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Not Following The Competition...

In today's market, making the decision to sell your home can be a difficult one. Once you have decided to sell, the best decision you can possibly make is to list your home with a reputable realtor whom you already know and trust, or one who demonstrates competence and knowledge of your local market trends so that they can best market your property.

One thing that I have come across with many sellers who had their houses on the market for some time is "I want to wait until spring to relist...". It is a common refrain from many sellers who are weary of the cycle of listing their homes, only to have them sit for 6 months and see relatively little activity and no serious offers.

Only thing is, almost every seller who is seriously considering relisting their house is thinking the exact same thing: wait until spring, more buyers will be available to see the house, etc. By doing what everyone else is doing, you've just ensured that your house will be one among many that will flood the market at the same time, thus decreasing the chances that it will be your house that gets sold.

Unless you have home improvement projects underway that will seriously add value to your home, then delaying the listing of your home may not work in your favor. Projects such as adding/updating a bathroom, updating the kitchen, finishing the basement, adding a garage, etc. are serious enough undertakings to not be interrupted by buyers coming by to see your house. Your projects should be completed before relisting.

If you do not have any projects planned, and do not intend on starting any, then you give yourself at least two important advantages in listing your house today over those who wait until spring without having a serious reason (besides unreadiness) to do so: you house will have more market exposure, and you will have relatively less competition to deal with.

What does that mean? Simply put, your house will be the one that sells because you are one of a few to be considered, as opposed to one out of a dozen or more.

Lead your competition - the other sellers - by being the first to list your house. Don't follow the competition!

For all sellers, this checklist of items that you will need to do before you move out of your home is invaluable. Following these tips will reduce the stress involved with selling your home and moving into a new one.

Questions for the Potential Seller in the Greater Waterbury, CT Area, Part 3: How Can I Prepare My Home To Be Sold?

If you are a potential seller in the Greater Waterbury, CT area (that would be Waterbury and the surrounding towns of Watertown, Plymouth, Wolcott, Prospect, Naugatuck, Middlebury and Southbury), then the question of how can I prepare my home to be sold is the final question that you must ask yourself before you actually put your home on the market.

The question of how can I prepare my home to be sold is perhaps the easies of the three questions that you will ask. The answer to that question depends on you, the seller, and your home.

There are two major areas which need to be addressed when answering the question how can I prepare my home to be sold: the outside and the inside.

The outside of your home’s power to attract buyers is known as its curb appeal. The outside of your home is usually the first thing that potential buyers see when they look at homes, whether it is in person or on the internet. As such, you always want to put your best foot forward and show off your home in its best possible light. You can accomplish this by doing the following:

 §Keep your lawn cut and your shrubbery trimmed. If there is snow or ice, make sure that you clear as much of it as possible from the walkways around the house.

 §If you have a fence, keep it in the best possible condition. Make any repairs if necessary and, depending on the type of fence you have, apply a fresh coat of paint to it.

 §Make sure that you do not have any rubbish or other disposable items lying around near the house or in the yard.

 §Clean your gutters, roof, and siding using a power washer. If there are algae on the roof or on your walls, a bleach solution will eliminate those unsightly green stains.

     §When your Realtor is taking pictures of your home on the outside, make sure that you car is either in the garage, or if you do not have one, parked away from the house so that it is not included in the picture.

Understand that as a potential seller, you are trying to make sure that your home is ready to be sold…but buyers will not make any offers on your home if their first impression of your home is a negative one.

Once you have captivated the buyers with the outside of your home, then you must match what the buyers saw outside with what they will see once they enter into your home. Depending on how much needs to be done, and what you are both prepared and capable of doing, prepping the interior of your home for sale can be inexpensive or it can be a major undertaking. The following suggestions will aid you as a potential seller in preparing the interior of your home for sale:

 §Start by packing away as many of your personal items as you possibly can. You want buyers to see the house, with as few distractions as possible. Packing away your personal items such as clothing can also allow potential buyers to properly evaluate the roominess of your home and the availability of closet space.

 §Update the décor in your home. Buyers do get turned off by outdated items in a home. If updating is not an option for you, then your Realtor should be able to recommend a professional home stager who can make the necessary adjustments in the home’s décor so that it is more inviting to potential buyers.

 §If it is possible, and necessary, update your kitchen and bathrooms. Doing so may not necessarily add real value to your home in terms of increasing its price, but buyers do perceive such upgrades as making the house much more valuable, so they might decide to put in a full price offer on your home.

