Properties, Houses and Condos for Sale in St Petersburg Treasure Island Florida

Are you thinking of selling your Schuylkill County Home FSBO -- by yourself?

Marketing a home in 2010 is NOT the same as marketing it 10 years ago. Even if you did this before, you have to do so much more than plant a sign on the yard and place a classified ad.

5. Advertising is more complicated. When is the last time you read the newspaper or searched the classifieds. Years ago you'd buy the paper to see what homes were for sale or rent. A single classified ad run several times a week might get you enough calls to sell the house. Now it's so much more complicated! Most agents and brokers don't advertise anymore in newspapers because THEY DON'T WORK and also because they are very expensive considering the lack of results.

4. Are you internet savvy? What does work is the internet. Buyer start their searches online now, months before they are ready to buy. A real estate broker will put your property on the MLS to advertise to all agents, plus many other internet sites. In our office, we put your property on 3 MLS systems covering all of Schuylkill, Lebanon/Lancaster MLS, and  TREND MLS which stretches into Reading and Philadelphia. We then use Postlets and ListHub to feed out into over 38 sites via RSS feed. So you're on Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist, Homes.com, and so many more sites. Can you do that?

3. Are you ready to pre-qualify buyers who call on the phone? Before you let someone cross the threshhold, are you ready to ask them personal questions about their finances, or are you going to just open the door? How do you know a buyer really has the ability to buy? Because he says so? Really? Not in today's market. And once you agree to show your home to someone, you need to make yourself available to all buyers, at their request, when they want to see the home on their own time, not yours. Is it an inconvenient time? Sorry. Make yourself available for them.

2. What about all the paperwork? If you do go FSBO, call a lawyer. You will need someone to write up the contracts and get you to settlement. You should not just go online or to Staples to find generic documents. This is complicated and dangerous to try to do on your own. You need an attorney to help you once you find a buyer. The work is not finished. It is just starting, unfortunately. You have contracts, then inspections, the appraisal, and financing details to make it thru now.

1. Can you negotiate like a pro? Seriously. If a buyer walks in and asks "Can you go lower" or "Why are you selling" or "What is your bottom line?" How will you answer? This is not a business deal cut and dry. This is your house. Will you waffle a bit and tell them there is room to negotiate? Will you tell them that you need to be moved in 30 days because you got a new job? Will you hurt your negotiating power by giving away too many details about why you are moving and/or how much you will really take? Having an agent in the middle can take a step away from this, giving a bit of distance to you in negotiating. Perhaps if you do not want to pay an agent, you should hire that lawyer to negotiate for you. Don't try this yourself if you even think you're going to tell buyers too much personal information or cave when they say your home is overpriced or they can only afford X.

Real estate agents -- good ones -- will put YOUR Interests above theirs. They will negotiate fiercely to get you the highest and best price for your house. They will take care of all the little details you otherwise have to handle on your own. The best agents are worth every penny you will pay, in getting you a higher price for your home with less hassles.

Are you thinking of selling your Schuylkill County Home FSBO -- by yourself? Think again, please.

If you're going FSBO because you think you cannot afford one, it may just be that you cannot afford NOT to have an agent. Not all firms charge the same fees. All fees are negotiable. Interview a few agents and ask each one to explain what they do for their fees, and how their fees are structured. You just might be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

 

Flickr image courtesy MiK

 

 

 

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Erica Ramus is Broker/Owner of Realty Executives in Pottsville, PA. If you're looking for a PROFESSIONAL to represent you in all of your Schuylkill County real estate needs, call Realty Executives at 570-622-6006. Serving all of Schuylkill County ... Pottsville, Orwigsburg, Schuylkill Haven, Auburn, Pine Grove, Frackville, Minersville, Ashland, Shenandoah, Port Carbon, Palo Alto, St. Clair, Barnesville real estate. Click on the link above to search Pottsville PA homes for sale or any Schuylkill County homes for sale. We have all properties listed for sale in the Schuylkill MLS on our website -- free search! No registration is required!

