Seller Tips – Page 3

What NOT To Do When Selling Your Home- Lesson #2

What NOT To Do When Selling Your Home- Lesson #2
Don’t Forget That Most Potential Buyers Will Not Be Excited About Seeing Trash Bags And Old Mattresses As Part of The Sale

The pictures displayed are actual MLS listings that are used for illustrative purposes.

Disclaimer-All information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. You are advised to consult a reputable attorney for all legal advice or a reputable tax advisor.

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Previous Blogs On What NOT To Do When Selling Your Home

What NOT To Do When Selling Your Home- Lesson #1

Inland Empire Home Sellers: Here’s Why You’ll Want A Lockbox On Your Home

By kasihomes Leave a Comment

Listing your home for sale can be both an exciting and daunting task. Often during the course of listing a home for sale, the home seller will ask, “Why Would I Want A Lockbox on My Home?”

The short answer is, it’s the same reason that food establishments developed “the drive-through” and banks developed “the ATM”—Convenience and More Potential Customers!

The lockbox is convenient because it does a few things. First, it allows potential buyers to schedule appointments with their agents with relative ease. The agent can use their secure lockbox access key to access the home and lock it back up. Second, it allows for the home seller to continue in their regular routine without needing to wait around to accomodate appointments.

Next, the lockbox opens up he potential to gain more potential “customers.” There are a greater number of people who are likely to view a home when it has a lockbox because: 1) the ease of access means that even if they discover the home at the last minute, if they do not have to schedule an appointment to see it they are more likely to take a look at it, 2) both sellers and buyers are able to stop in and see the home at a time that is conducive to their schedule, 3) most buyers are more comfortable viewing a home without the presence of the home seller. The more comfortable a buyer is as they view a home, the more likely they are to be able to picture themselves in that particular home.

Beyond convenience and the potential of attracting more people to view the home, there are added benefits to having a lockbox. Some of the benefits include: 1) the electronic lockbox can be set with a timed access feature. This timed access feature can be utilized so that buyers and agents can only access the home between certain hours. 2) each time an agent accesses the lockbox, their information is stored and the listing agent can keep track of everyone who has entered the home. This way, there is a running record of every agent who has brought someone into the home.

There are many things that can be done to make sure a home gets the maximum exposure on the market. The lockbox is one of the tools that an agent utilizes to give a home sellers home the most advantage in the market place. If you want to gain the most exposure to the real estate marketplace then a lockbox will help with this. You must remember that people won’t buy what they can not see.

Disclaimer-All information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. You are advised to consult a reputable attorney for all legal advice or a reputable tax advisor.

Mr. and Mrs. Seller Make Sure Your Agent Puts Inviting Information in The Multiple Listing Service

By kasihomes Leave a Comment

Mr. and Mrs. Seller may I be honest with you? Your home is not being shown because the instructions in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) stink! Remember, you said I could be honest. Yes, I am pulling real live examples that I have encountered and continue to encounter.

1. Please do not call for status, MLS updated daily. This would be fine, if the agent did in fact update the listing daily. This is one of the homes that I personally sold. It showed as active during the first 60 days that our offer was accepted and even now three days after a closed sale, it shows pending. Updated daily? Uh, I think not.

2. Agents call for appointment. Send offers subject to interior inspection. Hmm, so let me see if I get this…we need to call for an appointment but in case we can’t get an appointment we should make an offer and make it subject to interior inspection? You are killin’ me here!

3. Call 951-xxx-xxxx for appointments from Tuesday to Fridays 2:00 TO 6:00 PM. This is a wee- bit ambiguous. Should we call the agent only during these days and hours or is the is the time that appointments are arranged? I’m hoping neither. If this agent only accepts phone calls for appointments in this time slot that’s probably an issue. If the home is only available for viewing during the week, four days a week, for four hours smack dab in the middle of most people’s work hours…probably presents an issue with getting people to look at it.

4. Showing time Saturdays and Sundays from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Monday to Friday from 5:00 to 6:00. Call before showing 24 hours in advance. Here we go again. The tighter the time frames for showing and more restrictive, the less showings you will have. If you know that you are only allowing people to view the home for two hours a day on the weekends and one hour a day during the week, is it really necessary to also have to call 24 hours in advance? Just make it available! Otherwise, loosen up the time frames.

