Living in Contra Costa County

Selling a Home in Brentwood Ca

When Selling a Home some people wonder about the value of Staging.  This post takes a Tongue in Cheek approach about why not to stage when Selling a Home.

For more information about Selling a Home in Brentwood or Beyond and Free Home Evaluation go to Home Point Real Estate.  

1.  We want to test the market for 90 days.  And on the 91st day?  Price reduction--and 90 days worth of potential buyers who have already eliminated your property. 

2.  It costs too much money.  I have never seen a home where the staging costs would have exceeded the first price reduction.  And that doesn't even factor in the monthly carrying cost of the home. 

3.  We can't stage the house, we're living in it.  One common misconception is that staging is only for vacant homes.  Every home/condo can be staged, and you can actually live in it after staging.   

4.  We didn't have to stage any of the other properties we sold over the years.  Yes, once upon a time you could generate three offers by 5 p.m. on the same day your Realtor put the For Sale sign in your yard.  Not now.  Buyers are picky and they have a lot of homes to choose from. 

5.  Everyone loves our house so buyers will love it, too.   What you, your friends and relatives love about your house may not be what today's buyer wants.  Sellers are often baffled by the feedback they get after showings--amazed that buyers have found things they don't like about the property. 

6. We can clean the carpets and declutter without someone telling us how.  Yes, you can (and should) do this, but it is a tiny piece of staging.  Do you know what separates  "clutter" from "asset"?  And what about all the other things that staging encompasses, like traffic flows, highlighting architectural features, updating, and appealing to your target market?

7.  We have no desire to remove/change our _______________ (wallpaper/mirrored tile/gold faucets/paneling/dated light fixtures . . .).  And neither do buyers.  Better to keep your home or be ready to sell at a deep discount. 

8.  The view alone will sell this place.  Then why many months later are these great view homes/condos still on the market?  Could it be that buyers want something to go with the view--like a comfortable, move-in ready home?

9.  We would rather let the buyers makes their own paint/flooring choices.  And that equals a price reduction.  If buyers do make an offer on your home they will double or triple the cost of these items and reflect that in their discounted offer price--which includes a deduction for the inconvenience. 

10. Our home is professionally decorated.  A professionally decorated home is tailored to the owner's particular needs.  Does it work for the new buyer's needs?  You could see #1 above . . . .

These are all great reasons--

• for price reductions
• for extended time on the market
• for buyers not coming to look at your home
• for buyers not coming back for a second look

There are dozens of reasons not to stage, but only one good reason to stage--getting your home sold faster for the highest possible price.  Staging is preparing your home for sale and creating a home that buyers want to buy.  If you want to be in the best competitive position in this market today, consult with a professional home stager before listing your property for sale. 

 

 

 

 

If you know exactly why you are selling then it is easier for you to follow the right plan of action for getting what you want.

If you are a seller who needs to close a sale as quickly as possible, then you should know that getting the highest price possible is not one of your priorities. It does not mean that you won’t or cannot get the highest price, but it means that the price is not the deciding factor. A buyer who can give you a quick closing time will appeal much more to you than a buyer who can offer you more money but the negotiation and closing time drag on.

It’s always good to know how low you will go, in terms of selling price. This will help to eliminate some of the offers that you find simply offensive or ridiculous. Even though you should consider all offers seriously and take into consideration the terms of each offer, sometimes, if you know the bottom line and are strict about it, you can save yourself time.

Once you know what your limits and reasons are, discuss them with your agent so that they can help you set your goals realistically. If you decide to list your home on your own, make sure you do research on the current market, and you get the proper advice you need in terms of legal issues, etc. The key is to be realistic and to know what your goals are so they can be met.

Kamal Salim
Team Kamal - 14 Agents for the price of 1
Keller Williams Properties
1625 N. Commerce Parkway, Suite 207
Weston, FL 33326

Cell:          954-297 3630
Office:      800-962-0574
E-Mail:     info@kamalsalim.com
Website:  www.eleganthomesforsale.com 


Find out how much your home is worth

As a leading Listing agent here in the Manchester NH area there is one fact that a lot of sellers have not come to terms with. Here in Southern New Hampshire, their homes are not going to sell this year. There are many reasons why a home may not sell, however these five are the deal killers in most scenarios.

 

1. PRICE: Your home is over priced. In this market your home need sto be priced at or below market value in order to attract buyers and bring about a sale.

