Real Estate Information

Over the last few weeks we've taken a look at some of the crucial ingredients that will help you maximize the value of your home if you've decided to sell. It's important to price your home to the market and not fall into the trap of "chasing the market." Making your home "market ready" by completing reasonable repairs and updates a must. And if you really want to stand out in a crowded market, then staging your home to create an emotive connection with prospective buyers is a must. So what is missing? If you're serious about selling your home, you will want to seek  a professional to help you sell your home faster and for more money.

There are several things that you may want to consider before selecting a competent real estate professional to represent you. In Tennessee, real estate agents must be licensed by the Tennessee Real Estate Commission to represent buyers and sellers in real estate property negotiations and transactions and receive any type of compensation. However, not all licensed real estate agents are REALTORS. Only real estate professionals who are members of the National Association of Realtors and agree to uphold its Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice earn the right to be called REALTORS.

You'll want to know how many homes your prospective agent sells on an annual or monthly basis. Did you know that 80% or more of all homes are sold by less than 20% of all agents? The reasons are many, but in simplest terms the top producers in any market are dedicated full time to their business. They are also keenly aware of changing trends, especially as it relates to pricing and marketing your home.

You should find value in many resources that most active real estate professionals bring to the table. They should have knowledge of the reputation and abilities of other industry providers that will help you through selling or buying a new home (painters,movers,landscapers, etc.) and are usually willing to recommend two or three for you to talk with. While it's helpful to have a recommended list of contractors and vendors who will help make your home market ready, it's even more important to know that your agent has a good track record of working with industry professionals ( home inspectors, mortgage originators, closing attorneys, etc.) in addition to fellow agents. In this day and age, you never know when your agent's relationships, professional to professional,  might be the glue that holds your deal together at the closing table.

Finally, and maybe most important of all, you'll want to consider the professional skill level and integrity of a prospective agent. Does he or she appears knowledgeable? Do you trust them? Can they answer difficult questions? Do they ask good questions of you? Are they willing to go the extra mile? Do they suggest innovative ideas and approaches that you have not considered? Do you have the confidence that he or she can get the job done? And in the end, maybe the most important question... does this agent really care about me?

Are you wondering why your home has a For Sale sign in the front yard and not a Sold sign? If so, there might be several reasons why your home sweet home has been shown over and over again without even a single offer coming your way.

Many objections such as architectural design, location or school zones can't be modified to attract a buyer. You can't just pick up your home to a different school district . Instead, you'll need to be patient and wait for the right buyer to come along and fall in love with your home. Better yet, you can take an aggressive approach and try to avoid common mistakes and missed opportunities that would have hastened the sale.

There are at least four positive steps that every buyer can take to increase their chances of a quick sale even in a buyers' market. Properly pricing you home is a must. In addition, if you're  home is more than a few years old, some items may need to be freshened, replaced or even updated in order to compete against newer homes. Even then , the home must be properly staged for presentation to connect with the prospective buyer. Finally, you'll want to improve your odds by working with an experiences real estates professional who will work hard for you and look out for your best interest.

Determining the right selling price is one of the most crucial decisions you can make. Too often emotion gets in the way and we try to squeeze just a little too much out of our home - and fall into the trap of chasing the market. In other words, the comparative sales in your are might suggest a price of $250,000, but you just insist on listing your home just a little higher at $265,000. Unfortunately, after a few weeks or months your home has not sold so you lower its price to $255,000. yet during that same time period, the comparable home price has declined by 3% to $242,000. Even as you lowered the price of your home, you lost ground in relation to your competition - in other words your chasing the market trend but never catch up to it.  In most cases, the longer it takes to sell, the lower the price.

If your home is priced right, you will normally receive highly interested and qualified buyers during the first four to six weeks after listing. If you have little or no traffic, the home is almost certainly overpriced. Another rule of thumb is that after 15 showings with no offer, you can assume that the market has rejected your home. If price is not a factor, something else is.... and we'll take a look at other possibilities.

Over the last few weeks, we've been discussing some of the ways to improve the likelihood that your home will sell at its highest possible price, given market economic conditions. Last week we considered the importance of reasonable updates and repairs to help your home better compete against new construction and communities, in addition to the obvious and not so obvious reasons for sell your home so quickly . Are the right updates and pricing enough to make your home stand out in the crowd? Probably not.

There are more than 2,500 homes listed on the MLS in Rutherford County - including new and "experienced" ( more often referred to as ex-listing homes) single family home and condos that span a wide array of price ranges, What can you do to separate yourself from the pack? The answer may be as simple as staging your home.

Staging refers to a process that neutralizes your home with the intent of appealing to as many prospective buyers possible. In other words, you're trying to eliminate as many objections as possible so that no one will be turned away when they first open the door. You might need to temporarily put away some of prized possessions, if there is any chance that someone would find them less than desirable.

Most homeowners will need to engage the assistance of a professional to guide them through the process. Our unique Staging Magic SM service begins with a "market ready" list of action steps designed to help your home sell faster at the best possible price. National surveys have shown that stages homes sell for up to 7 percent more than homes that have not been staged .. and more than twice as fast! For the most part, we discussed the general principles behind updating your home. One of the most important considerations during the freshing of the home is paint, flooring and / or counter upgrades, It is critical that selected improvements are neutral and in style with current trends ( including any accent colors and finishes)

Once all of the updating is complete, the staging team merchandises your home by carefully positioning small furniture and other home accents to present a look and feel that will generate stronger buyers interest - even in a tough market. The objective is to create an atmosphere that appeals to the senses of as many prospective buyers as possible. The desire is to create an emotive connection that enables then to visualize themselves living in your house. It helps when the staging coordinates and ties everything together.

While staging may look easy, be careful not to confuse the concept with decoration. It is very important that you select qualified professionals to stage your home and guide you through the entire preparation process. To round out our series on preparing your home to sell, next week we'll explore ways to identify the right people to help maximize your value.