Real Estate Agent
How to Sell your Home for a bigger Profit by keeping things CLEAR! PDF Print E-mail
Saturday, 04 October 2008 03:00
Getting ready to sell your home can be one of the most stressful areas of the real estate experience, but it does not have to be. Keeping in mind some key advice will help you get your house looking top shape from the inside and out. Throughout the process, the best way to go through your to-do list is to accept the fact that you can only do one thing at a time. With this perspective, all of the pieces will fall into just the right places.

Getting your house decluttered will help you clear your own mind and get you ready for the prospective buyers to start coming. The best way to get organized is to try to see your house through new eyes. When you pretend like you are the one who is considering buying your home, you can better see the areas which need improvement. Take a clipboard and pen with you as you survey from the outside to the inside. Write down everything which disturbs your eye for even a moment. Chances are that if you notice something that does not look right, your potential buyers will, too. You will probably want to share this list with your real estate agent and go through this process more than once, so you don"t miss anything.

Now that you have an idea of what needs to be improved, cleaned or changed, you can start knocking them off the list one by one. Get the outside, "curb appeal," taken care of first. This will help your house attract attention right away even if the signs haven"t gone up yet. Seeing your house looking its best on the outside will also give you the courage to tackle the inside.

Each room should contain as little clutter as possible. Get a bunch of clear plastic bins and start filling them up with all of those extra knick-knacks. Remember that buyers want to picture their belongings in your house. If your stuff is in the way, then they can"t form a mental picture as easily. To properly declutter, you have to start detaching yourself from your home. Make the rooms look as large as possible by removing extra furniture, books, objects and wall hangings. Set aside some time to repaint colorful rooms a soothing beige, cream or linen. This will make the rooms look even bigger and give the buyers more breathing room.

Any decorative object which you leave in a room should be used as a tool to attract the buyer to a special feature. Place an interesting candle holder in the fire place, or a few small plants on the mantle. Draw the eyes to windows with lamps and neat end tables.

Despite all your efforts, be mentally and emotionally prepared to hear your agent tell you that you still need major improvements if you want to get the price you had in mind. Consider it a good thing that the professional agent you hired is being completely honest with you. You want to have a real estate agent who knows what and when things need to be done. Talk to anyone you can about the good agents they have had in the past. Get a feel for the agent"s strengths by asking them as many questions as you can before committing to a contract. If you have trouble getting a hold of them right from the beginning, then that is your first sign that they may not have the time or capacity to give you the proper amount of attention.

Your agent should thoroughly discuss the marketing plan for selling your home. Deciding on the price will be one of the most important aspects of this plan. Depending on your home and the time of year, there will be several approaches to combining the need to sell with the need to get the right price. For example, if you live in a desirable neighborhood, you may be able to go a little higher than you thought, but may not want to if there are many nearby homes for sale at the same time. Trust that your agent will inevitably come up with the right strategy, but be outspoken about your opinion. Although you aren"t the professional, it"s always possible that you will have an angle that your agent didn"t consider.

When you are going through the real estate process, there will always be plenty of people with tips, ideas and advice. All the input can occasionally do more harm than good, so take everything in as much stride as you can. Just make sure that your agent keeps you in the loop through the whole process and make your home as appealing as much as possible. With a clean house and a clear strategy, you should be able to sell your home much more quickly and easily than you thought.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Visit us online at www.561realtor.com You can get many useful Real Estate Reports and Informational Guides for FREE! Invaluable info when selling or buying a home.
 
The Real Problem with Real Estate Agents PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, 02 October 2008 12:00
Real Estate Agents - the issue

For many years it"s been every home movers nightmare, not just the moving and the hassle of packing up home, not just the outrageous taxes, stamp duties and other moving costs. The thought of paying estate agents fees for whatÂ’s often known as "money for old rope". Well the government has now told them to clean up their act. Though this was raised in June 2004 and still nothing has been enforced.

The tricks real estate agents use
England house purchasing process needs to be undergoing some dramatics changes. Estate agents are asking buyers for up to £1000 backhanders to enable them to have the properties they want ahead of the crowd. This is a total misuse of position and yet has gone on for years. The money lines the estate agents pocket and is never seen coming off the house price or future fees.

Outrageous Fees
While a % is used as an estate agents fee, the work involved in sales doesn’t reflect the payment. You could market most properties for a few hundred pounds, yet the average payment is between £3000 - £5000.

Undervaluing
To get a quick sale, estate agents will undervalue a property, that sale takes place with minimal work and the fees taken are easy money. This is why it"s recommended that a homeowner always takes three independent valuations before agreeing to go with an agent.

Estate agent lies
Never, surely not. In 1979 and act was passed to make it legal that all details are to be accurate and passed on to the property seller. In fact, this is rarely enforced.

Gazumping
A study showed that one in five buyers were gazumped. This was often due to estate agents marketing properties while under offer.

In Ireland they have moved away from the percentage system as prices have gone out of control. The average cost to sell a house is around £700, which is a lot lower than the average 1.75% that estate agents ask for in England.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

The for the full report visit Rental Property Management
 
Finding a Great Listing Agent for Your Home: 8 Tips PDF Print E-mail
Tuesday, 16 September 2008 10:01

If you"ve decided to list your home, you"ll be paying a real estate agent a significant amount of money to the hard work of selling your home. Therefore, you have the right to expect prompt attention, good service, and protection. Here are eight tips for finding a good real estate agent:

1) For your protection, you want a knowledgeable real estate agent to act as a buffer between you and strangers, and to protect you from law suits that might result from your lack of knowledge concerning contract and real estate law.

2) You don"t want your agent to be too busy, but you do want them to be relatively successful, because it shows that they list homes at the right price and succeed in getting those homes sold.

3) You want your agent to offer assurances that they"ll show your home regularly, that they provide proper signage, MLS coverage, and will create a great sales flyer to hand out to prospective buyers and to other agents.

4) Don"t lock yourself into long-term listings. Depending on the market, sixty days may be long enough to show what an agent can do for you. It also allows you to back out of your agreement if you"re unhappy with your agent for any reason.

5) Make sure there are no hidden costs in your listing or sales contracts. For instance, some companies charge a "quick sale fee," sometimes as much as $1,000, if your home sells quickly. Make sure all of the real estate fees are explained, in detail, at the very beginning.

6) You can negotiate a lower commission, if that’s important to you, which might be the case in a fast-moving market, where an agent might not need to do anything to sell your home other than placing a sign in your yard and listing it with the MLS.

7) Be wary if an agent tries to pressure you into agreeing to pay more than your fair share of closing costs, in order to entice buyers. The listing agent works for you, and their first concern should be to net you as much profit as possible.

8) Of course, you also want your agent to be personable. You may like them in person, but it’s also worthwhile to call them at the office, to see how they sound on the phone. If they sound professional and friendly to you, they"ll probably impress potential buyers that way, too. Make sure they have a cell phone, as well, to allow both you and potential buyers to get in touch with them quickly and easily.

Choosing a listing agent is important if you want to list your home for the right price and sell it in as short a time as possible. Do your homework, interview several agents, and choose wisely.

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

EzineArticles Expert Author Jeanette Joy Fisher

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm
 
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 Next > End >>

Page 1 of 4
Your are currently viewing: