Category Archives: Real Estate

Hold On Just a Minute

It’s not COMPLETELY a seller market in the Raleigh area. It’s GETTING there, but hold on.

First let me say that I understand how badly sellers were beaten up by buyers in the real estate downturn. Downturn. That’s putting it lightly, to say the least. But I get it. I saw seller after seller either have to PAY to sell their home, or give up entirely on the whole idea because they couldn’t afford to sell. And the buyers…holy cow. They wanted sellers to replace perfectly good carpet, paint for no good reason, encase the home in a germ-free bubble and wash the buyers’ cars and dogs. Okay. I’m stretching things a little bit. But you get the idea. Long story short: Sellers gave and gave and gave and buyers took and took and took. But…the universe will balance if you just give it a chance.

NOW, with a housing shortage in many areas, and new construction roaring back with a vengence right along with soaring prices, the market is turning and sellers have grown fangs. No, it’s true! Look for yourself! They are in the mood to get even. But sorry seller; you cannot expect a buyer to make up your financial loss when you bought at the top of the market JUST before it crashed. It’s not their fault and it’s not their job to rescue your finances. They want to buy your house. That’s it. Question is, do you REALLY want to sell it?

Part of me doesn’t blame the sellers. Who’s in the catbird seat NOW, mister buyer? Well, nobody really. It still all boils down to what one person wants that another person HAS, and how the parties arrive and a mutually acceptable solution. Nobody’s supposed to walk away with bruises, either on body or ego. It’s business, people. Oh and by the way, sometimes it doesn’t work out and that’s OKAY. If everybody isn’t HAPPY, then EVERYBODY doesn’t have to play. That’s OKAY!!

But I’ve watched, over and over, perfectly sane people…GROWN people I might add…arguing over a hundred bucks. When you’re talking about several hundred THOUSAND dollars on the table, isn’t it kind of strange to quibble over 100 bucks? But sellers are doing that AND SO ARE BUYERS.

Well now it’s my turn…because it’s my blog, after all. heh heh. But hear me out. THEORETICALLY, the seller actually WANTS to sell and THEORETICALLY the buyer wants to buy. Wow. Perfect recipe for success. What happens? People let emotions get ALL over the place. And…and this is the most prevalent problem: people who are not LICENSED, professional real estate agents try to be professional real estate agents. And they get in the way of an otherwise smooth and successful transaction, and they put the REAL professional in awkward and sometimes unethical situations. People! Let the advisor you PAY for ACTUALLY be the advisor. How crazy is it to PAY for advice and then not take it? IIII’m smiling now. It’s pretttty crazy!

Please listen to your realtor whose job it is to explain the MARKET MARKET MARKET to you. The MARKET MARKET MARKET dictates the value of your property, not your emotional attachments AND NOT how much you paid at the top of a bubble market.

Okay…and..the days of real estate transactions having to be nasty are O-VER. That kind of behavior is OLD SCHOOL real estate. Now, there are LAWS in place, and legal documents in place to take the backstabbing and nastiness crap out of transactions, if people would just stop being silly. Oh and here’s a good idea: READ THE CONTRACT YOU SIGN. You made an AGREEMENT, which you SIGNED. Don’t come back and gripe about a hundred bucks and please don’t take the lockbox off because you didn’t like the inspector! And don’t take out the stove and vinyl flooring because you think you got low-balled. Oh my God.

Talk with your Realtor; be a real team together. Vent, growl, let smoke come out of your ears…and then come up with a plan that makes you feel good about things and do that. Your agent SHOULD help you with that. And your agent should tell you when you’re being unreasonable and when you’re being an ass. Sorry.

