During a session of our SHIFT BOOK CLUB at Keller Williams, someone commented that they tell their clients, that there's never a day that they look at the HotSheet of homes and do not see a home sold or closed. That is so true! Homes are still selling today! Why are some homes selling but others aren't? What's it Gonna Take to get your home SOLD?? The million dollar question....
Some great SELLERS of mine were in town the other day and they asked to take me to lunch. Of course, the subject was mostly about real estate and selling homes. One of the ladies said that a friend of hers has been trying to sell her home for a long time now, but hasn't had any offers on the home because it looks like GRANDMA'S HOUSE. It's one thing to look Vintage, but it's another if your home is so dated that it's referred to as Grandma's house. The best thing you can do for a quicker sale is to get rid of the wallpaper, put a fresh, warm neutral color on the walls, and pack up the doilies and nik naks. You want to appeal to the largest pool of buyers you can so LESS IS BEST. My clients had their home listed with another Realtor before me with not a lot of luck. They have taken all my suggestions, and have done pretty inexpensive updates to get their home show ready. They've been awesome to work with! I LOVE clients like that. It's amazing how much can change with just some paint on the walls & cabinets, and some new inexpensive drapes. I think with the Paint (Throughout most of the house, including the 2 story entry & two vaulted ceilings, and lots of trim), the new laminate counter tops, the new hardware, new drapes, some minor projects and a cute little table, we probably had $5000 in the whole thing, and it looks so much better! With simple improvements you will get that back with less time on the market and also final purchase price. We've had great feedback and we have our fingers crossed for a potential offer SOON.
Your house can look great and is TIP TOP show ready, but you're still not getting an offer?? Why not? If you have a home that's getting showings, but no offers, then you have your home priced too high. The MARKET determines the price. It doesn't matter what you need out of the home, or what the neighbor sold for, or whether you feel you have the best home on the block... the value of your home is only based on the current market and what homes that compare to your home are selling for.... APPLES TO APPLES. Determine the price of your home by looking at what SOLD (not listed) in your neighborhood, but also looking outside of your neighborhood that buyers are buying in. Buyers want value and value is Price per (perceived) Square Foot. A perfect example is, if you are a 3 bedroom home and you're priced equally to 4 bedroom homes, your home is NOT going to sell. If your home doesn't a have a basement and you're priced equally to homes with a basement, your home is NOT going to sell. If your home doesn't have a Den or a Mud Room and your home is priced equally with homes that have those extra rooms, your home is NOT going to sell. Obviously there's always an EXCEPTION to that rule. If you have a unique, fabulous home that overlooks the lake, or has some other special feature a buyer is looking for, then your home may sell. I'm talking Apples to Apples.
Side Note.... Any amount of clutter is your worse enemy when selling a home. Clutter will sabotage a sale. Buyers CAN NOT get past the things to see the home. Pack it up and put it in the garage or the basement. Less is ALWAYS best! Your home may sell better vacant if that's your case.
My personal PET PEEVE is how the home shows online. As a Realtor, I hate going online to search for homes for a buyer and seeing listings that have pictures of the front of the house only, or worse yet.. no picture at all. Also, nothing is worse than seeing pictures of peoples STUFF or the Toilet seat up! I work hard at capturing the room. The whole room from ceilings to walls. What is the focus of the picture? Is it the Flowers all over the room, and the red rugs on the floors, or are you looking at the Vaulted ceilings and the Hardwood floors? I'm not an EXPERT photographer by any means, but I will retake my pictures multiple times, until I can capture the room the best I can. I also update my pictures as the seasons change. Who wants to look at a home with snow and dead greenery in the middle of the summer, when you could capture the home with green grass, colorful flowers and blue skies. 99% of buyers SHOP online for homes. How your home shows online is top priority when it comes to getting buyers through the door. I recently helped a young couple find a rental after they spent months trying to sell their condo with another Realtor with not 1 showing!! Unfortunately, I met them late in the process of selling their condo because they were already in the process of doing a DEED IN LIEU. I asked them why they didn't try to Short Sale first, they said they did. Hmm... well that seemed odd to me? After talking with them and asking them why they felt their condo didn't sell, I told them that I would go online to check their listing and look at their pictures and give them some suggestions as to why I think they haven't got any showings. They said.. "Oh we don't have any pictures online". When I asked them, why they didn't a have any pictures, they said their Realtor NEVER took any!! Can you imagine? That Realtor was neglectful and didn't represent the client well. In fact, he's partially to blame for the client NEVER getting any showings and losing their home. I felt terrible for these people. They are an awesome couple, and they worked so hard to do the right thing and work with the bank. SAD SAD SAD!
Well... You get the point. I could go on and on about this subject because there's so many factors that contribute to getting a home sold. That's why you hire a professional, full time Realtor. If you want to hear more, feel free to call me or ask me any questions. I'm always happy to help! YOU ARE LOVED!
Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Rev 3:30
Jesus Christ
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