Free Home Sale Tips - 20 Steps for Selling A Home Fast

20 Steps For Selling A Home Fast

How To Get Your House Ready To Sell:

NOTE: The authors of this document have collectively bought and sold more than 40 properties over the years. What follows is a list of both common sense and practical advice that is helpful not only to those looking to buy or sell their first home, but also to those who've already bought or sold one. The authors are not licensed real estate brokers. The information provided here is based solely upon the authors' real-world experiences, advice gleaned from real estate professionals, and from mistakes and lessons learned over many ears. The authors make no representations, guarantees, or warranties as to the fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to this content and strongly recommend that all individuals looking to buy or sell their real property, consult with a professional before doing so.

First Impressions - Curb Appeal

First impressions are always critical. If prospective buyers don't like what they see from the curb, they probably won't even bother to look inside. One of the first things you should do before putting your home on the market, is get in your car and drive around other neighborhoods with similar homes styles and values as your own, but in areas that you are not as familiar with, and just look around.

Ask yourself what your first impressions are of the properties you see, both those you like and those you don't particularly care for. Things that you find negative or positive are likely to be same things that most prospective buyers of your home will look for, so make a list of the things you like and dislike, and apply those impressions honestly to the presentation of your own home.
1. The driveway is part of any first impression, and big oil spots on any driveway are an immediate negative. Here’s a quick tip that may be the solution for oil spots on your cement driveway: Try Drano or any high-powered liquid drain cleaner and sweep those oil stains away! Please use caution and read all manufacturers warnings before you begin this task.
  
  If you have a garage, put your vehicles inside the garage and keep the door closed, rather than leaving them parked in the driveway. And if you have any inoperable vehicles or miscellaneous car parts laying around -- get rid of them!
2. Of course, getting your cars into your garage assumes that you have also cleared away all the clutter in the garage. Prospective buyers want to see a garage that actually looks like it has room for their own cars, so make sure it is neat and tidy. Put tools away and/or use peg boards or organizers to make your garage-shop area look clean and professional.
3. Your lawn and garden areas are also critical to any first impression. In the spring and summer, keep your lawn mowed and trimmed at least once per week, and free of general clutter; weed, prune, fertilize, and water as needed to keep the lawn looking its best. In the fall and winter, rake up all the leaves and twigs at least once per week, and if there is snow on the ground, make sure to keep your driveway and walkways free and clear. Pick up the kids' toys, and if you have them, pull the pink flamingos out of the flower beds and store them away, because they really are a matter of personal taste.
4. RVs, Boats, and trailers: If you have a dedicated RV pad, prospective buyers who need one, may benefit from seeing your RV or Boat parked there, so that they can see how their own boat or RV might fit (but make sure they are clean and presentable). If you do not have a dedicate RV pad, and you're parking your boat or trailer on the side-lawn or in the driveway, you should strongly consider moving it to a temporary storage facility (and don't forget to repair or restore the lawn if applicable). If your RV pad isn't paved, you should consider bringing in a load of new gravel to cover the area, so that it will be clear to potential buyers that this is a well-kept and dedicated parking area. Make sure to provide your realtor with the specific dimensions of the RV pad too, so that this information is readily available to prospective buyers.
Deciding on a price & How to go about selling.

Deciding on a price is critical. You must have a good idea of what your home is worth so that you can establish a reasonable price. Whether you pay for an appraisal yourself, or obtain a reliable market analysis from a real estate company, some analysis of the relative values of other "comparables" is essential.

Getting an FHA/VA Appraisal: UNLESS you are going to allow FHA/VA financing (which is assuming your home is qualified) it is highly recommended that you DO NOT obtain an FHA/VA appraisal. The reasoning for this is simply because an FHA/VA appraisal is virtually guaranteed to be lower than the true market value of your home, and once that appraisal is on the books so to speak, potential buyers and agents (and conventional lenders) may use that appraisal to their own advantage, and you will be stuck in the shadow of that appraisal for up to a year, regardless of what any other independent appraisal might be.

If your home is priced too high, it will simply sit unsold, and the longer it sits, the harder it will be to sell it. Regardless of the condition or amenities your home has to offer, if you are priced more than 5-10% above the market comparables, you're going to have a very hard time. If the market comparables for value are not adequate to allow you to sell your home at a profit, you need to reconsider, but otherwise, if you must sell, you also have to recognize that you may need to accept less than what it is worth in order to sell it quickly.

Always remember that the most important rule about home values and pricing is: Your house is not worth one penny more than someone is actually willing to pay for it.

The other important decision you have to make, is whether to try selling the home yourself, or to list with a realtor. The advantages to selling it yourself, are primarily related to a higher profit margin - you won't be paying a sales commission. However, the disadvantages are that you have to do everything yourself, and that includes negotiating contracts, qualifying a buyer, negotiating the pitfalls of the closing process, etc.

Going with a traditional realtor removes the burdens from your shoulders -- well most of them anyway. You still have to keep your home clean and ready to show, but the realtor will have responsibility for everything else. That everything else however, is going to cost you (on average) 6-7% of the sale price. If your home is listed (sells for) $100,000, you're going to owe your agent somewhere between $6,000 - $7,000. If you owe more than $93,000 on your existing mortgage, then obviously, you're not going to put much money in your pocket after you've paid the commission.

