How To Hater Proof Your Home

Part 2 of ways to Hater Proof Your Home when you list it for sale.

In Part 1, we discussed the impact of odors and over-pricing on your ability to sell your home in today's market.

Today, we will discuss Dirt & Messes and Little Malfunctions.

House Hater Complaint #3:  Dirt and Messes.  Most people think that their home will show well if they keep it clean (ie. dusted, vacuumed, swept).  While cleanliness is a very important part of the equation, another important factor often gets overlooked.  Like odors, people tend to not notice their own clutter after a period of time. It becomes a part of the landscape inside their home.  So, again, like odors, while you may not notice it any more, potential buyers will notice nothing but the clutter when they visit your home.  Things like dirty dishes in the sink, piles of laundry, piles of papers, magazines and books, scattered toys, unmade beds and unironed clothes piled in the corner next to the ironing board will create a big distraction to buyers.  Instead of seeing the great kitchen, open living room, beautiful view and detailed decor, they will only see the mess and either shy away from making an offer or make a lower offer because they feel the home needs work. Keeping the clutter at bay while your home is on the market is crucial in getting it sold quickly and for the best price. If you don't have space to put everything away, rent a storage unit and clean out as much as you can.  You will need to clean it out and box it up to move anyway; why not get it done now and make your home give it's best first impression to everyone who visits it.

House Hater Complaint #4:  Lots of little malfunctions.  All of us tend to think our homes are in fantastic condition.  After all, you have the A/C system maintained regularly, you've got granite and dual paned windows, you had the floor professionally polished and carpets steam cleaned, you painted the walls - all in preparation for putting your home on the market.
That's all fantastic - all the non-cosmetic work you've done to maintain and improve your home should be trumpeted in your marketing materials and the cosmetic items will (or should) speak for themselves.  The reality is this - buyers who visit your home won't be running your dishwasher or testing the A/C system during their visits (they know this will be done during the inspection process). What they will do, almost unconsciously, is:

• flick light and fan switches
• open or close windows coverings, closet, room and entry doors
• open and close drawers, cupboards, gates and fences
• hold handrails on stairways
• turn on faucets and flush toilets

They will notice even the smallest things (uneven floors, water spots from past leaks, uneven trim) while looking at your home. During the buying process, buyers subconsciously are trying to justify in their minds why they should purchase a home. Little imperfections give them reason to justify a low offer or maybe not even making an offer on an otherwise great property.  You don't want them to think "what could be wrong that I can't see". 

Fixing many of these items is usually inexpensive.  You will do yourself a big favor by fixing them before putting your home on the market.  If you are concerned that you might miss something a buyer will notice, have your agent walk through the home with you to make a list of what needs to be fixed.  Again, making the best first impression possible will make a big difference in the long run.  You will get your home sold more quickly and for more money if you do.

Some aspects of this post were taken from an article written by Tara-Nicholle Nelson for Trulia's Real Estate Realist.

This completes our series on Hater Proofing Your Home when Listing It For Sale. Check back soon for more valuable tips regarding buying or selling a property.

How to Hater-Proof Your Home, Before You List It

Avoiding "haters" is nearly impossible, unless you hide in a closet and never interact with anyone. When putting your home up for sale, you are opening your home and everything about it up to everyone, including the "haters".  As a home seller, you job is not to try to make your home be all things to all people.  That said, you don't want to be the house that nearly every buyer and broker sees, rolls their eyes and utters the same few, predictable deal-killing criticisms.  Fortunately, what is predictable is avoidable.
Over the next few posts, we will explore the most common things buyers hate about listings they see.  In the process, you'll get equipped to sidestep those issues and, in large part, hater-proof your own home.

House Hater Complaint #1:  Odors. This may seem like an obvious situation that most home sellers naturally avoid.  Unfortunately, it is a very common complaint from potential buyers and their agents after viewing properties.

Viewing a home sounds like it's all about the visual of the experience.  And visuals are critical - your home should be in its Sunday best, so to speak, when it's being shown, in terms of being spruced, staged and clutter-free.  But when a buyer comes to see your home, they don't turn off the rest of their senses.  There is nothing that can turn a buyer off from a home, they might otherwise like, more quickly than a powerful, bad odor - in particular, cigarette and pet odors in a house that seems to have been well-cleaned.  This could create the concern that they might be permanent and that the buyer might not be able to get rid of them without dropping some serious cash on cleaning or even removing wall, window and floor coverings.

If you are a seller and you know that someone has been habitually smoking in your home or that you have had a "challenge" with pet accidents, do not ignore the problem.  Also, do not think that because you had the carpet shampooed or the drapes cleaned, or because YOU can't smell anything, that the problem is gone.  The fact is that the human sense of smell very quickly gets used to smells that it lives with or is surrounded with on a regular basis.  So it's critical to get your agent, stager or even your friends and family members (who don't live with you but love you enough to be honest) to help you detect bad smells and odors, and make sure they are eradicated by any means necessary, before you place your home on the market.

House Hater Complaint #2:  Glaringly extreme overpricing.  With the availability of information today through various Real Estate websites, buyers are more educated than ever when it comes to home values.  If buyers realize that a home is "slightly" overpriced, they will still see it to see if they like it enough to make an offer and negotiate a favorable price.  If a home is overpriced by a larger percentage or amount, buyers will monitor it to see if and when price reductions occur before spending their time actually visiting it.  Then there is the kind of overpricing that makes buyers run away from a property as fast as they can.

When it comes to extreme overpricing, most likely buyers will sit and watch to see if the sellers will ever get serious about selling. Extreme overpricing usually requires several price reductions which, in turn, makes the property sit on the market for a much longer period than necessary.  The listing becomes stale and, in the long run, sells for much less than if it had been priced properly to begin with.  With our market getting stronger every day, we are seeing newer listings sell very quickly (often within days and with multiple offers) because they have been priced properly.  The greatly overpriced properties from a year ago are still sitting on the market and being ignored by buyers. When it comes to pricing, we often say to our sellers:  "Do you want to be on the market or in the market?"


In our next post, we will discuss the affects of cleanliness and imperfections.

Some aspects of this post were taken from an article written by Tara-Nicholle Nelson for Trulia's Real Estate Realist.

Questions for your Realtor, continued

Yesterday, we discussed questions regarding a prospective listing agent's knowledge of your community.
Today, in relation to that topic, the question is "What MLS are you a member of?"  Most people would think this question is irrelevant and assume that if someone is working in the area where your home is located, they definitely would be in that local MLS.  It would surprise you to know how many agents are not members of local MLS systems.  Here in the Naples and Marco Island area of Florida, we have two MLS systems:  The Naples Board of Realtors and the Marco Island Area Association of Realtors.  They each have their own MLS systems and those systems are not connected or share their information.  The reason knowing the answer to this is important question is simple:  You want your home exposed to the Real Estate agents who are most likely to sell your home.  An agent who is only a member of the Naples MLS but lists a home on Marco Island will only list the home in the Naples MLS.  When a Marco Island agent pulls listings to show their clients, they will not know your home is even available for sale and you will miss the opportunity to have it seen and sold.  That's not to say that a Naples agent will definitely not have access to the Marco Island MLS; many are in both the Naples and Marco Island boards just as most of the agents on Marco Island are in both MLS systems.  You just need to specifically ask what MLS(s) your home will be advertised in.  Choose an agent who is a member of more than one MLS.  This will maximize your exposure to other Realtors and increase your chances of getting sold.

