Top Means for Buyer Appeal

Inventory of available homes is dramatically increasing. I want to share some tips on what sellers can do to help their home appeal to buyers! When you put your home on the market, you are entering into a price war and beauty contest! Let’s focus on the top objectives to concentrate on when preparing your home for a showing!

Great, what’s number one?

Without a doubt, curb appeal. It’s the first thing buyers see on the internet, and when they pull up to the house. Buyers will decide to see your home or rule it out based on that first impression. Cleaning the yard, fresh paint on the trim, making it inviting, is vital.

I can understand that. What can you advise about the interior?

When a buyer is going to look at your home, they’re not trying to view it as your home, but instead to imagine themselves living there. Remove excessive personal belongings and clutter. Focus on the primary areas such as the kitchen, living room, and owner’s suite. These are the areas that cause a buyer to fall in love with your home! There’s always a balance between living in a home and having it ready to show. Too many personal photos can be overwhelming, but a few family photos strategically placed can show that this is a happy home for a happy family! A common mistake we see is a house looks amazing, and then you open a closet and it’s like an old sitcom scene with things flying out and hitting you in the head.

Anything else that comes to mind?

Our clients often ask us to give staging ideas, which we’re happy to do. There are professional stagers that may charge up to a few thousand dollars. One of the benefits we offer our sellers is that we have partnered with a fabulous stager who will come into your home for a nominal fee for 3 hours and work with you to help rearrange and regroup your existing furnishings and décor! This will help maximize the show-ability and sale-ability of your home, giving you the best chance of winning the home beauty contest! 

DIY Homebuying

Can you tell us why it's not a good idea to buy a home without using a Realtor?

Absolutely! Buying a home without using a Realtor can definitely be a risky choice. A buyer might think that they're making a smart financial decision in trying to cut expenses by not enlisting the aid of an expert in the real estate industry, but in reality, they could be making exactly the opposite.

Why should buyers elicit the help of a Realtor?

It's simple. Realtors, like myself, are experts in their profession! Buyers who try to represent themselves in a real estate transaction may have knowledge based on previous experience with buying or selling, or reading some real estate know-how books; Realtors, however, live and breathe real estate. And while books are great (I myself read up constantly), they don't represent all of the complex rigors and rules of our current housing market. It's our job to know all of the ins and outs of every real estate transaction, as well as to make all aspects of the sale as smooth and swift as possible.

Can you give us some examples of times when a Realtor is a necessity in a real estate transaction?

Well, I believe we are needed throughout the entire process in order to ensure a great transaction, but let me give you a couple of specific examples of where we are an absolute necessity. First of all, the biggest thing we are needed for is to help clients weave their way through the many dilemmas that plague current market - loan qualifications, appraisals, and renegotiations. Buyers and sellers hire agents that know the process and understand market value so that they don't pay too much or sell too low. And at closing time, unrepresented buyers are at a huge disadvantage. The reality is, if they're in a multiple-offer competition over  a home, sellers and their agents would much rather work with a buyer who is represented by an agent like myself that has a good reputation of closing home sale transactions. In other words, you could be out of the running because you're unrepresented and that shouldn't be a risk you're willing to take on possibly the largest purchase you'll ever make.

As always, who do you know that needs to buy or sell real estate today? Thanks!!

Why Keller Williams Realty? with Marc Guggino

This week we had a guest speaker, Marc Guggino, Qualifying Broker of Keller Williams Realty, discuss our company, some of the reasons why Cheryl switched from Prudential New Mexico Properties to Keller Williams Realty, and even the fun details of his personal history with Cheryl!