Before you make a final decision, it is usually best to at least contact a real estate broker. Most will provide you with a free consultation (which is their opportunity to get their foot in the door and get a listing contract), give you a general idea of what your home is worth, give you a general idea about the market in your area, and give you a general ballpark idea of what it will cost to list with them.

Property Disclosures (Buyers & Sellers)

Sellers: When filling out any property disclosure, it is vitally important that you do so thoroughly and honestly. Lying on a property disclosure is like taking the express way into a court room. Deliberate omissions or deception on property disclosures are one of the most frequent causes of problems at closing, as well as in post-sale litigation. If something is broken, say so. If something has failed and been repaired, explain the circumstances fully and be sure to have documentation of the repairs and/or insurance claims information available for inspection. Failing to disclose a problem will inevitably cost you more after the fact, than mitigation would have cost in the first place. And remember too, that just because a screen is missing, or a door-jam is broken, or the water heater leaks, does not necessarily mean you will have to fix it -- that is, unless you fail to disclose it and get caught lying about it later.

Buyers: As part of your right of inspection, the seller's agent (or if you request disclosures from the seller directly) must provide you with a copy of the disclosure and any supportive documentation or explanations given by the seller. Make sure that you have this disclosure with you when you make your inspections and/or provide a copy to your licensed professional inspector. If you have any questions about any item on the disclosure, put the issue in writing and submit it to the seller/seller's agent, and make sure the issue or problem is fully addressed to your satisfaction BEFORE you close.

Appraisals & Inspections

If you are listing your home with an agent, an official appraisal is probably not necessary, because a good agent from your local area, should already have access to "comparables" and should know the best price-point for your home. If you are selling it yourself however, you'll have to do all the "comparables" research on your own. When selling it yourself, an independent appraisal is a good thing to have before you stick a sign in the yard. An independent appraisal will cost (depending upon the area of the country), anywhere from $250 to $500 dollars.

If you live in an area of the country where insects (particularly termites or carpenter ants) are a problem, having your home inspected by a professional pest control company is highly advisable. Remember that most home warranty programs do not cover insect damage, so even if you are offering a home warranty, buyers may want a current pest inspection certificate as well, and may expect the seller to provide it. If you already have a pest control contract, it is also a good idea to check with the company to see if they will extend or transfer any remaining contract services, guarantees, or warranties to a new owner.

As with appraisals, the seller is not required to have a general home inspection, although most sellers will have to complete a property disclosure (as mentioned above). Generally, it is the buyer who must obtain an inspection (or should) before they close, but if there are any questionable items or issues with the home, particularly involving the mechanicals, roof, or foundation, or which are in question at the time they fill out the property disclosure, the seller may want to obtain their own independent inspection to either bolster their documentation for the property disclosure, and/or as a follow-up once repairs have been made. Many inspectors will provide a free follow-up if repairs or issues are noted, so that the seller can confirm that repairs or other mitigations have been accomplished. As with appraisals, the cost of a professional home inspection will vary, but they generally average about the same as an appraisal.

Paint & Drywall

First (before you paint), you should fill in and repair all nail holes or other similar damage to your walls. Common drywall damage, such dings, dents, scrapes or holes, such as those from door knobs, or damaged corner beads from moving furniture, etc., should all be patched or repaired before you start painting or showing your home. Be sure to replace any missing or damaged door stops while you're at it, to prevent any new damage from occurring.

Next comes paint. As with the first impressions above, it may be helpful for you to get a number of appointments with a selling agent, or look for open houses in your area, so that you can walk through some other homes to see what different colors have on your own impression. If dark plum or bamboo green don't suit your taste, then guess what, that orange peel faux lemon yellow in your kitchen will probably have the same impact on your prospective buyers.

It will be worth your while to paint your walls in neutral colors, such as off-white, but try and stay away from grays and greens, and stay toward the neutral tans. Lighter neutral colors have the added benefit of making the spaces appear larger and more open. If you’re not up to painting your entire house, at least paint the areas that make the biggest impression, such as the entry/foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen and master bedroom.

And don't forget the exterior paint. If you are not up to it, or able to paint the entire exterior, make sure to touch up any areas that might be peeling or damaged and/or consider repainting trim pieces with a more neutral tone that matches the main body. Again, brilliant colors on the exterior are very difficult to pull off, and unless the colors were chosen specifically to fit or match a given architectural style or period, neutral colors are always better.

If painting is out of the question, then at the very least, give all your walls and chair rails a good thorough cleaning and touch up any damaged areas.

Carpets, Drapes, & Flooring

It is always a good idea to have your carpets professionally cleaned. If you cannot afford to have it done professionally, then you should at least consider renting a quality cleaning unit from your local grocery store, hardware store, or home center. Don't forget to move furniture out of the rooms being cleaned, so you clean the entire carpet, and be sure to allow adequate dry time before replacing the furniture - - you DO NOT want mold or mildew resulting from a damp carpet under the sofa!