Here’s the thing about me: I’m VERY good at what I do, and I refuse to play stupid old-school real estate ‘games’. My job is to advise you, my client, set the RIGHT expectations about what the MARKET MARKET MARKET says, and to protect your negotiating position. It is NOT my job to “fight for my client”. And it is not my job to be yelled at…by anybody involved in the transaction. I’m NICE. I’m very very VERY good at what I do AND I’m nice. Any time you hear a Realtor say he/she will “FIGHT” for you? Run. In fact, just run to me. I win without fighting. Do clients sometimes walk away? Yes, they do. Because sometimes both parties cannot come to an agreement and that’s how it is; it’s okay; it’s how its SUPPOSED to work.

Now. Why did I say MARKET MARKET MARKET, repeatedly and in all caps? BECAUSE people do NOT LISTEN. Heads up: the MARKET sets the value of your home. NOT YOU, NOT YOUR AGENT, NOT YOUR AUNT BETTY OR YOUR TWENTY INEBRIATED FRIENDS. The MARKET MARKET MARKET sets the price. Now, do people SOMETIMES pay more than the house is ‘WORTH’ according to the market. Yesssss they do. BUT ONLY if they plan to live there forever, if they will die if they don’t have YOUR house, or they plan to make a KILLING on it as a rental property.

Here’s another thing: You can price your home WAY above the MARKET MARKET MARKET value, but it won’t APPRAIIIISSSSE. Somebody’s gonna go out to your house and appraise it. And then the bank will lend a portion of that appraised value on that property and AAANNYTHING over that appraised value is coming out of SOMEBODY’S POCKET. Probably yours. OR THE BUYER WILL WALK AWAY.

Price at the market, get the house sold, or keep making payments and payments and payments while the cadre of buyers goes elsewhere and spends their money. If you insist on over pricing, DO NOT BLAME YOUR REALTOR when you get no offers! Buyers know what the MARKET MARKET MARKET says your house is worth before they ever set foot inside it.

And stop asking your Realtor to pay for things. We work our buns off for you, and this is how we earn our living. Most of us give you a discount up front these days (count your blessngs because those days are numbered), so don’t ask us for money. Unless you want to give us the opportunity to come get some of your paycheck next week. We are ALWAYS on call, never get a day off, always work holidays. Keep that in mind.

And yet…I still do this job and I still love it. Why? It’s because of the people I get to meet and help. It’s all about my clients. ALL about them.

On Being a Good Advisor…

Any good real estate agent is also a trusted advisor…or should be. Our advice is based on years of experience and heaven knows HOW many hours of classes and training and updates.  I know:  You can get a BOAT LOAD of information from the internet.  But listen up: That’s not good enough.  Here’s why.

A good real estate agent will know things about rules, the law, building code, builders, different areas and what that means to commute times and shopping, how homes are built and what to look for to find hidden issues, things you won’t find online.  We’ll know how to negotiate: when to hold and when to fold.  And I can’t say for sure, but I’m willing to bet my accuracy is better than most of the automated valuation systems when it comes to pricing a home to sell.  Your agent will have had boots on the ground where the internet has not trodden, and your agent will know things about buying or selling that the internet cannot convey.  So it doesn’t matter what kind of phone you have, which internet provider you use, what iteration of I-pad you have.  Your agent will win the competition.  Or at least this one will.

In other words, it would behoove (cool word) you to avail yourself of your agent’s expertise and realize that there’s one real estate agent in the car…and it ain’t you.  Yeah, I said ain’t.  I like that word.  It has personality.  And I’m a bit arrogant that way. I think I have a good enough grasp of the English language to tweak it when I want to.

But I digress. Bring along your smart phone because if you ride with me, you navigate.  I don’t want you to be bored.  Bring along your notes, your ideas, your opinions, because they matter.   But remember to ask a lot and don’t act like the realtor. 

I want my clients to be smarter than me in case we break down and I need someone to figure out the computer system operating my car…or to feel brave about finding a nearby repair shop.  I want my clients to be able to discuss the Hadron Collider with me or the latest news about time travel.  But I do not want them to try to be me.  First of all, they can’t handle it, and second…and seriously here…I’m the real estate agent with the license and training…and I’m very good at my job.  Let me do it and you?  Relax and enjoy the tour.  I promise to take good care of you.