 

2. EXTERIOR: A buyer when driving by a home, makes a split second decision whether they want to go inside or whether they will keep looking. Your lawn should be cut, shrubs trimmed, leaves raked up, debris removed and the exterior paint should not be peeling.

 

3. INTERIOR: Your home does not show well. Your home needs too much work. Your carpets are stained or torn. Your paint is peeling. Your home stinks from pets or smoking. Your home is worth what you make it worth.

4.  SHOWINGS: You would not let us in to see it your home when we wanted to or needed to see it. You wanted more notice, you did not want us to come too early, you did not want us to come at dinner. We saw your neighbors house becuase they let us in, we do not need to see your house as we bought theirs.

 

5. CHOICE OF AGENTS: You get what you pay for in this world. That discount broker offers discount services. We did not see your ad becuase they did not advertise. Your agent is from out of town or even out of state, they were  not available to answer our questions or come show us teh home as they did not know the answers or are too far away.

 

 It does not take magic to turn your "For Sale" sign to a "Sold" sign. it takes a full time Local Agent who specializes in Listing homes like yours.

If you need to sell a home in New Hampshire I can be that agent for you. I strive to provide the best personal and professional service through each step of the selling process.

With some simple steps and hard work we can PRICE your home correctly. We provide tips so that your home is inviting to potential buyers. We stand by you through every step in selling your home.

 

 

 

PLEASE SEE SOME OF MY MOST POPULAR BLOGS

 

1. TOP 5 TIPS For Buying a Bank Owned Home
2. TIPS AND ADVICE For buying a Short Sale
3. Should a Buyer Use more than 1 Agent to help then buy a home?
4. Can I Purchase a home that is in FORECLOSURE?
5. Are Buyers waging WAR on SELLERS?
6. Do you owe more than your house is worth?
7. Can a Listing Agent submit an offer to a Seller that is "TOO LOW?'
8. THE TOP 5 MYTHS about Todays; REAL ESTATE MARKET
9. THE TOP 5 WAYS to know if "NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY A HOME."
10. THE "SECRETS" to getting a SHORT SALE approved

 

 

ONE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE'S LEADING AGENTS FOR SHORT SALES AND BANK OWNED HOMES...

If you are Looking for a Real Estate Agent you have come to the right place. Scott Godzyk is a Full Time and Local agent ready to serve all of your Real Estate needs through each step of the buying or selling process. We are proud to be locally owned and operated.

If you owe more than your house is worth, If you are behind in your payments, I may be able to help. Call me to find out how you may be able to sell your home at no additional cost to you.

Scott Godzyk is the Owner/Broker of The Godzyk Real Estate Services located in Manchester NH. With 25 years of Real Estate experience Scott specializes in Listing and Selling Bank Owned Homes, Short Ssles, Residential Properties, Condominiums, New Construction and Investment Properties. Scott services the counties of Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Belknap. To contact Scott Godzyk please call 603-661-2121 or email sctprop@aol.com. his website is www.ScottSellsNH.com.

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This has been and continues to be a very difficult market for many home owners especially those who would like to sell. There is one group of sellers who have a great opportunity to not only wipe out  potential losses on the sale of their home, but possibly make money as well. That group is the move up buyer. Meaning, a seller who will be purchasing a more expensive home than their current one. Sounds crazy, but I'll explain.

Say you bought your home for $200,000 and your market is down 10% so it's now worth $180,000. That's a $20,000 loss.

Now, consider this seller is now looking to buy a home that WAS worth $400,000, but can now be purchased for the same 10% discount. That's a $40,000 savings. $40,000 savings - $20,000 loss = a $20,000 net gain.

Let's take it one step further and look at a hypothetical situation. Consider if the market was UP 10% since you bought your home for $200,000 and you could sell for $220,000. $20,000 profit.

Now, that same $400,000 home would be worth $440,000. $40,000 increase in purchase price minus your $20,000 profit equals a $20,000 LOSS. Combine the two situations and you are now $40,000 better off than if the market had increased 10%.

It's all about perspective!

Search for Minneapolis Real Estate and Minneapolis Condos.

Danny Dietl

Realtor - GRI

☎ 612.306.6676 cell/text

☒danny@iMetroProperty.com

www.iMetroProperty.com

www.iHeart612.com

          

 

David Gibson wrote an interested post yesterday entitled,

Stagers and listing agents - what are the tipping points?, which inspired me to write this one. 

