Are you Selling your home?

Stats still favor working with a Realtor to get the best price, and best security.  In today’s society we often forget that real estate is still generally a ‘Hand-on’ experience.  We may begin searching homes on the internet, but most of us want to actually walk-through a property to get the ‘feel’ for it before we commit to purchasing a home.

A For Sale By Owner takes all the risk involved in showing their own home, allowing people to take photos for family members, etc.  In going this route you are trusting the honesty of others.  Realtors have Errors and Omissions Insurance for many reasons, do you?  If not, have you taken all your valuables off-site?  Does your Homeowners Insurance cover theft of big ticket items like your TV & surround sound system?

When Selling a home it’s imperative to price the home well to begin with.  Many people expect to get dollar for dollar for all their improvements, and this is not always the case when it comes to selling.  I have walked away from listings over the years because the Seller was not reasonable in what the Market would bare for their home.  Over pricing your home doesn’t help you or the agent that accepts your listing.  These homes tend to sit to long on the market and buyers begin to ask what is wrong with the home.  Is this where you want to be?

Are you willing to pay for a professional photographer to take Excellent photos of your home?  If not, will you be happy with the photos the Realtor is able to take for you?  Do you want control and provide your own photos?  If so, please realize you should put the photos on a flash drive for the agent rather than emailing them so that the agent may be able to re-size them as needed for various advertising avenues.  A Realtor is experienced in what angle a particular room needs to get a good photo that will work in advertising, most people are not.

Trust your agent to provide pointers on staging your home, or recommending a professional stager to help you organize to get the optimal response.  Sometimes making a few changes in placement can make a world of difference to a buyer’s eye.   Your Agent is a professional, however, there is a huge difference in experience of agents.  With experience comes knowledge, not all agents are equal.  Years as an agent does not always equate to experience with listings.  It’s important to ask it they have experience listing homes as well as selling homes.  If they do not have experience do they have a mentor to provide insight?  Are you able to speak to that mentor? I use to bring my mentor along to the Listing Appointment, or make a second trip with them in order to get their feedback.

A good agent goes beyond taking the listing and putting it in the MLS.  What is their marketing plan for your home?  How often to do they provide market updates for you?  Do they offer stats on how many days on the market is average for your neighborhood?  Do they have a track record of moving their listings with in that time frame or better?  Do they have a network marketing program for affiliates in the area?  

Most people believe their home is worth more than it is.  A good Realtor will bring comparables in your area to help you come up with a good price for your home.  Keep in mind, you should work with your Realtor to come up with a Market Price for your home.  I provide a Seller Sheet with 2-3 prices to work with the Seller so they know up front what they should expect from the sale of their home.  If the Market Price is substantially less than you expected to list your home for ask if they have some ideas to improve the price or alternatives to the conventional sale.  Kitchens and baths may help sell a home, but so does curb appeal, do you have funds to make improvements?  If there are not affordable options to increase the sales price and you are unwilling to come down there are still alternatives.  United Real Estate is affiliated with United Country Real Estate, one of the Countries largest real estate Auction Companies.  As such, we offer an auction option to our listings that can assist with a Seller’s Bottom line!  If you’re interested in more details contact us directly at ure.exponentad@gmai.com.  www.unitedrealestateexponent.com.