 

Shrinking Inventory in the Real Estate World

The Perfect Storm is looming.  Interest rates are creeping up; housing inventory is shrinking; people are rushing to buy, people who were on the fence for some time.  It’s turning into a seller market, for these reasons and one other one that’s HUGE.  Multiple offers are commonplace.  Great for sellers.  Not good for buyers who are used to insisting on paint color being perfect before they even buy, carpet being new in a ten year old house, the right smell, the right temperature.  Sellers, celebrate.  Buyers, take a deep breath.  The world we knew a year ago has flipped.

When sellers have multiple offers on a home you really love, suddenly their repair budget shrinks or yes, even disappears altogether.  Some offers are high with ZERO concessions.  Suddenly that decor isn’t so bad after all, suddenly sellers are smack dab in the middle of the driver’s seat.  And folks, as inventory continues to go away, it’s going to become even more dramatic.

For so long sellers were put through the wringer trying to sell, and now it’s about to swing strongly in the other direction, moving so quickly through the middle ground we’re likely to miss it.  If you’re a seller, it’s a great time to have your home listed.  Buyers, better get busy, because not only might you have to compete with several others to get the home you love, you’re going to pay a lot more each month as interest rates creep up.

I said, some time ago, that one truism is that the universe WILL balance.  It happens in all areas of life, and it’s happening in real estate now. Don’t you feel it?  Exciting times.  Don’t miss out on the still good prices and interest rates, people.  We’re about to see house prices, first on new construction, take a big leap.

Call me and let’s get busy!

Stubborn and real estate don’t mix.

The One Hundred Thousand Dollar Stubborn Streak
(or, Blood is Shooting Out of My Eyes)

There is a …maybe a million dollar home which just sold for about ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS less than its value, primarily because of one outstanding attribute of the sellers: Stubbornness. I have to talk about this, people. I just have to. These sellers deserve to be applauded, even lauded for their supreme grasp of the phenomenon of stubbornness, because they took it to soaring heights and even paid six figures for the sake of holding on to it. They are my champions so far. Nobody else beats this streak.

Somebody will though. Somebody will. You can’t make this stuff up.

Don’t get me wrong. They’re lovely folks. But they take resistance to good solid advice, presented in the interest of getting them top dollar, to new heights. Or should I say depths. I should say depths. There it is. I am not the listing agent by the way. If I WAS I couldn’t write because you can’t write with an exploded head.

I’ve run across this tendency many times in my career. Usually the ones who own it best are the ones who think they are the Realtors, the ones with professional real estate training and professional real estate experience, even though they’ve never actually BEEN a Realtor. They think this because 1) they have big egos; 2) they think they are smarter than everybody else…everybody; 3) they hold Realtors in low esteem; 4) they don’t do well with separating emotion from business; and 5) they have bought or sold a home before. Okay and 6) they want to hold on to their ‘decorating’ theme…and I use that term loosely at times…even at the cost of oh say ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!

I can hear all of the realtors saying, “AMEN!”. No, wait. Some are looking around and saying, “Are you kidding me? One hundred THOUSAND?” That’s right. I’m not kidding. Do I look like I’m kidding with smoke coming out of my ears over here??

You need to think about this. Just because you’ve been IN a courtroom, does that make you an attorney? Because you’ve had surgery, are you now a surgeon? If you’ve had surgery twice are you now CHIEF of surgery? I think some people think they ARE! If you look at beautiful art, are you then an artist? NO! So why would you think that just because you’ve bought or sold a home, or bought AND sold one, you are now a Realtor?? It makes about as much sense as the art analogy or any of the others. People, you are not the real estate agents; you are the CLIENTS. I should make a sign.

Gone are the days when realtors are the ones who can’t do anything else and that’s why they’re realtors. That was gone a LONG time ago. Realtors today are educated, strong, talented and up to the minute with stats on YOUR market. We have to be because everybody sues EVERYBODY these days…yes even CLIENTS (that would be YOU), whom we protect. We have a responsibility to you that we take very seriously. 


