Posts tagged how to sell

Declutter: Taking the First Steps

Jul16
2010 1 Comment Written by Alicia

first steps to declutter

You hear it time and time again. As a home seller, or just as a homeowner, you need to declutter your home. Get rid of your built-up storage, reorganize and make your house look spacious, empty and clean. As with most advice, the job is easier said than done.

So how do you begin the decluttering process? There are simple steps you can take in your daily life to prevent clutter in the first place. Starting now, say no to junk mail. As soon as you pick up a piece of mail that you know is junk mail, toss it in the recycle bin without wasting your time opening it. If you want coupons from an ad, make a list and cut out the coupons immediately before tossing the rest of the ad. Don’t save the junk mail for a later date. Better yet, register with the Mail Preference Service on the Direct Marketing Association website. According to an article from the The Daily Green, you pay $1 to have your name removed from mailing lists and your junk mail decreases by 75 percent in 90 days!

When it comes to decluttering your desk with old bills and paystubs, most people are afraid they’ll either need this information in the future or that someone will get hold of a private account number or personal information. The first fear, that you’ll need the information in the future, is a difficult issue to work though. Usually, after filing income taxes and receiving your tax return, you won’t need past paystubs. Medical bills are usually safe to throw away after a year or two of keeping them. If you’re afraid of people getting a hold of personal information, invest in a paper shredder and recycle.
READ MORE »

Posted in Home Improvement, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , , ,

Stand Out at Your Open House

Jun21
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

open house

In the past, we’ve supplied you with articles on how to prosper at an open house. We provided you with safety tips in Have You Held an Open House?, offered you 12 Steps to Prepare for a Summer Open House, warned you with Preparing for Surprise Showings and told you how to Prepare for a Spring Open House.

Now, with the market fierce and buyers in control, sellers really need to find ways to stand out in the overly zealous crowd. Open houses are a great place to do just that. The first step is getting people to your open houses by advertising with Buy Owner. The second step is making people remember your open house after visiting numerous open houses in one day.

How do you make your open house stand out? Use seasonal attributes to your advantage. They get people in the mindset of now while they personalize the open house and give the buyers a reason to remember your house. This doesn’t mean you should set up a kiddy pool in the middle of your backyard while answering the door in your bathing suit. Here are some ideas for making your open house stand out:

  1. Instead of baking cookies or serving coffee, switch it up with some refreshing summery treats. Serve little cups of freshly squeezed juice using a juicer. Create a non-alcoholic punch over ice. Serve sample sizes of smoothies. The point isn’t to break the bank but to stand out to potential buyers.
  2. Wear bright colors. Nothing overboard, but just friendly, attractive clothing in bright floral or the color of the year, turquoise. This can lift people’s spirits, make you seem more approachable and make them more comfortable around you.
  3. Decorate in neutral colors that will appeal to everyone, but accessorize with bright, summer colors. Add some turquoise pillows to your couch or some pastel green dishware to your dining room table. Make the house exciting and fun to look at. Since most houses are decorated with neutral décor, this adds a punch to yours.
  4. Print out a list of local activities for people to partake in. Right now, create a list of summer activities, such as upcoming festivals, farmer’s markets, water parks, free movies in the park, summer camps and clubs, bike trails and more. When the season changes, change the list. Show potential buyers what they can do with their spare time.
  5. Outside, display colorful flowers near the front door and back door and in plain sight of the open house guests. Make sure your lawn is mowed and your bushes are trimmed. Make your landscaping look flawless and lush. If you really want to go all out, offer potential buyers a flower from a perennial garden, like a day lily. Every time they see the flower, they’ll remember your house.

These are just ideas to get your own creative juices flowing. Think of a way to stand out from the crowd and run with it. Don’t think of open houses as another chore for you to complete. Think of them as you and your house’s time to shine!

Posted in Selling Tips - Tagged , , ,

How to Be Realistic about Price

Jun07
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

pricing realistically

As a home seller eager to make a profit on your sale, it can be easy to lose sight of an important truth: Your house is worth what a buyer is willing to pay.

Not what it sold for.

Not what you invested.

Not what you want a buyer to pay.

Your house is worth what a buyer is willing to pay.

So when you’re trying to price your home realistically, it’s helpful to think in terms of that fact, asking yourself what price a buyer would realistically be willing to pay for your home.

How can you best estimate what price that would be?

Ask yourself some questions:

  • What do other sellers of similar homes think buyers will pay?
  • What have other buyers paid for similar homes recently?
  • How will my home compare to the competition?
  • How fast are homes selling in my area?

These questions will help you gather valuable information that can lead to an estimated range for pricing your property. Ideally, you want to price just a little higher (around 2 to 5 %) than what you think a buyer will pay, in order to leave room for negotiation.

Of course it’s always tempting to price higher, in hopes that someone will come along who wants your place. But the only person who loses in that situation is you, while you wait longer on the market.

So price carefully, and you’ll price right.

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

Protect Your Home’s Value

May17
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

protect your home value

Numerous factors affect the housing market, and right now, decreased home values and increased foreclosures go hand in hand. When foreclosures show up in your community, they can drag down the value of your home, they can cause potential home buyers to purchase cheap foreclosed homes over your more expensive home and they can even decrease the value of your neighborhood as a whole when vandalism is targeted at vacant foreclosed homes.

Even though you can’t prevent foreclosed homes from showing up in your neighborhood, you can take steps to prevent neighborhood vandalism and value decreases.

To prevent neighborhood vandalism, you could create a community watch party. Gather your local neighbors for a meeting to discuss watching over vacant homes on a regular basis. Perhaps you could create a schedule so that someone is keeping an eye on vacant homes at all times. If any suspicious activity is spotted around a house, or anywhere in the neighborhood, the person on watch duty could call the local police department to come check it out. Not only will this type of action prevent vandalism and unwanted neighborhood visitors, but it will also create a close bond between neighbors that will look positive to potential home buyers.

To protect the value of your home specifically, increase the curb appeal of your home until it looks impeccable. You want potential home buyers to view your home as a smart and worthy investment. If they see a house that shows off flawless qualities, they’ll forget about the cheaper foreclosed homes down the road that display overgrown lawns and peeling paint. To increase your home’s curb appeal, apply a fresh coat of paint to the exterior, fences, benches, front porch poles, mailboxes, garage doors, window shutters and anything that looks used. Also, keep the lawn mowed and the bushes trimmed. Pull weeds from around foliage. For extra appeal, display colorful flowers in pots that flank the front entryway.

Once you reach the goal of gaining interest in potential buyers, don’t lose that interest. Instead of immediately agreeing to lower your price to compete with foreclosed prices, explain to the buyers that your home’s value is worth more than that. Opt to include bonuses in the transaction instead. For example, you could pay the closing costs for the buyer, you could include select furnishings and accessories with the home, or you could add upgrades to the home without increasing the price. If the buyer still insists that you lower the price, do so intelligently. Don’t panic.

Your home is valuable. Keep that in mind as you attempt to sell now!

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , , ,

The Non-Handy Guide to Selling

May10
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

non-handy selling

When you’re trying to sell your home, you want to get it in top condition. This can include staging, making energy-saving improvements and fixing anything that’s broken. But what should you do if you’re not especially, well, good at those kinds of things?

How can a non-handy homeowner get his or her property ready for sale? Are there easy-enough-for-anyone improvements to work on? Absolutely. Here are a few ideas:

  1. Paint: You don’t need any special skills to repaint a room, other than an able body and some supplies. For particular advice on changing dark rooms to light ones, see this article.
  2. Add organizers: Buyers like to see custom features and, with closets, these are as easy to add as buying organizers and putting them in.
  3. Add new linens: Simply replacing your sheets and comforters can give your bedrooms a fresh new look.
  4. Add new bath accessories: Similarly, adding a new shower curtain, a bath mat and/or towels can spruce up your bathroom’s appeal.
  5. Go green! You don’t need a green thumb to add a few plants inside or outside your home. Just keep them watered and trimmed, and watch the overall effect on your rooms!

These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to quick and easy improvements. We can’t say enough about cleaning, for example, which makes things look newer and more valuable. Also, simple reorganizing can do wonders for a home’s sense of space and style.

So what are you waiting for? Handy or not, now’s the time to get your home looking its best.

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , , , ,

Promote Your Surroundings

May03
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

Spring is wrapping up and summer is quickly approaching, which most people would consider the busiest months of the year! The sun shines for longer hours, the children conclude their year of schoolwork, gardens and yard foliage burst back to life, festivals arise around every town, outdoor amusement parks and pools reopen and people just generally leave the comfort of their home more regularly!

As a home seller, all of these aspects of summer can help you sell if you know how to promote your surroundings.

When selling, you tend to think that it’s all about the house. Usually, it is. That’s why you should keep the inside clean and decluttered, keep the outside inviting and visually appealing, and keep everything updated and desirable. However, when the summer months are upon us, it’s also equally important to show your potential buyers why they not only want to buy your house, but why they want to buy your house and its location! How do you do that? Research!

Start researching your community’s calendar now, so that when the summer slew of potential homebuyers start flocking to your open houses and following up with your advertisements, you will have already acquired a whole list of reasons why they should want to move here! When making a list, start with reasons closest to your house, and then continue the list as you move further away. Then, decide what reasons your potential homebuyer would be interested in most. For example, if it is a family with young children, mention the neighborhood parks or local schools. If it’s a newlywed couple, mention the renowned cuisine or the waterfront boardwalk.

More examples to include on the list:

  • Neighborhood perks: friendly neighbors you’ve known forever, garbage and recycling services, included maintenance, local parks or bike paths, block parties, community amenities and services, local bus stops.
  • Community perks: favorite area restaurants, distance to convenience stores and malls, family-owned establishments, distance to expressways and other means of transportation, all area churches, schools with impressive ratings, parks and recreational activities, fitness centers, local volunteer groups, book clubs.
  • Specialty perks: most popular seasonal festivals, nearby tourist attractions, free events in parks or through local groups or schools, holiday decorations, gatherings or celebrations, local school programs, parades, bar crawls, charities.

Gain information from sites and bulletin boards in the area, such as those of the park district, schools, churches, local shops and meeting halls, but more importantly, sit down and think about what you’ve loved most about the area. Personal stories and emotions are worth more than a whole list of impersonal perks. Good luck!

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

Spring Clean Your Way to a Sale, Part 1

Mar15
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

Once the winter weather finally dwindles off, we’re all thinking the same thing: it’s time for spring cleaning.

Now is when you scrub the floors clean of muddy slush from the bottom of your boots, sweep away the lasting remnants of pine needles from the Christmas tree and store away the overabundance of scarves, hats, coats and mittens.

Though spring cleaning is a smart choice for all homeowners or renters, it is increasingly important for those trying to sell their house. No potential homebuyer wants to walk into a dirty, cluttered and dreary home. While you should be constantly keeping up with housecleaning year-round, now is the perfect time to take advantage of the spring cleaning cliché and really give your house a spotless appearance.

We at the Buy Owner Blog feel that the importance of this topic is worth two posts, so here are some helpful suggestions on where to start your spring cleaning in Part 1!

  • Start with the outside front entry. This is the first part of the house that potential homebuyers really focus on and judge while they wait to enter the home. Use a hose or powerwasher to clean the home’s siding, driveway, walkway and front door. Repaint the front door, siding that has chipped, the address numbers, the mailbox and anything that’ll spruce up the appearance. Cut back branches that have grown out of control or that stretch into the walkway space.
  • Thoroughly clean all of your light fixtures inside and outside of the house, such as plastic coverings and lampshades. Depending on how fragile they are, some can be placed in the dishwasher for a quick and easy clean. Wash all of the windows, and wash or dust off the curtains and blinds. You want your house to look its brightest!
  • Shampoo your carpeting and scrub your floors clean of leftover winter residue. You’d be amazed at how much dirt accumulates in these areas, even if you routinely vacuum and sweep. It’s worth the extra cost of hiring someone to professionally clean your carpeting if it displays any noticeable stains, or if you own pets.
  • Repaint the interior walls. To save money, choose to repaint only the rooms that visually need it or that haven’t been painted in the longest time. Repainting is the most affordable way to brighten, upgrade and modernize your house all at the same time, and repainting forces you to remove all the objects in that room. By doing so, it’ll be easier to declutter and remove unnecessary items.
  • Declutter every room. Though this is one of the most dreaded steps of house cleaning, it is one of the most important steps for home sellers. A potential homebuyer cannot easily view the best features of the house if they are covered in clutter. Organize all bills and paperwork into folders or files that can be stored into office or desk cabinets. Purchase bins for toys, blankets, remote controls and other objects that appear astray.

