Sonoma County Closed
Sales Statistics
As a
homeowner, you can play an important part in the timely sale of
your property. When you take the following steps, you'll help
your RE/MAX Sales Associate sell your home faster, at the best
possible price.
A well-manicured lawn, neatly trimmed
shrubs and a clutter-free porch welcome prospects. So does a
freshly painted - or at least freshly scrubbed - front door.
If it's autumn, rake the leaves. If it's winter, shovel the
walkways. The fewer obstacles between prospects and the true
appeal of your home, the better.
Here's your chance to clean up in
real estate. Clean up in the living room, the bathroom, the
kitchen. If your woodwork is scuffed or the paint is fading,
consider some minor redecoration. Fresh wallpaper adds charm
and value to your property. Prospects would rather see how
great your home really looks than hear how great it could
look, "with a little work."
Dripping water rattles the nerves,
discolors sinks and suggests faulty or worn-out plumbing.
Burned out bulbs leave prospects in the dark. Don't let little
problems detract from what's right with your home.
If cabinets or closet doors stick in
your home, you can be sure they will also stick in a
prospect's mind. Don't try to explain away sticky situations
when you can easily plane them away. A little effort on your
part can smooth the way toward a closing.
Homeowners learn to live with all
kinds of self-set booby traps: roller skates on the stairs,
festooned extension cords, slippery throw rugs and low hanging
overhead lights. Make your residence as non-perilous as
possible for uninitiated visitors.
Remember, potential buyers are
looking for more than just comfortable living space. They're
looking for storage space, too. Make sure your attic and
basement are clean and free of unnecessary items.
The better organized a closet, the
larger it appears. Now's the time to box up those unwanted
clothes and donate them to charity.
Bathrooms sell homes, so let them
shine. Check and repair damaged or unsightly caulking in the
tubs and showers. For added allure, display your best towels,
mats and shower curtains.
Wake up prospects to the cozy
comforts of your bedrooms. For a spacious look, get rid of
excess furniture. Colorful bedspreads and fresh curtains are a
must.
Let the sun shine in! Pull back your
curtains and drapes so prospects can see how bright and cheery
your home is.
Turn on the excitement by turning on
all your lights - both inside and outside - when showing your
home in the evening. Lights add color and warmth, and make
prospects feel welcome.
Potential buyers often feel like
intruders when they enter a home filled with people. Rather
than giving your house the attention it deserves, they're
likely to hurry through. Keep the company present to a
minimum.
Dogs and cats are great companions,
but not when you're showing your home. Pets have a talent for
getting underfoot. So do everybody a favor: Keep Kitty and
Spot outside, or at least out of the way.
Rock-and-roll will never die. But it
might kill a real estate transaction. When it's time to show
your home, it's time to turn down the stereo or TV.
Be friendly, but don't try to force
conversation. Prospects want to view your home with a minimum
of distraction.
No matter how humble your abode,
never apologize for its shortcomings. If a prospect volunteers
a derogatory comment about your home's appearance, let your
experienced RE/MAX Associate handle the situation.
Nobody knows your home as well as you
do. But RE/MAX Sales Associates know buyers - what they need
and what they want. Your RE/MAX Associate will have an easier
time articulating the virtues of your home if you stay in the
background.
When prospects come to view your
home, don't distract them with offers to sell those
furnishings you no longer need. You may lose the biggest sale
of all.
When prospects want to talk price,
terms, or other real estate matters, let them speak to an
expert - your RE/MAX Sales Associate.
Your RE/MAX Associate will have an
easier time selling your home if showings are scheduled
through his or her office. You'll appreciate the results!
Selling
your home . . .
So you’ve decided to sell your home and
have a fairly good idea of what you think it is worth. Being a sensible
home seller, you schedule appointments with three local listing agents
who’ve been hanging stuff on your front doorknob for years. Each
Realtor comes prepared with a "Competitive Market Analysis" on
fancy paper and they each recommend a specific sales price.
Amazingly, a couple of the Realtors have
come up with prices that are lower than you expected. Although they back
up their recommendations with recent sales data of similar homes, you
remain convinced your house is worth more. When you interview the third
agent’s figures, they are much more in line with your own anticipated
value, or maybe even higher. Suddenly, you are a happy and excited home
seller, already counting the money.
But
which Realtor do you choose?
If you’re like many people, you pick
Realtor number three. This is an agent who seems willing to listen to
your input and work with you. This is an agent that cares about putting
the most money in your pocket. This is an agent that is willing to start
out at your price and if you need to drop the price later, you can do
that easily, right? After all, everyone else does it!
The truth is that you may have just met
an agent engaging in a questionable sales practice called "buying a
listing." He "bought" the listing by suggesting you might
be able to get a higher sales price than the other agents recommended.
Most likely, he is quite doubtful that your home will actually sell at
that price. The intention from the beginning is to eventually talk you
into lowering the price.
Why do agents "buy" listings?
There are basically two reasons. A well-meaning and hard working agent
can feel pressure from a homeowner who has an inflated perception of his
home’s value. On the other hand, there are some agents who engage in
this sales practice routinely.
Behind
the Scenes
Whichever the case, if you start out with
too high a price on your home, you may have just added to your stress
level, and selling a home is stressful enough. There will be a lot of
"behind the scenes" action taking place that you don’t know
about.
Contrary to popular opinion, the listing
agent does not usually attempt to sell your home to a homebuyer. That
isn’t very efficient. Listing agents market and promote your home to
the hordes of other local agents who do work with
homebuyers, dramatically increasing your personal sales force. During
the first couple of weeks your home should be a flurry of activity with
buyer’s agents coming to preview your home so they can sell it to
their clients.
If the price is right.
If you and your agent have overpriced,
fewer agents will preview your home. After all, they are Realtors, and
it is their job to know local market conditions and home values. If your
house is dramatically above market, why waste time? Their time is better
spent previewing homes that are priced realistically.
Dropping
Your Price...Too Late
Later, when you drop your price, your
house is "old news." You will never be able to recapture that
flurry of initial activity you would have had with a realistic price.
Your house could take longer to sell.
Even if you do successfully sell at an
above market price, your buyer will need a mortgage. The mortgage lender
requires an appraisal. If comparable sales for the last six months and
current market conditions do not support your sales price, the house
won’t appraise. You deal falls apart. Of course, you can always
attempt to renegotiate the price, but only if the buyer is willing to
listen. Your house could go "back on the market."
Once your home has fallen out of escrow
or sits on the market awhile, it is harder to get a good offer.
Potential buyers will think you might be getting desperate, so they will
make lower offers. By overpricing your home in the beginning, you could
actually end up settling for a lower price than you would have normally
received.
Details of a Listing
Contract
Obviously the name of the seller and the
property address will be included in the listing contract. There are
many other things that are included, too, and you should be aware of
them.
Price
and Terms of Sale
When setting the terms of sale, the main
thing you are concerned with is the price. You should have a basic idea
of what your home is worth by keeping track of other sales in the
neighborhood. Plus, you have probably interviewed at least two real
estate agents and they have given you their own ideas. Exercise great
care in determining your asking price, making sure not to set it too
high or too low.
In addition to the price, you will
disclose what personal property, if any, goes with the house when you
sell it. Personal property is anything that is not attached or fixed to
the home, such as washers, dryers, refrigerators, and so on.
There may be some item that is considered
"real property" that you do not intend to include in the sale.
Real property is anything that is attached to the home. For example, you
may have a chandelier that has been in your family for generations and
you take it from home to home when you move. Since the chandelier is
attached to the house, it is considered "real property" and a
reasonable buyer would normally expect it to go with the house. The
listing contract should make clear that it does not, and your agent
should also enter this information with the Multiple Listing Service.
Multiple
Listing Service
Your listing contract should specify
whether or not the house will be listed with the local MLS (multiple
listing service). It is definitely in your interest to have the house
listed. This is because your sales force is automatically multiplied by
however many agents are members of the local MLS. If your house is not
listed, then you only have one agent working for you instead of many.
Agency
Duties of a Listing Agent
The listing contract will specify that
your agent is acting as a "seller’s agent." This means that,
in the sale of your house, they are working for you and only you.
However, there may be times when your listing agent has a client who
wants to buy your home. For that reason, there is a little "wiggle
room" in the listing contract. If your agent also represents the
buyer, the listing contract should specify that they provide an
additional disclosure that details their duties as a dual agent.
The contract also provides permission for
your listing agent to act as an agent for others on other transactions.
They can continue to list other properties, and represent buyers looking
at other homes.
Lockbox
A lockbox is a basically a padlock with a
cavity inside where a key to your home can be placed. Only someone with
an electronic key or the combination can get into the lockbox and access
the key. Having a lockbox available at your house makes it easy for
other agents to get access to your house.
Without the lockbox, agents representing
buyers would have to set appointments to meet you or your agent at the
house so they could gain access and view the home. This would be
inconvenient. Since almost every other house does have a lockbox
available, if you do not allow one most agents will simply not show your
property. You will miss out on lots of potential buyers.
The listing contract specifies whether
you allow a lockbox or not. It is locked into place, usually on the
front door and cannot be removed. Only other agents can access the key
that is located within the lockbox.
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