For non-carpeted areas, and particularly on hardwood floors, make sure they are thoroughly cleaned and/or polished. Repair any serious damage to vinyl flooring or consider replacing it if the damage is severe. An area rug thrown over damaged areas might work in the short term, but that approach will come back and bite you in the end, because the prospective buyer will catch it in an inspection and then it'll become a point of contention.

Severely worn or stained carpets are an immediate turn off to prospective buyers. If your budget allows, consider replacing them, and remember the paint rule: neutral colors are best. The alternative to replacing worn or stained carpets is give your buyers an "allowance" as part of the purchase. Your realtor can provide you with the details and options for how best to accomplish this, but generally you will want to give the buyer a direct cash back allowance at closing, which comes out of your closing proceeds, rather than a discount off the sale price, so that the buyer has cash in hand to immediately make the improvements.

Hardwood flooring is quickly coming back into fashion, so if you're lucky enough to have them, and your carpets aren't looking their best, consider pulling up the carpet and having the hard wood floors refinished. If they are in good condition, it will probably be cheaper to have them cleaned and polished than it would be to buy new carpet.

Draperies and other window coverings should be thoroughly cleaned, even if they are not going to be included with the purchase of your home. Broken or dysfunctional window blinds should either be removed entirely before putting your home on the market, or replaced.

Furnishing

Furniture: Take a good look at your furniture. Is it worn or shabby-looking? Consider this a good time to replace the worn out stuff. You can move what you purchase to your new home, so it’s a good investment. If you can’t afford to replace all of the worn items, pick the most obvious that need replacement. If you can’t afford new couches/chairs, etc., find the new slip covers; they are everywhere, and are inexpensive to boot. If you have too much furniture in a room, store it or sell it. REMEMBER: Less is more!

Remember, you’re not selling furniture; you’re selling a house! Keeping this in mind, you may want to remove any large or ornate pieces of furniture. Unless your taste in furniture is the same as the potential buyer’s, large pieces aren’t going to help your house sell. Their absence, however, will make your house appear spacious and inviting.

Accessories: Find colorful accessories for the sofa and the beds. Check your walls. Do you need some pictures? You may find some inexpensive ones at thrift stores that might fill the bill. Pay special attention to how you hang them. Most people put them way too high on the wall where they float way above eye level. Be careful where you put religious pictures or family pictures. Keep them in the bedroom or hallway, NOT IN THE LIVING ROOM OR KITCHEN. The middle of the picture should be about eye level for a 5 foot 6 inch person. Mirrors are a delightful way enhance size in small rooms or take advantage of less than good light.

Candles and Potpourri: With their wonderful aromas and romantic light are a great addition to your home presentation, but don't over-do it. Pick very mild "fresh & clean" fragrances - nothing Musky, Flowery, or too Sweet. If you offend someone's nose, or worse someone's allergies, they'll be running for the driveway long before they ever get around to seeing your beautiful master bath! And NEVER burn smoky incense.

Bedrooms: Look at the bedspreads in the bedrooms too. A modest investment in new spreads or light coverings, a couple of new accent pillows, etc., may spruce those rooms up tremendously, and they are an investment you'll get to take with you.

Knickknacks: Unless all those little collectables are in a display case/area, they just create clutter to the eye. And as with the pink flamingos, your collection of Elvis plates or decanters are probably best put away. If you want them in the future, pack them up now (save yourself some time in the future) or add them to your garage sale inventory. REMEMBER: Less is more!

Plants: Take a good luck at your house plants. Retire all those half-dead plants (both in your yard and in your house) that you keep thinking will come back to life someday. They make messes by dropping leaves, and to put it frankly, “having no plant is better than having a dead one.” A quick solution is a trip to the nursery for a few fresh new plants!

Staging: In general, most prospective home buyers lack imagination when it comes to visualizing their own furnishings in your home or space. This does not mean they won't notice the pink flamingos, the green shag carpet circa 1972 or the bamboo wallpaper in bathroom, but this overall visualization problem gets even worse if your home is empty. Less is more, but empty can be a disaster!

* If you are forced to move before you sell your home: You should consider having a professional staging company come in and provide some basic furnishings until your home sells. Essentially, you will be renting furnishings and paying an interior design professional to "pimp your house"! Some sellers may also want to consider using a staging company to address aesthetic issues with their own furnishings while the home is on the market, but both options can be a bit pricey, so make sure you consult with a professional before hand, and make sure that the benefits outweigh the costs before going this route. If you can stage an empty house for $1,500 and sell it in a month, or not stage it and have to make 6 more mortgage payments while it sits unsold... well, you get the idea.

Pets

Having pets can be a serious problem when trying to sell your home, especially if you have cats, because there is nothing worse than walking into a home and smelling the odor of a dirty cat box. If you have cats, make sure you are cleaning the litter box at least once every day (twice a day is better!), and you should absolutely replace the litter and wash out the litter box every week.

Dogs (regardless of their size) should never be in the house when it is being shown, and if possible they should not even be left outside, unless they are in dedicated kennel which is locked. Dogs and cats can both become a serious liability for you as a homeowner if a prospective buyer or agent is bitten, so you should leave the house and take these pets with you when your home is being shown.