We protect you, we encourage you and we do our level BEST to make sure you get the MOST for your home that the market will bear. The way we DO that is by making sure you know how to be COMPETITIVE. We tell you what will make your home stand out and get that buyer to make an offer on your home, and we advise you about how you can make that offer SING, not hack like a life-long smoker about to keel over. You can listen to us, OR, you can disregard us and lose ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.

Here’s a good one. Even after receiving feedback after feedback about grandma’s quilt or the blue wall or the CLUTTER do you think ANYTHING gets changed? NOOOOO! You can’t make this stuff up! You really can’t! The market speaks and some clients pat their ears and say, “la la la la I can’t hear you”. Now I’m crying.

Can you tell I’m upset? I’M UPSET.

And these sellers are mad at the REALTORS!!!! We are the ones who warned you about being competitive, about LISTENING to the feedback and actually DOING something about it. We are the ones who tried to get you top dollar!! My head is about to explode. I can hear it expanding. I really can. It’s creaking.

There was no earthly reason for this house selling this low except for pure, unadulterated, boiled down, precipitated, strained, dried, sifted, freeze-dried, died in the wool STUBBORNESS. Now blood is coming out of my ears too. THIS WAS COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY, LOSING THIS KIND OF INVESTMENT DOLLARS!

Let me alert you. I have two college degrees, one in chemistry, a subject which makes most people cringe. And I graduated at the top of my class. The other degree is in business, where I studied marketing, economics, sales…I’m good at what I do and I’m qualified to have an ego just as big as anybody else. That’s why, if I visit you to talk about selling your home, you should listen to me. And you should listen to other realtors who have been down this road a thousand times and who tell you exactly what you need to do to be competitive in this market. We don’t make this stuff up, people. It’s based on data. Set aside the stubborn streak and think about what you might do with ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. Is it worth paying that much to keep your grandmother’s quilt on the bed or that neon blue wall in the den? NO! IT’S NOT! For crying out loud, redecorate or paint! You’re LEAVING, remember? Is there still LOGIC in the world? I think there is, but why not in REAL ESTATE?? If you have a 14×14 foot room and enough junk in it to fill an 18×18 foot room, MOVE SOME STUFF OUT! Or, think about what you could do with ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS that you are about to flush down the gold plated TOILET.

You’re selling space, wide open space. Not your ‘décor’, not your grandma’s quilt, not that carving of an amoeba eating a shark. NOT that flower arrangement you made when you were on the crack pipe. SPACE is all you are selling. And not neon blue space. If you have to kick chairs and pillows out of the way to get INTO a neon blue room, LIGHTEN UP THE CLUTTER or kill me now. This is not rocket science, people. I’ve done rocket science; this ain’t it.
So there was this couple who sold their home for ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND less than market value, but they showed US didn’t they? I don’t think so. I think they shot themselves in the foot. Twice. Per foot.

 

Why Work So Hard?

Well, here’s another great reason.  This is a letter of reference from one of my first time buyer couples:

As first time home buyers, we were nervous about finding our first home and establishing a relationship with our agent. Brenda was referred to us by a mutual friend who admired her professionalism and wonderful spirit. Brenda left a wonderful impression after our first meeting. She LOVES first time buyers and helped us to understand the process, was patient and detail oriented when showing us each home, and offered support during each step. She understands the market and takes pride in her work, something that you will see after your first meeting with Brenda. She has a heart of gold and we thank her for making our first purchase special.

-Cameron

Real Estate no-news

Guess what?  Real estate tastes are changing.  Well…no kidding.  People are always like a school of fish, aren’t we?  We follow the leader or change direction en mass as though a signal from outer space was just received.  This time, though, there’s an indication that some of the new trend behavior makes sense. 