 §Keep your home neat, clean, airy, and dust-free.

The bottom line for you as a potential seller in deciding how to prepare your home to be sold is that after the price is considered, you must give buyers every reason to put an offer on your home.

Questions for the Potential Seller in the Greater Waterbury, CT Area Series:

Introduction

Part 1: When Should I List My Home?

Part 2: What Price Should I List My Home At?

Questions for the Potential Seller in the Greater Waterbury CT Area: What Price Should I List My Home At?

If you are a potential seller in the Greater Waterbury, CT area (that would be Waterbury and the surrounding towns of Watertown, Plymouth, Wolcott, Prospect, Naugatuck, Middlebury and Southbury), then the question of what price should I list my home at is possibly the most important question that you can ask yourself before you actually put your home on the market.

The question of what price should I list my home at is one that your Realtor will provide you with the necessary information so that you can answer that question correctly.

Correctly? What do you mean by “correctly”?

As a potential seller, you need to understand several things:

 § There is a correct price at which to list your home for sale. 

 § That price is determined by the current real estate market and is shown to you by means of what is commonly known as a market analysis, or a comparative market analysis. 

 § The market analysis takes into account the location of your home, type of house, size, number of bedrooms, condition, and other pertinent features of your home and compares them to similar homes like yours in your area that have been sold within a specific timeframe(usually within the last 6 months).

 § The price (or price range) which the market analysis suggests is the result of adjusting the prices of the homes that have been sold that are like yours either up or down, depending on the specific differences in features, and the length of time between the sale date and the analysis date.

 § The market analysis may also show similar houses like yours in your area which are currently on the market as a means to help you price your home competitively.

The correct price at which to list your home, which is the answer to the question “what price should I list my home at”, is the price at which your home will sell, all other factors being equal.

If your expectations of the price are too high, then do not list your home at the price you want. The statistics for the Greater Waterbury, CT area show that houses that are overpriced do not sell. They sit on the market for months, and months…change listing agents…and still sit for months, and months. That’s because the house was not priced correctly.

If the price at which the home will sell is economically unsound for your financial situation, then do not list your home. Period. If the price suggested by the analysis does not allow you to pay off your existing mortgage, and pay the necessary taxes and fees without putting you into debt (unless you are in a short sale situation), then it would be in your best interests to wait until such time comes that you will be able to sell the house and walk away with a clean slate, or better yet, a small profit.

The price at which you list your home should not be based on what you expect to net from the sale of your home. You, as the potential seller, should calculate your net proceeds from the sale price after taking into consideration

1.      Taxes. In Connecticut, all real estate transactions are subject to    

- a state conveyance tax of .5% of the first $800,000 of the selling price; the amount above that is taxed at 1%

-a municipal conveyance tax of .11% of the total selling price. That tax rate applies to all of the Greater Waterbury, CT area towns (Watertown, Plymouth, Wolcott, Prospect, Naugatuck, Middlebury, and Southbury; for Waterbury, the municipal conveyance tax is .25% until the legislation that extended it expires and is not renewed, at which point it will revert back to .11%)

2.    Professional Representation Fee. Commonly known as the commission, this amount is also a percentage of the selling price and is determined by you and your Realtor at the time that you list your home. The percentages can vary depending on location and price, and there is no set percentage (by law). Be aware that choosing a lower commission does not necessarily mean that you will net more, and ask what type of service are you getting for every percentage point you are given. Also, keep in mind that usually, the commission is split between the listing broker and the cooperating (buyer’s) broker.

The bottom line for you as a potential seller in deciding the price at which you will list your home is that you must price your home to be sold – not to attract lookers, but to attract buyers who will actually put an offer on your home. Trust the Realtor of your choice to give you guidance on what that price should be to ensure the outcome that you desire.

There are some things that can affect the buyer’s perception of the price that you have chosen. The market has provided you with the price, but you as the potential seller must prepare your home for sale in such a way that it reflects that price.

Next in the Questions for the Potential Seller in the Greater Waterbury, CT Area Series: How can I prepare my home to be sold?

Questions for the Potential Seller in the Greater Waterbury CT Area: When Should I List My Home?

If you are a potential seller in the Greater Waterbury, CT area (that would be Waterbury and the surrounding towns of Watertown, Plymouth, Wolcott, Prospect, Naugatuck, Middlebury and Southbury), then the question of when should I list my home is one of the most important questions that you can ask yourself before you actually put your home on the market.

