The Info Backstage

There are five major factors to consider when selling a home. These factors will greatly influence not only the final price you will get for the property, but also how quickly it will sell and how much grief you will suffer through the sale.

Location

Over history it’s been said the three things to look for in buying a property are (1) Location, (2) Location, and (3) Location. There are positive and negative factors to almost every location. Let’s pretend your property is right next door to a fire station. You need the kind of marketing professional that can sell the benefits of not having to worry about your new home burning down, or perhaps the savings on fire insurance. Seriously, no matter where your property may be located, there is a ready, willing, and able buyer in the marketplace. The “problems” with the location of a property can be overcome, you just need a Realtor who will work hard to do so.

Your Realtor and his/her Company

Not all Realtors are the same. We each take different approaches to the marketing of your home. These range from as basic as placing the home on the MLS system and hoping it will sell, to Realtors who actively market the home through newspaper advertising and the Internet. You will likely have a positive Real Estate experience if you pick a Realtor who meets the following criteria:

• Personality. It’s hard to work with an agent you don’t like. You won’t trust him/her, and the entire experience will be a difficult one. You have enough on your mind without having to argue and bicker with your agent. No matter how good an agent is… if you don’t like each other, then it won’t be a good experience.
• Availability. Having a full time Realtor (or a team of them) is vital to the successful sale of your home. If your Realtor isn’t available to sell your house because he/she’s “working a day job”, then how committed is that Realtor to you?
• Work Ethic. Just like any other professional in your life, you need a Realtor who is organized, professional, and hard working. Have you ever seen a lawyer show up for a case in sweat pants and a t-shirt? Or a doctor say; “I’m sorry, I can’t deliver your baby because I have a 4:00 t-off time”? How about an accountant who can’t manage his own finances? You should be able to expect the same level of professionalism from the agent you choose to represent you.

By having a professional Realtor working on your behalf, your entire experience will be more positive.

Terms

Are you flexible on possession dates? Is your property easy to show? Are you prepared to negotiate on appliances or other chattels? This flexibility makes your home much more attractive to potential buyers. For example, many out-of-town buyers won’t even consider a home if the possession is not flexible. First time home buyers often have to purchase the appliances with the home because they have to put all of their savings into the down payment. Where are they going to get $3000 to buy appliances?

Condition

Making a good first impression is important in getting a property sold. Painting the front door and trim, making sure the doorbell works, putting furniture and clothing in storage, and cleaning off counter tops and fridges are just a few of the little things that can be done to make properties more marketable. Just remember, cleanliness and pride of ownership will get you more money than used dirt.

Price

Determining a price is more than just picking a number. It involves careful analysis of the property. Many things come into account when determining a price. In fact, it is often through price where short comings in the other factors are balanced. For instance, if your home has been damaged from bad renters, is difficult to gain access to, is right next door to a “drug-den”, and is located between the city dump and the airport, then the home will have to be priced accordingly. But watch out, while the price can fix almost every short coming, it’s not always the best solution.

Having a Realtor who will be honest with you about these factors is important, and could save you several thousand dollars.

John Carle & Sharon Gregresh are Realtors with Royal LePage – ArTeam in St. Albert, AB. They pride themselves on providing more than just real estate sales and listings. Their clients benefit from a much larger spectrum or real estate services. Contact them any time at information@workingtogether.ca or through their website at www.workingtogether.ca. They can be reached by phone at (780) 458-5595

The forecast for 2009 and 2010 is a little grim if you’re a property owner – dwindling house prices are making many individuals worry. Some property owners will find themselves in negative equity later this year or next year, if not already. Nevertheless, there are ways to fend off this problem. The Answer : to add value to your house. How to do that? By doing up your house. DIY / home improvements can add far greater value to your house than the effective cost of those improvements.

So where to begin? A good place to begin is to think about the least used rooms in your property. Perhaps it is an adjoining garage, or spare bedroom. Knocking down a wall can transform such a rarely used room into a kitchen or living room extension which can bring a great deal of value to your property. Consider also your lighting and plumbing. A dimmer switch can change a bright, garish room into a warm, inviting living space – simply light transforming the room! Possibly your house doesn’t have a downstairs toilet? Then get one put in where your utility room is – once more this can add much value to your home.

Maybe your 4 bedroomed house could be converted to 3 bedroom by ripping a wall down, and producing a much bigger room. This may sound a tad odd, but actually larger rooms will hand you a higher sale value, and rather often people use a 4th bedroom strictly as a room to store stuff in (meaning it’s not of great importance).

Then look into your garden. Is there a shed there? If not, think about installing one there. Why is this of particular importance? Well, here is one place where you can stock all your stuff that’s choking up your spare bedroom / garage / utility room. Having a shed helps also with the gardening, and enthusiastic gardeners (read: your future house buyer) like a shed in their garden. Also do some gardening yourself! If your garden’s been forgotten about, then mow the grass, plant flowers, cut the lawn edges. Also consider installing decking. Just offering a beverage to a potential buyer out in your glorious garden can really help sell the place – they feel comfortable in such an environment – so your garden is very important to help raise the price of your property and help sell your home.

Where can you get help? Take a look online. A home improvement directory like homeandgardenlistings.co.uk has all kinds of home and garden websites listed there : including a directory of bathroom fitters, directory of builders, directory of plumbers, electricians, directory of general furniture suppliers, directory of bedroom furniture and beds suppliers etc.

These are just a few fundamental points on maximizing the cost of your house in these bad times, but we hope this will spur you into some action!

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