Selling a House: Make Your Home Stand Out

In today's market and the increased choices buyers have when shopping for a home, one of the most important factors you need to consider (other than price of course) when getting your home ready to sell is the condition of the home.

Condition reigns supreme over all else.  Buyers have so many choices right now that anything that looks like it needs work can be enough to kill your chances of selling.  People prefer move-in condition, so if your property isn’t, you probably need to do what it takes to make it that way.  It's worth the money to remove old wallpaper, paint, replace carpet, and replace the roof if it’s almost at the end of its life.  Offering an allowance doesn’t work in the market we're in now because buyers tend to overinflate the costs of these improvements, anticipating double or triple what it will actually cost you to just go ahead and do it now. 

Plus, with the number of homes for sale, if yours is the one that needs to be painted, chances are it’s also the one that won’t sell. 

There are exceptions, such as homes that need a complete overhaul, so it’s a good idea to discuss your home and your plans with a real estate agent before getting started.

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Closing Escrow: What Does it Really Mean?

Escrow is a written agreement between the seller and buyer of a property. The moment escrow comes into existence, a third party person, known as an escrow holder, comes into existence. An escrow holder is liable for all the activities executed by both the parties for the purpose of closing the escrow within the desired period of time.

An escrow holder acts as an unbiased personal agent for both parties and collects the funds and documents for the smooth transfer of ownership.  An escrow holder is trusted by both the parties, and carries out his job faithfully.

For the successful closing of escrow, the escrow holder strictly follows the instructions of the escrow deed.  If the conditions of escrow are not fulfilled, the seller can ask the escrow holder not to hand over the documents to the buyer.  And, in the same manner, if the buyer's requirements are not fulfilled, he can also ask the escrow holder to not move the funds.

In some states, attorneys act as the escrow agent or holder.

Closing of Escrow

Closing of escrow can not be completed without the fulfillment of certain conditions. To ensure that both parties are performing according to the guidelines of escrow, the escrow holder inspects the ongoing process on regular intervals.  If there is any lack of performances, by any of the parties, the escrow holder will immediately report this matter to the concerned party, and follow the instructions, as given.

All the expenses related with the escrow are paid by both the parties as decided.  Payment of title insurance, attorney fees, fees for preparing the documents, notary fees, and loan fees are some of such expenses. The payment details are given in the escrow.  All of this is to assure that no disputes arise between the seller and the buyer.

The process of escrow is simple, and can be fulfilled by buyer and seller. But, just because of the nature of activities and involvement of paperwork, keeping an escrow holder is always advisable. Closing of escrow under an escrow holder becomes easy, and all parties involved in the transactions can easily relate their responsibilities with each other to avoid creating extra work, and also to save time.

How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days

How to sell your home fast using real estate auctions; This CNN report describes how to sell your home fast with the 5 Day Sale Method.

(The video runs 2:58)

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Four Pricing Tricks to Help Sell Your Home Faster

Americans are constantly buying stuff.  But most of us don't do a whole lot of selling — which means we don't have much experience at setting prices.

Want to improve your odds of finding a buyer for your home?  As you try to unload your property, consider these four pricing tricks:

• Looking slim.  We all know that $1.99 is barely less than $2. Yet retailers continue to use this trick — because there's ample evidence it works.  "When we look at prices, we make judgments in a fraction of a second," explains Manoj Thomas, a marketing professor at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management. "We read from left to right. We anchor our judgment on the first thing we see."

• Stacking up. As buyers check out your house, they'll have in mind a price they are willing to pay. The good news: You can influence that price.  "You should list higher than you're willing to accept," says Alan Cooke, a marketing professor at the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business. "If you ask a high price, people use that as information in setting their reference price.  But there's also evidence that, if you set a price that is implausibly high, the impact will be less than if you set a price that's more reasonable."

In addition, you can affect the reference price of buyers by, for instance, sharing the price of competing properties in the neighborhood.  The obvious caveat: Only pass along this information if the comparisons are in your favor.

• Sending messages. Imagine you're selling your house, which you figure might fetch a little under $600,000.  A round number, such as $595,000, will convey quality, while a precise number, like $595,385, will indicate a bargain.  The reason: We associate precise numbers with lower-priced goods.  A precise number may also signal that you have given a ton of thought to the price and you aren't inclined to negotiate.  Trying to settle on an asking price for your home?  "If it's a new development and you're trying to give the impression of prestige, you would want to go for the round number," advises Vicki Morwitz, a marketing professor at New York University's Stern School of Business.  "But if you're going for the quick sale and you want to give the impression of a bargain, you would want to go for the precise number."

• Cutting prices. In today's housing market, many homeowners are struggling to find a buyer.  Thinking of dropping your asking price?  Suppose that, as in the above example, you initially asked $595,385.  If you lower the price to, say, $578,495, potential buyers may perceive the price drop as relatively modest.  "You want to make the computation as easy as possible," Cornell's Prof. Thomas says.  "If you use digits that make computation difficult, it will lead to a perception of a small difference." 

 

What to do?  You might specify the dollar discount — or, alternatively, lower the price from $595,385 to maybe $580,385 or $575,385.  That way, it will be easy for buyers to calculate the price drop.

 

 

 

Why Use A Real Estate Agent?

In an effort to avoid paying commissions to a real estate agent, many people opt for the for sale by owner (FSBO) route.  While this may seem like an enticing option for most homeowners, the reality can be much darker.

Real estate is fraught with legal complications.  Buying and selling can be quite stressful, especially if you don't know exactly what you are doing.

First of all, real etate agents are trained in all legal matters involved in the sale of real estate.  Sometimes, these sales go smoothly, but sometimes, clauses, liens, and contingency contracts can make them very complicated.  It is hard to know when life is going to throw you curve-balls.  The best thing to do is be prepared, and a real estate agent comes not only trained in theoretical real estate cases, but, ideally, with a whole history of experiences from which to draw from.  This makes them extremely helpful when negotiating the legal aspects of buying or selling.

Even if your home sale goes off without a hitch, all the paperwork involved can be overwhelming.  What are you signing?  Sometimes it's hard to tell when the language is full of legal and industry terms that the average person just isn't familiar with.  Your agent can translate these forms, helping you understand what each step in the transaction is all about.

An agent is connected to a whole network of other agents.  This means that weather you are buying or selling, an agent or broker can help.  They have a network of other professionals to market your home to.  They have clients waiting to buy homes, and colleagues with more clients, waiting to buy more homes.  Some homes barely need to be marketed because there are buyers already waiting to purchase just that type of home.

Many people think they can only find what they need themselves, but a good real estate agent will be able to listen to your needs.  A good agent knows the market, and knows the area, and may be able to suggest places you didn't even know existed.  They are also familiar with local services, and can recommend lawyers, notaries, inspectors or even contractors they personally know do good work.

Overall, an experienced real estatet agent or broker may cost a little in commission, but the service they provide is worth while.  If someone can help you not lose money, or save you a lot of time, aren't they worth what you paid them?