Easy Ways to Increase Your Home Value

• Repaint your door
• Paint kitchen cabinets
• Update kitchen handles
• Add extra seating areas outside
• New outlets and light switch plates
• Front porch – flowers – First impression of the home. Same with landscaping
• Get rid of popcorn ceiling
• Add visible storage
• Stash the majority of your specifically personal items
• Take care of tiles
• Swap out lighting
• Neutral paint colors
• Paint the inside of your window frames
• Paint older bathtubs
• Invest remodel money into the kitchen
• Call the inspector before you list
• Find out from Realtor what buyers are looking for and then do those things.
• Update your laundry space – organization spaces
• DIY Built in Bookcases
• Add a Bedroom by installing a closet

How Can I Balance Needs Versus Wants As I Home Shop?  That is a great question.

Here's the trick to buying your best house: know what you need. Really, you only need a solid roof, good floors and walls, plumbing, heating, and lighting. Everything else is preference.

Imagine your dream home. Review each item that makes it ideal. Ask which items you could live without and which ones you would pay extra to have. Embrace delayed gratification. Items you want are often those you can add later. You can change features such as light fixtures, countertops and paint. Answering these questions can help you determine budgets for the home purchase and future renovations.

Make a list. Think about a home's different features: bedrooms, bathrooms, lighting, landscaping. List characteristics of each. Determine which ones you need to have, would like to have and don't want. This will help you avoid looking at homes you know don't interest you.

• Know exactly what you want to a fault – Open kitchen, quiet street, backyard. Be flexible
• Realize that you will probably buy several homes during your lifetime and it may NOT be your forever home. Lifestyles change, you have kids, parents move in with you.  Your kids move out and the house is to big.  Job change.
• You think home improvement reality shows are actually realistic. While some things are easy fixes, others are not even though it looks EASY on HGTV.
• If you don't like the home, we don't need to look at every aspect of the home. Time is valuable and let's make the best use of our time.

You've made the decision to sell, now what?  What needs to be done?

First Impressions Count

Here's a few things to think about:

• You need to take an honest look at everything in your house. The exterior, interior, kitchen space etc… from a fresh set of eyes.  You HAVE to see this from a buyer's point of you and what they would like and not like about your abode.  What would you want if you were the buyer looking at your home for the first time?  If you are unable to see this with clear eyes, have a friend come over and have them give you an honest opinion of your home and what "they see."
• Take out the emotion. Selling a home is an emotional experience because you have memories tied to it.  When your home goes up for sale, you will receive feedback comments from a buyer's showing experience.  Sometimes, these comments are hard to digest.  It's ok.  That's normal.  As you're getting ready to sell, and looking at items that need to be fixed, try to remove the emotion from that process.
• Buyers want to be able to move right in and not have to do any repairs or cosmetic changes. Knowing this information, will help you decide what projects need to be a priority to get top dollar.  If you need more advice on whether or not to tackle a project, I'm here to help.

Repair, Repair, Repair

If you know the gutters are falling down and need to be tightened up, Do it!  First impressions count and Curb Appeal is the first impression that someone has of your house.  Take a good hard look at the exterior of the house and see what loose ends need to be fixed.

Let's just make this easy… Fix everything that needs to be fixed in order to sell.  If you are questioning this or money is tight, let's chat.  I'll come over and tell you what has to be done.  FYI, if some items are not repaired, it may have to be reflected in your listing price.

Declutter

You knew I was going to say this!

I spent WAY too much time caring about what random people from my past thought of me.  Then I had a major breakthrough.

Tammy:  Just be You. 

Nothing I can do, will change their perception or what they want to believe about who I am so why bother trying to change someone's opinion.

I know the true facts.  I know who I am.  That's all the matters.

My goal will always be to try and be the best person I can be.

I hope you do the same.  I believe people respect you more when they see…

Who you really are.

NOW be proud about it! 

WHY I BECAME A REALTOR

 I had actually never considered being a realtor until I started working as a loan processor for a bank.  I HATED this job, so when someone offered me the chance to try something different, I jumped.

 I found out some of the incredible benefits of it and it matched up perfectly with what I wanted out of my life.

 It was important to me to:

- Work with people and help them make smart moves.

- Provide valuable information.

- Love what I do & feel fulfilled in my work.

- See some really cool homes and figure out what I wanted for my dream home.

  It was in 2002 when I finally decided I was going to go for it and when I started studying to get my license.

 It took me 1 month to get licensed and 3 months after that to sell my first home! It was incredibly exciting & I remember it like it was yesterday!

Please, please don't make me tell you the following.  It is so incredibly awkward to do so…

Your House Has a Bad Odor

Here's the deal, you probably don't even realize it because you are used to it.  But a buyer will definitely notice the smell.  Here's some of the causes:

• While your animals are adorable to you, they may not be so adorable to others…
  • Animals that have urinated on the carpet, which has now penetrated the baseboards and continues to leave a smell.
  • Kitty litter needs to be cleaned
  • Scratches, chewed and scratched baseboards
  • Extra pet toys – remove
  • Some people are allergic to animal hair
• Your house just smells bad.
  • Trash
  • Garbage disposal
  • Cooking ingredients (bacon, curry)
  • Dirty shoes
  • Laundry
  • Mold/wetness

The HOUSE NEEDS To SMELL CLEAN.  Time for spring cleaning.  Throw away what you can.  Those things need to go into the trash can, need to leave.  This also is good for the decluttering process.  Wipe down walls, baseboards, floor boards, air it out and don't just cover it up with an air freshener.  That is definitely a sign to the buyer that you are covering up a bad smell.

