Sell Your Home Without A Realtor

Here are a few tips on getting your house ready to sell. It’s Spring in the Nation’s Capital and there is no better time to sell your home. Call me today!

Duration : 0:1:12

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: Estate, Jean, Keller, market, Ottawa, Real, realtor, Richer, Spring, Williams

http://www.ziprealty.com/featured_homes/virtual_tour.jsp?listing_num=2575151&property_type=SFR&mls=mls_phoenix&featured_home_id=1862199&cKey=btfmg6h6&source=ARMLS&page=3. We would love some feedback of what you think how the house turned out. The listing front shows the before pictures and the virtual tour shows the after…..
http://www.ziprealty.com/featured_homes/home_detail.jsp?listing_num=2575151&page=3&property_type=SFR&mls=mls_phoenix&featured_home_id=1862199&cKey=27wtrjw7&source=ARMLS

We do Interior staging all the time for clients selling their home, for new home builders and in our own rentals where we set up models of each unit type. I downloaded the virtual tour and no offense, this was a very basic job. I don't mean to be rude or offensive, but when we set up we bring in accessories, furniture, books, electronics, pictures for the walls, pillows, throws, lamps, etc. and we set up each room with a traffic pattern that encourages flow through the home. This design has no concept, is too stark and makes the home cold. Worse yet it makes it look like everything is builder basic which cannot justify the asking price. The home has a great floor plan and terrific bones which aren't being used to their fullest potential.

I am searching for some homes to buy my first home.

Lets say if I like "A" home, is there a way as to find out as how much
was that home "A" brought from the current or previous owner.

Lets say if the home was built on 1990 and it was brought my 3 owners from the past 19 years , is there a place to find as how much did all these 3 owners brought from each one of them.

I wanted to see the price graph of the home.

Sure.

Your city or county land records or tax assessor's office will have that information. You may also find it online. Where I live, for instance, the tax records are online (do an online search for "[your county] tax assessor"). And where I live, they'll list up to 3 past sales. Usually, where I live, the records will go back to the 1960s, approximately.

Recognize that knowing how much a property was purchased for doesn't really tell you what it's worth. To determine that, ask a Realtor to do a CMA (competitive market analysis) for you on the house you're interested in. That'll give you a reasonably solid number on what the house is worth today. And there's no charge for that service.

Hope that helps.

Is it necessary to stage every room or just the main living area. What are the bare minimums and neccessities when staging a vacated house for sale?

Staging isn't required in every room. Any area that might cause confusion should be staged. Living room for sure. Master bedroom too, especially if it is a very big or very small room, or has an unusual shape. Some buyers need to see the room 'dressed' or they just can't picture how they might set up furniture. Staging the dining room is a good idea - and bake a loaf of bread or an apple pie the day of the open house.. The smell will stay with any potential buyer on a subconscious level, inviting feelings of warmth and comfort when they think about your home.

Priceless in my mind.

"Why land is the only thing that matters, it's the only thing that lasts … (tara)"

I want to sell my three bedroom home with two full baths. The house also has an in-ground pool and two additional rooms and full bath in the basement. The house has become too big for me since my children are now graduated from college and married.
What do I need to know in order to sell my house the best way?

Well; first thing is to get a Professional Appraisal so you know the fair and proper market value of your home.

2nd is to get a Major Real Estate Company to list your house to sell it for you ……

Ask the realtor how many homes he / she has sold in the last six months ? See how many they have listed now ect …. Go with a company like Century 21, Coldwell Banker, or like I currently have ..Remax !!

Ever try to sell your home with on of those we buy houses fast companies? I have been transferred out of state and needed to sale my home quick. I contacted Property resource Corp. They are the biggest rip offs in town. First they try to buy your home for far less then what it is worth then they try to stick you with outrageous fees. There web site says they don't charge fees but once you read the fine print you find they charge you all kinds of fees. Needless to say I didn't go with this company. I was just wondering if anyone else had similar experiences?

l would rather go with a real estate company rather then them l just don`t trust these kind of companies

We are selling our home ourselves after terrible experiences with real estate agents. We believe a process whereby we ask each buyer to put in their highest offer, and then don’t give them a chance to up that offer if we get a higher offer from another buyer, will make each buyer offer the most they would straight off the bat, no negotiating back and forth. Does anyone know how to do this in a legal manner and what it would cost - is it called sale by tender? Thanks to anyone who helps!