Food dishes and water bowls should be kept clean and as out of the way as possible, and bedding and toys should also be kept clean and be put away when the home is being shown.

Birds, small animals, snakes or other reptiles, should be kept in their cages, and these cages should be kept clean at all times. Fish aquariums should likewise be kept clean. NOTE: venomous pets, which includes certain species of tropical aquarium fish, should not be kept in the home if there is even the slightest chance that they could come into contact with a prospective buyer, their children, or other sales agents.

It is a very good idea for any home owner with dogs, to post a notice on their front door, warning potential selling agents of this fact, and reminding them that they should have an appointment before showing your home, so that you can arrange to secure or remove the dog from the home before showing.

Lighting & Windows

Let there be light!!! Astonishingly, many people keep curtains, blinds, and drapes closed most of the time for privacy (?) but when your house is for sale, be sure to open them all! Your house will look larger and brighter. Make sure that your windows are crystal clear clean. Dirty windows are very obvious to lookers and even dim the outside view.

If you have a window that opens on an eyesore, it is O.K. to keep that window covered completely, or put a sheer curtain over it. Same thing goes if you have a window that is damaged in any way (moisture in those double panes, etc.).

We addressed drapes and window coverings earlier, but if your screens are worn out and full of holes, replace them too. If they are covered with dust, leaves, cotton, spider webs, outside debris, take them off and spray them with the hose. If you can’t replace tattered screens, take them out entirely to give that clean appearance. While you are looking at windows, don’t forget to dust those window sills (inside and outside).

Add a dramatic appearance to your house with increased wattage light bulbs. If you have any 3-way bulbs, make sure they are turned to their highest setting. Many people now prefer compact fluorescents for energy savings, but they typically do not put out as much light as a standard incandescent, so if you have the CF bulbs, consider switching back to regular incandescents temporarily (for show purposes).

If you visited any model homes or new subdivisions lately, you will have no doubt seen that builders know all about light, skylights, high intensity beams and/or halogen lights, and highlighting areas. Follow their example and make your home look as bright and open as possible.

TURN ON ALL THE LIGHTS before the lookers come into your home. Don’t go from room to room with them and flip lights off and on. Even turn on the bathroom lights. LET THERE BE LIGHT!!!

General Atmosphere

Bake some chocolate chip cookies or bread before your home is shown. The aroma adds enormously to that warm and fuzzy feeling as buyers enter. And leave some of those fresh baked cookies or a bowl of candy in the kitchen for everyone to sample.

Adjust the thermostat and bring the temperature to 72 degrees before showing, and if you have ceiling fans, turn them on to their lowest settings, as this will not only help circulate the air, but also adds to the overall appeal.

If you have a nice stereo or central sound system, consider putting on some light up-beat music, but not too loud. The music should be instrumental (no vocals); such as a contemporary jazz or classical mix. Again, not too loud -- the volume should be just barely above the background -- you want the prospective buyers to be able to carry on a normal conversation, not to have to compete with a rock concert or full symphony orchestra.

Advertising

When listing your home with an agent, the primary reason is usually the perceived reputation of the company, and their main sales pitch is usually centered around their ability to get your home noticed by the largest possible audience. The seller's listing agreement (contact) will generally spell out in some detail, the efforts and methods the company will use to advertise your home. At minimum, this includes a sign and flyer box in your front yard, a photo session, and a listing on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) as well as within the local market real estate trade magazines. The MLS is vitally important, because it provides access to buyer's agents all over the country.

FYI: the MLS used to be a very closed system, but today, many of the major brokerages offer public access portals to the MLS through their own websites, so that anyone with Internet access can now use that service to locate the home of their dreams, with or without an agent to assist them. All of the national brokerages, like Prudential, ERA, Coldwell Banker, Century 21, and many more, provide free access to the MLS through their public websites.

One of the historical drawbacks to selling your own home has always been access to the MLS, which until very recently, was not available to private sellers. However, the advent of the Internet has opened a wide variety of other options for listing your own home for sale, and many of these options are very inexpensive, or even FREE! In certain areas of the country, private sellers now have access to the MLS and can place their own ads for as little as $279.00. An example is: www.fidelityutah.com. Other web sites like "www.forsalebyowner.com" and "www.craigslist.org" offer other options, and many local newspapers and 'city sites' offer standard classified ad space, and again, many of these can be used for little or no cost.

You need a sign in your yard, and you need flyers with lots of details (and color photos), but don't stop there. If you are selling it yourself and the MLS is available to you, and you have the necessary budget, then you should use it. When listing your home, ask lots and lots of questions and make sure you take full advantage of all their "included" advertising options offered, and don't be afraid to ask about enhanced ad services that might be available for a little more money. If you're doing it yourself, track down every free listing service you can find. Use your favorite Internet search engine to locate real estate advertising opportunities in your area. And don't forget your local newspaper classified sections as well as advertisers like Harmon Homes (www.harmonhomes.com) which produces those free magazines you typically find around the entrances and exits of your local grocery store.
And don't forget to tell all your friends and neighbors, and hand them a flyer. If you're allowed to do so, pass around a few flyers to your co-workers in the office, or post one on the company bulletin board! You might even offer a $100 finders fee if one of your friends or neighbors refers someone who buys your home. The more eyes you can get looking at your home, the better your chances of attracting a buyer. Whether potential buyers are driving down your street, reading the Sunday paper, browsing the Internet, or heard about your home from a friend or co-worker, the more attention you can get, the better!

