Home Selling Archives - Page 3 of 6

August 6, 2017 by changescapeweb

10 Changes to Make in Your Home as You Age

Changes to Make in Your Home

When many people buy a home, they plan to live in it for many years. Unfortunately, as the years pass homes, and people, tend to age. Mobility issues, disabilities, and illnesses all have an effect on your everyday living. In fact, you’ll see many ADA compliant housing making it’s way onto the market to tempt seniors and others living with disabilities.

Think ahead to ensure your home has the modifications you’ll need as you age. Read on for the top 10 changes you should consider making to your home to make living in it easier.

1. Safe Flooring

When looking into changing your home, it’s good to start small. Safer flooring is a great place for seniors to starts, as they can make most of the changes on their own. Create a hazard free flooring when you remove throw rugs and other items that could cause trips and falls. Low pile carpets or hard floors that flow from room to room are the best options.

2. Lever Door Handles

Another small change that can make a big difference are door handles. Seniors who suffer from poor grip strength or arthritis often have difficulties with round knobs. Instead, install door handles that can simply be pushed to open.

3. Grab Bars

Grab bars are among the most popular accessories to install in showers and bathrooms. They help you maneuver yourself and steady your during transitional poses. If you don’t need grab bars now, having extra backing in your walls ensures they can easily be installed if you need them later.

4. Walk in Showers

While some houses come with tubs in every room, walk-in showers can be critical for seniors who have a hard time raising their legs. Removing tubs and installing showers instead makes it easier for anyone to get in and out.

5. Built in Shower Seat

You can make showering even easier by installing a built-in shower seat when you change out your shower. Proving a place to rest decreases the chance of falls and creates a safer space to wash yourself in.

6. Lower Countertops

Changes to Make in Your Home

The kitchen is one place many people forget when making changes to their home. Adding in countertops at different heights, offers you the flexibility to work while sitting or standing.

7. Lower Cabinets | Higher Drawers

In addition to height appropriate counter tops, having drawers and cabinets within arms reach reduces fatigue while working in the kitchen. No need to bend down low or stretch too high to get what you need.

8. Wheelchair & Walker Accessible

Whether it’s the entrance to your home, hallways between rooms, or door frames, you should make sure that every part of your home allows space for walkers and wheelchairs. Fitting through hallways and doors shouldn’t be a struggle for those who need walking assistance.

Making the Right Changes

Whether you’re a senior who’s considering changing their home or you’re hosting an aging parent for long periods of time, using this list to make your home easier to navigate will help. Talk to friends and family about making these changes or reach out to a licensed contractor today.

Author Bio:

Shirley Moore is a former general contractor and freelance writer newly based in Miami, Florida. She got her license at Contractors License Resource Group, but turned to writing to educate her community about home safety. When she’s not writing, Shirley offers local construction consulting services.

Images:

August 1, 2017 by changescapeweb

FSBO’s Don’t Know They Are Taking Serious Risks

No one knows the business better than a real estate agent and selling a home isn’t easy without one. Those who forego selling a home without an agent are exposing him or herself to many possible risks.

Agents can help break down the selling process, so you understand it and are prepared for the next steps to come; such as the time needed for properly showing your home and getting it prepared for presentation to potential buyers. As a homeowner, you need an agent to help you comprehend the complex home selling market and to market your home for the best curb appeal. This is where you as a homeowner can be less successful, attempting to sell your home on your own.

Other important roles that real estate agents offer are negotiation experience, inspection and repair know-how, transaction management and closing finesse. All risks that you take if you defer the best option for you – getting a real estate agent to assist you in selling your home. Contact us today to guarantee you will avoid these risks.

For more information and to read more of this article, click on the link: Article from: https://www.inman.com/2017/07/26/8-things-homesellers-risk-when-they-sell-without-a-real-estate-agent/?utm_source=weeklyheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sundaysend&utm_content=20170728_hero

Article by Cara Ameer

P.S. Real estate is really booming this summer! Homes are selling fast & for the highest prices in years. It is a great time to put your home on the market. It is a super time for buyers to buy while interest rates are still low. Don’t miss out on your dream home.

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June 13, 2017 by changescapeweb

10 Reasons Why For-Sale-By-Owners (FSBOs) Fail!

Homeowners trying to sell their homes on their own — for-sale-by-owners (FSBOs) — are driven by several reasons. Although most of them want to save money that they would have otherwise spent on real estate commissions, a few others take the FSBO route because they feel they don’t need a professional to sell their home.

Whatever the reason for attempting to sell solo might be, data from a National Association of Realtors survey shows that less than 10 percent of all home sales are FSBOs.

Top reasons why FSBOs fail in real estate

There are a lot of reasons why For-Sale-By-Owners fail and do not sell. Some of the top among these are:

1. Too many people to negotiate with

Those deciding to take the FSBO route often have to negotiate with many people. Some of them are likely to be:

The buyer, seeking the best possible deal.
The buyer’s agent, who represents the buyer’s best interest.
The buyer’s attorney (in some regions of the nation).
Home inspection companies, working for the buyer, which are likely to find some problem or the other with the house.
Your bank, in case it’s a short sale.
The appraiser, if the home’s value needs to be assessed.

