Set A Realistic Price !!

Today's residential real estate market is no place to look for easy profit. The fact is, prices have generally leveled off from their peak during the 1980's. That's not to say you can't get what your house is worth. You just have to be realistic about its value, and price it accordingly. A good place to start is by determining the fair market value.

Be sure to do your homework on the market value of homes similar to yours and in your neighborhood. If you had to choose, are you more concerned with selling quickly, or getting the most money possible? What would you pay for the house if you were the buyer? Someone else -- a neighbor, friend or relative -- may point out advantages or disadvantages about your house that you hadn't thought about. Third-party views will help you start thinking of your house as a commodity, with positive and negative selling points. Then you should decide on a price that you feel is competitive and consistent with what other houses in your area have sold for. You may want to consider offering a "finders fee" to any realtor who is looking to find a home for a client. Real estate agents browse this site but would only consider your home for their client if they are going to receive a finders fee, a small percentage of the sale. You can state in your listing whether agents are welcome.

If you're planning on selling a house, you'll have to decide what price you're going to ask for the home. This is one of the most important and difficult decisions you'll have to make. Buyers select by comparison shopping, so your home will have to have a fair market price in order for it to sell. A real estate professional can help you determine the market value of your home while still obtaining the top-dollar price for your piece of property.

Some of the things to consider when choosing your home price are:

• What is the age & condition of your home?
• Does it need updating?
• What have similar homes in your area sold for?
• Have homes in your area been increasing or decreasing in value?
• Are there a lot of homes for sale in your area?

Remember, your home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. By working with a qualified real estate professional, you can ensure that your property will receive the needed exposure to attract interested parties who are willing to make an offer.

     Create Great Curb Appeal & a Yard sign !!

"Curb appeal" This is a term for everything prospective buyers can see from the street that might make them want to turn in and take a look. Improving curb appeal along with a highly visible For Sale sign is critical in generating quality traffic. Remember all agents that list homes use Yard Signs, they do this because they are indeed effective marketing tools.

Neatness sells. New paint, an immaculate lawn, picture-perfect shrubbery, a newly sealed driveway, potted plants at the front door - put them all together, and drive-by shoppers will probably want to see the rest of the house. Hand-in-hand with neatness is neutrality. If you're going to repaint, stick to light, neutral colors. Keep the yard free of gardening tools and the kids toys. Remember, when a family looks at a house, they're trying to paint a picture of what it would be like as their home.

     Make Sure That Your Home Shows It's Best !!

First, make your house looks as clean and spacious as possible. Remember, people may look behind your doors -- closet and crawl space doors as well as those to the bedrooms and bathrooms. So get rid of all the clutter; have that garage sale and haul away the leftovers.

After you've cleaned, try to correct any cosmetic flaws you've noticed. Paint rooms that need it. Regrout tile walls and floors. Remove or replace any worn-out carpets, if keeping existing carpets have them professionally cleaned. Replace dated faucets, light fixtures, and the handles and knobs on your kitchen drawers and cabinets.

Finally, as with the outside of your house, try to make it easy for prospective buyers to imagine your house as their home. Clear as much from your walls, shelves, and countertops as you can. Give your prospects plenty of room to dream. Tip! Do not over use air fresheners or deodorizers, If they are used excessively it makes one believe your trying to mask other odors (pets, smoking, etc). During an open house try airing your house out naturally (opening windows) & using scented deodorizers mildly. On the day of your open house, you may want to consider baking some cookies or bring in some fragrant fresh flowers. This will add a cheery and pleasant scent to your home. These little things just may help you sell your home a bit more quickly.

     Show Your House Off!!

Make sure your house looks as clean and spacious as possible when showing it to potential buyers. Remember, people may look behind your doors -- closets and crawl space doors as well as those in the bedrooms and bathrooms. So get rid of all the clutter; have that garage sale and haul away the leftovers. After you've cleaned, try to correct any cosmetic flaws you've noticed. Finally, as with the outside of your house, try to make it easy for prospective buyers to imagine your house as their home. Clear as much from your walls, shelves, and countertops as you can. Give your prospects plenty of room to dream. It is also a good idea to plan and schedule OPEN HOUSES to draw in potential buyers.

     The MAGIC of showing the home

OH SAY CAN YOU SEE... THE LIGHTS? Illumination... it's like a welcome sign. The potential buyer feels a glowing warmth when you turn on all your lights & open drapes before every showing. Check a model... they do it faithfully.

THREE'S A CROWD! Avoid having too many people present during showings. A potential buyer will feel like an intruder & will hurry through.

MUSIC IS MELLOW: Turn off the TV and play only soft music on radio, CD, or intercom.

SILENCE IS GOLDEN: Be courteous, but don't force conversation with possible buyer. They are here to inspect, not to pay a social call.

BE IT EVER SO HUMBLE Never apologize for the home's appearance. After all, it's been lived in.

WHY PUT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE? Trying to dispose of furniture & furnishings to the potential buyer before their purchase could cost you the sale. Avoid it.

A WORD TO THE WISE Don't over-sell. The home will sell itself if it's what they want.

     Advertise Your Home.

There are 3 key areas that will help you sell a home by owner. The first is a simple sign in your yard or window. Signs are very cheap and will have a degree of effectiveness within your immediate neighborhood. The second is advertising in a newspaper. Newspaper advertising is effective but is also very expensive, commonly about $100-130 per week. The third option is obviously listing your home on the internet. Professional Photo Ads offers you a Spotlight Ads service where you can have full details of your home, complete with pictures. So what is the best option? For a truly effective advertising campaign we suggest a combination of all three advertising choices. Put a "For Sale" sign in your window, add a listing to astromagicraven.com and put in sporadic weekend ads into a newspaper. This combination of all three advertising medias will maximize the number of people who will see your house for sale and increase the opportunity for selling it. The internet is an incredible resource for real estate and we recommend that homeowners use their online listing as an integral part of their overall advertising campaign but to not exclude all the other tools available when trying to sell a home for sale by owner.

     Timing: Yes it Can Make A Difference !!

A hot market is a hot market & a cold one is a cold one, we cannot change the market conditions however, Just going by our traffic stats alone one can see the real estate market is seasonal. Spring & fall seem the best for selling while December appears the slowest of all months. The reasons for this are Christmas holidays and summer vacations with kids off school. This by no means implies you cannot sell in December but your more likely to find a buyer in October or March.

     The Internet: Changing Everything !!

Over 70% of Internet users use the World Wide Web for seeking information about products and services, in addition to other information sources such as newspapers and magazines. New users coming online view the Internet as a "tool, not a toy".