Posts Tagged ‘real estate agent’

The importance of staging your home will be shown to you by an experienced real estate agent. There are many things you can do, but each home is unique and has some properties that are better highlighted while others are not made a priority for the potential buyers to experience. You and your agent will assess your home and decide what are the important things to draw attention to your potential buyers. An experienced agent may already have several buyers they are thinking may be interested in your home and will know what their triggers are and be prepared for it.

The suggestions may range from replacing bold colors to more neutral tones or removing old wallpaper and painting the room to make it look spacious and elegant. Speaking of spacious, if a room seems a little too narrow, hanging a mirror in just the right place can make the room seem a little larger than it actually is.

The kitchen is usually very important to buyers. The appliances may need to either be updated or at least look newer. The cabinets may also need to be cleaned up. New hardware on the doors of the cabinets may also be a huge selling point.

If your closets are small, remove half the contents and put like colors together to make them look larger and roomier than they are. Add some shelves if possible to make it look more organized.

Have the carpets cleaned and deodorized to make the room seem fresh. There is nothing worse than having a seller walk into a stale smelling room. Fresh flowers can also help this and they are also very beautiful to look at.

Bathrooms must also be very clean and luxurious. The tub must be inviting, the sink must also sparkle and the toilet should be clean the top should be down.

There are many other suggestions that can be made. If you want more information about your home, contact me and I will be glad to help you.

Some people think that just because there is so much information online and it is readily available that they can learn enough about real estate to buy or sell their own home!  It’s true that it is possible.  But what are the tradeoffs?  Well, let’s think about it…

Knowledge:

How much do you really know about real estate?  Do you know what the market is really like or just what you read about in the paper?  How will you come up with a price for your home?  Do you understand all the legal paperwork that has to be organized and executed properly to make it a safe transaction for both the buyer and the seller?

Advertising:

Sure you can advertise your home by just sticking a sign outside and people will come by everyday knocking on your door, right?  Um, probably not!

Well then I could put an ad in the local paper…  Maybe that will work?  Well, what’s the circulation?  How many different newspapers are in your local area?  Do they charge for the ad?  How long will it take, how many months can I run the ad?  How many people will really read it?  Unfortunately not many!

I could advertise online with all those other people trying to advertise their homes online!  Ok, how long have all the other homes been online waiting to sell?

Advertising your home is a very important component of selling it.  Do you have the time to research the best places to advertise?  Do you have the funds available for the advertisement?  These are all things that are handled quite expertly by a real estate agent.  An aggressive agent that is working for you will advertise in many different ways: in print, on the web and possibly on the radio.

Time:

How much time will you spend chasing down the buyers or sellers, or writing and placing advertisements and looking up legal jargon?  If time is money, figure it out.  What is your time worth?  There is a ton of paperwork that has to be done.  Is a lawyer cheaper than the real estate agent?

Negotiation:

Are you a good negotiator?  This is a key element to buying or selling your home.  Again a lawyer could be used in place of an agent, but who will charge more in the end.  Negotiating with a construction company for a new home can be a challenge even when you are working with an agent, builders are in the business to make money not concessions.

Questions after the closing:

There are always questions after the closing regardless of how smooth it was.  Whether it be yours or the other party these questions may have ramifications if not answered properly.  Is there tax liability on either party, what is the correct amount, how was it calculated.  A good real estate agent can answer these and more.

An experienced and reputable agent will take care of all your advertising needs.  They know the market, they have the network of buyers and sellers already.  They have the knowledge to make sure you are protected properly and have all the right paperwork done at the right time, as well making sure you get what you deserve if you are selling or if you are buying, making sure you pay what you should and no more!  A good agent will even counsel you on making the right mortgage decisions.

There are so many decisions to make when buying or selling a home make sure the best decision you make is in hiring the right agent that will work tirelessly for you and your family.