David was asking for advice from Realtors and stagers as to how to convince sellers that they needed to bring in a stager.  As he wrote: "The seller thinks their house is staged, when at best, it is at some point on the continuum of decorated."  Given this mindset they feel that consulting with a professional stager is unnecessary. 

I commented back to him that it's simple, "No one lives in a staged home".  Staging is about marketing--visual merchandising, if you will.  Sellers have their home arranged/decorated for their individual "livability".  That "livability" doesn't transfer to "staged" just because they put a For Sale sign in the front yard and shampooed the carpeting.  Staging is about transitioning their "livability" into a house that the targeted community of buyers can see themselves living in. 

Sellers may think that their 60" wide screen TV and twin La-Z-Boy recliners sitting in the traffic flow in the family room are just fine because that is the best arrangement for their personal enjoyment (livability).  Or they may have a professionally decorated home with lovely furnishings.  However, when it comes to selling the home, neither the La-Z-Boy-filled family room or the personal decorating choices appeal to a wide range of prospective buyers. 

The truth is that the majority of the homes I see have 25-50% more furniture and furnishings than are necessary--again livability and a real detriment for marketing.  Sellers have lost their objectivity after living in the home for a while, and they can't see their home through the eyes of a buyer.  Buyer's can't/don't imagine alternatives for what they see in homes.  Staging takes all the guess work out of it for the buyers.

If I put my house up for sale today even I would stage!  My husband and I "live" in our house.  We have two working offices.  So even though my house is decorated, and I am the queen of neat, clean, and organized, there are still items I would remove, accessories I would add and furniture I would move. Once I decide to sell, it's all about the marketing and my "liveability" has to go to the back burner. 

Why consult with a professional stager?  The only way to transition your property from "livable home" to "competitively marketable house" is to bring in a professional with the expertise and knowledge to do that.  No one lives in a staged home--unless it has been staged and it is now up for sale!

You are preparing for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Yule, and as a Realtor, I know that you will be busy with other social engagements, and showing your house is not be a top priority. You are also now considering whether you should take your home off the market, at least until the holiday's are past. Let me give you 5 important reasons why you should not take your house off the market during the holidays.

 

5. Your house is lovely and shows families just how warm and inviting one of the most important family centered celebrations will be.

 

4. Many other sellers are taking their houses off the market. By remaining on the market, you have less competition.

 

3. You may show to fewer people, so there is less inconvenience than during the spring and summer months.

 

2. People get transferred in their jobs at all times of the year. A lovely inviting home, out of the cold, may have a more visceral impact on a potential buyer.

 

1. Home buyers at this time of the year are more motivated.

 

While these are 5 important reasons why you should not take your house off the market during the holidays, it is also 5 good reasons why you should list your home.

 

If you are still looking for the right home, and are not working with a Realtor, give me a shout. If you are considering listing your home, I would be happy to help you decide.

 

cross-posted at Chiara's Corner

Chiara

Chiara (KEY-r-ah)...Your KEY to Home Sweet Home

Coldwell Banker Wallace & Wallace

Knoxville, TN

Search for Knoxville, TN Homes

 

It's inspection day! The last last thing you want to do is leave the buyer or their inspector with questions about how the home has been maintained and cared for over the years. It's time to put your home's best brick forward, so here are 10 things you'll definitely want to avoid!

The Top 10 Ways to Make a Bad First Impression on Inspection Day

1. The front door is in need of repair; weather stripping is loose, exposed, or dragging on the floor.
2. The doorbell is not intact and/or does not work.
3. What's that smell?! The house smells musty, moldy, or tired. (Dirty carpet plays a big part in this impression).
4. The home is cluttered. (You want the buyers and their inspector to be able to access all areas of the home. An obstacle course will not be welcomed with too many smiles).
5. There are water stains at the ceiling, around the windows, within the sink cabinets, or beneath the shower/bath areas.
6. Windows are inoperable or do not open and close easily.  (You'll want to address any cracked glass or missing hardware as well).
7. Kitchen appliances are not in working order or surface lights and/or fans are inoperable.
8. There are loose, uncovered, or painted electrical outlets and non-working switches.
9. There are no visible smoke and CO detectors. Or they are not working.
10. There is damaged drywall from door knobs, picture frames, etc.

