Selling a house

How to add value to a home that is up for sale

The following are some great ideas on adding value to a home that is up for sale, before you send it to the market.

Clean and renovate the front door

They say first impression matters the most, and this has never been truer when selling a home. An old, dirty, unkempt front door will discourage potential buyers. Ensure the front door looks its best, paying close attention to the letterbox and doorknob. You should also ensure your house number is readable and in good condition, if need be, replace the letterbox and doorknob, which could cost you very little.

Organize and paint the exteriors

As simple as it may seem to many, when selling a property, you will have to get prospective buyers to the property via the front door. It therefore goes without saying that the exteriors need to be as attractive as never before. If need be, paint and do some simple maintenance to ensure the first impression that your home creates on buyers is the best. Simple maintenance and painting could cost you as little as 100 bucks, but could significantly add thousands of dollars to the final asking price. Some of the simple maintenance you ought to take care of include clearing the driveway, cleaning and fixing the windows if need be, and unblocking the gutter.

Have a conservatory

If you don’t have one already, ensure you build a conservatory. Statistics indicate that the presence of a conservatory can boost your home’s value by between 7 and 11 per cent depending on the cost of the conservatory. One thing though, always ensure the conservatory compliments the rest of the home. Actually, it should appear as if it is just an extension of the other rooms, hence should have a natural ‘flow’ into the other rooms.

Pay attention to the kitchen

If you plan to sell a house but you are working on a shoe-string budget, or perhaps you don’t have enough time to spruce-up the entire house, one place you should always give priority is the kitchen. This is because the kitchen is always seen as the central point of a home, and inconsequential improvements can make all the difference in the world. Clean the work units, clean the fridge, sink, and the cooker, and ensure the work surface is efficient and attractive.

Clean or change windows

Windows ought to match the state of the house, meaning they should be in line with the style and age of the home. Thus, you shouldn’t be tempted to fix new white PVC windows if your home is a traditional style type as this could negatively affect the valuation price. Basically, if the windows are still in their good condition, pay close attention on cleaning them thoroughly and repainting the surrounds and windowsills. You should also think of installing window locks on the inside if your windows don’t have any at the moment since security is a major consideration for all buyers.

Outsmart the experts - price your home the way a realtor would

You take a drive to a local reputed real estate agent or a broker to discuss over a cup of coffee what is needed to sell your home. When you deal with a real estate agent, you get the confidence that the property will be sold because after all, the real estate is an expert in the field right? Well a good real estate agent would collect all info required from you regarding the house and stuff, and will clear the air on any confusion or questions that you could be having. It is always advisable to sell a home through a real estate agent, especially if you are a first time home owner. But have you ever taken a minute to imagine how it would be if you decided to do it solo? The process is simple and if you can do it on your own, why would you pay the 5% to a real estate agent?

You can always give it a try. If you are daring enough to do it, the first thing that you should know is what is known as the By Owner Real Estate Contract, which is very easy to complete. The contract is basically used to address the situation that exists between the parties involved thus before you know about pricing you ought to familiarize yourself with By Owner Real Estate Contracts. Now comes the pricing part. A real estate agent is able to price a house better than the owner because of their experience. Remember that very few homeowners are in the real estate business hence pricing could be difficult for them. Similarly, a homeowner could not be well updated on the market condition at the time of sale.

The real estate market is one of the most volatile markets today with changes occurring almost on a daily basis. Without proper knowledge on the condition of the market, it can be very hard for one to correctly price a property. Being unaware of the either overprice or under-price a property. As for an agent, since it is their line of duty, pricing it becomes an easy task. The other reason why a home owner cannot be able to accurately price their own home is because of a conflict of interest. It isn’t uncommon for a homeowner to get biased when pricing perhaps because of some sentimental attachment to the house and stuff, something which doesn’t happen with the agent. The answer is simple, if you want to price your home the way the experts do, you simply have to study the market trend at least in the past 6 months and more importantly, put yourself in the buyer’s and real estate shoes – don’t be biased when doing the pricing.

You can do all good by yourself when you list as FSBO

As is with all other financial transactions today, there is more than some ‘legal obligations’ and paperwork attached to a home sale. It is this paperwork that puts many homeowners off and discourages them from listing their home as FSBO (for sale by owner) and rather decides to pay a high service fee to a real estate agent. Statistics show that in the year 2009, the average commission that was paid to a certain Aussie estate agent was approximately $10,000.

Note that the legal stuff of any real estate dealing does not involve a realtor too much thus with some little help from different FSBO resources, you can be able to sell your home independently by assembling all relevant documentation and ensuring that the final settlement is a smooth one.

Actually, the only notable difference between an FSBO settlement and a settlement brokered by a professional real estate agent is that for the FSBO deal, the property seller walks away with more money as they will save paying the real estate agent thousands of dollars for foreseeing the transaction. While it differs from one state to another, the legal requirements of selling property are mandated by the government law. Note that law is the keyword here as it is an unrivaled solicitor that every homeowner needs for any transaction to run smoothly, and not any professional real estate agent.

Remember it is a solicitor who prepares all necessary documentation to make the sale of a home legal. Thus, the much a real estate agent can do is to recommend a good solicitor that they know. Well, 5 minutes on your favorite search engine and several phone calls can actually get you the same results. Some real estate agents will still maintain that they still play a critical and indispensable role to a home sale as they can negotiate and bargain for the best possible terms. Well, living in such times, there is no one who cannot reach a reasonable agreement with a potential buyer without the need of a middleman.

As is therefore evidence, whether you decide to list your home as a for sale by owner or use a real estate agent, it makes very little difference really when it comes to triumphant legal ending of any home sale. Thus, if it is the legal stuff that has been stopping you from selling your own home, now you know. You can now start thinking of how you will use the money you will end up saving once you complete a home sale by yourself successfully.

Top 5 tips to get started on FSBO

The following are five very important selling tips for people trying to sell their own property i.e. FSBOs.

Legality

Anytime you are talking about such a huge sale, it is always advisable to seek professional advice from an attorney or/ and a local Title Company.

Mortgage

Before you actually start the process of listing and selling your home, it is always advisable to consult a mortgage institution such as a bank and mortgage brokers to enlighten yourself on property financing and stuff. This will be a win-win situation in that if you contact a good institution, it will be easier for you to refer a prospective buyer to them as they would already know your situation based on your previous talks with them.

Pricing

Of course you need to come up with a fair selling price of your property if you want it to sell fast. How? By investigating the cost of homes in your local area, review the prices in which homes in your locality are listed for, and that which they have been sold for also. To get started, you can check the local newspapers, visit your local government office to get details regarding mortgages that new homeowners have applied for in your local area, you can consult real estate agents in your locality, you can look for appraisers among your network of friends and or family, or better still you can part with a few hundred bucks to get a professional appraiser appraise your home.

Advertising

This is where you have to do lots of homework on how to create a compelling advert of your home. You can start by looking on the internet and in your local newspapers in search of a good and professional advert format. After that, you can then create your Advert in an electronic format. One thing that you should pay close attention to when creating an advert for your home is that you should have high-quality images of the home. Ensure you take clear images of both the inside and outside of your home so you can give potential buyers the ‘real picture’ of what to expect.

Marketing

Once you have created a compelling advert, the last step entails plastering anywhere and everywhere potential buyers are likely to visit, starting with online. Luckily, there are very many websites today which you can place your ads, but remember that these free things could at times become ‘time-wasters’. The saying ‘you get exactly what you pay for’ is obviously applicable when it comes to advertising and marketing your home for sale.

And that is the simple process of getting started on For Sale By Owner. When you start getting bids and offers that are within your accepted price range, it is when your legal attorney, your title company, and lastly your mortgage broker will join in to facilitate and make the process easy and successful.

Just how do you stop foreclosure when it knocks on your door?

Most property owners will face foreclosure because of one or several of the following reasons:

• Medical emergency
• Loss of job
• Expensive home maintenance costs
• Death within the family

As a homeowner, one way that you can avoid foreclosure is if a notice of default is not filed against you. Remember that lenders are always against foreclosing property but they have to do all they can to protect their interests, hence will be forced to file a notice of default if you do default. Thus, if you are in a situation where you cannot be able to pay off your monthly payments on time, it is always advisable not to wait until a notice of default is filed, contact your mortgage lender immediately. Call them and explain the situation that you are facing.

Because lenders will always avoid foreclosing because the process is long and complicated, they will always work out a plan that is easy and affordable on you – this is known as forbearance. If you can come to an agreement on a viable way on which you can get back on track after missing a payment or two, your mortgage lender will most likely waive your responsibility and give you the much needed break – this is known as debt forgiveness. For instance, if you meet all lending requirements, your lender can increase your loan balance which will include re-amortization of the loan and back payments – this is known as mortgage refinance. On the other hand, the government has some regulations that if a homeowner meets, can go ahead to apply for another known to offset the missed payments – this is known as partial claim.

With that being said, when foreclosure seriously knocks on your door, here are a few options to stop it.

Deed-in lieu of foreclosure

In this option, you as the homeowner will prepare a notarized title deed and hand it over to your lender upon which the lender will forgive the mortgage and subsequently cancel foreclosure proceedings.

Short sale

If in the process of selling your home you find that the value of the home is far much less than what you owe your mortgage lender, opt for a short sale. While this will have an impact on your credit rating, the effect will not be as adversely as the impact of foreclosure. You can negotiate or ask your agent to do it on your behalf, and discuss with your lender to establish whether they can agree for a short sale – this is known as pre-foreclosure redeemed.

Sell the property in question

Start speaking to realtors regarding the current market value of your property. You might even go ahead to hire the services of a professional full-service broker who is knowledgeable on the current market price and who can make a quick sale of your home before you are finally foreclosed.