My answer may be biased as I am a REALTOR,in Philly (Yeah the Phillie’s won) ,
Would need to know where you live , If you live in a big city , tender is not a problem, getting the Information to all the potential able and willing buyers is . In case of a small town that is the worst possible as it could lead to a case of Oligopoly and have you get low bids. to avoid that you could have a minimum Bid level. a Cutoff.
Or better still ask around from the people who have all ready bought or sold their houses in the last month ,on whom they recommend, No matter what you feel or think ,the best price 9 out of 10 times a REALTOR can get . Besides that there are a number of Papers and documents that one needs to fill out and one does not need to be a Lawyer or a Rocket scientist ,but one definitely needs to be trained. Also now a days the market is bad and that factor too could eb possible . Have you tried to drop your price to comparable properties around your area ?

Staging my home for sale, but not moving out: What should I do with my elliptical machine?

I have a relatively small 3 bedroom 1.5 bath ranch style house from the early 1980s with bedrooms on one side of the house and kitchen/dining/living room on the other.

It’s only about 1100-1200 square feet, but the space is used well and “feels” larger than it is due to a great layout.

I have done a lot of work on the inside and out have this one staging issue left:

I use my elliptical trainer every day and want to continue to, but the only place it fits in my house is in this perfect little enclave in the living room where there is a notch cut out of the wall.

Problem is, that notch is one of the best architectural features of the whole house and could really be used to sell the house by placing an entry table, secretary. wine storage, large mirror, beautiful plant, or something along those lines there.

That little notch is the difference between “ordinary aging smallish
3, 1.5” and “wow, this place is pretty nice for an affordable first home”.

The main part of the house is pained a warm golden color, neutral but warm. I was thinking of painting the notch an eggplant color to make it stand out and decorating it for sale…but…what do I do with my elliptical – it won’t fit anywhere else? Should I

1) Buy a pretty privacy screen and a plant, and still paint it eggplant?

2) Leave it as it and forget about it?

3) Give up my elliptical and store it while I’m trying to sell?

4) Other?

Leave it as it is. If it was out in the middle of a room, or interfering with the view of the space, I'd move it. The screen might be more of distraction than a help. The eliptical isn't a huge deal, people can imagine the space with it in place.

Good luck selling your home!

There are several things that are critical if you want to sell your home. Pricing is first. Your house must be competetively priced if you have any hope of selling. Don't try to price your house on your own. EVERYONE thinks their house is worth more than it is. Get a real estate professional to do a comparative market analysis to place a fair market value on the home AND don't necessarily go with the one who is promising you the most money for your home. He is just trying to 'buy' your listing.

Staging (or appearance) is second. Contrary to what another writer wrote, this is not making your home something that it isn't. It is taking what you've got and enhancing it. It's like putting a shine on a dull pair of shoes to make them look good.

Curb appearance is important. I've driven up to houses with customers and never made it inside the door because the house looked bad from the outside. Colorful flowers and a freshly painted front door will help to at least get the customer inside the house.

When it was a seller's market last year you used to be able to get away with things like offering a carpet allowance to replace the carpeting or a paint allowance to have the house painted after the sale. You can't do that in a buyer's market. There is too much good looking inventory available and if your house needs too much work the buyer will just move on to another house.

How much work should you do? That depends. You can do a lot of things that will cost you nothing. Clear up clutter. Get rid of over sized furniture to make a room look larger. Leave the bare essentials in the closets and pack up the rest to make it look like the closets are large. Don't put computer desks in bedrooms etc. You are selling SPACE and clutter makes a place look small.

Take personal items such as personal pictures off the walls. Take down cultural or religious items. The idea is to let a potential buyer envision himself in the house. It's hard to do if your have 3 generations of family pictures hanging on the wall.

If your house needs painting then paint it. If plumbing needs repairing, fix it. Don't go replacing whole kitchens or doing expensive upgrades on bathrooms. You won't get your money back in the short term.

And yes, some of the HGTV shows mentioned are a good source to watch for some inexpensive fix-up ideas. As a realtor, I watch it frequently.

I hope you find this information useful. If you have any other questions, please feel free to go to my website, www.flwaterhomes.com and contact me. Good luck on the sale of your home.

Jim Reske, Realtor
ERA Advantage Realty, Inc
Port Charlotte, FL