Open Houses: The Pros and Cons

The Pros: The more potential buyers you can get to tour your home, the faster it will sell. Open houses, when done properly (meaning properly advertised and staged), tend to attract people who might not otherwise know that your home is on the market, or may not have considered looking in your area, or who may not have bothered to make an appointment to see it otherwise. Few people buy a car without taking it for a test drive, so getting potential buyers to come in and look around your home increases your chances of selling it.

The Cons: You have vacate your home for a full day/s, and that usually means packing up the dog and the kids and all their stuff, and finding something else to do all day. Open houses can also mean having large numbers of people going through your home all at once, and usually without the direct supervision of your agent and/or without the assistance of their own agent. Having large numbers of people stopping by without an appointment opens your home up to a greater risk of theft, as unattended people have greater opportunity to go through closets or drawers, and have a better opportunity to take things without being noticed.

Unfortunately, an open house is like an open invitation to professional thieves and gives them the perfect opportunity to "case your home." Finally, an open house will generally attract a large number of unqualified buyers; buyers who cannot afford your home, but who just want to look around, eat your free cookies, and track mud across your nice clean carpets.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Open houses are responsible for less than 1% of all home sales nationwide, and most real estate professionals today, do not feel that the Pros outweigh the Cons, or that the Pros justify the risks for such a small number of potential buyers. The decision about whether or not to have an open house ultimately rests with the seller, and most agents will do them if the seller requests them, but most agents today will advise against them, or limit them to one or two sessions shortly after the home is first listed.

Hosting your own open house (selling it yourself) can also be difficult if you have children or pets that would have to remain in the home during the showing period. It is recommended that if you are going to host your own open house, that you make arrangements to get the pets and the kids out of the house for the day.

Security Issues - Opening Your Home To Strangers

Whether you are selling the home yourself or through an agent, always require an appointment for anyone to see your home, and if you are listed with an agent, never show the home yourself. Most agents will provide a key lockbox which only licensed/bonded agents can access, but agents should never knock on your door asking to show the property or otherwise use the lockbox without first contacting your agent. If having a key lockbox makes you nervous, simply tell your agent that you don't want one, and require your agent to be present for all showings.

If you decide to do an open house, make sure that you (or your agent) have at least two people in the home to conduct tours, in order to reduce the chances of any potential buyer/group being left unattended in another part of the home. The alternative, if you have a large number of visitors at once, is to request that they remain in a central area (under the supervision of one person), and wait there until the other person is available to accompany them on a "personal tour."

Remove all jewelry and other small (easily concealed) valuables, and certainly any critical papers or documents, to a secure place, either in a lockbox or safe inside your home, or in a safety deposit box at your bank. Remove other valuables (or fragile/breakables) from view, and put them in a location that is more centrally located and therefore less likely to be out of the agent's or your main view when the home is being shown.

Remove all firearms and hunting equipment from your home. Most real estate agents will recommend that you remove firearms from your home and store them off-site while your home is being sold. However, if you choose to keep firearms in the home, they should not be stuck in a nightstand drawer or wrapped in a blanket under your bed or hidden behind the winter coats in your hall closet.

Firearms left in the home should be unloaded, trigger-locked, and should be stored in a gun safe or other lockable device which is either too heavy for less than 3 people to lift, or is otherwise bolted or adequately secured to prevent easy entry or removal. Smaller (quick-access-type) hand gun safes, which can be stolen as a unit and opened off-site, should be securely bolted down or the hand gun should be removed and placed into a larger more secure gun safe. Ammunition and reloading equipment (gun powder, primers, etc.) or other potentially dangerous hunting equipment, such as bows/crossbows and arrows, should also be security locked away or removed from your home while it is being sold.

Be particularly aware of any potential hazards within your home, which might be of concern to potential buyers with small children. Most potential buyers generally try to leave their children behind when shopping for a new home, but there will be instances where they cannot or choose not to leave them behind. Move dangerous or delicate items out of reach of small hands, or purchase child-proof latches for drawers or kitchen cabinets -- these are relatively inexpensive, easy to install, and may even provide an additional selling feature for potential buyers with small children.
When showing your own home to potential buyers who bring their children with them, be sure to keep everyone together and don't be afraid to ask the potential buyer to not allow their children to roam unattended -- ask them to keep their children with them at all times.

Since most of us now have a personal computer at home, you also need to make sure they (AND THEIR DATA) is as secure as possible. If you have a laptop or other portable device, like an iPod, iPaq, etc., or other valuable electronic equipment, like digital cameras, etc., take them with you when you leave for a showing, or otherwise make sure they are all securely locked away.