Without the help of experienced real estate agents, dealing with so many different parties alone is often a tough task for homeowners.

2. Homeowners do not know how to prepare the home for sale

A majority of homeowners don’t know about the prelisting tasks that FSBOs should do before they list their home for sale. These usually include:

Decluttering.
Painting the rooms with a fresh coat of paint.
Getting necessary repairs done.
Getting the home floors and carpets cleaned by professionals.
Ensuring curb appeal of the home.
Replacing outdated light fixtures.

Because homes for sale by owners just have one chance to impress potential buyers, neglecting these home sale preparation tips often reduces the homeowners’ chances of selling the house.

3. Owners do not know how to screen potential buyers

FSBOs often have no idea about the difference between prequalification and preapproval, and they don’t know that buyers should ideally be preapproved or at least prequalified.

No wonder they let unqualified buyers inspect the house and waste their precious time. Not knowing if a buyer has the ability to purchase the home acts as a big deterrent for homes for sale by owners.

4. Owners fail to solve buyer’s queries

Handling inquiries from buyers on their listings and coordinating showings for their homes are prerequisites for making a sale. However, many homeowners either aren’t able to handle such inquiries on their homes or don’t have the time for them.

Even organizing showings might become an uphill task at times. Because these days potential buyers and their agents want quick responses to their inquiries, they don’t think twice before moving on to the next potential property if their inquiries and requests are unanswered.

5. Owners don’t understand the concept of ‘golden time’

According to this concept, homeowners get the most money for their homes in the first week of putting the property on the market. The longer FSBO homes stay on the market, the less money people will be willing to offer for them.

If a seller tries FSBO before hiring an agent, the seller loses the “golden time” window. This will eliminate buyers who have already viewed the home and might have made a reasonable offer — but have already moved on.

6. Owners fail to understand the contract procedures

The contract to buy a home involves much more than just the price offered by the buyer. Also, real estate contracts have lots of timelines and clauses and involve several common contract contingencies, such as inspections and mortgages.

Many FSBOs don’t have a firm understanding of such contracts and might not know what they are agreeing to or how to negotiate particular parts of the contract.

7. FSBOs don’t know how to handle the home inspection findings

Home inspections almost always find some issues with houses even when they are relatively newer structures. In such cases, the buyer requests problems be fixed or corrected before moving forward with the transaction.

However, many FSBOs believe that there is nothing wrong with their home, which is why they refuse to address the issues brought forward by home inspections. As a result, the offer falls through.

8. FSBOs incorrectly price their homes

FSBOs often price their homes incorrectly due to lack of experience. They set the price too high, which hinders their chances of closing the deal.

9. FSBO homes lack exposure

Homes for sale by owners are often listed on a few websites, but there are many that don’t allow FSBOs to list their property. Thus, FSBOs are unable to give their homes adequate exposure in the market.

However, when sellers hire a real estate agent, the professional can give a property comprehensive online exposure as well as exposure in the local real estate segment of the newspaper. The agent even has tools to extend the exposure further, which FSBOs don’t have.

10. FSBOs fail in the closing process

Even after an offer is accepted, many things still need to be done prior to the closing. For instance:

Get the inspections completed within the allotted time.
Ensure the attorney(s) approve contracts.
Ensure that instrument survey is ordered.
Check if the buyer has obtained written mortgage commitment.
Find out if title work is reviewed.
Learn whether abstract is redated.

With so many things acting against FSBOs, it’s natural to find very few homes for sale by owners in the market.

Cheryl Jensen is a writer at Total Atlanta Realty. You can follow her on Twitter & Facebook or Email Cheryl Jensen

Article from: https://www.inman.com/2015/07/20/10-reasons-why-for-sale-by-owners-fsbos-fail/

Article image credited to Olivier Le Queinec / Shutterstock.com

P.S. Real estate is really booming this Summer! Homes are selling fast & for the highest prices in years. It is a great time to put your home on the market. It is a super time for buyers to buy while interest rates are still low. Don’t miss out on your dream home. Call me for details today! (314) 691-1320

March 22, 2016 by changescapeweb

Millennial buyers moving to suburbs: NAR 2016 trends survey

All year when you see or hear a news outlet citing a homebuyer or homeseller statistic, odds are that it came from the annual National Association of Realtors’ “Home Buyer And Seller Generational Trends” report. The 2016 report was released this morning and shows that more millennials(defined as buyers and sellers age 35 and younger) are purchasing homesoutside of urban areas, and that despite the common refrain of millennial debt, these buyers don’t have the biggest student debt balances. Once again — for the third year in a row — millennials comprised the largest number of recent homebuyers. Here’s the approximate breakdown of respondents (due to rounding, numbers add up to more than 100 percent):

Millennials: 35 percent
Generation X: 26 percent
Baby boomers: 31 percent
Silent generation: 9 percent

Millennials moving home to the suburbs

Younger buyers seem to be shifting from seeking homes in urban city centers to the more sedate suburbs. The share of millennials buying in an urban area decreased to 17 percent from 21 percent in the 2015 NAR survey. Also, fewer millennials purchased multifamily homes than last year (10 percent instead of 15 percent).