We also run Schuylkill Appraisal Services, for all your appraisal needs in the area. If you need an appraisal, we are your Schuylkill County appraisal source. 

Every Seller Needs To Know, What Sells a house?

There are four varibles that sell a house.

1.  Price

 

2.  Terms

 

3.  Condition

 

4.  Location

 

 

All four of the variables go together to create the "perfect sale."  Each aspect must be taken into consideration if you want a property to sell.

1.  Price fixes everything!  Don't let anyone tell you different.  When the buyer perceives there is a value because of the price, they will buy the home.

The other three varibles always can effect the price.

There are circumstances where a buyer has lost the ability to qualify for a traditional loan because of a foreclosure or bankruptcy and the buyer needs owner financing.  With Owner carry Terms that particular buyer may be willing to pay more because they have ownership with possibly a small down payment. 

Conversely, if the Condition is bad the price will have to be reduced to reflect a value in the home where a buyer will have to come in and do repairs or cosmetic updates.

Location is the toughest variable in the sale to compensate for.  Most people have heard about in Real Estate the terms Location, Location, Location. If the location is bad.. ONLY price will sell the property possibly combined with terms so exciting that a buyer will not be able to pass up the deal. 

2.  Terms.  If the Terms are attractive, sometimes a seller can get more money for the home.  For example: a home with a value of $325,000 listed with owner carry terms of $25,000 down and no bank qualifing might be able to sell at $350,000 because of the terms. 

Under any owner carry situation, it is important the seller speak with their accountant and attorney before accepting any contract and agreement to finance.   The seller should be completely aware of the liability and consequences in owner financing. This is just an example how price can increase with the right terms.

3.  Condition is a key factor in selling a home.  When the property is in top condition, looking like a show home the seller may get top market value for the property. In times where homes are selling at a slow pace, in order to procur a sale, the home should be the BEST property at the Lowest price to get to the closing table.

Taking a seller on a preview tour of the homes in the area similar to their property can save months of discouragement with a home not selling.  When a seller can see the competition and accepts the fact their home needs to be the Best house at the lowest price to sell, the home will sell and the seller will see what they are up against in comparison.

Carpet or paint allowance does NOT work in selling a home.  If the home needs carpet, put it in.  If the home needs painting, get it painted.  Many times this can cost a seller $5,000 to $8,000 to do those upgrades.  Investing, yes, investing is the correct term, for getting the house sold. The money invested will come back in the form or a quick sale at full market value.

A picture is worth a thousand words so think about how the property looks and even take some pictures to see what a buyer is looking at.  Sellers should look at the pictures like they were a buyer and ask, "would I buy this house in this condition for this price?"  Are the kitchen counters cluttered?  Are the closets a mess?  What does the front door look like and the yard when people drive up to the house? 

A seller has 8 seconds for a buyer looking at a home to decide if they really like the house and if it will go on the A list.  The buyer starts the decision making process when driving up to the home while looking at the surrounding properties and the entrance to the home. 

There are many agents are trained in "staging" a home and there are "staging services" which help a seller to understand what needs to be done to create a "marketable product." Listen to these people if you want to get the house sold.

The seller needs to separate from the house and see it as an investment or product that needs to be sold. The seller needs to take all the emotions out of the happy memories in the home if they are serious about selling.

4.  Location is the only variable which cannot be changed.  A bad location, is a bad location so only price and terms are going to help this situation. 

It does not matter that the same model home across the street sold for thousands more, because it was ACROSS THE STREET and did not back to the highway.  A seller needs to get a reality check on location and think about when they purchased.  If the seller got a good deal when they bought because it had a bad location then they have to give the new buyer the same good deal to sell. 

Sellers should take all the emotion out of the business of selling a home and treat the transaction as an investment decision. 

If the goal is to get the home sold then listen to the professionals and let them do their job. 

As Donald Trump would say, "It's only business." 

 

Cosmic Cow Pie

Carra Riley