Identity thieves have been known to use open houses or private home showings as an opportunity to steal wallets or other identification, but ALSO to install "backdoor" software programs onto accessible computers, which later allows them full access to those computers (AND THEIR DATA) via the Internet. Do not assume that simply because the computer is turned off, that no one will bother it. If you have a PC sitting around, and especially if it is Internet enabled, make sure it is turned off before the home is shown, but more importantly, that you've secured it from unauthorized access by setting up a login/password and disabled all "guest" access accounts.

In general, professional thieves know where to look for valuables, so if you have anything in your home which is of high-value, whether in sentimental or dollar value terms, it is best to take special precautions to secure them or to otherwise remove them completely from your home. Be aware however, that renting a commercial storage shed, may not be the best alternative, as these storage units typically have a greater chance of being burglarized than your home. A safe, a trusted friend or family member, or a bank safety deposit box is best.

Have a Garage Sale

You might as well cash in while you’re cleaning up. The money you make from a garage sale probably won't make the down payment on your new home, but it might just pay for the paint or carpet cleaning you need to do in order to sell the one you're in. Remember: one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. And look beyond the garage... check the whole house for old furniture, decorations, Christmas stuff, clothing, dishes and pans, toys, etc. And remember pack rats, if you haven't seen it or used it for more than two years, it's a pretty good bet you don't need it.

And don't forget the potential tax advantages of giving serviceable items to charity. Decide what you want to keep, what you think you might sell, and what other items you could donate to charity. For charity donations, don't forget to make a list of the items you're donating, and be sure to ask for a receipt for tax purposes.

Your local hardware store or home center will have all the signs you need to advertise around your neighborhood, but don't forget to run an ad in your local newspaper at least 2 days in advance of your garage sale. Some newspapers offer special rates for certain days or for advanced advertising, and many today also offer free listings through their website-based classified ads.

Have everything you plan to sell organized and cleaned (dusty lamps and picture frames rarely go for much more than a quarter!). Also, make an itemized list of every item you're selling, and write down the price and the minimum amount you are willing to accept for each item. Clearly mark the price on every item, and it is also a good idea to grab your camera and take a few pictures, especially of items with a value over $10, so that if someone happens to "walk off" with something, you'll have something to show the police and your insurance agent as evidence.

You don't want to give things away at a garage sale, but also remember that most of the stuff you're selling, is probably stuff you don't want, so if the alternative to the garage sale is to pack up all the old junk and haul it with you to your new home, there isn't much point in having the garage sale to begin with.

Items of significant value, which are unlikely to fetch what you want in a garage sale, might do better at a local pawn shop or swap meet, or it might be better to place a classified ad for them in the local paper. However, if the items you're selling will otherwise end up in the dump, then don't get too sentimental when someone offers you a buck or two for an item you've marked at ten dollars. The general idea is to get others to haul this junk away for you, so if you get more by selling it, than it would otherwise cost you in time, gas, and dump fees to dispose of it yourself, then you're still coming out on top.

The Dump

Before you put your house on the market, you need to "DE-JUNK". After you've held your garage sale or made a trip to the pawn shop or donated items you don't need to charity, you're still likely to have a pile of stuff you don't need or want.

THE RULE: If the garage sale doesn't work, if you can't fix it, if you can't use it, if you can't donate it, and if you can't even give it away, then take it to the dump and be done with it!

Remember to be responsible too: Recycle items that can be recycled, and make sure you otherwise dispose of hazardous materials properly. Do not leave old junk behind (and especially hazardous materials) for the new owners to clean up.

Create A Checklist For Showing Your Home

Every time your realtor shows your home, it needs to look its very best. Make a checklist of those things that need to be done (the most essential) before every showing -- below is a good basic list:
- clear the dishes from the sink - load the dishwasher - wipe down the countertops
- make all the beds - put all dirty cloths in the hamper
- close shower curtains and make sure the bathroom is clean
- turn on all the lights and TURN OFF the computer
- make sure the kids have put away all their toys
- empty all the trash cans - clear away any general clutter
- run the vacuum cleaner over the main living areas
- use a spritz of air freshener throughout the house
- gather up car keys, wallets and other small valuables to take with you
Keeping your home spotless all the time is difficult, but remember, the cleaner and more attractive it is, the faster it will sell.

Showing Your Home

If you have listed your home with an agent, then let the agent handle everything. Do NOT stay at home while it is being shown, as this tends to make perspective buyers nervous, and to feel that they cannot speak openly and honestly about their impressions, for fear that they might hurt your feelings. You want your prospective buyer to be as comfortable as possible, and you need to be completely neutral (and out of the way), so let the agent do what you're paying them to do -- let them sell it.

If you are selling it yourself, then the first thing you need to do, is put on your suit of armor. Remember that people are entitled to their own opinions and they may not like your taste in furnishing, colors, or general aesthetics. That's fine, but don't allow a buyer's comment to offend you or take it personally. If they don't like the home, they're not going to buy it no matter what you say, so just smile politely and make a mental note of any criticisms. If you remain objective in listening to criticisms, you may be able to make use of them to make positive changes and/or to change your sales approach for the next buyer. Don't let negative comments put you off -- don't take them personally.