Other millennial trends

Millennials were certainly making compromises in the homebuying process, according to Jessica Lautz, NAR’s managing director of surveys. These compromises tended to be on the size of house, or the house itself not being perfect. Millennials were also more likely to buy foreclosures than other buyers, she said. Millennials were willing to see a “diamond in the rough,” fix it up themselves and customize it for their own needs, said Lautz. “Other notables are that millennials, more than any others, think that buying a home is a good financial investment,” she added. Rising rents were a major contributing factor for millennials who made the step to buy. While they still had student debt — 44 percent of millennials have student debt of a median size of $25,000 — 23 percent were using a financial gift from a friend or relative to help with a down payment, as well as using their own savings. “Among the biggest factors influencing neighborhood choice, millennials were most influenced by the quality of the neighborhood (63 percent) and convenience to jobs (60 percent); convenience to schools was most desired by Gen X buyers, and proximity to friends and family by the Silent Generation,” reported NAR in its release.

For the full article go to https://www.inman.com/2016/03/09/millennial-buyers-moving-to-suburbs-nar-2016-trends-survey/

P.S. Spring has sprung!! Real estate has exploded and homes are selling fast and for the highest prices in years! The market is very competitive for buyers, so call me to discuss the strategies to buy your Dream Home. Interest rates are still below 4%. Call me today for details!

June 29, 2015 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

5 Big Spring Selling Mistakes Clients Make.

Next to sunshine and lead surges, seller slip-ups are one of the most common things. Each year, too many sellers find innovative ways to kill a deal or chance at maximizing profit.

Here are five too-common follies to keep an eye out for this year and a few suggestions for keeping your sellers, and commission checks, safe:

1. Banking on the Overnight, High-Dollar Sale

All the news points to the heat and low-inventory trends in today’s market. The good news is, many sellers have the confidence to get in the game. The bad news is that too many will do so thinking they will sell for top dollar in a flash.

According to Ralph McLaughlin, Housing Economist, “What’s quickening the pace of sales? It turns out it’s homes priced at the low end of the market.” National numbers show that homes are selling slightly faster than normal, but your sellers need to know that quick moves require competitive pricing.

2. Under-Staging

Too many sellers think “low inventory” means low competition. When pickings are slim, updates become much more important. If buyers believe there’s limited opportunity to get the home they’re dreaming about, an understaged listing can demotivate the already anxious.

Here, scare tactics might be one the best ways to get your sellers to see the light. Show them shockingly competitive, similar homes in person and online.

3. Unwanted Buyer Gifts

Contrary to many sellers beliefs, most buyers don’t want to make critical repairs and updates when making a purchase. Anytime you hear a seller say, “We’ll leave that for the buyers,” remind them they need a buyer to actually close the deal.

Also, show your sellers the real value of making critical repairs. Check out NAR’s 2014 comparison of repair costs vs. resale value of home repairs for real numbers on how much they stand to make with improvements.

4. Scenting Strain

In an effort to “sweeten” the showing, some sellers can go too far. According to agent Genevieve Gheorghiu, “I find when sellers try to make their houses smell TOO good, it can be just as awful (as bad smells).”

As a part of your staging plan, don’t leave the “scenting” to chance. Recommend some of these easy smell-neutralizers that are guaranteed to deodorize without overwhelming:

Bowl of Vinegar Overnight — Sit a bowl of vinegar in a smelly room overnight and it will help soak up the unwelcomed odor.
Happy Hour Spray — Add 2-parts water and 1-part cheap vodka into a spray bottle and spray almost any area in the room. The mixture grabs the smell and evaporates.
Have Coffee and an Orange — Coffee grounds and orange peels are great odor neutralizers. Add one of them to a bowl in the room, inside the trash can, or down the garbage disposal to ensure showing-friendly smells.

5. Not Protecting Privacy

Like it or not, showings can be an information security risk sellers don’t consider in the excitement of trying to sell. As a part of your “decluttering” conversation, be sure to discuss “what lies beneath” with your sellers. From important documents to valuables, like jewelry and electronics, get your sellers to think about things they need to protect from the strangers that will be roaming through their homes.

These are big five faux pas we’ve seen too often from sellers marketing during the start of the hot season. What would you add to the list?

for more on this article go to: https://www.trulia.com/pro/sellers/5-big-spring-selling-mistakes-clients-make/

P.S. Real estate is booming! Homes are selling fast and for the highest prices in years. It is never too early to get your home ready for the market or for buyers to call me to discuss the market. Don’t miss out on your dream home & interest rates below 4%. Call me for details today!