Like this: McMansions are going bye bye in favor of smaller homes, ultimately for the energy savings of not having to heat and cool large spaces nobody uses.  Duh.  It’s getting less and less cool to have giant spaces in the age of ‘green’.  But the look of these smaller homes is still open and spacious, accomplished by fewer dividing walls, more careful decor to accent areas versus rooms, and lots more glass.

And here’s another one…stairs are losing favor.  That makes sense, doesn’t it?  Baby Boomers are aging.  Who are we kidding; we’ve AGED.  One level is a good thing…again.  So all of the ranch style home owners who couldn’t get a showing are going to continue to be happy about the new trends.  But you’re going to have to update and maybe even knock downs some walls to open up the spaces…or cut the sale price to compensate.

Granite is still in.  That’s a good thing, because almost everybody either wants it or has it.  I shudder to think what’s going to happen when granite becomes passe.  Open spaces are still in and growing in favor.  Modern styles are back, sort of an early sixties throwback; lots of floor to ceiling glass and fewer walls to break up spaces, lower roof pitches, single level.  Ornate is packing up and leaving; lean and clean lines are in.  If it’s true that neo-Mediterranian is coming on strong, we should see stucco make a comeback.  Imagine that.

The kitchen still sells the house; no surprise there.  If you want to sell and your kitchen is OLD, you’re going to have to either update or compensate by lowering your selling price…a lot.  Almost every seller has to spend update money these days.  The best place to spend?  Kitchen.  Next place to update: bathrooms.  Now, how many times have you heard that?

And have you noticed that it’s the SELLERS who are the fixer-uppers now?  It used to be buyers who did the fixing.  Not anymore, at least not right now.  Oh that’s going to change back when the market becomes a seller market again, but for now…sellers have to ante up the renovation money.  Buyers want a kitchen they can walk into and start using. Period: End of discussion…for now.

Here’s some more no-news: neutral paint colors!  If your home looks like the Sherwin-Williams color wheel, you’re going to have to paint if you want to sell.

All of this is the  market speaking.  The schools of fish are still swimming.  If you want to sell your home and choose to ignore what the population at large are buying, then the simple, absolute conclusion is that you don’t want to sell your home.  You just don’t.  Your realtor, even the realllly good one, can’t sell what the market has zero interest in buying.  You might want to read that last sentence again.

If you’re buying, it’s a good idea to see what’s heating up in the market so that you buy smart.  You don’t want to buy a Victorian with small rooms if glass houses with two interior walls becomes the norm. And by the way, almost nobody lives in a house long enough to outlast the trends anymore.  I know, you think you will be the one…but the data say you won’t. 

And here’s one last thing: live like you want to while you own your home.  Paint all of the rooms electric blue if that floats your boat.  But when you’re ready to sell, remember this: you must appeal to the market or you will not sell.  People follow the trends.  Oh, there will be one person who would LOVE your blue house, but if that fish isn’t swimming with the school of other fish, swimming along JUST LIKE all of the other fish…it’s probably been eaten by a bigger fish already.  Paint.

For Sale by Owner

Did you know?  There are sites that will allow you to post your home on multiple listing service and tell you you can sell your home for a mere 200 dollars…as though just posting in MLS is all there is to selling your home.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

First, and most importantly, your agent doesn’t get the entire commission.  The AGENCY gets the majority of it, and that’s because there’s a gargantuan amount of marketing being done, by that agency, on your behalf, about which you know nothing because you don’t see it going on.  For example….you might post your home on the internet, but does it show up on the top of the search engine page?  I’d bet not.  That costs dollars, dollars your agency spends to get your home the best marketing position going.  Would you like to have your home on the Relocation market too?  That also costs dollars, and your agency will have your home right up there for anybody not IN this area, moving TO this area also seeing your home and being put in touch with someone to bring them in to see it.  You aren’t going to get that with FSBO or for limited marketing (such as entry only agencies).  It’s not just A web site; it should be THE web site.  Fonville Morisey has a web site that other real estate agents from other companies use…because ours is the best.  Period.

