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 Hi,
As a former real estate agent and full-time real estate
investor, I know how daunting it may seem to sell a house.
After all, most of you are not in the business of selling homes.
In fact, you may only sell a few houses in your life. All of
your hard work and money may be tied up in your house and you'd
like to get top dollar for all of your efforts.
Just like buying a house, there are really two different
approaches to selling a house:
1. Do it yourself, or
2. Enlist the services of a Real Estate Agent.
Approach 1. Do it yourself:
Millions of people sell their own homes each year. Perhaps
you've heard the term "For
Sale By Owner or
FSBO."
Some individuals are able to run ads, create fliers, purchase
FSBO signs, hold open houses and even navigate through the
inspections, fix-ups and title requirements. It has been my
experience that the individual's who are able to sell their
house, know a few simple rules that bear repeating:
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Price it right! If you over price your house/real estate, you
are in for a long hard road. How do you select a price? You
probably already have a good idea if it is your permanent
residence. County tax assessments often come with attached
CMAs that list the selling prices of nearby, similar
houses. If not, you can come up with your own rough estimate
by asking neighbors or friends what houses have recently sold
for. Make sure you
add or subtract to account for what you have versus what
another house had that recently sold.
Visit this online resource for to find out what your home is
worth:
Electronic Appraiser
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Clean, clean, clean. This may sound obvious, but you will need
to do some major cleaning, the kind that women do before their
mom shows up from out of town. I'm talking about floors,
ceilings, cabinets, baseboards, refrigerators, ovens, etc. It
goes without saying that if your interior or exterior needs a
fresh coat of paint, you will more than make it up in the
selling price.
-
Keep it bright, cheery and uncluttered. Think about what
you would like to see. Would you like a closet stuffed so
tight that the doors won't open; or, how about cupboards that
are bulging with pots, pans and dishes? I suspect that you
would think there's not much room in the house and you'd be
right. Take some time to clean out junk and even store it
elsewhere if you have to.
-
Add a little touch of class. Bake some homemade cookies or
find an appealing scented candle, but be careful not to overdo
it. Put on some instrumental music - elevator music, classical
guitar or instrumental jazz, for example.
-
Finally, the most important secret. Sell at the right time! It
is always best to sell in the spring to early summer. In fact,
housing prices are cyclical with the highest selling prices
occurring in the spring and the steepest declines in price in
the dead of winter. It's all human psychology. We feel better
in the Spring. The birds are chirping. The grass is green. The
flowers are starting to bloom. For parents, Summer is a
great time to make a move without interrupting their
children's school and activities.
Approach 2. Use a Seller's Agent:
The do it yourself approach is fine, but it requires a lot of
work that may be best left to a professional. Often times a FSBO
individual will try it himself for a while and eventually
through up his hands in defeat and enlist the services of a
professional. The problem with waiting to do this is you've
expended a lot of time, energy, effort and some money with not
much to show for it.
By using a seller's agent, you have an advocate working for you.
In fact, an agent
has a fiduciary responsibility to
help you sell your house, if you've signed an agreement.
Here are some ways a real estate agent will help you:
-
A
good agent will notify other agents about your house.
-
An
agent will list your property in the MLS database so that it is available
to all other brokers who belong to the MLS (about 99% of all
brokers). In fact, just listing your real estate in the MLS
may be worth thousands of dollars of marketing because other
agents are constantly running searches for their clients. When
your property comes up, they tell their clients and in many
cases schedule a visit.
-
Agents also run advertisements, provide signs and marketing
materials such as fliers.
-
Agents will meet with prospective buyers when you are too busy
or out of town.
-
Agents take phone calls, that you would otherwise have to
contend with. Imagine running an ad in the Sunday paper and
the phone starts ringing at about 6:30AM the morning of the
ad. I've had it happen. Agents provide a buffer between you and prospective buyers.
-
A
real estate agent will provide all of the paperwork necessary, such
as disclosure statements, sales contracts, counter offers,
etc.
-
Agents will help schedule inspections and meet with
inspectors.
-
Agents will help setup closing through a title company.
If you are deciding whether of
not to use a real estate agent, first decide on how much your
time is worth because you will spend a lot of time trying to
sell your house. Select an agent that has experience selling
houses in your area and one that is making a good living doing
it. I would not recommend using a part-time agent or a friend's
friend.
If you are thinking about using the services of a real estate agent, a
great place to start is at
AgentConnect.com.
Visit their site and fill out the quick profile form and let me
know about your experience.
I wish you success,
Michael Williams
Co-Author,
Rogue Real Estate Investor Collection
geoguy@mindlikewater.com
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