5. Drive By Only. This kind of showing is particularly hard when the buyer will be occupying the home and the only picture displayed on the MLS is of the exterior. At least take a few pictures of the inside to post on the MLS so buyers can get some sense of the inside before being expected to write an offer that is subject to interior inspection.

So what is the MLS saying about your home? Does it have instructions that translate into “Do Not Enter”? Or is there a set of welcoming instructions? The best way to get your home sold fast and for the highest dollar is to put yourself in the buyers shoes. Think about what kinds of things make it easier for a buyer to view your home quickly. The homes that get shown are the homes that get sold. Let the buyer experience your home through all of their senses. Make it appealing in the internet with lots of pictures, a great video tour, easy showing instructions along with a great, clean scent when they view it. Do these things and you will be on your way to a sold home. Additionally, make sure you know what your home looks like in the MLS. Your sale could depend on it!

Seller Beware! You Like The Realtor You Interviewed But Do Other Realtors Like Them?

By kasihomes Leave a Comment

Seller Beware! You Like The Realtor You Interviewed But Do Other Realtors Like Them?

Caution Mr Seller, you just interviewed an agent and think that you really liked them. But before you hire them for the job, consider this. You like the Realtor you interviewed, but do other Realtors? Do other professionals within the industry, such as Escrow Agents, Attorneys, Pest Control, Home Inspectors, Appraisers, Lenders? You may ask yourself why this even matters. As a home seller, most of the time you are simply thinking about who you believe wold be able to sell your home the quickest and for the most money. While this is obviously a good place to begin your search, it should go deeper. Selling a home is truly a group collaboration. It becomes a collaboration because so many people must play an integral part it moving the transaction along successfully.

For instance, when the appraiser needs to ask your Realtor a few questions about the home, can the appraiser get a hold of your Realtor? Is Your Realtor good about returning phone calls and communication with other industry professionals? If your Realtors overall bedside manners with other industry professionals is sub par, word spreads like gangbusters amongst the Real Estate community. You as the consumer may never hear about it but rest assured, I have a list of Realtors who I try to steer clear of in every way. This is due to the fact that they are lacking in skills when it comes to working amongst their peers. Don’t get me wrong, if my buyer really wants the home that is listed by one of these Realtors, I will write up an offer for my buyer. However, that offer is written up and they are forewarned that my experience with this Realtor has shown that we could be in for a bumpy ride.

The moral here is do your homework and then possibly delve a little deeper. Ask for a few references not just from clients but from other industry professionals. It just could make the difference in a successful, hassle free transaction for you!

Questionable Marketing Almost Always Guarantees Questionable Results

By kasihomes Leave a Comment

Questionable Marketing Almost Always Guarantees Questionable Results

We’ve heard the old adage about selling a home…put a sign in the yard, place it in the MLS and Pray! Truthfully, this is going on but it is probably due to not knowing any better. One thing my grandmother always said was, “When you know better, you do better!” One very crucial element of marketing a home for a successful sale is to figure out who the most likely buyer is. While out on an appointment today to evaluate a property, this lesson hit home.

This home was in a pretty poor location. It sat right in front of the freeway with a lovely brick wall view of the freeway. The noise? Oh no, it was really no bother at all to listen to the cars whizzing by every nano-second. The home sits on half an acre. And lo and behold in the smack, dab middle sat this home less than 1500 square feet big. Huh?

As I went inside, all I could think was, “Yikes”! I was there to provide a consultation as to the best marketing approach. Now, I have been known to put on my straight forward hat and tell people to just take a wrecking ball to things. Today was almost no exception. Well…almost! As i toured the home, I thought, “Who wants this home?”

Well, first of all, one of the first things that was missed in marketing this home was to examine beyond trying to actually sell this home. Now are you wondering where I am going with this? The home is in MAJOR disrepair, tenants live in the home and it is not in the tidiest condition and I told you about the location. But wait….how about the zoning? The home is actually zoned to permit multi-family units, crops, elder care facilities, etc. Wow! With a little creative marketing, we can sell this property for more than what a single family home in the neighborhood is valued at. Yes, the value is in the land! Questionable Marketing Almost Always Guarantees Questionable Results. This is probably why the agent on this home had not seen much traffic and had not seen any offers. It is listed in the Multiple Listing Service under Residential Listings but it cold get a lot more mileage if we to some tweaking here. With a very well researched and thought out home marketing plan…the results should be far less questionable.

