Archive for the 'FSBO's' Category
Get Your House Showing Ready: Clean-Up the Clutter
December 17th, 2008 categories: Chicago Real Estate News, FSBO's, For Homeowners, For Sellers
I’m sure we REALTORS® sometimes sound like broken records to our clients. But there are some things that bear repeating, no matter how many times you have to say them. “Make sure your home is ready for every showing,” is one of those things.
In today’s slower housing market, your home will not get nearly as many showings as it did just two or three years ago. Even in Chicago’s top neighborhoods, places like Lakeview, Lincoln Square, Bucktown, the Gold Coast and Lincoln Park, the number of potential buyers is down from the years of the housing boom. This means that sellers must always present their residences in the best possible light. There just aren’t as many people interested in buying any home right now. You need to give your residence every chance to shine.
Getting a home ready for a showing involves some fairly simple steps. I know no one enjoys housework. And after several showings, rushing around your home to get it into prime viewing condition can be a pain. But you never know when that right buyer will be touring your home. You want to make sure that your home looks its best when that buyer does show up.
The first step should happen before you even put your home on the market: Remove as much furniture, toys, televisions, knick-knacks and electronics as possible. The more clutter you have, the less attractive and the smaller your residence seems.
Secondly, there should be no personal photos of adults in the house and only limited memorabilia. Also, there should be no photos or memorabilia of your former college, nothing that clearly states your political views, no religious items and nothing that celebrates your sexual orientation. It may sound silly, but a buyer may see your University of Illinois banner and immediately get a negative feeling about your home because she attended Northwestern University. If you have a wedding shrine dedicated to photos of the big day, make sure to remove that, too. Buyers want to envision themselves in your home. It’s hard to do that if all they can see are photos of you and your spouse.
Next, never leave a mess behind before a showing. Make your beds. Wash your dishes. Clean the bathrooms and the kitchen floors. Vacuum the rugs. Again, I know this is a pain, but selling your house is a huge step. Do everything you can to make the sale happen.
Pets are tricky. Buyers don’t appreciate listening to a barking dog in the basement. And the sight of a litter box doesn’t generate happy feelings about a home. Before a showing, take your pets out, and don’t bring them back until the showing is over. Remove all evidence of them, too. Don’t leave chew toys on the couches or bags of dog food in the kitchen corner.
Finally, don’t forget your home’s exterior. Your home’s outside will make the first impression on buyers. You don’t want them to see an overgrown lawn or a front walk that hasn’t been shoveled. Keep everything on the outside neat and tidy. Buyers will then have a positive feeling as they open your front door.
Remember, the housing boom is long over. Gone are the days when even homes in less-than-sparkling condition would attract multiple offers. Take the extra time to prepare your home for every showing. It will pay off in the long run.
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The Art of Negotiation
November 14th, 2008 categories: Chicago Real Estate News, FSBO's, For Buyers, For Sellers
A top REALTOR® can help you with all phases of the home-buying and –selling process. But the best REALTORS® truly shine during the negotiation process.
Negotiations may be the most important part of the real estate transaction. But it’s the one part of the process that few people think about or plan for.
This is astounding to me. Think about it: If you negotiate successfully, you can save thousands of dollars on the purchase of your home. You can work with sellers to get roofs repaired, electrical lines moved or plumbing updated before you move into the home. You can even work out the closing dates that are most advantageous to you.
But too many buyers give little to no thought to the negotiation process until they actually make a formal offer. If you’re working with a skilled REALTOR®, though, that agent will help you plan for negotiations. The REALTOR® will work out with you beforehand what is most important: Are you most interested in lowering the price of the house? Or are you more interested in getting specific repairs done before you take ownership? Do you want credits to pay for foundation repairs? Or do you want a delayed closing date?
Armed with the knowledge of your priorities, your REALTOR® can then work with the sellers and their agent to work out compromises that make everyone happy.
The negotiation process is especially important in Chicago’s top neighborhoods. Home values are holding steady or increasing in places like Lincoln Square, Lincoln Park, River North and Lakeview. The sellers of homes here are not desperate. They are not unloading properties. They are looking for the best offers, the ones that are fair and reasonable. A good REALTOR® will help you present that fair offer, and then handle the negotiations that follow until everyone is satisfied.
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The Bubble Burst: Have We Hit The Bottom Yet?