Don't say too much, as this may come off as being pushy or over-eager, or may even give the impression that you are trying to misdirect their attention from something you don't want them to see. Be polite and respectful and answer questions (when they ask), but don't invite questions or elaborate or begin negotiating or apologizing just because the buyer may have a concern.

Always allow the buyers to raise questions if they will, but do not encouraging them to do so. When asked a question, Do NOT volunteer more information than is required for the answer. If the buyer want's more information about something, let them ask for it.

REMEMBER: What you may perceive as a problem, may not be a problem to a prospective buyer. You might look at a damaged door jam or a scratched sliding glass door, and feel the need to "explain", but the prospective buyer may not even think its a big deal. Maybe they only see the need for a little touch-up paint on the door jam, or maybe they don't even like sliding glass doors, and are planning to rip it out and put in French doors anyway. Problems (whether perceived or real) are always issues and items for later negotiation in the offer process.

NEVER agree to, or make verbal promises to change, repair, replace, or make any other concessions regarding condition or price during a showing. If a prospective buyer asks for anything like that, simply tell them that they are welcome to address any issue they may have, within the context of a written offer. REMEMBER: Verbal agreements are not enforceable, so don't make them, and by the same token, don't accept verbal promises from the buyer either.

If your sale price includes or excludes something, it should be specified in the written description of the property, and you can certainly specify or clarify it when you are showing it to a prospective buyer. General comments like "all the kitchen appliances are included" or "the washer and dryer are not included" are perfectly acceptable. They are not verbal alterations or agreements as long as they are already described in the written documents. If they are not clearly defined as included or excluded, then you need to say they are "negotiable" in the context of an offer.

YOU CAN SAY:
"The Hot Tub and Gazebo are included in the list price" or, if you receive a very positive reaction to something that is not included, you might say "The window coverings in the living room are not included, but we may be willing to negotiate, so be sure to address that in your offer if you would like to have them."

BUT NEVER EVER say something like:
"Yea, that Hot Tub leaks a little bit, but we'll fix it for you," or "The dog scratched the sliding glass door and my brother-in-law is a contractor, so he's giving me a great deal to replace it."

Swimming Pools & Hot Tubs can be problematic, especially for first-time home buyers and for those with small children who are worried about the risk potential. If you have a swimming pool or hot tub, you first need to make sure that they are clean and that the water is sparkling -- they need to look like you could jump right in! Depending upon the local ordinances, if you are required to have a restricted access area, such as a fence around the pool, make sure that fence is locked and/or with a hot tub, that the cover is in place and locked. Knowing and seeing that these security features are in place, will help ease the doubts of those who might be nervous. Whatever you do, avoid discussing maintenance issues regarding the pool or hot tub if you can. If you are asked about utility bills related to the operation of/or heating expenses for pools or hot tubs, be sure to use copies of gas and/or electric bills, rather than making verbal claims.

If you have a portable hot tub, it is generally best to offer your home for sale without it, and allow the buyer the option of negotiating to keep it, rather than including it in the purchase price. Alternatively, you might offer to include it "but only with a full price offer," so the buyer has the impression that you would prefer to keep it, rather than giving the impression that you'd just rather not have to move it.

Other Incentives: Offering a Home Warranty

If your home is less than 5 years old, you should not need to offer a home warranty, but bear in mind that many consumers are now expecting one. Things to consider might be whether or not any of your major appliance warranties could be extended to the new owner (you'll have to contact or read the original manufacturers warranty policies to make that determination). If they are not extendable, then you should consider making a warranty negotiable - - say, in exchange for a full price offer, or offering to split the cost with the buyer -- which in either case, needs to be addressed in the context of the written offer -- and would not be purchased until closing.

If your home is between 5 and 10 years old, you should consider offering a home warranty, or offering to split the cost of the warranty with the buyer. In the latter case, again, this should be addressed in the context of the written offer, and you would purchase the warranty at closing, rather than at the time of listing.

If your home is more than 10 years old, you should simply offer a home warranty at your own expense, and purchase it as soon as you place the home on the market. Chance are, the water heater (if it hasn't already been replaced) will be on it's last leg by now, and most buyers of older homes will expect the seller to provide a home warranty. Purchase the home warranty and you'll also enjoy the benefits if any covered items that might go south on you before the sale.

Getting An Offer - Making A Counter Offer

Whether you are selling the home yourself, or you have an agent, the prospective buyer's offer is really nothing more than a tentative agreement to purchase under certain conditions. The first thing you have to do is read the offer carefully and determine what if any conditions or concessions the buyer may want, are agreeable to you. It is after all, your home, so you should not simply accept the offer out of hand. Sometimes a buyer will stipulate in their offer, that it is final, and that they will not consider a counter-offer. However, this does not mean that you are prohibited from countering the buyer's offer (or calling his bluff). If the buyer "walks," but the offer wasn't acceptable to you as written, then you haven't lost anything. In many cases however, if the buyer truly wants the home, they will give due consideration to your counter-offer, even if they've previously indicated they would not.

Dealing with anything you believe to be unacceptable or unreasonable in an offer can be difficult. And having a professional agent analyze the offer can help you identify those things which are only minor, from those things that are deal breakers. You probably feel some emotional attachment to your home and while you want to sell, you certainly don't want to give it away, or to have to guarantee the moon and the stars in order to accept an offer. Do the best you can to address any conditions or concessions and let logic and reason, rather than emotion be your guide.

