Take These Steps To Make Buyers Remember Your Home
When selling a property, it is important to remember that most buyers are looking a lot of listings. This means your goal is to make them remember your home.
Take These Steps To Make Buyers Remember Your Home
Some people get a bit conservative when it comes to selling their home. They tend to view it as a family heirloom. Instead of taking all possible steps to make it attractive to a seller, they get offended by even the remotest of suggestions that any such steps need be taken. The simple fact, my friend, is the moment you decide to sell, your property goes from a family residence to a product. If you fail to make this emotional leap, you are going to have problems selling it.
When you show your property to buyers, it is important to remember something. They did not jump into the car just to come see you. Nope, they are two, four and maybe even six timing you. By this, I mean they are most likely visiting multiple houses on the day in question. Put in practical terms, you are in a competition with those other mystery houses and you must make your stick in the mind of the buyer.
To “win the day”, you obviously need to have your home in good overall condition. This means the structure needs to be in acceptable shape. The paint should be perfect. The landscaping should be cut back to something less than a rainforest. Clutter should be removed. Basically, you should give the property the once over.
To really make your property standout, however, you need to take a few extra steps. First, emphasize comfort by playing some soft music. Second, bake something that smells nice, but is not to strong. If you can’t cook, go to the baker and get a cake or something. Third, potpourri should be used in all bathrooms. Fourth, cut and put fresh flowers in various rooms that otherwise appear bland. Five, provide more detailed information on the home in a written form you can hand out. Six, if there is a particular reason you are moving, tell the sellers on said memo. I just want to cash out or the new neighbors are noisy, is not a good reason!
If you take these steps, the buyers will remember you at the end of the day. If your property is one that fits what the buyers are looking for, an offer will soon follow.
Six Real Estate Investing Principles
There are real estate investing “tricks” and techniques that you may know, or want to know. There are new ways of doing things that are worth learning. Knowing about the latest types of financing is another way can also help. Before all of these, however, you need to learn some basic principles. Here are six of them.
1. Build relationships.
2. Understand the numbers.
3. Reduce risk.
4. Be prepared.
5. Set goals.
6. Learn, and apply what you learn.
Real Estate Investing Principles
1. Real estate investing is about relationships. People are your most valuable resource, and the more of them you know, the more likely you are to find good properties to buy, or buyers for your properties. ask people for their names, and if your memory is poor, take notes. Know the right people too, including a real estate agent who gets many listings of the type you are interested in. Wouldn’t it be nice if you were the one he called first?
2. Know and understand the relevant numbers. When you look at a rental property, for example, you should be thinking about the income, the expenses, and the capitalization rate, or “cap rate.” Imagine how certain changes would allow you to raise the income, and what that would do to the value. A “feeling” about a property, without understanding the numbers, gets many investors into trouble.
3. Look for and use methods to reduce risk. Have inspection, financing, and other contingency clauses in the offer, so you’ll get your deposit back when a deal falls through. Consider your exit strategy before you buy, and have a “plan B.” Value real estate using comparables or cap rates, not “hunches.” Buy through your corporation or LLC.
4. Be prepared for real estate investing. Have business cards, pen and paper on you at all times. You never know when you’ll see a property for sale, or hear about one. Sometimes, when you mention that you invest in real estate, sellers, buyers and other investors suddenly appear with information, opinions, and sometimes even good deals. Be prepared.
5. Create action-oriented goals, not just wishes. For example, require yourself to look at a certain number of properties per week, and maybe even to write a certain number of offers each month. Set goals for all sorts of little steps, like making six phone calls per week, checking online listings twice per week, and so on. Action creates momentum. Repeated action creates habits, and good habits lead to more successful real estate investing.
6. Keep getting educated, and using that education. Learning more from books, magazines and even tapes or CDs is a great idea, as long as you spend as much time doing something as reading about it. Some of us let the interest and enjoyment of reading about investing get in the way of actually investing. Good information is crucial, but it should lead to good real estate investing.
Should You Tell Everything when Selling?
You may not know exactly how much to tell the potential buyer of your home about the property. Disclosure to potential home buyers about problems and issues has been a much debated subject. Many areas actually have laws that require certain disclosures to be made at the time the real estate contract is entered into.
Personally, I tell all. Everything from the once or twice the wind blew down the chimney the wrong way one windy spring to the small little hole in the guest room window screen. Nothing is too small and nothing is to large.
Caveat Emptor — “let the buyer beware” — used to be the law when it came to real estate transactions. Unless the buyer specifically asked about the defect, the seller didn’t need to disclose any problems.
But over the years, the Courts noticed that this was unfair. Car buyers get to test drive cars, so why should home buyers be so blind? If a seller knows about a problem in the home, the problem should be corrected or disclosed to a potential buyer.
Modern consumer protection acts have led to disclosure requirements for sellers.
Although the laws vary from place to place, the purpose of these diclosures remain the same. Sellers of residential real estate must disclose to their purchasers any known defects or information concerning the water and sewer systems, insulations, structural systems, plumbing, electrical, heating and air-conditioning systems, fixtures and much more.
These laws require the seller to complete a disclosure form at the time the real estate purchase contract is entered into and give it to the purchaser. If the purchaser has not recieved the form, he or she will have the right to terminate the contract and receive a full return of the earnest money.
What is considered a defect? Must it be something large? Do bones in the backyard really qualify as a defect?
Yes, they do. The courts have even ruled that land discovered to once be a graveyard or a scene of a heinous crime must come with a disclosure.
For example, in 1964, Mr. Louis Hickman created and recorded a piece of land that was once a graveyard. Mr. Hickman had removed the tombstones and all other surface evidence, leaving the graves underground.
