Can You Sell Your House
Yourself? Right
now, over 10% of American homeowners handle their
own sales. But in order to join the ranks of the
successful ones, you need to realistically assess
what's involved. The routine parts of the job involve
pricing your house accurately, determining whether
or not a buyer is qualified, creating and buying
your own advertising, familiarizing yourself with
enough basic real estate regulations to understand
(and possibly even prepare) a real estate contract,
and coordinating the details of a closing. The greatest
downside is the demand on your time. Be careful
and thorough. Mistakes may cost you the money you're
trying to save.
The best reason for working with
real estate brokers is the enormous amount of information
they have at their disposal. Professionals know about
market trends, houses in your neighborhood, and the people
most likely to buy there. They also know how to reach
the largest number of people who may be interested in
your house. Real Estate Agents are trained in areas like
screening potential buyers and negotiating with them.
Finally, they're always "on-call,"
and willing to do the things most of us hate: working
on the weekends, answering the phone at all hours, and
always being polite.
Set
a Realistic Price Today's
residential real estate market is no place to look for
easy profit. The fact is, prices have generally leveled
off from their peak during the 1980's. That's not to say
you can't get what your house is worth. You just have
to be realistic about its value, and price it accordingly.
A good place to start is by determining the fair market
value.
How
To Determine Your Asking Price Real
estate sales agents suggest asking prices based on a variety
of information you may not have at your disposal, including
recent listing and selling prices of houses in your neighborhood.
If you're not completely confident in their suggestions,
you may want to order an appraisal. Next, establish clear
priorities. If you had to choose, are you more concerned
with selling quickly, or getting the most money possible?
What would you pay for the house if you were the buyer?
Someone else -- a neighbor, friend or relative -- may
point out advantages or disadvantages about your house
that you hadn't thought about. Third-party views will
help you start thinking of your house as a commodity,
with positive and negative selling points. Then you should
decide on a price that you feel is competitive and consistent
with what other houses in your area have sold for.
Fix Your House Up Before
It Goes On The Market Unless
your house is nearly new, chances are you'll want to do
some work to get it ready to market. The type and amount
of work depends largely on the price you're asking, the
time you have to sell, and of course, the present condition
of the house. If you're in a hurry to sell, do the "little
things" that make your house look better from the
outside and show better inside.
Create “Curb Appeal”
"Curb
appeal" is the common real estate term for everything
prospective buyers can see from the street that might
make them want to turn in and take a look. Improving curb
appeal is critical to generating traffic. While it does
take time, it needn't be difficult or expensive, provided
you keep two key words in mind: neat and neutral.
Neatness sells. New
paint, an immaculate lawn, picture-perfect shrubbery,
a newly sealed driveway, potted plants at the front door
-- put them all together, and drive-by shoppers will probably
want to see the rest of the house. Hand-in-hand with neatness
is neutrality. If you're going to repaint, stick to light,
neutral colors. Keep the yard free of gardening tools
and the kids' toys. Remember, when a family looks at a
house, they're trying to paint a picture of what it would
be like as their home.
Make
Sure Your House Shows Its Best First,
make your house look as clean and spacious as possible.
Remember, people may look behind your doors -- closet
and crawl space doors as well as those to the bedrooms
and bathrooms. So get rid of all the clutter; have that
garage sale and haul away the leftovers.
After you've cleaned, try to correct any cosmetic flaws
you've noticed. Paint rooms that need it. Regrout tile
walls and floors. Remove or replace any worn-out carpets.
Replace dated faucets, light fixtures, and the handles
and knobs on your kitchen drawers and cabinets.
Finally, as with the outside of your house, try to make
it easy for prospective buyers to imagine your house as
their home. Clear as much from your walls, shelves, and
countertops as you can. Give your prospects plenty of
room to dream.
List
your house with the Morris Team We offer many products and services
that may help you sell your house faster and at a better
price. Our customers find that the complete package of
added value that ERA offers greatly offsets the fees charged.
Contact us
today and learn why“Theresa
Sells a Home Every 29 Working Hours!,” and why the
Morris team are the #1 Agents in the #1 Office in all
of Lake County.
Rob & Theresa Morris
~ ERA Neil Fischer Realty 9800 US HWY 441, Leesburg, Florida 34788 Theresa 352-360-3736 ~ Rob 352-409-5400
