Get Exotic With Selling Your Home!

Cookies? Fresh flowers? New TV? It's time to step these home selling tactics to something more clever and exotic, than what worked 20 years ago. No, you don't need a (insert favorite African animal here) in the front yard, but these ideas are defiantly not the normal selling tactics.

Let's start at the beginning, well as close to the beginning as modern home selling goes anyhow, there's an old tradition out there that people swear by. They say that burying a medallion or statuette of St. Joseph (I've heard you want him upside down) in your yard is the key to a quick home sale. There's no economical or psychological reason this works but it's fun and gives you hope.

Now for the things that take a little more work and may seem more realistic.

Go online! Whether listing with an agent or selling your home on your own, get on social networks (Facebook, Twitter & Linked In) and make sure everyone knows you're selling! Post pictures of your home, links to the listing, great things about your home & neighborhood. Your immediate contacts may not be looking for a home themselves, but it is a network so you never know who might know someone that is shopping for a home, so get your contacts to like, share and re-tweet your posts!

Another exotic tactic is overnight showings, this may be just the time the buyer needs to “sleep on it”. Giving them time to “live” in the house lets them get the full experience of the home. Depending on the situation, you may want to stay in the house with them, just make sure they have the master bedroom and you make yourself scarce. You'll probably want to save this one for the buyer that's looked at the home multiple times and needs that little push, after all you aren't running a bed & breakfast!

Staging your home is something you've probably heard of, but adding the technique of Feng shui gives flow to the layout of your home. The flow and openness makes it easier to walk through the home and gives the space a more inviting feel.

If your home has great entertaining space, offer it up as a party venue for groups that fit your buyer's demographic, such as charitable organizations. Have your agent attend the party to offer answers to questions about the home.

Here's the last one, for this blog anyhow. How about a brand new car Bob?! That's right many sellers are throwing in a new car in the form of a 2-year lease. Depending on the sale price of your home this could be equal to paying the buyer closing costs, so dollar wise, it's not that much of a financial risk and a new car is an amazing incentive for a buyer.

All of these ideas may not be winners for everyone, but they do help get the creative juices flowing and I'll be keeping an eye out for more unique selling ideas and pass them on to you here.

Selling Your Home Over The Holidays

Thanksgiving through Christmas are the slowest time for home sales, some people even take them off the market and list them again in the spring. If you have yours on the market in this time you can take advantage of the limited number of listings and the fact that buyers shopping this time of year are highly motivated. The holidays can be a rough time for home sales but they are also a fun time for staging and showing your home! Here are a few tips to making selling your home over the winter holidays effective.

Making your home look cozy, warmer, brighter and desirable takes more work in the winter, with its cold temperatures and overcast days. The first place to start is the thermostat, there's nothing worse than trying to look at a house while shivering, you don't have to make it seem like the tropics but around 75 is a good temperature during a showing or open house. If you have fireplaces in your home winter is a great time to show them off! During showings, make sure to leave all the lights on (don't worry about the electric bill, they won't dent it too much) or request that showing are during the daytime if possible.

Now we come to the fun part, decorating for the holidays! Who can resist a classically decorated home? Think more Home Alone (before the robbers try to break in) and not Clark Griswold's over done décor (check the Christmas tree for squirrels though), keep decorations purposeful and don't let them distract from the architectural features of the home. Make sure to change up the scent of your home to reflect the season, cranberry, apples and cinnamon are great reminders of the holidays. You may want to place mock gifts under the tree and keep the real gifts out of sight somewhere.

During open houses have hot apple cider, candy canes and fresh cookies available for snacking.

If snow is in the forecast, make sure to arrange for removal, who wants to trek through the snow to look at a home. If there's not a cleared path potential buyers may just stay in the car and move on to the next home.

One last tip, if you list in the winter, you should try to find recent pictures of your home from spring or summer when the yard is green and the trees are full to have your agent post with the listing.

Tips for Siblings Selling Their Parent's Home

As we age, our parents are aging and at some point they will both pass on, most likely leaving a home to their children. Situations like this can get sticky when there are multiple siblings inheriting the house. There are many personality traits that may come out, some of the siblings may want to take complete control, leaving the others out of the decision process, thus creating bruised feelings and stress relationships. We all want to have harmony at Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas, so having a plan of action is the first step to a smooth process. Here are some tips, some are a little harsh but needed, to getting that plan going with ease.

• Make sure taxes, insurance, and mortgages are being paid.
• Wait 30 days before making any decisions – giving everyone time to grieve and detach feelings.
• Make sure to keep everyone equal partners. (Leave spouses out of the equation, that can sometime create conflict with siblings).
• Make sure to meet in a neutral location. This may sound odd but meeting at one siblings home may intimidate others.
• Pick a specific date to get the house on the market.
• Have a couple real estate professionals come do market analysis on the home to get a real market value. This will help you understand what the home is actually worth in today's market.
• Make list of repairs that need to be made to the home. Using a inspector’s checklist will help make sure you get the essentials taken care of.
• You'll also want to make a list of purely aesthetic things that need to be done to increase curb appeal.
• Keep track of the expenses of the projects so that everyone get reimbursed for what they have bought after the sale.

If you have siblings that are out of state or can't be at meetings, make sure to keep them in the loop via conference call and make sure that their opinions are valued.

Sad to say, but if there are any adult siblings living in the home, you should be collecting rent from them until the house sells, even if your parents had let them live rent free, as this tips the scales of being equal partners.

In the case that one sibling wants to purchase the home, they should be treated the same as an outside buyer, having to pay fair market value to the estate, minus their percentage of the whole purchase price.