Technology is key in marketing.  I’ve seen the technology other agencies use.  None can compare to Fonville Morisey.  That’s just a little side note because I’m a nerd.

Second, selling your home is not just about putting a sign in the yard or getting the home in MLS.  It’s about having professionals who know the market and real estate laws to look after your  financial AND legal interests.  Let’s talk about your buyer.  What if it was built on a drainage easement?  Do you understand the implications of that?  Are there encroachments on your property?  What if you are listing unheated square footage (or other rooms accessible THROUGH unheated square footage) as actual heated square footage and CHARGING for that space?  You are not allowed, by law, to do that.  Your buyer can come back and sue you for the dollars they spent in error because you ‘misled’ them. And…are you SURE about the square footage you’re advertising?  Square footage errors are the biggest reason for real estate lawsuits.  That’s just one example.

Did you know that 50% of FSBO sellers waste precious marketing time and end up having to hire a Realtor anyway?  True.  And the experience is often such a hassle, that 90% of FSBO sellers say they will hire a Realtor next time.  Also true.  Every market has a wax and wane aspect.  If you try to sell by owner and miss the hot market, your agent (and statistics say you’ll probably call one) now has to market in the slow market time and you might end up sitting right there for another season while the market goes through its cycle.

There’s a new contract, which includes a due diligence period.  Part of that due diligence package involves you, the seller, getting a check as compensation for having your house off of the market (limited marketability) while the buyer does their investigation and gets the loan in order.  If they walk…for any reason or for no reason…you keep that due diligence money.  That’s, by the way, the easy part of the contract.  The lastest offer to purhcase is intricate and involved.  And while your agent is FAR more than a paper handler, it sure helps that he or she IS good at that part. 

Don’t make the mistake of thinking your realtor is just a fill-in-the-blank paper pusher.  Not so.  We are professionals who know the law, have to take classes every year to stay current on the changes…and there are a lot of them…and we work while others are spending time with their families.  Realtors never really have a day off.  I think we’re one of the most misunderstood segments of business society.

Let’s talk negotiating!  That’s the real meat of the process.  Do you know what a buyer can and cannot expect you to do?  Do you know what your legal liability is if you sell a termite infested home?  Buyer?  What if you buy a gorgeous home and fall through the floor when you move in your piano because termites have eaten the floor supports?  Do you have a recourse?  Oh and let’s talk about mold and radon gas….no, let’s don’t.  But you should think about it. A big part of the realtor’s job is to protect you, buyer or seller…from down-the-road issues like this.

My personal feeling is that I wouldn’t try a for sale by owner simply because of the litigious nature of our society these days.  It doesn’t take much for someone to sue someone else.  And ignorance of the law is still no excuse.  Some ‘honest’ mistakes can be very costly…even more than the amount of commissions.  And remember…when you buy your next home, you don’t pay your realtor OR commissions. Your seller does.  So it balances. 

Some buyers automatically assume, if you are selling without an agency representing you, that you can’t afford it and they’ll target you for a lowball offer.  They will assume you are in financial trouble and treat you accordingly.  And speaking of low ball offers….did you know that most people who sell their homes as a fsbo actually net LESS than they could have with a realtor/professional, pricing their home?  I know…you think you can look at a sale price and divide by square footage of a nearby sold home, then multiply that number by the size of your home.  That’s EXACTLY why people net less.  That’s not the correct way to price a home.  If you do that, there’s a great chance you’ll either get zip for activity (very over priced) or you’ll sell way under what you could have sold for (very under priced).

So, the moral of the story is this: 1) the real estate agent does not get that whole commission; 2) the real estate agent will spend out of pocket dollars…in ADDITION towhat the agency spends…to market your home. If it doesn’t sell, we lose money; 3) the real estate agent is a trained professional with great credentials and a knowledge of the market you need to get the most for your property; 4) the real estate agent is not a paper pusher.  We are trained negotiators and we are trained in real estate law that will save you from a lot of hassle…and you won’t even know it.  With an agency representingyou, you get what you pay for and THEN some.

