Four Essential Things You Can Do To Make Buyers Choose Your Home

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Pick a market – any market and chances are you will find there is far more inventory on hand than there are buyers.  The hardest hit in our current real estate industry are homeowners trying to sell their homes in the midst of all the competition.  But there are a few things you can do to stand out in the crowd, making buyers instantly want your house over other homes.  By following our four tips below, you will find that your home will generate more interest, you’ll likely receive more offers than others and when it comes time to sell, you will get a better price.

Repair, Renovate and Remodel

Spend some time, energy and money fixing up the areas in your home that you have tended to in years.  So often homeowners neglect to repair small nuances or take on the expense to manage larger issues but if you do not take care of these things prior to listing your home the consequences can be severe.  If buyers come across faulty structure, inadequate insulation, malfunctioning systems or even smaller issues – it will result in an instant turnoff and cost you the potential sale.

Take time to survey all that may need to be done in the home. We recommend hiring a general contractor or an inspector to learn of potential issues that would also come up during the buyers’ inspection later on.  Based on the outcome, decide what you can afford to have repaired or redone.  You may want to consult with your Realtor for some advice on what areas would be more valuable to buyers.

De-clutter, Remove Personalization, Clean Up

Given that there are so many choices out there for buyers, unless the space is clean and clear of extra clutter and until they can see the home for its offerings, there is a good chance buyers would pass up the home and move on to the next.  Keep in mind that buyers are imagining living in the space and would like to be able to visualize their own belongings in the home.  Rather than allow your personal items to distract them, take measures to provide clean lines, open spaces and simple décor.

Maintain a Neutral Color Palette

Most prospective buyers (and sellers) know from watching reruns of House Hunters on HGTV, that redoing most cosmetic changes in a home is the least expensive of renovations needed in setting up a new home.  However, it remains to be one of the most distracting aspects while searching for the perfect home.  Though wallpaper can be changed buyers do not want to have to contend with it.  Similarly, the last thing they want to have to do is repaint bold colors with a color more suited to their own tastes.  The easiest way to deal with this and something that can be done in one weekend is to paint your walls in neutral tones like a light beige.  This will allow buyers to visualize their own customization while appealing to almost anyone.

Present Your Home With Modern, Updated Décor

Almost all buyers these days expect to be “wowed” and that usually comes from walking through homes with wide-open spaces, clean floors or carpet, modern neutral color palettes and fresh, inviting décor.  Whether you revamp the décor with a trip to the local import store or hire a professional home stager to help get you set up to sell, it is essential that your home be appealing and attractive by today’s standards.  Mismatched appliances or countertops that went out of style two decades ago are details that can jeopardize your sale and even end up in getting no offers at all.  Browse the Internet to get ideas and incorporate small but impactful changes that will make buyers wish they were already living in the space.

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As professionals in the real estate industry, we come across homes on a daily basis and equally interact with buyers very frequently.  One of the best things you can do is to consult with your agent, maybe ask him or her to walk through your home and offer a critique on some of the areas that could use some updating.  It doesn’t take much but by following these tips you will be able to take down that  “For Sale” sign and have the pleasure of putting up a “SOLD” sign!

FSBO - Your Advantages and Disadvantages - Why Shouldn't I Try to Sell My Home by Myself?

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Many home owners think about selling their own home but relatively few attempt it. Why? Because it's an extremely time-consuming and often exhausting process, especially if you're working a full-time job! It's the Realtor who takes this burden off your back.

Nonetheless, I don't discourage you from putting your home on the market and attempting to sell it yourself.
But before you do it, I do encourage you to become extremely knowledgeable about the process and aware of the both advantages and disadvantages of it.

Below, I've provided information on the benefits and drawbacks of doing a "For Sale By Owner" (FSBO) sale. 

Read it carefully and then make your decision!

Advantages of Selling Your Own Home

Of course, the biggest advantage a FSBO is that there's no commission to be paid to a Realtor. You get all the proceeds from the sale, minus any marketing costs you incur.

A second advantage is that you have complete control of the transaction. You don't have to rely on anyone else. You're totally independent.

A third advantage concerns your equity. If it's low, you have the possibility of selling your home without having to write a check.

A fourth advantage is that you don't have to rely on a realtor to schedule showings, answer inquiries, etc.

Disadvantages of Selling Your Own Home

Perhaps the greatest disadvantage is the tremendous amount of time you have to put into the sale.

It's a time-consuming process to do all the paperwork, the marketing and advertising, the showings, etc. by yourself - not to mention the hours it takes to get acquainted with all the legal, financial, and other issues. You must be prepared for this.

A second disadvantage is the costs in terms of marketing and advertising. If you don't exactly what you're doing, this can be very expensive!

A third disadvantage is that you won't have access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) unless you pay a fee to have your listing included. If you don't pay that fee, then you'll end up hunting for buyers one at a time, a very inefficient, ineffective, and frustrating process.

The fourth disadvantage relates to your knowledge of the market. If you're not knowledgeable about it, you may not price your house correctly.

That is, you may underprice it or overprice it. If you underprice your home, you lose money. If you overprice it, you lose buyers. By the same token, if you do find a buyer and you're not experienced at negotiation, you could be taken advantage of.

A fifth disadvantage relates to a belief of some buyers. They believe that since you're selling the house by yourself and not paying a commission, then they're the ones who should get the savings instead of you!

My Advice: Do your homework before considering selling your home by yourself! And, if you do decide to go the FSBO route, be fully prepared in all aspects of home sales!

If you'd like more information and advice on selling your own home as well as my real estate services, contact me.

Custom Website Home Search Tool Designed Exclusively for Russell Nolting Clients

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It can take months, if not years for some people to find the perfect dream home but if you’re vying for a property in this market you probably do not want to wait that long. In fact, with interest rates the way they are these days, it’s no wonder that so many buyers are looking to buy up and upgrade despite not having any prior plans to move.

So now that you are looking, what is the best search tool that you find works for you? We all know that the national giants are there but those websites are not designed to cater to a specific neighborhood, rather they are the second and third sites in line where sellers list their homes. The first thing home sellers do is to have their agent list their home on the local MLS. Next, they might venture into some alternative forms of marketing such as the use of social media. Finally, national home listing databases end up with a mish mash of listings that may or may not be updated depending on the agent or seller’s efficiency.

New Website Tool Designed for the Greater St. Louis Region

Now, you can forego all those other sites and go directly to the one that your own agent has designed. Operating just like the Multiple Listing Services that agents use, you will have the power to put in a wide range of search criteria so that you can pinpoint the exactly home you desire.

Whether seeking a home in a particular school district, looking for something that is closer to your place of employment or if the area you desire is situated near major parks and recreation – all these things and more can be used as search criteria so that you will not have to rifle through all the unwanted listings that do not meet your requirements.

Fine-tune your searches based on zip code, school district, area amenities, certain neighborhoods or even a particular subdivision you may be interested in. Many large level home listing websites do not provide that much customization and the bonus is that since it’s your own Realtor’s site, you will receive an unprecedented level of assistance anytime you do find something that interests you.

Features That Will Save Time and Money On Your Deal

The time it takes to spend hours online looking for homes to shortlist, setting up appointments to view the home and then finally going to see the property – really adds up. With our website, you can bypass a lot of that by instantly finding homes that pique your interest. Not only that, once you have your search criteria entered in the system your searches will be saved, saving you even more time the next time you log on to the site.

Real Time Real Estate That Works For Your Schedule

Setting up email alerts allows you to instantly access new listings the moment they are posted. And no matter where you are, by accessing the entire listing on your mobile device, you can be in touch with your agent before most people may have even accessed the listing. This puts you at a significant advantage over other buyers because you are already one step ahead of the rest.

Come Visit Our New Search Tool Site Today!

Click here to see our new website designed just for you! And as always, if you have any questions or even if you just want to talk to us – please do not hesitate to call and we will be glad to assist you with any and all of your real estate endeavors!