Important Information When Listing Your Home

I recently read an article regarding whether or not it makes a difference if you use a Realtor who is local to your area or one who is a little outside of the immediate area.  In large cities and metropolitan areas, this could very well be a important factor. This got me to thinking about what questions you should ask when interviewing a Realtor who is applying for the job of marketing your home for sale. Over the course of  the next few days, I am going to address these different questions and explain what they could mean to you.
Today's question:
Are you familiar with my specific community?  Here in the Naples and Marco Island area of Florida, that question has a much different meaning than in other parts of the country.  We have hundreds of "communities" (or subdivisions, as they are known in other states) as well as specific geographic areas, each with their own nuances.  Some of the communities are gated, require membership in a golf club or other type of club, allow pets, don't allow pets, have beach clubs, etc.  We also have many boating accessible communities and areas which create questions about access to the Gulf of Mexico, seawalls, docks and much more. The best way to handle these important points of knowledge is to make a list of the details of where you live that you feel a prospective Realtor should be familiar with in order to help you sell your home.  Be specific, don't just ask "are you familiar with my community?"  Instead, ask "what do you know about my community?"  Knowing this ahead of time will greatly reduce your time and stress as you go through the process of selling your home.

Tomorrow's discussion: What MLS are you a member of?

Housing Inventory Down Nationwide

We have seen a recovery in the Real Estate Markets in Naples and Marco Island.  In the article below, the report is that trend is now nationwide, especially in the hardest hit markets around the country.  This is more of an indication that we are seeing the bottom of the market.  With inventories shrinking and pending sales increasing, it is only a matter of time before pricing will be affected.  For years, buyers have been asking us when they should make their move.  With interest rates still at all-time lows, it looks like now is that time.


Housing inventory down 22% nationwide

WASHINGTON – Jan. 24, 2012 – Housing inventory slid to 1.89 million homes in December – down 6 percent from the previous month and 22.3 percent from the prior year, according to Realtor.com.

In the 145 markets tracked by Realtor.com, only Springfield, Ill., registered a year-over-year increase. Inventories plunged 49.7 percent in Miami, 49.1 percent in Phoenix, and 46.6 percent in Bakersfield, Calif.

Meanwhile, the national median price edged up 5 percent year-over-year.

Asking prices – the amount sellers include on a Realtor.com listing – climbed 32.5 percent in Miami, 21.7 percent in Naples, 21.5 percent in Fort Myers-Cape Coral, and 19.4 percent in Punta Gorda, according to Realtor.com.

However, asking prices were down 11 percent in Detroit, 10 percent in Chicago, 7.6 percent in Las Vegas, and 7 percent in Sacramento.

Source: “Housing Inventory Ends Year Down 22 Percent,” Wall Street Journal (01/19/12)

© Copyright 2012 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688

Housing Affordability Index

Housing Affordability Index

CitiesWherePricesareRising

10CitiesWhereListPricesAreRisingtheMost

Daily Real Estate News | Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Which cities are seeing median list prices increase the most? Nationally, median list prices have risen 1.60 percent to $190,000, according to year-over-year listing data from September 2011 by Realtor.com, based on 146 markets.

Yet, in some cities, median list prices in that time frame have risen more than 20 percent. Florida cities, in particular, are continuing to see some of the largest rebounds in list prices.

Here are the 10 cities that have seen the largest percentage increases in median list prices based on year-over-year data from September:

1. Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla.

Year-over-year median list price increase: 34.46%

Median list price: $215,000

2. Miami, Fla.

Year-over-year median list price increase: 25.63%

Median list price: $250,000

3. Naples, Fla.

Year-over-year median list price increase: 23.41%

Median list price: $369,000

4. Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.

Year-over-year median list price increase: 16.53%

Median list price: $233,000

5. Punta Gorda, Fla.

Year-over-year median list price increase: 14.07%

Median list price: $169,000

6. Shreveport-Bossier City, La.

Year-over-year median list price increase: 12.22%

Median list price: $176,750

7. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.

Year-over-year median list price increase: 11.93%

Median list price: $129,500

8. Fort Wayne, Ind.

Year-over-year median list price increase: 11.77%

Median list price: $112,000

9. Daytona