If the offer is unreasonable, then you can simply allow it to expire or counter. A counter offer might concede to one or more conditions, while rejecting others, or make different conditions or modify some of the concessions. For example: If the buyer wants the house but doesn't like the carpet and wants you to replace it with something he chooses, you might counter with an option to give back $500 dollars at closing as a carpet allowance, so that the buyer can use the money to buy what he wants, and not further obligate yourself to any performance condition beyond the closing date. If the buyer wants you to pay all of the closing costs, you might counter with an offer to pay one half of those costs. If the buyer wants you to pay for a 2nd appraisal or wants you to help cover the cost of an inspection, you have the right to say no. If you believe you'll need 5 days from the closing/recording date to move out, but the buyer wants you out in 24 hours, you might compromise at 2 days or 3.

Remember: Everything is negotiable. The buyer wants your home at the cheapest possible price and on his terms, while the seller obviously wants to get the most he can, and certainly no less than the reasonable market value. E.g., what the buyer wants and what the seller wants are by definition two different things, so the first offer is rarely the one to be accepted. Be patient, but also be realistic, and negotiate in good faith, and you'll generally arrive at an agreement that both parties can be happy with.

Making It Happen

listen to your realtor and the mortgage people

Offer to pay all or part of the closing costs. Remember, even after an offer is accepted, the buyer and seller still have the ability to negotiate. Perhaps the buyer intended to pay his own closing costs, and the offer was made in good faith with that in mind, but due to circumstances, now recognizes that he has a problem, and can't pay 100% of those costs. The seller could certainly walk away from the deal at that point, and perhaps even walk away with the buyer's earnest money, but the seller could also come back and agree to pay half the closing costs, in order to avoid having to start all over again from scratch

The seller might offer to carry back a second trust deed on the house - that may help a lot of people qualify for a loan. Say your house is listed for $200,000 and you owe $100,000. Your buyer can qualify for a loan of $175,000. You carry back the $25,000 so the buyer can get his financing. You might even offer a discount if paid off early. The buyer may be able to obtain a second mortgage to pay the note off. S/he would need to get approval for an equity line or second trust deed, which can close in as little as 4 days after the buyer takes possession of the home. Have a talented lender assist with this type of a deal, but realize that even though the buyer agrees verbally to this agreement, they aren’t obligated to retire your note any sooner than the note itself states. The motivation to retire your note quickly has to come from the discount incentive. Sounds tricky, but it works. The risk of course, is that if the buyer can't come up with the remaining $25,000, you may end up spending a good part or more than that amount in legal fees, other expenses, and in general time and aggravation, in order to take back the property.

Pay on the principal: You might consider offering to pay 1 to 3 years of principal on the buyer’s new mortgage (based on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage) if the house is purchased by a certain date. Your realtor or lender can give you precise figures, but a 3-year principal prepayment usually costs about 1.5% to 2.5% of the loan total amount. This may be a small price to pay to sell your house quickly, but to the buyer, it’s like getting 3 years of principle on their 30-year mortgage wiped out! Generally, the buyer will negotiate a price concession in lieu of a seller’s concession, but as indicated above, everything is negotiable right up to the moment the deal is closed!

Price may be a sensitive issue, but it is the one thing that will help you sell your house faster. If you price your house right in line with the market, it’s not likely to sell quickly. That’s because only the 10% or 20% of houses with the best prices sell each month in most parts of the country. If you live in a high turnover area, you may disregard this of course. And of course, if you "dump" your home at a price well below what the real value is, you'll probably have a buyer on the hook within a week, but you'll probably also have a bunch of angry neighbors too! Dumping a home at a price more than 20% below the home's market value, can drastically devalue the property of everyone around you with a comparable home, and it doesn't do much for your bottom line either!
The best price point for most homes that need to sell within 90 days, is going to be between 5-8% below the market. NOTE HOWEVER that this advice generally applies to those homes that fall within the median average price range for a given area. A million-dollar mansion, even if priced at 10% below its market value, is still going to be much harder to sell, than a median-priced home that is priced spot-on at its appraised value, because there are simply fewer buyers for that higher-priced home.

Another option for a quick sale can be very attractive if the market conditions are right. If you have a fixed interest rate on an assumable mortgage, and your rate is 2 or more percentage points below the best rates currently available, AND your prospective buyer has enough cash, you can usually sell that home quickly.
EX: You have an assumable mortgage at 5.25% fixed, on a home priced at $300,000, but you only owe $250,000 (so you have $50,000 in equity). A buyer with $50,000 in cash would likely have little difficulty getting qualified to assume your mortgage, and would much prefer to assume your lower-rate mortgage and "cash you out" with the $50,000, than have to put that same $50,000 down to buy a new mortgage at 8%. Obviously, the market conditions must be just so in order to make this deal happen, and of course you have to have an assumable mortgage to begin with, but when these conditions do exist, your home isn't likely to stay on the market very long.

Saturday, 15-Dec-2007 21:23:57 GMT