Reasons to Use a Realtor®

One of the best reasons to hire a REALTOR® to represent your home in the marketplace is for security reasons. Realtors are trained to help protect your safety while promoting your home to buyers in a wide variety of mediums from the Internet to the sign in your yard.

Because they work closely with the public in unique ways, Realtors are considered by law enforcement officials to be in a high risk profession. Realtors are mobile, work in a variety of locations, and are often in the company of consumers whom they may not know well. To protect their own personal safety, as well as your property, Realtrs have evolved a number of safety guidelines that might be helpful for you as a consumer to know.

Qualifying Buyers

One advantage of working with a Realtor is that buyers won't come to your home without being accompanied by a professional. Realtors make themselves the point of contact so that you don't have to open your door to just anyone who comes along. They also share information about your home in a broker cooperative called the multiple listing service (MLS), so that other brokers may bring their buyers.

The buyers that your Realtor and others bring are also likely to be better qualified to purchase your home. Realtors work with buyers to make sure they are capable of making a sound offer  on your home, but they also do some qualifying for their own personal safety. As they accompany buyers to your home, they know they can be victimized as well as you if they aren't careful and know who they are dealing with.

Promoting Your Home with Virtual Tours and Multiple Photos 

Realtor's promote your home on Internet sites such as Realtor.com, where homes are showcased with virtual tours and multiple photos. According to Realtor.com, homes with virtual tours are viewed 40 percent more often by consumers than those without. Internet consumers have been proven to choose a home, buy more expensive homes and close more quickly than offline buyers, according to the California Association of Realtors.

      Your Realtor may suggest a virtual tour or multiple photos, but for your personal safety and the protection of your valuables, she or he may insist that precious items, such as collectibles or rare paintings, not be displayed. In fact, your Realtor may suggest that you store valuables while your home is being marketed. 

Open Houses 

M  Most Realtors who offer open houses do so with increased security. Either they will ask another Realtor or a lender to accompany them, or they will notify their offices and other persons of their whereabouts. Realtors request visitors to sign in and many are starting to request drivers' licenses of buyers before allowing them to view the home.  Because open houses are so public, rarely do buyers attend with the intention of pilfering anything, but you can foil people who want small items such as high-cost prescription medicines by cleaning out your medicine cabinets for the duration of the open house. Also, clear off any bric-a-brac  and collectibles, and keep jewelry under lock and key. 

Your Personal Safety

D   Don't ever open your door to anyone who says he or she is interested in seeing your home. If the buyer is genuine, he or she will be accompanied by a Realtor, but keep in mind, that no Realtor would stop and knock on your door without going through a proper procedure to consult the MLS for showing instructions. So if you get a knock on the door, direct the buyer to contact your agent, and let the agent qualify the buyer and determine if the buyer is represented by a Realtor or not. 

U   Hire a Certified Residential Specialist (CRS)! 

        All real estate agents are not the same.  Only real estate agents who earn the Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) Designation have completed the most rigorous residential real estate training and have proven selling experience.  CRS Designees complete an average of 45 transactions per year — three times as many as the typical REALTOR® agent. The Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) is the highest Designation awarded to sales associates in the residential sales field. The CRS Designation recognizes professional accomplishments in both experience and education.  Only 4 percent of all licensed Realtors® are Certified Residential Specialists.

      Preparing Your Home to Sell… 

        As anyone in the real estate industry will tell you, it's important to make your home look its best when it comes time to show it. That first impression is everything. Even if you're in a market where homes are selling quickly and for full asking price, it's still key to spruce up your home and prove that it's worth every penny you're asking. And it doesn't have to cost you a fortune.  Some things you can do to ensure your home's exterior lands favorable first impressions include:

• Stay on top of your lawn mowing and maintenance and tidy up your front landscaping
• Put a new, colorful welcome mat in front of the door.
• Embellish your door area with a nice, big potted plant to the side of the front door.
• Slap a fresh coat of paint on your door.
• Move all the toys, bicycles, and scooters away from the front of the house.
• Clean all your windows until they're sparkling.
•  Invest in a new doorknob and lock - this will jazz up your door and provide greater security.
• Make sure your street numerals are polished and in place.
• Place a seasonal wreath or arrangement on your door.
• Repair any loose shingles - the last thing a potential buyer wants to worry about is the roof.
• Paint and repair your gutters.

      Once the exterior wows your potential buyers, you'll need to continue to make an impact on them when they make their way inside. You can almost think of it as preparing for a formal dinner party. For starters, you can:

· Remove all the clutter - make sure kitchen and bathroom countertops are as clear as possible, try to keep toys organized in closets and shelves, temporarily remove any excess knickknacks or family photos if you tend to have a lot.

· Hang fresh clean towels in the bathrooms.

· Touch up your paint if your walls have a few rough spots. You probably already have the extra paint sitting in your garage.

· Vacuum your floor each morning. You may also want to think about getting your carpets clean before potential buyers view your house.

· Make sure all your faucets are drip-free.

· Replace any nonfunctioning bulbs in your light fixtures and vanities.

· Thoroughly clean all your appliances, including the inside of your oven and microwave.

· Place a beautiful centerpiece in the center of your dining room table.

· Eliminate odors as much as possible - place potpourri in the bathrooms, use air freshener and deodorizer, especially if you have indoor pets or there's a smoker in the house.

· Let the light in - open all your blinds and curtains. If your house's natural light leaves some rooms dark during certain portions of the day, turn on the lights if you know your house may be shown that day. If you have any decorative or track lighting, be sure it is on.

· Clean your fireplace.

· If you have too much furniture, place some of it in storage.

· Add some final touches, a couple of fresh bouquets of flowers and some nice potted plants in decorative containers can do wonders.

     Basically, just use common sense. Remember that everyone has his or her own style. You're not trying to impress with your particular brand of décor. Rather, you're trying to present a simple, clean, attractive home that exudes potential - an empty, yet enticing, palette for your home's next owners. 

    Market Evaluation 

    The first step, once your home is ready to sell,  is to have Steve perform a market evaluation of your home.  This begins with an initial tour of the home where Steve will take measurements and make notations about features of  your property inside and out.  This information is taken back to the office where Steve will carefully evaluate and compare your home with other similar homes that have recently sold in order to determine the “fair market value”.  This means the highest value an educated buyer will pay.  Fair market value is usually not the asking price.  

     Determining  what Price to ask for your Home 

     After Steve has determined the “fair market value” of your home, he will contact you to arrange a 2nd meeting  at your home where he will present his findings and help you to determine what price to ask.  While overpricing to some degree can be beneficial, you'll still want to be careful and avoid pricing your home too high, which almost always is nonproductive.  As you work with Steve to set your price, you'll want to recognize the factors that may prompt you to raise your asking price too much when it isn't warranted. Some of those factors include the following: 

· Upgrades have been added. While many home improvements will help you recoup a good chunk of your investment, it won't give you 100 percent of what you paid. Also, the more personal the improvement - a swimming pool, a sunroom, purple floors - the less likely it will be viewed favorably by potential buyers.

· The need for money.

· You're moving to a higher-priced area.

· The original purchase price was too high.

· The seller lacks factual comparable sales to prove what the market value is.

· The seller wants bargaining room (listing more than 1-3 percent above market value actually reduces bargaining power).

· An unnecessary move, so you're not motivated. 

      On the other hand, if you're in a neutral or buyer's market,  you'll really need to be cautious in setting your price. Buyers are less emotional and not afraid to offer significantly less than list price plus ask for additional seller participation.  Generally, the asking price - the price advertised when it goes on the market -s set slightly higher than market value, usually 1 to 3 percent above market value.  You should assume that negotiation will be necessary to reach an agreement with the buyer. If you price your home too much above market value, you'll get fewer showings and offers in which the potential buyer is fishing to determine how low you'll go.

     You'll want to establish your priority list: Are you more concerned with selling quickly or getting the most money possible? You'll also want to contemplate whether you think the agent's suggested price is reasonable and whether you'd pay that amount if you were a buyer. 

     Your agent, as well as friends, relatives, and neighbors, will help you point out your house's advantages and disadvantages that you may not have thought about because you're too close to the house and not as objective as others.

A   A third party will help you think of your house as a commodity - something with positive and negative selling points. At that point you can decide on a price that you deem competitive and in line what other houses in your area have sold for.

 Thank you for visiting my website!  If you are in the market to sell your home,  please feel free to contact me directly.  I look forward to your call!