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sellers "Shelley sold our home in Lake Forest in an extremely difficult market. I say Shelley sold it because I give her 100% of the credit. She nutured us through the entire process and understood that it was very emotional for us after 22 years. She was there for us every step of the way, including negotiating the very best price for us." -- Cathy Z, Lake Forest
"We directly attribute the sale of our home -- in the most challenging of real estate markets -- to Shelley Goddard's communication and organizational skills, innate business sense and command of market realities, and her ability to nurture client and industry relationships." --Lisa K, Chicago The Science of Generating Multiple Offers"As you might have heard by now, multiple offers are the new black," writes Tara-Nicholle Nelson in a recent blog article. Here are the "highlights" from the article - click here to read it in its entirety. #1. Listed low. Do your best to list your home at a slight discount, not at a slight premium, compared to the recent neighborhood sales. That will get buyers’ attention. "In real estate, more showings are an inescapable prerequisite to more offers." #2. Easy to show. Want multiple offers? Make sure your home is available to be shown on demand, or as close as possible to that. Your home could be priced well and marketed well, but if you make it too difficult for buyers to get in to see it, they may find and choose another home from those that are more easily accessible to view, and/or they may assume you are not motivated to sell, get irritated and pass on your home as a result. #3. Immaculate look and function. If you want multiple offers, what needs to happen is for multiple buyers to fall deeply in love with your home. Make sure your home is immaculate from the inside out, decluttered and staged to the nines, with everything working properly. #4. Just enough market exposure. Since many buyers have to do all their house hunting on weekends, allow for ample market exposure and let buyers know they will be able to see the property and get their offers considered. #5. Sellers who are willing to revise. There are definitely homes whose sellers net more than they expected because they were willing to revise the list price downward in response to market feedback (i.e., no showings, no offers or lowball offers).
30 Can't-Miss Home Staging TipsDesigned to Sell designer Lisa LaPorta shares some of her best home staging tips.In this article, Lisa LaPorta shares practical advice about cleaning up grimy bathroom walls, yucky shower doors, unattractive fireplaces, dated kitchen cabinets, worn patios, and pet odors. For example, "Stage rooms with one purpose so buyers will know what it is. Potential buyers are confused by extra rooms that have a mishmash of uses. To avoid this problem, first clear away clutter and excess furniture. Paint the walls a neutral tone and then furnish the room with a desk to stage it as a home office in which buyers will want to get down to business." You'll also learn what buyers are looking for (like built-ins, storage space, appliances and pedestal sinks)! Read the full article
Getting Your Home Ready to Show - and Sell
If you're trying to sell your home in this real estate market, you want to make the best impression possible when prospective buyers come to see it. Real estate legend Barbara Corcoran walks us through the do's and don'ts of preparing your home for sale.
Competitive Pricing is Critical
This video is part of HGTV's "25 Biggest Real Estate Mistakes" show. Research your neighborhood for comparable homes and ask for a fair price.
Top 6 Buyer Turn-offsTrulia.com staffer Tara-Nicholle Nelson writes another excellent article outlining six things that make buyers cringe - and what you as the seller can do to prevent your home from being an offender! 1. Stalker-ish sellers 2. Shabby, dirty, crowded and/or smelly houses 3. Irrational seller expectations (i.e., overpricing) 4. Feeling mislead 5. New, ugly home improvements 6. CRAZY listing photos (or no photos at all) Click here to read the full article.
4 Questions to Ask Your Home's BuyerJust because the market is down doesn't mean sellers are powerless. Proactively asking prospective buyers the right questions can help put together the best possible deal, and stacks the decks in favor of it closing, as well - so here are those questions! ( Read Full Article) 1. Where's your proof? Every seller fears pulling their home off the market in reliance on a contract that later implodes because of the reality that they might forgo other good buyers while your home is marked “pending.” While nothing is bullet-proof, smart sellers have their agents ask the buyers agent for robust proof that the buyer can actually do the deal. 2. Is there anything you'd like? If you have things that are in great condition, are difficult to move, are very well-suited or custom-made for the home or that you were planning to sell in the course of your move anyway, you might want to ask your home’s buyer if they are interested in them. Some sellers who can’t meet a buyer’s counteroffer by reducing the price instead offer up a valuable item of property instead, sealing the deal that way. 3. For offers over the asking price: What's your plan if it doesn't appraise? Even on today’s market, a well-priced home in a great neighborhood can generate multiple offers, with the top offer usually exceeding the asking price. The problem is that if the recent sales in the area aren’t in that same price range as your amazing offer, your home could very well fail to appraise for the asking price (low appraisals are a very common problem these days - causing thousands of transactions to fall out of escrow). And the other problem is that some crafty buyers count on this, strategizing to make a sky-high offer to beat the others out, planning all the while to demand a price reduction when the property appraises low. 4. Did you read the reports?
In their excitement to find a property that meets their needs, some buyers barely skim the inspection and appraisal reports and may not realize that the list price reflects a discount for the needed repairs. Best practices for sellers who have advance reports is to require buyers to acknowledge them (as by signing a receipt), and to even call out - in writing - the specific repairs for which the price is being discounted. Some listing agents in these situations even advise their sellers to insist on an as-is contract, so that the buyer has a crystal clear understanding that the seller cannot do any repairs. Read Full Article
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