If you are considering selling your house now as the spring market comes upon us there are some things you can do to help get an offer. In today's market it is not uncommon to see homes on the market for six months or longer. Not to long ago you would have to make a snap decision for fear of losing that home to someone else. Well the market conditions have changed dramatically. So what can you do to help ensure your home sells?
Stage your home properly. That probably can be the number one reason to help a home sell. With homes on the market for an average of 145 days in the Charlotte market you need something to give you an edge. To many times you are going to be competing against your neighbor for that sale.
One thing I tell ALL of my sellers. Let's go preview the other comparable homes on the market that you will be competing against. This will give you an idea of what that buyer is looking at. A lot of people think there home is ready for sale when it really may not be. It is easy for us to say you need to do this or that. However; it is much better to show them.
I recently did this for a listing I had. After previewing four other homes in the subdivision that were comparable to theirs; they agreed on what they needed to do to help make their home more marketable. I delayed putting the listing on the market to give them ample time to get the home ready. When they were done I brought my professional home stager in with me to preview the home and agreed it was time.
The home was on the market a total of 3 days and we had a showing. The agent told me they were about to make an offer on one of the other homes in the neighborhood but when she went to pull comparables up saw this was on the market.The buyers wanted to see this first.
Three hours later we had an offer.....My sellers not only got the money they wanted for the home but are closing more quickly than they anticipated. Both the sellers and the buyers are very happy with the deal.
Now, will this happen every time. Probably not. But in a market that right now swings in the buyers favor with all the available homes out there; why would you not try to give yourself every advantage?
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Home Inspection Options In North Carolina...Which One Do I Choose?
In North Carolina on the offer to purchase contract the buyer has two options in regards to home inspections. But which one is the best alternative for me? That question was posed to me last evening on an offer I was writing. I have given a lot of thought to this in the past and weighed in on both the pros and cons of each one.
Currently, a buyer can choose between option one or option two for a home inspection clause. Option one says that they will have the home inspection done in X amount of days and that they can request the seller to do "necessary repairs" as outlined in the small paragraph. If it is outside of the scope of those repairs and the seller refuses to do the repairs or offer any compensation for such repairs the buyer is bound to purchase the home.
Now, there is one other contingency clause to that which is the cost of repairs. If the necessary repairs exceed a set dollar amount (negotiated in the offer to purchase) the buyer can still walk away even if the seller agrees to fix them. However; if it is out of the scope of those necessary repairs regardless of the cost the buyer is bound by the contract.
On option two the buyer pays the seller a flat fee. Generally, I have done from $50.00 to $100.00 fee (depending on the price of the home). This is a non refundable fee that the buyer gives the seller in order to have the right to have a home inspection and any other inspection they wish. The seller agrees to take the home off the market during that time frame. If the buyer does not like what the home inspection reports read he can walk away no questions asked. They can also request that the seller make the repairs to the home. If the seller refuses to make the repairs or make and contingency for the repairs the buyer still has the option of walking away.. They just lose their option fee deposit.
If the buyer and seller agree on repairs or buyer accepts property in current condition the option fee is applied to the purchase price. Thus if the buyer goes forward with the contract he does not lose that money.
So, which one is better? I have been advocating for Option two with all my buyers. You have such a narrow scope of "necessary repairs" on option one. With all the hidden things that we can not notice the cost to repair could be to dramatic for the buyer to repair. In addition you may have some issues that are not in need of immediate repair but in the near future will need repairing...These are things that the seller in not required to do on option one and could be more than you could afford to do with the new home.
As I tell my buyers, "is $50 to $100 worth the peace of mind of knowing you can walk away if the unexpected repairs seem to be too costly for you?" Generally speaking it is. With over half of the buyers ut there right now (according to a recent study I read) being first time home buyers they may not have the extra money needed to do the repairs or maintenance to the home.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com
Currently, a buyer can choose between option one or option two for a home inspection clause. Option one says that they will have the home inspection done in X amount of days and that they can request the seller to do "necessary repairs" as outlined in the small paragraph. If it is outside of the scope of those repairs and the seller refuses to do the repairs or offer any compensation for such repairs the buyer is bound to purchase the home.
Now, there is one other contingency clause to that which is the cost of repairs. If the necessary repairs exceed a set dollar amount (negotiated in the offer to purchase) the buyer can still walk away even if the seller agrees to fix them. However; if it is out of the scope of those necessary repairs regardless of the cost the buyer is bound by the contract.
On option two the buyer pays the seller a flat fee. Generally, I have done from $50.00 to $100.00 fee (depending on the price of the home). This is a non refundable fee that the buyer gives the seller in order to have the right to have a home inspection and any other inspection they wish. The seller agrees to take the home off the market during that time frame. If the buyer does not like what the home inspection reports read he can walk away no questions asked. They can also request that the seller make the repairs to the home. If the seller refuses to make the repairs or make and contingency for the repairs the buyer still has the option of walking away.. They just lose their option fee deposit.
