Why Is My House Not Selling? — Will the Real Estate Market Turn Around Soon?
By Janice J. Charles This is a question that is certainly repeated by many a frustrated seller in this “down” real estate market. So you’ve prepped your property for sale. You’ve de-personalized it, de-clutter it, rearranged the furniture, cleaned out the basement and the garage, rented a storage unit and still nothing! WHY IS MY HOUSE... Read More
Must You Hold an Open House to Sell Your Home? The Debate Continues
By Abby Johnson Some real estate agents today opt not to host an open house for every home they list. The reason is because more and more home buyers are finding their houses online. Time and technology have drastically shifted the way we do business and the real estate industry is no exception. Review these pros and cons to help determine whether or not you... Read More
Photos Are The New Curb Appeal
For sale by owner sellers have a bad habit of using less than amazing photos in their online ads with the mindset of “they’ll get the idea.” It doesn’t work. Buyers are pickier than ever, and with high inventory levels in a buyers market, you’ve got to make sure your first impression leaves a lasting impression. There are two... Read More
Why Would Agents Turn Down Listings?
Experienced agents are turning down listings more and more. Do you know why? Would yours get turned down? What can you learn from their experience that will help you sell ‘for sale by owner’? Realistic expectations If you want to sell your home for more money than the market will support, you’ll have a tough time getting the phone to... Read More
How to Pass a Home Inspection
By Jim Troth Selling a home can be a long tough ordeal. Once you and your agent have located a potential buyer you want to avoid having the home inspector find many things that are concerning to the buyer. Below are some tips to help home sellers. One of the purposes of the home inspection is to help remove the normal fears, doubts and concerns a buyer has. Anyone... Read More
What You Need To Know About Advertising on The MLS
It doesn’t take long after you hit the market as a for sale by owner home seller before agents start calling and mailing you. A few may have buyers interested in your home. Most of them are trying to list you full service, some are promoting MLS programs for people selling by owner. Here’s what you need to know about advertising a property on... Read More
5 Mistakes Sellers Make When Showing Their Home
Like any industry, there are things that people do all the time that show up as a pattern to those that work in the industry. Avoid being labeled by industry pro’s as a rookie or a newbie by being aware of some of the common mistakes home sellers make when they show their own homes. 1. Talking Too Much There’s a reason that agents ask the home... Read More
Creating That Elusive Curb Appeal
By Paula Stone Virtually every house is some variation of a box. So, WHAT makes houses attractive? Picture a long characterless ranch. It has a low-pitched roof without gables. The windows are small. The siding may be either brick or lap siding. It’s probably boring. If it has a for sale sign in front of it, NO ONE CARES! But there may be a house just down... Read More
For Sale By Owner: Use the Internet To Sell Your Home Faster
When you are selling your home for sale by owner, use these ideas you sell your home using the internet: On a mobile device? Watch on YouTube Get Full Access to the whole video plus more in the membership area. Enroll Now! Read More →
Home Staging For Your Kitchen
By T. J. Lashley When people are buying houses these days, one of the big considerations is the kitchen and for some people, the kitchen will be the primary deciding factor. The kitchen is the central hub of the house, host to much of a days activity from cooking to washing dishes to grabbing a midnight snack. This is why, when your home is on the market, kitchens... Read More
Selling Your Home – Week by Week Newsletter
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little direction from the experts as you go through the process of selling your home? Now you can know what to expect and have timing cues along the way that will teach you the strategies that top agents use so you have the best chance at selling your home quickly without paying expensive commissions. By Owner University... Read More
Real Estate Flyers: Should You Use Them?
I had no idea there wasn’t universal agreement in the agent world about the use of flyers on yard signs. When we sold our first home by owner back in 1998 my biggest concern about flyers was keeping the sprinkler from hitting the box and smearing our ink jet printed papers. We were standing next to our for sale sign outside our home with a real estate... Read More
You Painted The Room “That” Color?
Let me take this time now to apologize to the people that bought our first home. Unless you had an infant and wanted to continue with the Baby Disney theme, you most likely had to remove the wallpaper and start again. I figured it would save someone the trouble of having to decorate for a baby. Now I know better, and I’m sorry. You probably had... Read More
A Bad Photo Can Hurt You
The course on photographing your home is coming along. We’ve got a buyer survey in progress, and I have to say, I am fascinated by their comments. Real estate photography is very specialized. It seems that buyers are very familiar with it, and sellers that do their own photos have trouble grasping it. I don’t want to give it all away, but here’s... Read More
Can Buyers Reach You?
A missed call could cost you a sale. Most buyers and agents will give you a heads up before knocking on your door. Sometimes they are driving the neighborhood and see your sign; sometimes they find your advertising. However they find you, know this: there are other homes on the list. If they call you and get your voicemail, they may leave a message,... Read More
Marking Territory
Since 1998 we’ve had a recurring issue that a couple of local agents bring up over and over again. We used to get letters and emails about it. It’s been years since it has come up, so I was a bit surprised to hear about it again, but perhaps old habits die hard. Or maybe the slow market has given these agents enough time on their hands to... Read More
What’s Wrong With The House?
With more and more home buyers searching online, you’ll find that the first contact they have with your property is your online marketing. What they really want to see is a picture. Hopefully it’s a good one. Curb appeal applies here, because it doesn’t matter what you have written. Your picture is going to create that all important... Read More
Motivated To Show?
One of the upsides to marketing your own home is the ability to control when it gets shown. It’s nice to be able to say “now isn’t a good time” if you can, but in today’s market, can you afford to be selective? Only you can decide that, and it’s based on your motivation level. Ask yourself “If this buyer goes away,... Read More
What About Those MLS Programs?
I was talking to someone on the phone today, trying to explain that all MLS programs aren’t alike. Ours is the only one that gives people a decent chance of selling without paying any commission because it allows you to stay on our local website and be on the MLS at the same time. It still shocks me that the average consumer doesn’t understand the... Read More