None of us wants to go through loosing loved ones then having to deal with the sale of a home. Remember through the whole process that your partners in this are your family and are going through the same lose as you.

Here are some other great articles that may help you in the process:

http://www.ehow.com/how_10068546_sell-inherited-home-parents.html

http://www.kiplinger.com/features/archives/2007/03/secure.html

http://www.rd.com/videos/selling-your-deceased-parents-home-34800257

http://youtu.be/ln4EN9HiQYo

Staging and Selling Homes With Pets

Staging and selling your home takes a little more thought when you have pets in the house. One thing you have to consider is what to do with your pets when buyers come for a showing. You love your pets dearly, they’re a part of your family, but that doesn’t mean the buyers coming for a visit will have the same feelings.

There are many people that adore all types of creatures, there are also people that like some but not others and sadly there are some people who don’t like pets at all or who may have allergies to pet dander. Being sensitive to these different groups of people is tough. Having pets in your home during visits may distract the buyers from actually focusing on the house because of there love or fear of your pets being there.

Taking them with you when you leave the home for the showing is a great idea if you can do it. If you have small pets that can be crated and not cause a distraction, leaving them in the home may be enough. If your pets are larger or a nuisance (we know yours probably aren’t), you may want to find temporary housing for them during the selling process. Some options for temporary housing could be with family, friends or having them boarded.

Another thing you need to consider when staging your home for showing is possible pet smells that you may be used to, but others might find a turn off. Have your carpets professionally cleaned, making sure to tell the cleaners that you have pets and to remove any stains and odors that may be present.

You’ll also want to go through your rooms and check for pet hair that might have accumulated on the sides of your furniture and drapes and vacuum it off.

If your pets are staying in the home during the selling process, make sure that pet food is not left in places buyers may look, such as cabinets and pantries. Store them in the garage while the home is being shown.

Making sure your home is staged to appeal to many people is a hard task; hopefully these tips will make your home stand out to those who love pets and those who don’t. Some of these things may seem hard at first, but the faster your home sells, the sooner Fido will have a new backyard to play in!

What is PMI?

PMI stands for Private Mortgage Insurance. It is something required by your mortgage company if your down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price. It’s purpose is to cover the balance of the 20% if you stopped making payments and went into foreclosure. It’s not going to pay off or mortgage if anything happens to you, it only protects the bank’s investment.

There are ways to avoid paying for PMI, such as if you are a veteran, VA loans do not require mortgage insurance. Other ways include going with a high interest rate, getting a combination loan, and there are also some banks that offer special loans to teachers and doctors that don’t require PMI.

One thing to know about PMI is that you don’t have to pay it for the entire life of the loan. It is only needed to cover the amount a 20% down payment. When your equity has reached that 20% you can contact your mortgage company and ask about ending your PMI. The 20% equity is based on your payments so far and the appraised value of your home, so they will usually want a professional appraisal done, which can run anywhere from $300-$500.

Get the most out of selling your home: Reasons listing with an agent is more relaxing than selling yourself.

You may be considering trying to sell your home on your own, perhaps with a sign in the yard and an online ad, but going at it alone may not be the simplest route. There are a few things to consider when deciding to sell on your own.

The first thing to understand is what role a listing agent actually plays in the process and what they bring to the table. Agents have a real time understanding of the housing market and have a better idea of what your home should be listed for.

When you sell your home on your own, you loose many avenues of marketing their home, such as only licensed real estate professionals have access to the MLS (multiple listing service), which adds your home listing to most real estate searches online, as well as putting it in front of real estate agents that may have a buyer your home is perfect for. Many agencies feature listed homes on the home page of their website giving additional exposure to home buyers.

Many home buyers feel intimidated when looking at a home shown by the owner and they may not even look at your home. Knowing that they will be negotiating with the owner themselves, without an agent as an emotional buffer, often holds them back from making an offer.

Agents also have the advantage of knowing real estate laws in their state and know all the steps to completing a transaction. This keeps you from making mistakes and slowing the process or loosing the sale all together.

Hopefully these reasons will make you aware of the why listing with an agent relieves stress of selling your home. Agents do this everyday and are well versed in the process and problems that may arise. Yes, they are motivated by commissions, but this motivation is to your advantage, providing you with the services and skills needed to sell your home in a timely manner and not have to worry about the sale of your home. You may be considering trying to sell your home on your own, perhaps with a sign in the yard and an online ad, but going at it alone may not be the simplest route. There are a few things to consider when deciding to sell on your own.

The first thing to understand is what role a listing agent actually plays in the process and what they bring to the table. Agents have a real time understanding of the housing market and have a better idea of what your home should be listed for.

When you sell your home on your own, you loose many avenues of marketing their home, such as only licensed real estate professionals have access to the MLS (multiple listing service), which adds your home listing to most real estate searches online, as well as putting it in front of real estate agents that may have a buyer your home is perfect for. Many agencies feature listed homes on the home page of their website giving additional exposure to home buyers.

Many home buyers feel intimidated when looking at a home shown by the owner and they may not even look at your home. Knowing that they will be negotiating with the owner themselves, without an agent as an emotional buffer, often holds them back from making an offer.

Agents also have the advantage of knowing real estate laws in their state and know all the steps to completing a transaction. This keeps you from making mistakes and slowing the process or loosing the sale all together.

Hopefully these reasons will make you aware of the why listing with an agent relieves stress of selling your home. Agents do this everyday and are well versed in the process and problems that may arise. Yes, they are motivated by commissions, but this motivation is to your advantage, providing you with the services and skills needed to sell your home in a timely manner and not have to worry about the sale of your home.