Marketing: What Works Best?
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
The 2 primary factors that determine if and when your home will sell are Exposure and Price. Exposure that counts is exposure that reaches buyers who are the most willing, ready, and able to buy. Setting the right price is crucial because under-pricing is like giving money away, and over-pricing is just a waste of time because nobody buys over-priced homes.
The best possible exposure is MLS and websites that display MLS listings. This is where the vast majority of buyers are looking for homes, and where the buyers are the most ready, willing, and able to buy. MLS and public MLS websites ARE the real estate market. FSBO websites tend to attract investors looking for a steal and buyers looking for owner financing.
Improvements: How much value?
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Which home improvements give the best payback? If you’re thinking about remodeling your kitchen, or finishing your basement, you probably want to get your investment back when you sell your home. But when it comes to payback value of home improvements, some are definitely more profitable than others.
As a general rule, kitchen and bathroom projects usually get a nice return on investment, typically 90% or more. Things like adding rooms or finishing basements tend to pay back the least. Finishing a basement usually returns less than 50%, so it’s not a project likely to show profit at selling time.
Trouble Selling? Sweeten the Deal
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
If you’re having trouble landing a buyer for your home, maybe you need better bait. Crafty home sellers know incentives are the prize at the bottom of the box. By offering buyers something a little different, they can improve their chances of selling their homes quickly and for the price they want.
Here are just a few of the ways home sellers can sweeten the deal with extras.
Cover the buyer’s closing costs
Many buyers, preoccupied with saving enough cash for their down payment, overlook their closing costs which, at between 3 and 6 percent of the sale price, can amount to several thousand dollars extra. Offering to pay them on behalf of potential buyers may be just the push they need to close the deal.
Tips for handling buyer offers
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
What do I do when I get an offer? That’s a common question from sellers. If the offer is at or above your asking price, the answer may be easy. But remember money is not the only consideration. You may prefer a lower offer with better financing or a stronger buyer, or a more convenient closing date. When all factors are favorable, and the price is right, set the contract and reel in your buyer quickly!
Aim For A Sale
Remember while your aim is to get as much as you can for your home, the buyers aim is to find your lowest acceptable price. In the end, however, you’re both angling for the same catch: a sale on the best possible terms for both parties.
Evaluate Your Buyer
Find out as much as you can about whether the buyer can afford to purchase your home. You’ll gain peace of mind knowing your buyer is really qualified to pay the price you agree upon. Buyers who are pre-qualified have been to a lender and are more likely able to close on the loan.
Showing Your Home
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
To get your home sold quickly, it’s important that other agents in the area show it to as many potential buyers as possible. The first thing Realtors do when working with buyers is talk to them and learn about what kind of home they are looking for.
Then the agent will search the MLS for all the available homes closely matching what the buyer wants. Next, the agent puts together a list of the best matches to go show to the buyer. When a busy agent is compiling a list of homes to show a buyer, the agent will naturally tend to show those houses that are easiest to gain access to first. Many homes on the market have “lock boxes” on them.
10 things Realtors wont tell you
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Let’s face it, no one likes to pay a real estate agent 6% to sell their home. Tired of paying such high commissions, many home owners attempt to sell their homes themselves (For Sale By Owner or FSBO). However, many of them realize that not being listed by a REALTOR® means not being able to take advantage of the most powerful marketing method in the history of real estate: the REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
5 Ways to market your home online
October 15, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Trulia.com offers some great home selling guides including “Five ways to use the internet to market your home”.
When you talk to friends and family about selling your home, many will give you the suggestion that to sell your home all you need to do is “put it on the internet.”They may be right. As over 80% of buyers today begin their home search online, if you are serious about selling, using the internet as a marketing tool is a smart choice.
Read the entire article “Five ways to use the internet to market your home”…
Pros and cons of hiring a listing agent
October 15, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Trulia.com just posted a great article about the pros and cons of hiring a listing agent.
When it’s time to sell your home often one of the first questions you wrestle with is – Do I hire an agent or sell it on my own? After all if you can sell your home successfully without the help of an agent you may stand to gain a substantial sum of money that could be used for the purchase of a replacement home, a new water ski, or that Harley Davidson you have been eyeing.
So what are the Pros and Cons of hiring a listing agent? Read the article…
Why has my home not sold?
September 23, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
There are many reasons homes don’t sell. If you’ve had your home on the market for several months and haven’t seen much activity or any offers, chances are that one or more of the reasons below are to blame.
1. Your price is too high
No doubt about it, the most common reason for a home not selling is that the asking price has been set too high. The reasons for setting your price too high to begin with are many. Ranging from over enthusiastic listing agents to unrealistic seller expectations. Regardless of the reason though, if you’ve priced your home too high, you’ve set yourself up for a number of obstacles to selling your home. Even if you do get an offer for the overly high asking price, the deal may fall apart before closing because the buyer may have problems financing at too high a price. Look at other homes for sale, ones as similar and as close to yours as possible. If they are going for less than you are asking, you may be priced too high. The fact is, your home is competing against those other homes, and what buyers are willing to pay is what will determine final sales prices.
2. Very little or NO Internet marketing of your home
According to The National Association of Realtors more than 75% of all home buyers start their search on the Internet before contacting a real estate agent. What’s interesting is that while 85% of home buyers are shopping for homes on the Internet, many agents don’t spend the money to market their listings online. They don’t post multiple pictures of your home to attract buyers. Buyer shopping online want photos and information! Require any agent you list your home with in the future to post multiple photos of your home on Realtor.com and the Internet.