Preparing Property For Sale
If you have decided to sell, now is the time to enhance the relative attractiveness of you home so that prospective purchasers will be willing to pay you top market price. In a seller's market (one in which the inventory is rapidly decreasing), seller's don't have to do much to obtain a high selling price because buyers don't have many choices. However, in a buyers market (one in which the inventory is rapidly increasing), sellers need to distinguish their home from the competition to get top price. Don't make your home unsaleableNow is not the time to launch a major remodeling project. There is a common myth perpetuated by the remodeling industry that sellers can usually recover and make a profit on the costs of remodeling when selling their home. The costs of remodeling a kitchen or bathroom, adding an extra room or air conditioning, installing custom drapes or even replacing carpets are normally not fully recovered when the home is sold. If you spend money on remodeling, there is a 100% certainty that you will incur expenses but there is less than a 100% chance that you will recover the cost of these expenditures. An expense that you feel is absolutely necessary may be considered an unnecessary frill to a buyer. An addition risk of remodeling is that the additional cost and increased asking price will price your home out of the range of similar homes or out of the price range of current buyers in the marketplace. You should evaluate the purpose of every dollar spent in relation to the return that you will get in the sale. This is a good rule to follow, not only when selling a home, but whenever you are considering a renovation or remodeling project. You don't get a second chance to make a good first impression The appearance of your home from the street is the single most important consideration when you are evaluating possible changes. Home buyers are in the process of making one of the most important decisions in their life. Most buyers have only a limited time to search for a home and need to make quick decisions to get on with the process. A buyer will normally make a decision about your home before they even get to the front door. You should take a good objective look at your home, and the adjacent homes, from the street. This is where the buyer will be when they first look at your home and the neighborhood. You should attempt to make your home as attractive and inviting to potential buyers as possible. It is our experience that the following items are normally worthwhile projects; however, you may not be able to accomplish all of these items. Do what you can and don't worry about the rest. A competent real estate agent can work around the obstacles.
Kitchen and Bathrooms: the most important rooms in the house When you are selling a home, the kitchen and bathrooms should be immaculate. Nobody likes to see other peoples dirt-especially in these rooms. It doesn't take great skill to thoroughly clean but it does take many hours of hard work. It can easily take two hours to properly clean under a kitchen range hood and a similar amount of time to clean a shower. It often takes two entire working days (16 hours), or more, to properly clean the inside of a house.
Other areas:
Inspect-don't regret Ask for the advice of your real estate broker regarding the appropriate inspections to obtain. A competent realtor should know fair and impartial licensed pest control (termite) inspectors, property inspectors, roofing inspectors, chimney inspectors, pool inspectors, etc. It is best to obtain all of these inspections prior to looking at any offer so you know what the cost of your obligations may be regarding necessary repairs under the terms of the purchase contract. Also, we advise that you perform any required repairs (that enhance the attractiveness of your home) early in the marketing process since most buyers would demand that you pay for these repairs. It makes sense to eliminate these visual eyesores by doing this work as soon as possible. We at Valerie Fitzgerald and Associates realize that you are in the information gathering stage of your purchase and we respect your privacy. Should you have any questions, please feel free to email us at info@valeriefitzgerald.com or call us directly at 310-285-7515. If you or anyone you know is looking to buy or sell a home, please note that we can provide detailed information and access to:
You can count on the services of Valerie Fitzgerald and Associates to provide you with information you can trust.
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The
sale of your home is one of the most important events in your life.
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