Archive for the ‘Selling Real Estate’ Category
Home Selling Tips
July 6th, 2011 | 
Author: Selling your home can be an overwhelming task. This is why people seek out the help of a real estate agent during the moving process. They are there to help you every step of the way. Realtors are ready to help you sell your home quickly and to make sure you do not accept a low ball offer. If you are someone who is selling your home, definitely consider having the help of a real estate agent by your side.
One way to help make your home more attractive, if it is empty and up for sale, is by staging it. What this entails is placing furniture inside your home to make it appear that someone still lives there. This helps potential buyers envision what the home will look like when they move in. It will give the home a more rich feeling and will be much better for people to see rather than them seeing a house with a bunch of empty rooms.
Marketing is another important factor in selling your home. People can’t come and look at your house if they do not know it is for sale. By marketing using any means you have available to you it will better your chances of making a sale. This will also be a contributing factor in how much you will end up receiving for your home. Just like with any product that is for sale, it must be properly advertised to be sold successfully.
Keeping your house well-kept and clean will also be a good idea when your home is for sale. You don’t want a family to come look at your house while you have leaves in your gutters or clutter all over your yard. Take the extra time to clean up your gutters, maintain your landscaping, and clean the interior of your home. This extra step will go a long way when it comes to people viewing and making offers on your home.
When people do start to submit offers on your home, don’t jump at the first lowball offer. You want to be as patient as possible in this situation so you can get the most money for your home. Anyone shopping for a house is always going to offer lower than your asking price. It will be well worth your time to negotiate the original offer and try to get the person to come up on price. This way you will be happy at the end of the sale, and the new homeowners will clearly be buying what they want.
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How to Maximise Your Property’s Value
Tips for Selling a House
If you are selling your property then it’s natural to want to try and secure the best price for your house. However bear in mind that you probably don’t want to pay more for a property than it’s actually worth – so why would someone else want to do the same?
The trick to maximising your property’s price is to secure as many viewings as possible. The more viewings you get, the more likely you are to secure an offer. The more offers you get, the more likely you are to get two or more buyers to bid to purchase your home. And if you want to get the best price possible for your home, you want two or more people competing to buy it as that’s the time when most people will pay more for a property than it’s potentially worth.
In a slow market it’s tough to get one person offering to buy a property, let alone two. So to maximise the price, it is vital to understand what buyers want. For example, post the credit crunch, buyers seem to split into two types of purchasers.
The first type of buyer post credit crunch is the person that is looking to buy a home but has to put all their savings into a large deposit, so is not able to spend any money doing the property up. This type of buyer wants a home with neutral colours or colours fitting to the property’s character, so they will want it in a great condition with nothing to do to it, but move in.
The other type of buyer is someone that has a decent deposit and spare cash to do up a property. Ideally they’ll be looking to paint and decorate as well as upgrade the kitchen and bathroom. What most buyers aren’t keen on, without a big discount is re-doing the electrics and plumbing. So if you are selling a ‘wreck’ and want to maximise the price, then make sure the electrics and plumbing are up to scratch but leave the rest of the property to be done by the new owner. Alternatively, find out how much it’ll cost to upgrade the property, so if costs around £10,000 you don’t end up knocking £20,000 of the price of your own home.
Whether you are selling a wreck or a show home, another way of making sure you maximise the price is by selling at a time when there are few other properties like yours on the market. For example, if there are five properties similar to yours already available for sale on your road, wait if you can, until they are all sold and yours is the only one advertised. If you have the only three bed for sale when most of the other properties are two bed, you are likely to get a better price than if you are competing with lots of other three beds to secure a buyer.
What to Look for in a Listing Agent
As we continue to recover from the recent Real Estate bubble burst it has become imperative that sellers and buyers alike work with professional and knowledgeable agents in any and all Real Estate transactions. Working with a neighbor or friend just to “spare their feelings” simply puts you in a compromised position in this market. We need to remember; “friends are friends and business is business”. Selling Real Estate in this economy demands knowledge of current conditions and the ability to adapt to rapidly changing marketing techniques.
Understanding of current market conditions
This market is different then any market we’ve experienced in quite some time, and for numerous reasons. Loans are much more difficult to obtain and foreclosures and short sales continue to flood the market. Determining current market value and truly understanding market conditions is a “science” that changes on a daily basis. When selling your home be sure that your agent has a STRONG understanding of what is happening in your particular market, and how to best position your property to obtain the highest possible price in the shortest amount of time.
Ability to advertise in a medium visible to your buyers
It’s no secret that technological marketing has taken newspapers by the throat and basically choked them out. As technologies rapidly change, the mediums we use to advertise change with them. Staying on the forefront of technology is the key to a successful marketing campaign. Having an agent that knows what the hot trends are, as well as the knowledge and creativity to implement them is crucial in this market. When interviewing make it essential that you discuss marketing techniques used by the agent and be sure they have a strong understanding of how to best market to your particular buyer base.
Full understanding of product
Whether you are selling a home or a toothbrush you should have a full understanding of what you are selling. Be sure that your listing agent takes note of what separates your home from the rest, and confirm that they convey those differences to potential buyers. You never know what the tipping point is going to be for a certain prospect. It may be as simple as wanting attic access or as involved as needing an automatic standby generator. It is imperative that your agent know AND point out every detail that makes your home special. Standing out can help you in getting out.
Understanding of your buyer base
Knowing your customer is rule #1 in my book. What do customers in your market desire? What type of incentives will bring the most bang for the buck? How can I appeal more to by specific buyer base? These are questions some sellers may never think of asking, thus the need for an agent that understands. Different demographics call for different marketing approaches, be sure that your listing agent understands your typical buyer base and knows how to communicate with them most effectively.
By using these four simple tips you should be able to be sure that the agent you pick is the one best suited to sell your property. And remember – It’s not personal, it’s business.
Legal Forms For Buying and Selling Real Estate Properties
A contract to sell is one of the legal forms commonly used. Contract sell, just like any other legal forms should be made and executed by and between the seller or the vendor and the buyer or the vended. Just like any other legal forms, the name, age, status, citizenship and postal address of both contracting parties should be stated therein and should clearly define who are the vendor and the vended. If either or both of the contracting parties are married, a marital consent is always sought in this kind of transaction. The spouse’s signature is also required in executing this legal form.
In this contract to sell, a complete description of the subject property and its location should not also be missed in preparing a legal form. Terms and conditions agreed upon by both contracting parties should completely be stated in the contract to sell including the amount involved in this sale and the terms of payment. Payment varies on the arrangement set by both contracting parties. It can be made in full upon signing of the contract to sell or the buyer may opt to make a partial payment in a percentage both parties allowed upon signing of the contract to sell and pay the remaining balance on a certain date accepted and agreed upon by the seller. To protect the interest of the seller, a post-dated check may be issued by the buyer with the date indicated as arranged. In case the check representing the payment for the balance was dishonored by the drawee bank when deposited on its maturity date, the partial payment intended for the down payment shall be forfeited in favor of the seller and this is in accordance to law.
The law also requires the seller to pay for the Capital Gains Tax and the Real Estate Tax, while the documentary stamps, registration expenses and all other miscellaneous expenses shall be accountable to the buyer.
If settlement of payment has been done without any problem and full payment has been received by the seller, the seller should execute and sign a deed of absolute sale and the possession of the subject property shall be turned-over to the seller, together with all the documents, including but not limited to the original copy of Transfer Certificate of Title, Tax Declaration and all other documents necessary for the transfer of ownership from the seller to the buyer.
Just like other legal forms and instruments, a contract to sell and the deed of absolute sale cannot be considered legal and binding if it has not been signed on each and every page by the concerned parties and their witnesses, and is notarized and sealed with a notarial seal, proof that the said instrument had been fully acknowledged by both the contracting parties in the presence of a qualified notary public as their free and voluntary act and deed.
How to Price Your Home Correctly
Are you planning to put your house up for sale, but are uncertain how to price it? If so, then here are some helpful tips to accomplish that mission. These are essential considerations to make when pricing your property.
1. Put local sales figures in a spreadsheet:
It is one thing to read data about homes that have recently been sold in your neighborhood. It is quite another thing to evaluate the information thoroughly. Placing the data in a spreadsheet gives you an effective way to evaluate the information thoroughly.
2. Research other properties that were recently sold in your neighborhood.
The operative word is recently. Housing markets change often and quickly, so it is important to research recent residential sales in your neighborhood. The good news is that the Internet has made this process easier than ever. Several websites can provide information about properties that homeowners in your area recently sold. This is a quick and easy way to get a ballpark figure about the value of your home.
3. Do some number crunching.
One of the most important figures to determine is the price per square foot of residences in your area that have been sold recently. That figure alone will not give you a complete picture of the possible market value home. However, it is a valuable first step for determining the value of your residence. After doing this initial number crunching, you should then do additions and subtractions to determine a more precise market value of your home. For instance, a house that was sold in your area might have fewer or more bedrooms or bathrooms. Maybe another local home or your home has or lacks a garage, deck, and so on. Making these adjustments will give you a more accurate picture of your home’s market value.
4. Compare houses within a one-mile radius.
While there is nothing magical about a one-mile radius, it will provide you with a more accurate market value of your home. It is quite likely that homes farther away will have a different average market value. And you will want to get a figure that is as accurate as possible.
5. Compare apples with apples.
While your zip code will have a significant influence on how much your home is worth, it is important to do precise comparisons with your own home. For instance, there are tons of factors that can influence the value of different homes in the same area. What is the age and style of the house? How many storeys does it have? How many bedrooms and bathrooms does it have? Have you conducted any major home improvements to your home? Such issues are crucial for determining whether the market value of the house next door or down the block is comparable to your own home.
6. Consider hiring a real estate agent.
This will help you evaluate the value of your home more accurately. He or she will have the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to determine an accurate market value of your home. While this will cost you some money, it is definitely worthwhile if it helps you to sell your house at the right price.