Keisha Hosea is a local Market Expert and Realtor in Chino Hills, California with Keller Williams Realty, She is the Team Director and CEO of KASI Homes. Keisha Hosea and the KASI Homes team offer help to home buyers and home sellers throughout the Inland Empire. She has been a local resident of Chino Hills and the Inland Empire for over 25 years and enjoys volunteering with the City of Chino Hills in her spare time. For more information on foreclosure, short sales and real estate you may call her direct at (909) 261-6377. Visit the website at http://KASIHomes.com

Selling Your Home: It Really Boils Down To Supply and Demand. Do You Have An In Demand Product or is the Market Over-Saturated?

By kasihomes Leave a Comment

Selling Your Home: It Really Boils Down To Supply and Demand. Do You Have An In Demand Product or is the Market Over-Saturated?

Selling your home really boils down to supply and demand as the first element. Do you have an In demand product or is the market over-saturated? The typical home seller has an amount in their head that they believe their home is worth. This is all too common. There are generally improvements that a home seller has made over time that are considered of value and then there are the emotional ties.

One of the biggest driving forces that predicates where a home seller can price their home effectively to get it sold is supply and demand. It is this same driving force that determines basically how much we pay for everything. Anything from the price we are willing to pay for toothpaste on up to or latest Nintendo Wii. Why? Because when the supply of an item is low and many people want it, this generally drives the price of that item up. This makes perfectly logical sense. You can charge more for it because people who want the item will engage in competitive bidding, stand in long lines, participate in lotteries…whatever it takes. We’ve seen this happen in the housing market.

This simple phenomenon seems to have always existed and will most likely continue to exist. What home sellers and home buyers alike must always analyze is plain and simple “supply and demand.” When selling or buying a home, one must ask and understand two crucial questions:
How many homes are currently offered for sale?
How many homes for sale have closed in the last six months?

With a bit more calculation, the probability of your home selling can be garnered. But to keep it simple, the first question tells us what the supply currently is and the the second question will tell us more or less what the demand is. The rule of supply and demand is the fundamental principle of value. The value of your home in a competitive market is determined by the levels of supply and demand. It is worth more when demand exceeds supply and worth less when supply exceeds demand.

Keisha Hosea is a local Market Expert and Realtor in Chino Hills, California with Keller Williams Realty, She is the Team Director and CEO of KASI Homes. Keisha Hosea and the KASI Homes team offer help to home buyers and home sellers throughout the Inland Empire. She has been a local resident of Chino Hills and the Inland Empire for over 25 years and enjoys volunteering with the City of Chino Hills in her spare time. For more information on foreclosure, short sales and real estate you may call her direct at (909) 261-6377. Visit the website at http://KASIHomes.com

Selling Your Home: Pink Fishnet Stockings May Not Be Your Style But You Better Stand Out!

By kasihomes Leave a Comment

Even though pink fishnets may not be your style, you better find a way to stand out. Standing out in a positive way will not only help sell your home, it will help you get top dollar.

While at a local amusement park recently, I spotted such a young lady. My first thought was, “Did her mother see her leave the house in pink fishnet stockings and shorts?” There were hundreds, if not thousands of people at this amusement park. Yet, I noticed her repeatedly throughout my full eight hour plus day. Why? Because she stood out amongst the crowd.

This is exactly what every seller who hopes to sell fast and garner top dollar should do. No, I am not suggesting you run out to get pink fishnet stockings! Home buyers tour several homes in a day. At the end of the day if they can’t remember yours, I can guarantee that they won’t be making an offer on your home.

Take a moment and look around your home or better yet have a friend do this for you. Now ask:
1. What are people noticing when they take a quick tour?
2. Is this feature that people are noticing a “positive” feature?
3. Will this feature cause buyers to want to buy my home?

A little time spent now creating “stand out memories” will save you countless days of marketing time and increase the amount of money you ultimately put in your pocket. Time spent now equals less headache and more money!