Are you curious about the value of your home in today’s market.
We can tell you what your home would sell for in today’s market.
We Can Tell You The Value Of Your Home
Tips for Selling Your Home Quickly
As you may or may not know, Spring is a great time to sell your home. At Spring time we feel energized, it’s a time for renewal, we are cleaning and re-decorating, flowers are blooming and we can feel the energy in the air.
You’ve been thinking about putting your house on the market but before you put that sign at the front of your home, let’s go through a check list of things that should be crossed off before you call your realtor. These things could get you a full priced offer.
Minor Repairs
You want to make sure that your home looks it’s best when you are putting it on the market. Go through your home or have a friend come over and go through your home with the eyes of a potential buyer. A buyer may see dirty grout, chipped baseboards, missing knobs and handles, torn screens on windows , hanging gutters worn out looking paint on front door. These repairs can be an easy and cheap fix for a homeowner. If it’s not addressed it can be the difference between a low offer and full asking price.
Curb Appeal
Most of us spend so much time dressing up the inside of the house and we forget the outside. If the exterior of the house is not appealing, you may not get a buyer to even bother to go inside the home. One of the first photos that is listed on the MLS will be a photo of the front of your home. First impression count!! Invest some time and money on pressure washing the garage door, side walks and making your front door appealing, either cleaning the door or repainting it. Plant some flowers and add a new mat at the front door. Make your home look welcoming and appealing to buyers. I guarantee this will get them into your house for a look.
Revamp your kitchen
If you don’t want to go through the trouble of remodeling your kitchen – there are some inexpensive kitchen updates that you can do. Repaint your kitchen a neutral color. Buyers are not interested in your taste and style. They are looking to come in and make the home their own. Give them a blank canvas so they can envision their own style. Change out the cabinet hardware. If you can afford it, think about adding new countertops to give your kitchen an updated look. This may cost a couple thousand dollars, but you will gain so much more in the sale of your home. The kitchen is the number one seller of a home. Every penny you spend on your kitchen you get it back and more.
Show-Ready
You are preparing to sell, get your house professionally cleaned. Your home has to look its best and everything has to look clean and shiny. Invest in a professional cleaning company. Have the carpets, the tiles, bathrooms, cabinets, baseboards, pool deck, windows and more, cleaned and sparkling. Your home should be available and ready to show at anytime. Get rid of clutter, junk, packed closets and boxes. If you don’t use it every day then put it in storage.
Good Luck! If you live in the Tampa Bay Area and need help with selling or buying a home, contact us.
What Home Inspectors Look For?
Why should you get a home inspection done on the property you are purchasing?
You should always hire a professional home inspector. Buying a home is one of the biggest financial investment you will have. Your house may look beautiful, in the most desirable location and exactly what you are looking for, but you have no clue as to the structural elements of the home. Like the saying goes, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”.
So let talk about home inspection. You as a home owner want to know what would need to be repaired now, or in the near future. By having this information it allows you to make an informed decision when purchasing and negotiating with the seller.
Your professional home inspector will look at the structural elements such as foundation, roof, grounds, exterior surfaces, plumbing, attic, electrical system, appliances, heating and cooling system, and garage space. Once the inspector checks everything he will then put together a report. This can be as much as 30 pages long or more. This report will tell you exactly what was found.
This is where you decide if you are willing to do home projects which may be in your future. If not, then your may want to negotiate with the seller for credit where you can fix the things that need fixing after closing or have the seller do the fixing before the closing. Either way, the ball is in your court. Need more information on home inspections CONTACT US.
Let Find A Home You A Home
Are you ready to downsize? Or maybe you’re moving to the Tampa Florida area and is looking for a home that fits your specific needs.
Did you know that there is NO COST to hire a buyer’s agent?
Trusting A Realtor With Your Biggest Investment.
Home Sweet Home! Most people would say that in your lifetime your biggest financial investment would be your home. I would say that is true, that the biggest financial investment most of us Americans will make in our lifetime is buying a home. If that is the case when selling or buying a home who do you trust with the biggest financial investment of your lifetime?
As a homeowner myself, it’s very difficult to just trust anyone with such a huge transaction. Many of us have saved for most of our lives to have enough money to have a down payment for our dream home. Even if it’s not our dream home, it could be just a place that we want to call home, until we can afford our dream home.
You need a Realtor for this transaction, whether you are buying or selling a home. This will be something you want to do right the first time. Buying and selling a home includes tons of technical documents and having a realtor to help you navigate through this without making major mistakes is a lifesaver and can be less costly to you.
Who do you want working for you?
When interviewing an agent you want to go with the one that is not afraid of being honest with you. An agent should go above and beyond for their client, as long as it’s legal. I would say an agent that puts their clients before their commission is a keeper. Realtors have inside knowledge about pricing for neighborhoods and can direct you to a neighborhood that you may not have heard of, but one that will fit your needs and with your perfect home.
Realtors are trained to negotiate to get the best deal for you, whether you’re buying or selling your home. You may not be the only buyer looking at a particular home. A Realtor can help you negotiate whether their are contingencies or other factors to deal with.
Putting your house on the market, then get a Realtor, the more people that see your home the better chance of selling it faster and for a better price. Once you list with a Realtor you have your home listed on many websites where buyers are able to view all the information and photos of your listing.
Before you agent leaves your home and before you sign that contract, you should know what to expect from your agent. How he or she will communicate with you. Whether on a daily basis every couple of days etc. You should understand what will happen once your home is sold . He or she should have gone over the contract so that you understand exactly who will see your home and where will it be seen, whether through online website and which ones.
Marketing should be your main focus. If the agent is not marketing your home properly then no one will see it and it will not sell as quickly as you may want it to. Your agent should provide you with a detailed marketing plan or strategy on how to sell your home. And how they will show your home.
Just remember not every real estate agent is a Realtor. A Realtor is someone who belongs to the National Association of Realtors®. Realtors are held to a higher ethical standard than licensed agents and follow the Realtors® Code of Ethics. Realtors also have access to the MLS.
Realtors want to work with their clients to get the best outcome for their listings. We wear a lot of different hats through out the whole process of selling or buying a home. Our job is to make sure that our client is happy and is getting the best deal possible. We hold our client’s hand through out this whole emotional process and we want to make this process an easy one for them. It’s a job we don’t take lightly.
So when thinking about hiring a Realtor, don’t think about the commission they will be making. Realtors work hard and earn their commission. Realtors pay out of their pocket for marketing, spend time researching listings, driving around, doing showings, taking professional photos/videos and being on call for you at all times. We take pride in what we do.
Staging Your Home To Sell
When selling your home you need to show buyers a house that they can’t wait to live in. A well-staged home can have a big impact on whether the buyer makes and offer or not. This gives the buyer a memorable first impression of your home.
Here are some reasons why you should think about staging your home if you are planning on selling it.
Visualization
You want buyers to visualize themselves living in your home, raising their family and entertaining their friends. Once they can visualize that, they can then make a connection with your house. Then they carry that image with them to every other home they visit. You have a higher chance of getting an offer.
The Wow Factor
When your home is staged, it means that it is not personalized. The home owner have gotten rid of their clutter and personal photos etc. The home now looks dynamic and professional. The furniture and accessories are placed strategically to enhance the space. Basically your home now looks like a million bucks.
A Great First Impression
To get the best possible price on your home you need to make their first impression an memorable one. Once that buyer steps into your home it needs to smell good, look good and just blow them away. When they leave your home they should have formed a good opinion about your home. This can make a big impact of getting an offer or not.
Higher Price, Faster Closings
A properly staged home can give you a substantial increase in pricing in a challenging market. You are more likely to sell your home faster if it’s staged versus if it’s not staged.
Whether you have a professional staging your home or you are doing it yourself, keep in mind that most buyers want to visualize themselves living in a home. Go with a neutral palette and a design that will appeal to a broad range of buyers. Make sure your home is bright, clean and not loaded with too much furniture and personal stuff. When a buyer walks through the home it should be a pleasant experience for the buyer and free of distractions.
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Arona McGinley -Realtor®