Don't Take Everything

If you plan to move while your home is still listed for sale, you may face a marketing challenge - the vacant home.  While lived-in homes may be more attractive during showings, there is much you can do to present your vacant property successfully.

On the outside, give your home an occupied look by asking a neighbor to park their car in your driveway, open and close your drapes, and retrieve any mail that still arrives.  During the warm season, have a lawn service maintain the yard (in the winter, a snow removal service may be in order).

On the inside, create a sense of space by leaving some strategically placed pieces of furniture, like a few chairs, tables and lamps.  You can create a "bed" by covering an empty mattress box or several moving boxes with a thick comforter.

If you remove furniture that reveals blemishes on the walls, repair and repaint those.  If you notice that the carpeting is faded after you've moved furniture, consider replacing it if possible.

Keep it feeling pleasant indoors during all seasons by keeping your power on after you move, and having a neighbor or family member set the temperature at a minimum comfortable setting according to seasonal conditions.

Your agent will have even more suggestions for marketing a vacant home, so put that experience to good use!

A Welcome Sight

Home staging has become a popular industry and topic, particularly as it relates to improving the appeal of your listing during challenging times in the real estate market.  But what about “staging” your yard?

Sure, any steps that you take to improve your interior's appeal will go a long way towards wooing buyers, but it's the outside of your home that they will see first, and you know that first impressions count!  Review some of these helpful tips to make your offering an inviting one.

Go green by seeding and fertilizing your lawn for a lush look.  Also, bring your home out from hiding by trimming overgrown branches and shrubbery around the house.  Give the impression of easy living by hanging a hammock in the front yard.  Seriously, little suggestions like that really sink into a buyer's mind.

Give your flowerbeds and borders more striking visual appeal by applying mulch, and edge the beds and driveway, walkways and sidewalk.  Planting annuals such as geraniums and petunias will also add to the impact and brighten up empty areas.

The final step in your outdoor "staging" is to powerwash your home's siding and the sidewalk and patio or deck.  When you show pride of ownership and that you care about your home's presentation, it will resonate with buyers looking for value and a home in ready-to-move-in condition.

The Goose and the Gander

When facing a mortgage default, most homeowners try to sell their home - fast.  The technique that works in these stressful situations also works for the rest of sellers - namely, aggressive pricing.

As a seller, you control the three factors that determine how quickly your home will sell: marketing, condition, and price.  Let's focus on that last element.

First, be clear about your goals.  Can you hold out for the highest price you can get, or do you want to move on quickly?  Unfortunately, the fact that you paid more than what homes in your neighborhood are selling for is irrelevant in today's market.

Forget about salvaging equity, and price your home aggressively against the competition.  Overpricing keeps many buyers from even seeing your listing in their affordability zone.  They'll see lower priced homes as a better value, while you'll wait until the lowballers come out of the woodwork.

Start your pricing decision with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) performed by your real estate representative.  If you're truly motivated to sell quickly, price your home 10% lower than the selling (not asking) prices of other homes in your area.

Now your home becomes a bargain, and it will attract the attention of other agents and their qualified buyers.  An attractive price, good condition and savvy marketing will result in offers and ultimately, a sale.

Luck is a Four-Letter Word

A "buyers' market" is just what it implies - a market in which buyers have the advantage and exploit it.  It's not a market that rewards foot-dragging, hesitation or indecision.

Unfortunately, all the factors that created the buyers' market we have today have been reported so negatively and rampantly by various media outlets that buyers are themselves too spooked to even enter the fray.  Strangely, people were buying like crazy during the previous sellers' market, when the advantage was actually all to the sellers.

That's when buyers didn't fear paying too much, and now that prices are so low and inventories so high, suddenly buyers DO fear paying too much!  However, it's impossible to purposefully time the market to buy at the bottom and sell at the top. 

Once the market begins to settle and subsequently improve (and it will), the amazing buying opportunities we've been seeing will begin to disappear.  With decreased buying activity now, pent up demand for homes will explode when the market recovers, and buyers will once again be competing for the best homes. 

Don't rely on luck in the marketplace - rely on planning.  Make a careful decision with a predictable outcome.  Has the market dropped enough, right now, to make such a purchase?  Absolutely!  Forget about the top and the bottom and enter your "safe zone" with confidence.

Comparison Shopping for Schools

Real estate professionals are very often faced with a question from buyers that has nothing to do with houses: "What are the best schools in the area to which we’re moving?"  When you relocate, the most important thing you'll be moving is your child, and you want to be certain you are making the right choice for education.

One excellent resource for beginning your research is SchoolMatters.com, an online database of public schools.  Begin with statistics that illustrate students' achievement levels in each school.  Compare reports for all students, including minorities and children in low-income families.  Schools in which all students perform well are providing balanced educational opportunities.

Also pay attention to extra-curricular activities offered, particularly if your child is interested in sports and other pursuits outside the classroom.  The School Matters database offers ratings and reviews directly from the parents, so you can learn from those with experience.

One thing you can't determine online, however, is the actual classroom environment, so you should absolutely schedule a visit to one or more schools in the area before making your decision.  Meet with the principal and watch the manner in which teachers and students interact.

Once you have an understanding of the distinctions between schools, your choice will become clear.  You wouldn't buy the first home you see, and "shopping" for a school is no different!

A Brief Tale of the Short Sale

Foreclosure has a negative impact not only on homeowners, but also their neighborhoods and local economy and housing market.  One way to avoid foreclosure is with a "short sale," in which the lender is willing to accept a payoff that is less than the balance of the loan.  Such a sale still benefits the lender, supports home values, and helps the seller maintain a level of credit.

Because "short selling" is a different process for different types of loans, the expertise of a real estate agent adds value to these complicated transactions.  A "normal" sale involves at least two agents, the seller, the buyer, the buyer's lender and other professionals.  A short sale involves all of them, plus the seller's lender, counselors, lien holders, insurers and more.

The National Association of REALTORS® has worked to help agents understand and solve the problems involved in short sales, including the piles of paperwork, overextended loss mitigation departments, and appraisals that don't reflect seller duress or recent foreclosures in the neighborhood.

You might consider speaking with an agent about a short sale if you meet three basic criteria: you're behind on payments, you can prove legitimate hardship, and have little equity.  With the expert knowledge and guidance of a real estate professional on your side, you have an opportunity to salvage your credit and avoid the pain of foreclosure.

Have An Escape Plan

Selling a home has its challenges, some of which go beyond the obvious aspects of determining an asking price and developing a marketing plan.  Just trying to keep your home in immaculate condition while living there is no mean feat, not to mention being prepared for showings at any given moment.  However, experience proves that there are some basic steps to take to alleviate these stresses.

First, be prepared with a large plastic storage tub for each room.  When an agent and buyers are on their way for a showing, quickly unclutter each room by placing toys, personal items, and knick-knacks in the tubs and putting them in the closet.  Then it's easy to replace everything once your visitors have left.

Also have your "escape plan" determined.  Decide in advance where you’ll run off to for thirty minutes while your home is being shown.  Maybe you'll go down to the park or the local coffee shop, but it helps to know where you'll go before you hop in the car and start driving around aimlessly waiting for prospective buyers to clear out of your home.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, be flexible in your scheduling, as restrictions on your home’s availability can make marketing the home difficult for your representative.  With a little preparation, you can be ready for anything, particularly that full price offer!