In the 80’s, a couple built a house on the lot. Fifteen years later, they discovered the graveyard.
The case (Carven vs. Hickman) used the Statute of Repose. This statute basically is designed to protect builders from perpetual liability for defective conditions due to the improvement of a property. The graveyard did not count as an improvement and did not protect Mr. Hickman from liability for the “defect”.
This case isn’t your technical lack of disclosure case, but it gives you an idea of what you should disclose — everything. Otherwise, thirty-one years later, you or your estate could be sued for non-disclosure.
Caveat Emptor has no place in today’s real estate market. Disclosure of all known problems isn’t just being honest, it is beneficial for the home seller. You can protect yourself from litigation by simply stated everything. Yes, the price might drop a few hundred dollars, but it may save you tens of thousands in lawyer fees later.
Selling Your Home – Don’t Be A Victim
Selling your home can be a complex process. If you make mistakes, you may be unable to sell you home or have seller’s remorse. There’s no need for this if you keep in mind the following.
Overpricing Your Home
It’s important to be realistic about the value of your home. Sellers should insist their realtors present them with objective criteria for pricing. Comparative information is most critical in getting a house priced properly. If you ask for too much, it’s hard to ask for less later on in the process.
Not Displaying Curb Appeal
You don’t have to invest thousands of dollars into redecorating your home. But there some basic steps you must take to present your house in the most positive light.
Overdoing Home Improvements
Don’t go overboard staging your home. It should feel warm and inviting. Grass should be freshly cut, plant some flowers, organize the home’s interior, rid the home of foul smells and apply new coats of paint to all walls and doors.
No Understanding The Buyer’s Offer
Carefully reviewing and understanding the offer or purchase contract is imperative. Here are a few things to look for:
1. Has the buyer agreed to put down a significant deposit?
2. Has the buyer asked for some credits to cover loan costs?
3. Is the offer contingent upon the owner selling his or her present home? If so, how is the selling process transpiring?
Home Inspection
Have general inspections done in advance. Even though buyers will often have the house inspected again, it’s best to prepare for any potential problems.
Withholding Information
While it is tempting to hide or fail to mention the snafus of a home for example, it’s a the hotel for cockroaches or located in an area that’s prone to floods or earthquakes, canyon fires, it is best to give buyers full disclosure. This kind of information can greatly affect the value or desirability of the property.
Be Objective:
While you may think your pink walls or roman columns are fabulous, it is best to keep that opinion to yourself.
Poor Realtor Communication
Sellers should take a pro-active approach to the selling process and not rely completely on the realtor. Sellers should insist upon regular updates about the house and never assume the realtor has taken care of everything. It is the seller’s responsibility to ensure everything is running smoothly.
Investigate Buyers
Once you have an offer on the table, it is imperative to secure letters of prequalification or loan approval from the buyers. These letters should not only state that the buyers’ credit has been checked but also that it was acceptable to the lender. Also, it’s important to ask buyers to complete a loan application and submit it to their lender within a few days after acceptance of the offer.
Closely Read Closing Statements
Cautiously review the closing statement, including the loan balance, repairs and other expenses detailed there to avoid last-minute surprises or errors. Make sure you get an estimated statement a few weeks prior to closing and compare the final statement to the estimated one.
If you follow these steps, you will go a long way towards avoiding being a victim in the home selling process.
So you want to be a property developer?
If you’re like most people, you’ll have had the dream at one of two key times. Either you have just sold your own property and made a small fortune, despite the fact you did very little work on the property when you owned it. Or you’ve been watching one of the very popular TV property shows, where a couple of amateurs have blown their budget, made a series of basic mistakes, yet still made a small fortune.
Yes, life as a property developer seems romantic, and probably better than the daily slog you currently face at work.
Yet there can be few occupations as risky as being a property developer. Where else would you be asked to invest tens of thousands of pounds into a project, dedicate months of hard work and only then find out if you had made a profit. Even running your own business isn’t that risky, as you can measure your profitability along the way.
The reality is that it’s quite hard to make it as a full-time property developer. The money you made on the sale of your last house may have come from the growth of the housing market while you owned it. That’s not something you can rely on as your main source of income.
And as a property developer you are reliant on being able to turn enough of a profit from a property to cover your living expenses for a few months, plus help to fund your next purchase.
So before you jack in your job and start scouring local estate agents’ windows for suitable houses to do up, here are a few things to think about.
First off – are you really suited to this? Many of us are risk averse; that’s why we like going to work and getting a regular salary. It makes it easier to live your life knowing you have that monthly income.
Being a property developer means the end of regular income (unless you decide to rent your properties out, anyway). And the financial risks are higher. If you can’t sell a property you’ve just finished, that’s not only going to stop you feeding your family, but will make it hard for you to move onto the next project. This is not an insurmountable problem, but an issue you should consider before making the leap.
Still sure you want to go ahead? Then the next thing is to look at the marketplace you are going to develop for. Look around your local area and try to work out where the greatest demand for property lies. Are there a lot of commuters wanting a well connected area or a virtually new property? Wealthy executives demanding four bedroomed detached houses? Families wanting lots of space for very little money? Retired people who want low maintenance bungalows within walking distance of shops?
Find the demand and develop for it. Try not to get hung up on the developer’s dream. If you want to create the perfect home, then do it in your own. Keep your developing as a business.
Once you’ve done your targeting, it’s time to do some hard work. You should be prepared to do as many unskilled labouring jobs in your projects as you can. In fact, to be a successful property developer you should be prepared to learn how to do the things you currently can’t. It’s a key attribute that will help you maximise your profits. Just remember to get qualified people in for the skilled work.
And the final part is to do whatever it takes to get a quick sale at the right price. It’s the goal you’ve been working towards all along.