Maintaining and repairing the above items (and anything else on your to-do list) before the inspection will always be to a seller's advantage. And who doesn't want to make a great first impression on buyers during the selling process anyway? But do remember to call in a professional when necessary. A repair done improperly could end up being more of a headache than the original condition!

Posted By: U.S. Inspect Blog

Today I am sharing notes and asking you for feedback about this question. I have received this question from a few people who have had homes recently renovated in our part of town. The properties look excellent, are priced right, are in solid locations with activity and have the comps to show for it. So when location, price and quality of product which everyone talks about have been handled solidly, why isn’t the house selling? There are a number of reasons but here are 10 common reasons I share with callers:

1. The neighbors: sometimes it is as simple as who is right around them. It can make a huge difference as something may have happened in these household(s) that changed from the time you decided to sell/renovate a property.

2. Buyer belief that an REO or short sale is a better deal: They feel like they are absolutely getting a better deal. And sometimes they are. Of course, I have had more than a few calls now from people that bought one and regretted it because they nor their agent didn’t know what they were getting themselves into and what the house really required to renovate properly. That great deal got really expensive in a hurry!

3. Upgrades in the comps: Sometimes this is the case. Sometimes it is not. Drives sellers crazy when a house that has not been updated sells before theirs!

4. The lot: Sometimes the house is awesome but the lot is a hill going up or sideways or some strange shape. Level lots always work best but this is Georgia and there are a lot of hills in many places. This sometimes is a deterrent.

5. The buyer’s agent: Ok I said it but sometimes the agents are not the best at pulling comps. This is an area of strong opinion in many cases so I know I am treading on controversial waters here. Comps need to be ‘like’ properties. You have to put the appraiser hat on to ensure you have solid comps as well as talk to your appraiser if you have access to one. This is so critical. Unfortunately, we have seen the e-mails from agents that don’t believe the house will appraise and thus don’t proceed to make an offer. It’s unfortunate but it happens. Then the house sells and they love you because you provided a solid comp for their client for the house down the street. See my other post on make an offer anyway!

6. First time home buyer reluctantly: If you’re marketing a house to these buyers, sometimes they will love the house but are just hesitant to pull the trigger. It could be for one of a thousand reasons but I find one of the most common being unfamiliarly with how the lending process works, even if they have been pre-qualified for a mortgage. There are a slew of reasons though.

7. The time of year: It’s holiday time and markets tend to slow down now. There are definitely people buying but there is always risk of a slow down during November/December when selling in particular to owner occupants.

8. The listing itself: Inaccurate/missing data or poor pictures or even lack of pictures can go a long way to not even having your property noticed in the first place.

9. Marketing: Sometimes it as simple as ineffective marketing. It may on the MLS but where else? Today there is tons of ways to market a property and you have to leverage as many as possible to get maximum visibility. You never know where your buyer will come from and in this market, it is not unusual for them to come in some unexpected ways!

10. Expectations/Bad luck: sometimes it just isn’t your day. That’s life. :-D Seriously, in this market with the lending industry and banks being as dynamic as they are and a media that reports so many different angles on housing and the economy, you just never know what you are going to get sometimes. Expect the unexpected and keep at it. An old adage I learned some years ago was ‘everything sells’. And it’s true in some form of fashion!

Would love to hear from you! This is an area we as investors and agents are always learning so definitely interested in other reasons you have experienced. Good luck and Happy Selling!

If you will be placing your home on the market for sale, remember that your garage is an important part of your home.  Buyers will want to see it and it should be an appealing part of your home.

While your home is on the market for sale, do not use your garage to store packing boxes, they belong in a storage area.

Items that need to be in the garage, like your children's bicycles, need to be out of the way and neatly stored in a rack or hung from hooks.

Make sure any exposed electrical wiring is 'to code' and secured.

Clean the windows, many times garage windows are missed.

Do not store gasoline powered mowers etc. or gasoline in cans in the garage.

Make sure the garage 'smells good', this only takes a few air freshener's.

Remove any temporary shelving and any permanent shelving that is of poor quality.

Get rid of 'old' work benches (they also belong in the storage if you are taking them with you.

Does the inside of your garage need a new coat of paint?

Are all the light's working?

Your garage should be appealing to allow your buyers to be creative!