Archive for tag Tips for selling your home
December 11, 2009 at 02:23 PM · Posted under Pat Tasker
When it comes to selling a home, there are 4 mistakes some sellers continue to make. Avoid these, and you will find yourself at the closing table within normal market times!
- DECLINING A SHOWING REQUEST! Hard to believe but many times a seller will not approve a showing, as it conflicts with their “schedule”. “Sorry, my kids are napping then” or “Sorry, we are having friends over” or one of many other reasons we have heard. Make every attempt to accommodate the showing request. It may be inconvenient, but work with it. My experience has been, if you don’t set the appointment, there may be no second chance. GET THEM IN. If you are hosting a party at 2 pm, ask if they could come between l & l:30 pm, right before the company gets there. The house will be in great showing condition. DON’T SAY NO…
- NOT DECLUTTERING! A recent consumer panel revealed this comment: “The house was so cluttered! If they can’t find a place for all their stuff, how could we? It was just too small and didn’t look good.” You only have that one chance to make a good impression. In today’s market, that starts with your online presence. If the photos show a ton of clutter, buyers will most likely pass on your home.
- TESTING THE HIGH SIDE OF PRICE. “We know we won’t get this but want to try”. If you knew that strategy would cost you an additional few months on the market, becoming “shop worn” and eventually getting even less than the indicated market price, would you still try? NO. Price it right from the start, and it will sell. You control what you take, if the buyer writes too low, just say NO. The longer you stay on the market, the lower the price you will get. Buyers start to wonder “what is wrong” with the house, must be something or it would have been sold by now. Click here for a video with more details.
- LISTEN! LISTEN TO THE PROFESSIONAL you hire. If you have picked a good experienced agent, use their experience to help you through the process. They give you advice based on past experience, education and knowledge of the market. LISTEN TO BUYERS FEEDBACK. If you keep hearing the same thing over and over, it is an issue that needs to be dealt with. As your real estate professional, I can “decode” that feedback, and tell you what to do to overcome that issue and bring in an offer!
The home selling process doesn’t have to be frustrating, if you work as a team with your agent. For some good advice when it comes to selling a home in today’s interesting market, call Pat Tasker at Shorewest Realtors 262-437-5853.
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Pat Tasker
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November 20, 2009 at 10:46 AM · Posted under Pat Tasker
At this time of year, many people think it would be a waste of time to list your home for sale. “Homes don’t sell this time of year” many people will say to me. Contrary to that popular thinking, homes sell ALL YEAR LONG.
While it may be true that LESS homes may sell between Thanksgiving and New Years, HOMES STILL SELL!! One year, during the week of Christmas, I sold a 6 homes! If those sellers had not been ON THE MARKET, they certainly would not have sold!
Some facts that show it is a good time to list your home:
Your home looks the best when decorated for the Holidays….it is clean, it is festive, it is inviting! What great conditions for a buyer to see and more importantly FEEL.
Holiday decorating creates that emotional tug on the buyers heartstrings. They will feel at home and have a warm fuzzy feeling…they will want to live there!
The house smells good! Cookies are baking…leave some out for the buyers to snack on, they will hang around just a little longer, “trying on the house”!
While there may be less traffic than other months or seasons, the buyers who do come through, will be pretty serious buyers. Looky-lous are not out kicking tires this time of year…they are holiday shopping!
Out of towners may be visiting relatives for the holidays, and available to look for homes. Transferees will take advantage of school breaks for househunting trips.
If you get a request to show your home, and you are entertaining friends that day, don’t turn down the showing! Instead, ask them to come right before the company comes…the house will be ready and look great! How perfect for buyers to see that!
If you wait until spring to get on the market, you will be joined by hundreds of others who thought buyers don’t buy during the holidays. If you get on the market NOW, you could be in your new home by spring!
Santa’s Elves aren’t the only ones working this time of year! For information on selling your home and taking advantage of the Holiday Magic, call Pat Tasker at 262-437-5853 for a no obligation marketing consultation!
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November 03, 2009 at 02:53 PM · Posted under Lisa Rossetto-Glowacki
Sometimes, the unexpected happens in life. The job opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to move back somewhere closer to family, perhaps job loss. Whatever the reason, you can have your house always ready to list by doing a small few items now. Here’s the list:
- Make sure that mechanicals in the house are properly working: furnace, air conditioning, water softener, reverse osmosis water systems, garage door openers, alarm systems, intercom systems, plumbing systems and the like.
- Make a ‘to do’ list of cleaning and develop a ‘pretend’ time-line, saying, “I will do the following in the next week”. Pick one or two only so it’s not so over-whelming.
- Clean: Doors and woodwork, baseboards, windows, those grungy patio door tracks! Also, behind refrigerator, washer and dryer. Vacuum draperies.
- Closets: Do they need to be painted? De-cluttered?
- Organize: Bookshelves; stack neatly and add a bit of decoration. Cabinets; clean out, organize, re-line shelves.
- Walls: Take a look at all the walls and see where there are drywall nicks and patch and paint those. The really ‘ugly’ wallpaper that’s still up? Take it down and paint neutral. You can always go back and decorate later.
- Basement: Start emptying the basement of clutter, box up unused items neatly, give away to charities little-used items. Do the same with the garage.
- Worn-out ‘stuff’: How are the exterior lights by the garage door? All rusted? It won’t cost much to replace them. Check other ‘old’ items as well like faucets, knobs on all cabinets, switch plates and heating vent covers. If they’re rusted, banged, ‘gross’ or older than father time, change them!
- Exterior: Take care of any building repairs. Trim landscaping. Spruce up the mailbox and the house numbers.
Don’t be scared! Stay prepared!
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Lisa Rossetto
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November 02, 2009 at 03:13 PM · Posted under Colleen Kuchta
Wisconsin winters can leave many of us wondering when it is going to end. The snow and ice are even more of a problem when you are trying to sell your home. You certainly don’t want anyone to slip and fall while trying to get inside. For buyers, driving up to a property that is covered in a sea of white snow can make every house look the same.
Here are a few ways to make your house stand out:
- Give the front door a fresh coat of paint.
- Update the lighting at your front door, newer fixtures can frame the entrance to a home.
- Replace that old worn-out door mat.
- Consider placing colorful urns or planters on either side of the front door. Planting an evergreen, holly or poinsettia in the urn will draw the buyer’s eye in as well.
- Make sure your address is able to be seen when driving by. Replace small numbers with larger ones.
- Make sure that your driveway and all walkways are cleaned, edged and properly illuminated.
- Lastly, make sure prospective buyers can picture themselves living in your house. This means not going overboard with holiday decorations. You want the décor to be tasteful and not to overpower the home itself. Give the buyer a chance to envision your home in its everyday condition.
One more thing to remember, it is getting dark pretty early these days. It is a good idea to leave the outside light on. It makes it easier to get inside, and can help prevent a buyer from slipping, too.
The Kuchta’s - Kelly & Colleen thekuchtas.shorewest.com
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Colleen Kuchta
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