Oh, and let me debunk a myth that runs rampant in the homes community:  Contrary to popular belief, real estate agents are not rich.

The Age of Gloom and Doom…

I have to tell you, it’s getting painful to watch the news…even the financial networks, which are my favorite places to park…are stressful.  I never feel more like jumping into bed and putting a pillow over my head, than after I listen to the news!  But here’s the truth:  It isn’t NEWS in our society unless it’s BAD NEWS.  We all should remember that when we foolishly elect  to watch a steady diet of the news.  I never thought I’d see the day we’d have to ‘talk ourselves down’ from a 15 minute break watching the news.  Does it make you hyperventilate??  It does me sometimes…so I switch to National Geographic.  God forbid there are animals killing animals when I do that..:-)

Everybody has an opinion about the economic future, and some are based more in a need to make ‘news’ than to put forth reality.  Yes, even the guys in suits on TV are giving an opinion, not gospel.  Hey, there’s a good chance they are wrong.  So why risk the pillow over the head.  Put the stock ticker on and turn down the volume.  That’s the best bet.  And remember that our market is still strong and people still need to buy homes AND sell them. 

The truth is: Interest rates are the lowest we’re likely to EVER see them again.  Folks, it’s the strongest BUYER market we’re likely to experience again in DECADES!  It’s very likely the best time to buy a home you’re ever going to see!  And real estate is still a good investment.  Did you see what happened to gold prices when George Soros dumped his shares? 

For sellers, yes, there is a lot of competition out there. But if you are willing to make your home sale worthy, you can still sell your home!  The trick is to beat out your competition with regard to price and appearance.  Remember, if you don’t do what you need to do to compete in this BUYER market, your prospects have lots of other homes from which to choose…and they’ll go there, by the way.

If you can paint, paint.  If you can replace worn carpet, do that.  If you have bad smells in the house, please fix that immediately.  If you can upgrade to granite countertops, do that.  Your realtor’s not just saying that to make noise come out of her head.  She’s telling you what the market says you have to do to compete.  Did you know that some homes in the $120,000 price range now have granite countertops and stainless appliances?  Some builders are doing that! 

I still say that you’re either going to catch or repel your buyer the minute they walk in the door.  If it FEELS good, smells good, looks good, the temperature is comfortable, you have a shot.  If not, I have seen buyers turn around in the foyer and leave.  Yep, that happens. So here are some of the most common complaints:

1) Bad smell; 2) brass fixtures date the house; 3) yard looks terrible; 4) bedrooms too small; Oh, here’s a big one, 5) too cluttered; and the grand finale: 6) price too high!  By the way, if the complaint is that the room is too small, all you can do is eliminate as much clutter/furniture as possible…as in, make the room LOOK bigger.

No, you can’t deliberately price to high and hope for a lower offer.  People won’t even come SEE your house.   Pricing is the first, most significant hurdle you face. You USED to be able to price too high; not now.

You can’t sell clutter.  There are 8 houses near you that look perfect inside.  No, you can’t offer carpet allowance; buyers can find 6 other homes where the seller has put in new carpet AND painted.  I know!  But it’s true!

We can’t all afford to do expensive upgrades, but the bottom line is this: The days of selling whatever we put out there are on hold for now.  You have to compete, and compete strongly in this market.  Want to know what to do to get started?  Let’s talk! 

Triangle Real Estate Associates

We are a satellite team of Fonville Morisey Realty.  Our team consists of seven agents, two marketing specialists, and our wonderful Broker-in-Charge.  We work as a team to list and sell homes. Each listing is discussed each week in our meetings and we operate as a team to get our listings sold.  We operate not only as a team, but also as a family.  We genuinely care about one another AND our clients.  If you haven’t had the benefit of a team working to help you with your real estate needs, you should consider giving us a call.  We’d love to be of service!