Stay tuned for more spring cleaning suggestions coming soon in Spring Clean Your Way to a Sale, Part 2!

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged ,

The Basics of Pricing Your Home

Sep28
2009 1 Comment Written by Blog Master

save money

You probably already know how significant the listing price of your home can be. Price too high, and you scare away qualified buyers; price too low, and you get less money than you could have. We’ve written here at the Buy Owner Blog about the perils of poor pricing before, but let’s talk now about the way to do it right:

Determine Your Margin
One of the first factors you need to consider is equity. If you’ve been in your home for several years or if you put down a large down payment, you have a pretty good idea how much money you’d like to get out of the house when you sell. That number may be tainted by your financial situation, if, say, you’re in financial trouble and need to sell quickly, in which case it could be best to lower your price, even if you take a short-term loss. No matter what, you need to make sure you’ll get enough money out of your house to pay off the mortgage and find new living arrangements. In today’s market, in some areas, the upside-down nature of real estate could make this a difficult proposition.

Do Some Research
The local MLS and a quick online search can help you identify properties that are considered to be comparable to yours. If you want to sell your house quickly, price your home as the best deal on the market by setting your price lower than all similar ones in your area. By using Buy Owner, you’re already cutting the cost of commissions, so lowering your price should be possible to do without taking a significant hit to your profit.

A real estate appraiser can also help you price your home. Most buyers will need a recent appraisal in order to qualify for a mortgage on your home anyway, so it may be worth the small investment required to have the home appraised prior to putting it on the market. Any time you can sell your home “below appraisal,” you have a better chance of selling it quickly.

If you price your home and no one comes to see it, you may have priced it too high. Remember that one of the best reasons to sell by owner is the flexibility it allows, and you can always lower the cost of your home if activity is less than you desire or if offers come in significantly lower than your asking price.

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

Selling Storage Space

Jun08
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Carrie

closet_space

You are selling your home. You have taken some of the staging tips from the Buy Owner Blog and fixed up each room in your house. But what about the closets? Storage space is important to buyers and should not be overlooked when you are attempting to sell your house. Just as you want buyers to imagine themselves watching television in your living room or cooking meals in your kitchen, you also want them to be able to see their belongings in your closets. You have to sell the storage space!

• Clean out the closets. Over time, many people acquire a lot of junk. And where do they put it? Usually stuffed in a drawer or on a shelf in the closet. If you plan to live in your home until it is sold, clean out your closets and get rid of all the unnecessary junk. Keep the essentials, like clothes, shoes and toiletries. Pack up your old bowling trophies and your magazine subscriptions and put them in storage if you want to keep them.

• Add built-in shelving and get organized. Custom-built shelving units are found in more and more closets these days. Buyers are attracted to organization. Help them get started by placing shelving units and hanging rods inside your bedroom closets. You could even purchase a shoe rack that hangs on the inside of the closet door. Give the buyer plenty of options for organization.

• Convert spaces. Is there a linen closet near the kitchen? Convert it into a pantry. Some people have lots of dishes, pots and pans that they may need additional storage for groceries. Keep dish towels folded in the closet, as well, and inform the buyer that this storage space was once used as a linen closet. If the master bedroom boasts a small, private sitting room, consider converting the space into a huge walk-in closet.

If you are selling a vacant home, it is still a good idea to add built-in shelving units where you can. If buyers open up a closet, only to find an empty void, they might not be able to imagine how they would use this space. Even if it is a big closet, buyers will only be able to imagine stuffing it with boxes, making an organized mess where it is hard to find, well, anything!

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

About the BuyOwner.com Blog

Welcome to the BuyOwner.com Blog, your source for regularly updated market information!

Founded in 1984, BuyOwner.com® is the leading provider of real estate marketing services. We pioneered the "For Sale by Owner" (FSBO) market, which today represents over 20 percent of all residential real estate transactions.

You can read more about BuyOwner.com here.

Article Archives

Blog Roll

Real Estate Top Blogs Real Estate Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory Add to Technorati Favorites Find the best blogs at Blogs.com. Blog Directory Home Improvement Blog Directory

Subscribe

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner