Tag: realestate

Avoid These Three Mistakes When Selling Your Home

There are plenty of options that sellers can unconsciously do to derail their home selling process and make it more difficult to sell their home.  It’s both an emotional and exhilarating time and even with family history attached to your home, it’s best to shelve any sentimental feelings. There are too many mistakes that can happen and cost you money or even the sale of the home. Here are three mistakes that are the most common:

  • Not hiring a skilled Realtor. All statistics show that homes with representation sell for more money and in a shorter time period. Realtors will research comparable homes in your area, help you price your home right – not overprice it, market your home via social media, mailings, MLS, and newspaper and be the person that deals with the buyers and their agents. After interviewing and looking at past sales histories, and you have picked and hired the best Realtor, they should give you all the tips and tricks they know to get your home sold.
  • Not fixing problem areas – almost every home has them. If you try to cover up these trouble spots like issues with the foundation, any water damage, or mold will most likely come back to bite you and a good home inspector will discover them. This could cost you a sale. If these problems surface after the house is sold, a messy legal battle could arise. It’s best to be upfront and truthful with your Realtor and the buyers. Before your home goes on the market, identify and repair problems.
  • Not setting the right price. The price you want and what the market will pay may be two very different things. Even in the markets where the inventory is tight, a good Realtor will be very careful to not overprice your home. If it is priced too high you take the risk of preventing potential buyers from even considering it, or it could cause the house to sit on the market for an extended period. The longer your home sits, the more it is perceived as overpriced – or perhaps as a home with something wrong with it. Homes that are priced too high usually end up selling for less than they would have if they had been priced correctly from the start. Pricing a home to sell is an art that the Realtor you hire must get right. They will look at the sales in your immediate area, as well as market movement, demand, location, and your home’s condition. You don’t want to be forced to lower your asking price after it’s been on the market the first 30 days which are the most critical where sellers see their most traffic.

The Bottom Line: Selling your home is a lengthy process, so there is no need to rush it. Homes can stay on the market for months, but you should follow the lead of the best Realtor in your town and use their expertise.

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Get Your House Ready to Sell in Thirty Days

It can be a lot of work. But it can be done. Getting your house ready to sell in thirty days. The goals being available by the Spring 2019 Market, and getting top dollar. Expert Realtors will tell you that with motivation, hard work and focus it can be done.

Disconnect personally to your home. Invite a friend or family member over to look around to see what you do not. Fresh eyes can see where repairs are needed – it’s funny how a homeowner misses something simple that they see every day – and can be fixed easily.

Depersonalize rooms. Pack up photographs, family heirlooms, Buyers have a tough time seeing past the personal. They will need to imagine their own photos, art and other effects in the home without the distraction. It’s OK to leave a few framed photos around to make the home seem inviting and well lived in.

Declutter. Box up books from bookcases. Pack up knickknacks. Clean kitchen and bathroom counters. This can also mean removing extra pieces of furniture to be able to show the full potential of a room’s size.

Consider hiring someone to come in and make your home shine. Someone to clean beyond the usual day to day or weekly cleaning. Remember the first impression is the strongest. Dirty floors, dusty surfaces, and bad smells can ruin that first visit to your home. Empty out closets, drawers, under beds, and kitchen cabinets. Less makes everything appear more.

Paint the walls. Stick to whites, light grays, and light beiges that will make your home appear bigger, brighter and more welcoming. Adding a fresh coat of paint to your home will also help cover the wall’s imperfections and convey a blank slate to potential buyers.

Spruce up the exterior of the home, even consider hiring a landscaping company. Plenty of times, buyers pull up to a home only to back out because they don’t like the way the exterior looks. Get rid of dead plants, trim overgrown bushes and trees, freshen up the ground cover, add flowers that will survive the March temperatures for a punch of color. Adding new hardware to the front door or giving it a fresh coat of paint is a cheap thing to do and can speak volumes.

Thirty days is ample enough to get your home ready to sell. Find the best Realtor in your area and have them tell you what you will need to do to sell your home fast. The Spring and Summer selling market are typically the very best time to sell, but forewarning: there will be an increased inventory and the competition will be steep. Buyers will be pickier so you will need your home in it’s best shape as well as priced right.

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Best Title Insurance Company

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All homes on the market have a history and using the best title insurance company will aid you in the discovery of any title defects that are connected to the property that you want to buy by completing a title search. Problems that come up often are clerical (incorrect spellings, wrong address, inaccurate property description) or filing error in the public record that can include street & sewer assessments, judgments, and special taxes assessments.

Beyond human error, a good title company will be able to identify:

Unknown Liens:  Possible claims against the property, often the result of unpaid taxes or a judgment involving a creditor. This isn’t your responsibility to take care of – but can give you some leverage in the purchase of the home.  The best Realtor in your area will always do the due diligence for you.

Illegal Deeds: There is always the possibility that a prior deed was made by an undocumented immigrant or a minor that will affect the ownership of the home.

Missing Heirs: This can lead to a major problem for you, as a buyer. If the home was sold and there are family members that come along after the sale claiming and proving to be an heir to the home it could lead to an expensive problem for you.

Forgeries: Occasionally forged or fabricated documents that will affect property ownership are filed within public records, obscuring the rightful owner of the property.

Undiscovered Encumbrances:  Former mortgage liens or non-financial claims, such as restrictions or covenants limiting the use of your client’s property not surfaced at the time of purchase could result in a third party having a legitimate claim on the home.

Unknown Easements: Easements for driveways, roads, and sidewalks over a neighbor’s property, for example, are very common and can have a huge impact on the value of a property.

Having title insurance will provide you the protection from the above problems – some of which may not come to light until after closing.  There are many potential impediments to a clear title. Title problems can be the most expensive to fix, thus, when buying a home you want to make sure a search has been done and that you are protected going forward. The title insurance exists to protect you and your heirs against any losses resulting from future claims by a third party.

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