If the buyer and seller agree on repairs or buyer accepts property in current condition the option fee is applied to the purchase price. Thus if the buyer goes forward with the contract he does not lose that money.
So, which one is better? I have been advocating for Option two with all my buyers. You have such a narrow scope of "necessary repairs" on option one. With all the hidden things that we can not notice the cost to repair could be to dramatic for the buyer to repair. In addition you may have some issues that are not in need of immediate repair but in the near future will need repairing...These are things that the seller in not required to do on option one and could be more than you could afford to do with the new home.
As I tell my buyers, "is $50 to $100 worth the peace of mind of knowing you can walk away if the unexpected repairs seem to be too costly for you?" Generally speaking it is. With over half of the buyers ut there right now (according to a recent study I read) being first time home buyers they may not have the extra money needed to do the repairs or maintenance to the home.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Selling Your Home...How is Your Curb Appeal?
One of the first things I do when I am about to go to a home to list it is take pictures of the exterior of the home. Curb Appeal is probably one of the top things you can do to help get people to look inside of your home. When prospective home buyers are doing a search online (which studies show 87% do now), the first thing they see is the exterior of the home.
No matter how nice your home is inside, if you cannot get a prospective buyer to get beyond that initial picture of your property you are not going to get many showings and probably have to settle for less than you anticipated.
I was watching a show on tv yesterday and they were talking about curb appeal and home pricing. They mentioned that a home that has nice curb appeal on average gets up to 10% more for their home than one that does not. Other studies I have read online say that the return can be as high as 25%. I believe a lot of it has to do with the home and the price point you are selling. But a good rule of thumb I tell my sellers is to expect 5% to 15% more than they would have received if they did nothing. And most importantly, chances are the home will sell quicker than if they did nothing. This does not mean that you have to go out and spend thousands of dollars hiring a landscape designer. A lot of times it can be some simple things you do to enhance the exterior of your home.
On older homes that do not have vinyl siding or brick a fresh coat of paint can brighten and make a home look thousand percent better. If you have vinyl siding look to see if your home may be in need of a power washing. Both are inexpensive measures to help add to the attractiveness of your home.
Consider planting some shrubs and making your grass greener. Well positioned shrubs and a yard that looks like it has been cared for can make a huge difference on someone walking in to look at your home.
Also, as we are approaching the spring season consider planting some colorful flowers to add some color to the exterior of your home..Or depending on the style of home you have and inexpensive measure I recommend to homeowners is to add window boxes to their home. They add some old world charm and make the home look bright and vibrant.
Another is making sure the driveway and front yard are clear of kids bikes and toys. You want to create an atmosphere where the buyer is envisioning their items not worrying about running over or stepping on your children's toys.
I always take three to four pictures of the exterior from different angles driving in to the home. I then go over the pictures with my sellers and we discuss ways to enhance the exterior of the home without spending a lot of money. it is like the old adage...."you only get one chance to make a first impression". So you need to make that impression count.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com
No matter how nice your home is inside, if you cannot get a prospective buyer to get beyond that initial picture of your property you are not going to get many showings and probably have to settle for less than you anticipated.
I was watching a show on tv yesterday and they were talking about curb appeal and home pricing. They mentioned that a home that has nice curb appeal on average gets up to 10% more for their home than one that does not. Other studies I have read online say that the return can be as high as 25%. I believe a lot of it has to do with the home and the price point you are selling. But a good rule of thumb I tell my sellers is to expect 5% to 15% more than they would have received if they did nothing. And most importantly, chances are the home will sell quicker than if they did nothing. This does not mean that you have to go out and spend thousands of dollars hiring a landscape designer. A lot of times it can be some simple things you do to enhance the exterior of your home.
On older homes that do not have vinyl siding or brick a fresh coat of paint can brighten and make a home look thousand percent better. If you have vinyl siding look to see if your home may be in need of a power washing. Both are inexpensive measures to help add to the attractiveness of your home.
Consider planting some shrubs and making your grass greener. Well positioned shrubs and a yard that looks like it has been cared for can make a huge difference on someone walking in to look at your home.
Also, as we are approaching the spring season consider planting some colorful flowers to add some color to the exterior of your home..Or depending on the style of home you have and inexpensive measure I recommend to homeowners is to add window boxes to their home. They add some old world charm and make the home look bright and vibrant.
Another is making sure the driveway and front yard are clear of kids bikes and toys. You want to create an atmosphere where the buyer is envisioning their items not worrying about running over or stepping on your children's toys.
I always take three to four pictures of the exterior from different angles driving in to the home. I then go over the pictures with my sellers and we discuss ways to enhance the exterior of the home without spending a lot of money. it is like the old adage...."you only get one chance to make a first impression". So you need to make that impression count.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com
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