Seller Tips and Advice
Sell your Atlanta Georgia home at the best price and in the least amount of time by following these tips and advice from Sally English of the English Team at RE/MAX Executives
ARE YOU READY TO SELL YOUR HOME? Make a Good First Impression
“You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” Little did you realize this sage advice from your parents was the key to selling your home quickly and getting top dollar in the process. As real estate professionals, we are often asked how to make a home sell quickly and easily. Our parents’ advice sums it up perfectly: you must make sure your home makes a good and lasting first impression.
How can you make sure your home makes a good first impression? First, you must get to work before you actually put your home on the market. You don’t want to “test the waters” first and then try to make a good impression as a fall back strategy. Your parents were right when they said you only get one chance!
You will never have more activity on the home than you will experience in the first three to four weeks after putting your home on the market. And, a home will typically sell at its highest price during those first few weeks. The reason is simple: there are buyers out there who have seen everything else on the market and are just waiting for something new to come along. And, it can get competitive. Potential buyers want to be the first to see a new home listing before someone else beats them to it…
ARE YOU READY TO SELL YOUR HOME? CURB APPEAL
One of the frustrations of being a professional real estate agent is to make an appointment to show a home meeting all a buyer’s requirements only to have the buyer decide they don’t want to go inside because they don’t like the way a home looks from the street. Here are some things you can do to get a potential buyer inside:
Take inventory. How does your home look from the street? Is all you can see shrubs and trees? If the answer is yes, you have some yard work in your future. Landscaping is supposed to enhance the appearance of your home, not hide your home from view.
Create a welcoming entry. If you paint nothing else, at least give the front door a fresh coat of paint. Replace broken doorbells, screens, and…
ARE YOU READY TO SELL YOUR HOME? Absolute Basics For Indoors
You like your house clean for company, so why wouldn’t you have it super-clean when you’re trying to sell it and get top dollar? We’ve listed several basic steps you can take to get your house ready for showing. Once it’s clean, make sure to keep it that way. You never know when someone will want to see it!
Have a spring cleaning. Clean and organize the home with a “take no prisoners” approach. You’ll have to tackle it anyway when you move, so go ahead and do it now to reap maximum benefits.
Get organized. De-clutter the home, which will make all the spaces, particularly the storage spaces, look bigger. Don’t pay a mover to haul all those things to your new home and do a good deed for someone in need by giving your items to charity…
ARE YOU READY TO SELL YOUR HOME? You are not done yet!
So you’ve tackled all the items in first impressions, curb appeal and absolute basics for indoors. You probably think you are done. We’ve listed a few things below that you might not have thought of.
Keep outdoor toys in check. Collect and store toys that are on the front lawn, driveway and sidewalk. Take this opportunity to talk to children and teenagers about the importance of keeping the house looking good while it’s on the market. Give them a concrete incentive to participate (but don’t deliver on the bargain until the home is sold).
Pay attention to storage areas too. Make sure your storage areas are clean too. Attics, garages and basements need to be organized, clean, and have good lighting. Check out the pull-down staircase to the attic, tightening it if need be. Put a light bulb in the attic…
ARE YOU READY TO SELL YOUR HOME? For Those Who Have Energy to Burn
Only after completing the basics from the above posts should you tackle improvements that may actually require assistance from a contractor. Many of these can be done relatively inexpensively, but are sure to pay for themselves when you sell your home. If you do have some money to invest (or the talent and tools necessary to make the improvements yourself) below is a list of things you might consider.
Change outdated wallpaper. Replace wallpaper with neutral paper or paint, particularly in the foyer, kitchen, and baths.
Update the kitchen. Replace worn kitchen countertops. Get a new stainless steel sink and a new faucet to really give the kitchen some sparkle. New kitchen appliances can actually make the difference in your buyer prospect choosing your home over another.
Update the bathrooms. Take a look at the bathroom and decide if replacing the toilet, vanity mirror, or vanity sink faucet would make a significant difference…
How Much Is Your Atlanta Home Really Worth? An Introduction to Home Values
There is quite a difference between the emotional value of a home and the economic value of a house. The word “home” has connotations of family holiday celebrations, family memories, safety, and security. The word “house” implies value, investment, and appreciation.
In reality, a home is a house, and vice versa. And, there is no problem with blurring the lines between the two until you get ready to sell. Once you do choose to sell, the two values can start to conflict. Then, you have to step back and start thinking of your home as a house
Because we offer a free Market Analysis of your home as part of the English Team service commitment, I have met with hundreds of families who were considering the sale of their home. Many of these families were being forced to sell because of a job change, divorce, failing heath, or other unforeseen change in economic circumstances. At present many are facing adverse economic circumstances because of job loss combined with unfortunate mortgage commitments.
Because of the stress and anxiety attached to their situations, these families have a great need to get the highest amount possible from the sale of their home. These circumstances usually lead them to latch onto any information with a positive effect on the market value of their home. Likewise, they tend to completely ignore information that might have a negative impact on the value.
Herein lays the dilemma for real estate agents: Should I agree to list the home for an amount higher than the market analysis predicts the property will yield? Or, should I be honest and open with the sellers and make a realistic prediction of the property’s sales price…
How Much Is Your Atlanta Home Really Worth? So Many Different Kinds of Appraisals
Sellers often completely ignore the fact that the appraisal was done for a specific reason at a specific time and reflects the value of a home a specific point in time. It is important to realize appraisals reflect the purpose for which they were initiated.
BANK APPRAISALS: If you have an appraisal from a lender, you have not been given the market price of your home; you have been given the upper limit of the lender’s willingness to loan you money. In particular, lenders have been overly generous in valuing homes for the purpose of making equity lines of credit.
Insurance Appraisal: Insurance values can be misleading indicators of a home’s true market worth. Insurance companies have a vested interest in making sure you can replace your home in the event of a fire or other disaster. The recommended insurance value of your home almost always exceeds the market valuation of your home. The Antiques Road Show on PBS cracks me up when they give owners of antiques two different values for their family heirloom. In reality, they are building in anticipated future appreciation when they assign a higher value for “insurance purposes” than for the antique “at auction.”
Tax Assessors Appraisal: The tax office is also a poor source for the market value of your home. Despite an admirable effort to individualize the appraisal of your home for tax purposes, tax appraisers are looking at a huge database and have a limited amount of time when they assign a valuation to your home. In my experience, tax valuations in metro Atlanta counties have – for the most part – been below the actual market value of the home. This is not…
How Much Is Your Atlanta Home Really Worth? Market Analysis and CMA
So, what is the market value of your home? How much can you receive from the sale of your home if you decide to cash out? There are four points we consider in our market valuation:
Number One: The market value of your home is the price a buyer is willing to pay for your property today. A buyer makes his decision based on today’s market, today’s competition, today’s financing, and today’s economic conditions. Remember, these factors do change from day-to-day.
Number Two: The market value of your home is based on a buyer’s perception of the condition of your property.
Number Three: The market value of your home is based on the location of your home. (You knew this already…everybody knows the rule of “location, location, location”).
Number Four: The market value of your home is based on a normal marketing time. Fire sales have lower-yielded market values than properly marketed sales…
ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT PUTTING YOUR HOME ON THE MARKET?
January is traditionally a time when I get phone calls that begin with “we are thinking about putting our home on the market.” It is a simple statement but has lots of ramifications. Often the families giving me a call may not actually put their home up for sale for 5 or 6 months. Some have never put their home on the market. Most are just thinking about putting their home on the market but have some specific things they need to know.
Number One Question: How Much Is My Home Worth? This is a market based question that is not easily answered. Yes, I can give an estimate over the phone. It will be a down and dirty estimate based on pulling some comparable sales up while we are talking on the phone. Not the best way to do a market estimate but probably better than just guessing.
Given time to do a little research I can dramatically improve the reliability of this estimate. I can gather more information about your home, more thoroughly research the market and use some analytical tools to determine a market based estimate of the value of your home. Some folks want a sit down formal presentation of this information. Some just need to know the “number”…
ADVICE TO HELP YOUR HOME SELL QUICKLY
With the number of homes on the market outnumbering buyers, your home will need to be in tip-top condition to compete. The challenge is to guarantee you make the list for a buyer’s consideration, and stay on that list for as long a possible.
Lots of Competition in Today’s Housing Market: Because there are so many properties available, serious buyers have to quickly evaluate homes that meet their search criteria. They are looking for ways to eliminate homes from their list, culling it down to a manageable number for serious consideration. Even minor negatives, such as pet odor, a damp spot in the basement, or overgrown shrubs in the front yard can be reason enough to eliminate a house from a buyer’s consideration.
Objections: In the real estate business, we call these minor offenses “objections.” And, it doesn’t take a significant offense to create an objection to today’s sellers. Sellers have to figure out a way to make the “short list” of homes buyers are seriously considering for purchase.
Your Home Needs To Be A Survivor: One of our daughters enjoys watching the reality TV show “Survivor”…
STAGING YOUR ATLANTA HOME: Key to a Quick Sale
One of the keys to selling your Atlanta home quickly is to help buyer prospects to visualize your home as their new home. Years of experience has helped us compile this list of tasks which are easy to accomplish and can help sell your home during a challenging real estate market.
- Bake something in the oven just before the open house. A sheet of ready-to-bake chocolate chip cookies is an easy solution. The delicious aromas will make your guests feel right at home.
- Put out some fresh cut flowers in the dining room, bedroom or kitchen to wake up your guests’ color senses….
SELLERS DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS A Win – Win Document for Buyers and Sellers
“Why do I need to fill out another form?” It’s a question I am often asked by sellers when they list their home for sell. An easy answer is “because you have to”. The real answer is: because you are protecting yourself against all kinds of problems down the road – problems that can pop up years after you have sold and closed your home.
One of the first things we ask sellers to do is fill out a detailed Sellers Disclosure Form, provided by the Georgia Association of Realtors. A Sellers Disclosure Form is a document which details items that need to be repaired, material facts about the property, and other factual information which could negatively impact the financial value of the property. This is a binding legal document when executed properly by the parties to a contract…
What type of information is included on the Seller Disclosure Form?
- Identification of the property: Includes determination of the owner’s occupancy of the home.
- Questions about the Soil Trees, Shrubs and Boundaries: Includes questions about landfills, sinkholes, settling, dead trees, and boundary line matters.
- Questions about Roof, Gutters and Downspouts: Identifies the approximate age of the roof, any past leaks, and gutter and downspout issues
- Termites, Dry Rot, Pests and Wood Destroying organisms: Discloses information about potential dangers to the home. This is the main section for researching termite infestation and damage.
- Structural Items and Alterations: Includes important information about movement…
Negotiating the Purchase Offer: Price is not all that Matters for Sellers
Receiving an offer to purchase your home is thrilling. After months of planning, preparing, and marketing, you have finally connected with the right buyer. Somebody out there thinks your home would be a desirable place to relocate their family and they have even taken the time and effort to put an offer in writing to purchase your home.
It’s a time of anxiety, elation, satisfaction, and relief. Unfortunately, you may be a little quick to celebrate. We recommend that you hold the champagne for a minute to make sure you’ve considered what matters when negotiating a real estate contract.
We’ve listed a few questions you can ask yourself when negotiating a contract…
Negotiating the Purchase Offer: Price Does Matter
The offer came in. You are jumping up and down celebrating the sale of your home. The first thing you look for in all the legal mumbo jumbo is the line that specifies the offer price. You find the line with the price. The offer is……………low. Real low. Lower than any sales price you ever considered for your home. How could they offer such a pitiful price! That is a lowball offer! They are bottom fishing…
THE HOME INSPECTION PROCESS: Buyers and Sellers Have New Inspection Considerations
Even though I supervised construction of close to one hundred custom homes in my previous career as a homebuilder, I now hire a home inspector to look over the houses I plan to purchase for investment. Why would a seasoned real estate professional spend a couple hundred dollars to get someone else’s opinion about the condition of the property before purchase? The answer to this and other questions about home inspections has a lot to do with the changing nature of real estate negotiations.
Most Home Sales Now Involve A Home Inspection. John Ghent, president of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), told Realty Times that “some 77 percent of all home sales in the United States last year involved a home inspection” (This according to a study performed on behalf of ASHI and the National Association of Realtors). This large rate of sales involving home inspections is a relatively recent phenomenon in the real estate business. In the past, most homeowners purchased and/or sold a home in a transaction where no home inspector was ever involved.
Now, it appears probable that most current and future homeowners will have a home inspector involved in their next sale or purchase of a home…
Seniors Real Estate Specialist in Atlanta Georgia
During the past five years I became aware a significant percentage of my customers were “seniors” and had specific needs that vastly differed from those in younger generations. To better serve these clients I sought to educate myself about special needs and opportunities for seniors as it relates to real estate. To that end I completed the education and training necessary to earn a Seniors Real Estate Specialist designation.
My Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) education and training has been particularly useful as I have counseled seniors clients in transitions to assisted living, nursing homes and in moves where seniors seek to live closer to out of state relatives.
I have also developed empathy for and special skills related to counseling my seniors buyers as they make moves to or within the metro Atlanta area.
Why Use A Seniors Real Estate Specialist? Maybe you have lived in your present home for 25 or more years and your children have grown up and moved away. Or perhaps you would like to sell your two story traditional home and downsize into…
HIRING AN ATLANTA REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL? Questions You Should Ask Before You Commit
Before you turn over what may be the largest financial asset in your portfolio to a stranger, you will want to do a little research. It has taken a lifetime to create the equity you have in your home, so why not take a few minutes and educate yourself about the real estate professional that will have authority to market and sell your home?
In order to help you avoid some of the usual pitfalls, we suggest you hold an informational interview. An interview will allow you to get some important information before you have to choose one real estate professional, and will hopefully lead to a pleasant and productive working relationship.
Here are a few questions below that might help you make an informed decision…
Avoiding Foreclosure in Atlanta
A question I am asked frequently is “How can I avoid foreclosure?”
Foreclosure is happening across the spectrum in this market. Starter home owners and million dollar home owners face the same question. Avoiding foreclosure in Atlanta is a complex task and there are options for the distressed property owner. The truth is foreclosure can be avoided in many instances. Foreclosure is a devastating financial challenge and families need to know and understand their options.
During 2009 I obtained my CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) designation so I could better serve families in the Atlanta area who face foreclosure. I had already been working with many families on short sales and other foreclosure avoidance measures. Thankfully, the folks at CDPE offer many good resources for dealing with families who own distressed property.
Here are some CDPE foreclosure avoidance solutions that might work for your family…
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