September 19th, 2008 categories: Chicago Real Estate News, FSBO's, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers, Housing Market, Mortgage Info
When people find out I’m a REALTOR®, they inevitably ask me one question: When are things going to get better in the housing industry?
I try to tell them that if they happen to be selling or buying a home in Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Roscoe Village, Lincoln Square or any number of Chicago neighborhoods, that their local real estate market isn’t bad at all. In fact, it’s healthy.
- – Image Courtesy of The New York Times —
Most people, though, don’t want to talk about that. They want to know if the residential real estate market has hit the bottom, and if housing prices will now begin to steadily climb.
Personally, I think things are beginning to look up. No one owns a crystal ball, but some new housing statistics make me think that the housing market may, indeed, have already suffered through its roughest patch.
Take the new report from the National Association of REALTORS®, which you can read here. The report says that home sales should hold fairly steady in the coming months and will actually increase slightly — from 5.01 million homes sold in 2008 to 5.35 million sold in 2009 — next year.
The REALTORS® association is also predicting that home prices, after falling 4 to 7 percent this year, will rise 2 to 4 percent next year.
Is this good news? If it happens, yes. Then it’s a sign that the housing crisis has bottomed out. It’s also more evidence that it is once again becoming a good time to buy and sell, especially if you live in a market like Chicago’s.
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A Quick Look at What First-Time Buyers Want
September 5th, 2008 categories: Chicago Real Estate News, FSBO's, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers
If you’re selling a home in Chicago, first-time buyers are an important group to target. They don’t have a home of their own to sell. That makes completing a deal easier.
That’s why I was happy to read Sunday’s Chicago Tribune. The paper, on the front page of its Chicago Homes section, featured a story taking a close look at first-time buyers and what they want in a home. You can read the story here.
The Tribune quotes a broker survey by a large real estate firm. Turns out, the number-one priority of the vast majority of today’s first-time buyers is finding a home that is move-in ready. According to the survey, 81 percent of first-time buyers have no interest at all in a home that needs several repairs or renovations. Only 7 percent of first-time buyers in the survey said they would settle for a fixer-upper.
This is important information to know. Remember, the Chicago housing market is a competitive one. Sellers need every advantage they can grab to land the right buyers for their homes. This survey tells us that sellers hoping to attract the greatest number of buyers should only bring their homes to the market after making critical repairs, renovations and updates to their residences.
Those sellers who don’t do this, who try to list homes in “as is” condition will turn away a significant number of buyers. Those sellers who don’t want to sink money into fixing their roofs, updating their bathrooms or re-painting their hallways will have to list their homes for a lower price.
Think the results of this survey aren’t important, or that first-time buyers are a market you can afford to alienate? Think again. The Tribune story also quotes the National Association of REALTORS®, which reports that first-time buyers make up 39 percent of the market. That’s a large percent, and it’s growing. Last year, first-time buyers made up 36 percent of the market.
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The Trouble With Vacant Homes…
August 25th, 2008 categories: Chicago Real Estate News, FSBO's, For Homeowners, For Sellers
It can be a challenge selling any home in today’s residential real estate market. Selling an empty home is even trickier.
The reasons are simple: Vacant homes, especially if they’re empty, look cold and sterile. With no one permanently on site, it’s easy for these homes to become dirty and their landscaping to become unkempt.
Across the nation, there are more vacant homes than ever. According to the U.S. Census Bureau,18.6 million homes across the country were sitting unoccupied during the second quarter of this year. That’s a new record. The number of vacant dwellings was up 6.9 percent from the same period last year.
The Chicago Tribune, in its Sunday Business section, had an interesting story on the impact that vacant homes can have on a neighborhood. You can read it here.
Basically, the story says that empty residences quickly become eyesores. The story also looks at the growing number of communities, including Chicago, that are passing laws designed to force property owners to maintain their homes even if they’re vacant.
It is crucial for sellers to never let their homes devolve to the point where potential buyers consider them an eyesore. Owners must keep their homes clean even if they are no longer living in them. Otherwise, they should prepare themselves to wait a long time for a sale.
The best way to keep a vacant home looking clean, bright and lived-in is to hire a REALTOR® who is willing — and has the staff — to visit the home on a regular basis, making sure everything is swept and dusted. It also helps to keep furniture in the home, and to hire a stager to arrange that furniture. Remember, selling a home with bare rooms is a huge challenge, even in the strongest of markets. In today’s slower market, it’s even tougher.
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