The question of when should I list my home is very much dependent on the question why am I selling my home?

Just as buyers have specific needs and wants that drive them to buy a home, you as potential sellers also have specific needs and wants that compel you to put your home on the market for sale. And just as needs always trumps wants as motivating factors for why people want to buy a home, the need to sell always trumps the want to sell.

The potential seller who has a time element attached to their need to sell is the most motivated seller that we as Realtors meet. Whether it is an impending foreclosure, job/military relocation, or any number of life changing events that require you to divest yourself of your most important possession, the key to answering the question of when should I list my home depends on how much time you have between now and your scheduled move. Your answer for when should I list my home, along with your answers to what price should I list my home at, and how can I prepare my home to be sold, will be the deciding factors that determine if your house will actually sell, no matter what market we are in.

But what if I don’t need to sell, but still want to sell my home?

There are several scenarios which can conceivably create the desire to sell a home – financial distress, desire to downsize, burden of home maintenance, divorce, among other things – that make selling your home at any time seem like a worthwhile proposition. However, there are some issues that you should consider first before listing your home (and some of these also apply to need to sell sellers, as well):

   §Condition. Is your home ready for sale right now? Your home being ready for sale typically includes maintaining the outside of your home for maximum curb appeal, and addressing any needed repairs inside the home. If you do not need to sell, then you can use the time before you actually put your home on the market to start and complete any major upgrades or renovations/repairs. This aspect will be discussed more fully in Part III: How Can I Prepare My Home For Sale?

   §The Value of Your Home. The market determines what price your house will sell for, and a Realtor will inform you of that fact. The fact is, need to sell sellers are more willing to list at the correct price than want to sell sellers. Are you willing to let your home sit on the market with possibly no activity, and require a price reduction? This aspect will be discussed more fully in Part II: What Price Should I List My Home At?

                 §Selling seasons. Typically, the majority of sellers anticipates a rush of buyers during the spring and summer months, and so they list their homes for sale in March-April. The problem with following this mentality is that you now have more competition for buyers’ attention to deal with. In the buyer’s market that we are in today, that can absolutely be detrimental to your chances of selling your home.

The bottom line for you as a potential seller in deciding when to list your home for sale is that if you must sell your home, then time is of the essence for you to do what it takes to make sure that your home can be sold in the least amount of time for the most amount of money. The Realtor of your choice will (or at least should) give you guidance on what things need to be done to ensure the outcome that you desire.

If you do not need to sell your home, it would be advisable to wait until it becomes necessary for you to sell. You will be able to place your home on the market when there is considerably less competition, and you will have used the intervening time to help prepare your home for its eventual sale. However, the choice is, of course, up to you whether to list your home as for sale.

Next in the Questions for the Potential Seller in the Greater Waterbury, CT Area Series: What price should I list my home at?

Questions for the Potential Seller in the Greater Waterbury, CT Area: Introduction

Are you a potential seller? Have you been thinking about selling your home? If you live in the Greater Waterbury CT area (that would be Waterbury and the surrounding towns of Watertown, Plymouth, Wolcott, Prospect, Naugatuck, Middlebury and Southbury), the odds are that you are one among hundreds in your neighborhood who have been thinking of doing the exact same thing: taking the plunge and putting their house on the market.

There are many questions that you, as a potential seller, must ask yourself before you take the steps necessary for you to get your home sold. One question that many potential sellers ask themselves is “can I sell my home on my own?” While it is indeed possible to do so, the time and cost of doing so are definitely not in your best interests, as you will (more likely than not) receive less for your property than you desire and it will take more time to sell your home than usual. These are the major reasons why all sellers are recommended to hire a professional – a Realtor – who is knowledgeable about your local market conditions, can effectively market your home so that it can get sold in the least amount of time, and net you the most amount of money that the market will command for your home.

This series is not designed to address every question that will arise as you prepare to sell your home. There are certain questions that you should be prepared to receive an answer to –an answer which may, or may not, depending on your specific needs – not be acceptable to you at the time that you ask the question.

The key to answering those questions does not lie with the realtor you choose, however. The answer lies with you, the seller. In my experience, the most important questions that a potential seller can ask themselves before listing their home on the market are:

1.  When should I list my home?
2.  What price should I list my home at?
3.  How can I prepare my home to be sold?

The following three posts in this series will address each of those questions in depth for the potential seller in the Greater Waterbury, CT area.