As a home seller, whose excellent balance of beach condo is eight months and three escrows sold last year, here are some practical things I have learned that will help you and your family cope positively when selling your own home in a tough economy , especially if you are still living there while on the market.
Ace Agent. I can not say enough. Your home is probably your biggest financial asset and its sale should just put in the hands of a star real estate agency. Educate yourself. Interview at least three agents. Ask critical questions and call their references. Work with your partner and decide together. Looking skills, high degree of practical experience, professionalism and integrity of business practices. Make sure you have a full support staff of escrow and find out how you will manage the sale when they are traveling or on vacation. Like a doctor who not ten operations per day compared to those who are not two, more practical experience, the better your chances for positive results. Once you find an agent who has the skill level you seek, strive for a good personality match and then rely on their intuition to make the final decision.
R-e-s-p-e-c-t. be respectful of their agent and their staff, and expect to be treated with respect in return. That being said, if you make a sincere effort to work things out, and it simply does not work, hire a new agent. It may not be pleasant, but their financial well-being can be affected for years to come. I did this and my other agent was not the only gem that along with, but he listened well, was a good negotiator, he got the job done, and with professionalism.
Bug Screen. Find an agent who is willing to display a customer calls and will only send qualified customers to your door. While agents are not magicians or mind readers, they can do their best to know ahead of time, if the buyers are qualified for a loan can be paid in cash, or if you are simply people who go to every open house in the county as a hobby. Some business agent of the "customer bugs" behind the scenes so that you can deal with your daily life and work and continue to prepare to move your entire household and family. If you interview agents who say they do not have the time or staff to screen clients, interview several agents until you find one who is happy to do it for you. My other agent offered to pre-screen call the customer before I even asked.
Underwear Drawer Blues. If you are a sociable person who likes to drop by the visitors and a lot of people in your home, on May does not bother you to potential customers peering into your closet, bathroom and home office, commenting on everything from his style of decoration in the shampoo that you use on your hair. But for those of us more private personality types who prefer a quiet evening at home reading and be alone with our spouse, it can be downright discouraging to feel like your whole life under the microscope. Waive lockbox and ask your realtor to let you know at least one hour in advance of any presentation. Leave your home during showings, so I do not feel pressured to answer customer questions and so you will not have to listen to their comments about your clothes closet.
Serene showings. I learned that time I had to leave his home for the screenings into something positive. I parked my car on the road so I could see the prospects come and go and would therefore know if I could return to their home. As moms who are waiting in the car for their kids to soccer practice, I used that "found a quiet car time" to read the book, call a friend on my cell phone, or say prayers. (This is my house will sell!) I also kept a notebook in my car to take the idea of writing, business brainstorms, and decorating ideas for my new home. Although it was hard to leave your home office so many times a week, I made my best effort to use time wisely and stay in a positive frame of mind.
Mess Buster. declutter your home before selling. Put possessions like trophies, awards, and family photographs in the warehouse. Buyers need to see the space well enough so that they can visualize themselves living there with their furniture and belongings. Clean windows, new plants, and fresh paint are important. If your decor is dated, can help to hire a real estate expert scaffolding, but be careful about who advised to spend huge sums of money. Are they walk in and give you ideas and then implement their proposals themselves as your intuition and your budget to guide you to do. Remember that if you decide to take your home off the market and it was set up, you may not feel comfortable living and your personal belongings are in storage. I hired real estate stager, who has spent her suggestions, and I felt it helped to sell the property. But I also felt like I lived in the house of a stranger who was a downer for the homebody types like me.
nice experience. Be sure to find something to do that will bring beauty and happiness in your life while you wait. Color images, go to see plays, hit some golf balls, or walk on the beach. Do whatever you comfortable for you and your family, it is a tonic for the spirit. During our 30 days escrow, which lasted the entire Christmas holidays and seasonal disrupted our plans, I accepted a last-minute homework for an article that was later published in a popular national decorating magazine. Yes, really. By focusing on someone else's beautiful home and tell your family a happy story, it enabled me to think that my house will finally sell, and I'd serene family life again too.
yielding paperwork. Be prepared for the onslaught of paperwork and keep it organized. Legal documents abound in home sales transactions and it is best to start a file for them before any offer comes in. I bought a brown legal size accordion file folder from the store's office supply store escrow papers arrived one by one. After the transaction was over, and I organized them in a few labeled manila file folders, and archive them in my closet for storage. And I was delighted when a few weeks after the sale I got all my signed escrow documents on a CD from my real estate and may file a CD right along with their own works.
E-mail elephants. Yes, home sales will make e-mails in your in-box the size of an elephant. Accept this fact and plan ahead. I opened a file folder in my e-mail program with your real estate on behalf of him and every incoming and outgoing e-mail was placed in this folder. It enabled me to stay on top of what is happening over three escrows, and also keep track of the forms that are attached to the e-mails and had to be signed and faxed back to my agent or his escrow officer. My agent and I worked almost exclusively via e-mail and it worked great.
is sufficient for children. If you must leave your home in the short term, it is not always easy to "grab the baby and go with baby in tow also. To make it easier to keep their carts and tote bag filled with snacks, bottles, diapers, wipes and other basics, as well as toys and books front door, so you can leave on short notice and to avoid cranky kids. If the weather is bad, head for the car and take a little ride. Depending on their age, a move like a fun adventure, says positively that he will soon have an adorable new room and new school with great friends. Do not let your anxiety show their children, they need stability, security and love, for the time
.weekend. Yes, really. Maybe you can not afford to jet off a tropical island, but if your in-laws will keep the kids for one night, so you and your partner can be checked in a nice hotel or B & B for some rest and romance, not him. Ask your agent that you can not contact you, unless for emergencies. During our escrow, my hubby and I drove to Palm Springs to escape. hot desert weather, watching old movies together, going for a stroll through the beautifully decorated Christmas shop, and attend a Christmas church service starts as a balm for our spirits and gave us the grace to face delayed home confinement and a big move forward. It also helped us gain perspective and to thank for our prosperity.
If you're in the middle of trying to home sales, keep the faith. With a combination of some advance planning and a sweet serendipity, you and your family will be walking across the threshold of their new in no time and the latest chapter of your life happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment