures and they visit those properties they are interested in.
Rehabbed REOs Sell Faster
Banks who spend the extra cash to rehab a foreclosed or REO property stand to sell the property much faster than a non-rehabbed REO, according to a new study by Field Asset Services Inc., a property preservation and REO asset management company.
For the last two years, the company has analyzed the number of days on market for remodeled foreclosure or REO properties versus those that are not remodeled.
In reviewing 17,252 properties across 13 states, researchers found that the average days on the market for REO properties that were not rehabbed was 222.8 days. On the other hand, properties that were rehabbed sold, on average, in 69.8 days.
So if you are wandering how you can sell your house faster, you know what to do. Make it look great, prepare to it so it appeals to a large audience. When people come look at your house, make them feel comfortable, remove all personal items (family photos etc.). Make sure the outside is clean, so they want to come inside the house. Clean windows, get new plants, fresh paint, clean carpet, or wood floor and show them you are ready to move out and not stay in.
For the last two years, the company has analyzed the number of days on market for remodeled foreclosure or REO properties versus those that are not remodeled.
In reviewing 17,252 properties across 13 states, researchers found that the average days on the market for REO properties that were not rehabbed was 222.8 days. On the other hand, properties that were rehabbed sold, on average, in 69.8 days.
So if you are wandering how you can sell your house faster, you know what to do. Make it look great, prepare to it so it appeals to a large audience. When people come look at your house, make them feel comfortable, remove all personal items (family photos etc.). Make sure the outside is clean, so they want to come inside the house. Clean windows, get new plants, fresh paint, clean carpet, or wood floor and show them you are ready to move out and not stay in.
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