Plan and Prepare...
Home selling has become a more complex business than it used to be. New seller disclosure statements, longer and more mysterious form agreements, and a range of environmental concerns have all emerged in the past decade.
The result is that while almost 100,000 existing properties are sold each week in the United States, the process is not as easy for sellers as it was five or 10 years ago. Surviving in today's real estate world requires experience and training in such fields as real estate marketing, financing, negotiation and closing - the very expertise I provide.
Are you ready?
The selling process typically starts several months before a property is made available for sale. It's necessary to look at a property through the eyes of a prospective buyer and determine what needs to be cleaned, painted, repaired and tossed out. Even vacant land needs to be staged.
Ask yourself: If you were buying this property what would you want to see? The goal is to show a property to its best advantage, maximize the spaces and attracts as many buyers - and as much demand - as possible.
When should you sell?
The marketplace tends to be more active in the summer because parents want to enroll children in classes at the beginning of the school year (usually August). In a resort or second home market like Stowe, it is possible to see year-round activity in the marketplace, especially when economic factors are favorable. So, property pricing tends to rise or fall because of general demand patterns rather than the time of the year.
How do you improve your property's value?
The general rule in real estate is that buyers seek the least expensive property in the best neighborhood they can afford. In terms of improvements, this means you want a property that fits in the neighborhood but is not over-improved.
Using an existing home as an example: If most homes in your neighborhood have three bedrooms, two baths and 2,500 sq. ft. of finished space, a property with five bedrooms, more baths and far more space would likely be priced much higher and likely be more difficult to sell.
Improvements should be made so that the property shows well, is consistent with the neighborhood and does not involve capital investments, the cost of which cannot be recovered from the sale. Furthermore, improvements should reflect community preferences.
Cosmetic improvements - staging, paint, de-cluttering and landscaping all help a home "show" better and often are good investments. Mechanical repairs - to ensure that all systems and appliances are in good working condition, are required to get a top price. Ideally, you want to be sure that your property is competitive with other homes available in the community.
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