Ugh... I know that's incredibly harsh, but sometimes it's the unpleasant conversation that has to happen in order to sell your home.  Just try to see and smell your home from the buyer's perspective.

With a little bit of forethought, selling a home doesn't have to be a difficult process.  Here are some things you should think about:

Starts with the Decision to Sell

• Why are you selling?
• Do you have equity?
• Do you understand what's going on in the market?
• Are you looking for something different in life?  A different lifestyle?
• Do you need to move?  Job change? Loss of job

What's the Plan?

• How are you going to find a buyer??
• What about the paperwork?
• Who's going to negotiate with the buyers?
• A good Realtor should be able to answer the typical time frame for selling in your neighborhood, the best marketing strategy for selling, how the listing price will be determined, what the staging process looks like, the hurdles in selling your home, the best way to stay in contact with you.

You've made the decision, now what…

What needs to be done? Fix Repairs, Declutter etc… Staging. How can you stand out from the competition? Curb appeal, Move-in condition

 Make the List!

How do we determine home price?

Zestimate, Realtors. What you should be looking at.

Listing a Home – What to Expect

1) Marketing Buzz

2) Someone to give you advice on which improvements to tackle

3) What the listing contact says and how it reads

4) Communication within 24 hours.  What we expect of you … that you're flexible, try not be offended, and that you do respond and communicate as well.

Marketing Buzz

Offer

Everything is Negotiable – Go through contract – Price, Closing time, possession time etc…) See if from the buyer's perspective (meeting of the minds)  Results – What's your End Goal?

Let's Chat.  I can help!

Ok, so that was just a tease because I am a great Realtor and I do hope you use me to help your sell home.  What I will do, is say it like it is, give you all the information you need, and lead you through all the steps.

How much time do we have?

Let's face it, all you care about is that your home gets sold for top dollar, in your time frame, and with the least amount of hassle.  Correct?

First Question… What is your time frame for selling?  If you need to be at a new job in 60 days out of state, and once you receive an offer on your house (typical time frame is 45 days from start to finish), then there's not much time to do much of anything but put your home on the market.

Few things to remember:

• Your home selling price is determined by the sold homes in your neighborhood and like qualities. Apples to apples.  A Ranch home with 3 bedrooms compared to another ranch home with similar features that sold within the last six months in the area.
• Buyers want to purchase a move-in ready home. The condition of your home will be reflected in your selling price.
• What is the time for selling in your neighborhood?

If you truly want to sell for top dollar

1. You need to have a plan!
2. How are you going to find a buyer?
3. What are the buyers looking for?
4. What should you fix?
5. Should you put money into repairs?
6. How are you going to determine a price?
7. What about the paperwork?
8. Who's going to negotiate with the buyers?

Here's where a good Realtor comes into the picture.  They should be able to answer the typical time frame for selling in your neighborhood, the best marketing strategy for selling, how the listing price will be determined, what the staging process looks like, the hurdles in selling your home, the best way to stay in contact with you.  Their job is to take care of you their client and handle all these things that you may not have time to deal with.

If you would like some help, you have my number and email. :)

  How are you going to find a buyer for your home?  You need to think like a buyer.  Put yourself in their shoes.

What are the buyers looking for?  Does your home have those features?  What type of buyer is the perfect fit for your home?

Market – Demographic/Psychographic

In order to think like a buyer, you need to know WHO that person may be?  Does your home attract the first-time home buyer or someone looking for a second home?    About how much they would have to make in order to buy your house at your price range?  What makes them tick?

The Typical Buyer

• Wants at least 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths
• If they have kids, they are driven by school districts and being in a good one!
• Women usually are concerned about the living space – bedroom size, living room, kitchen.
• Men usually need a man cave, garage or basement space.

Who is YOUR perfect buyer for your home?

• How old are they?
• What gender?
• Interests and Hobbies?
• Occupation?
• Level of Education?
• How much do they make?  This determines how much they can afford to buy.
• Do they have kids?

What does YOUR perfect buyer need?

Are they looking for a certain school district?

How many beds/baths will they want?

Want a backyard?

Need a basement?

Want an updated or open kitchen?

They work from home and need great internet speed?

Marketing – Find/Attract Them  Where are They?

Everything Virtual

In the good ole days, we used to advertise in the newspaper.  What's a newspaper, you say?  Exactly!  Now, it's a race to see who finds your home the fastest and what's the best way to market online?

• Obviously, the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), is your best option. Yes, you need to use a Realtor and pay a commission to use this service but EVERYTHING pulls from the local MLS.  Zillow, Realtor.com and all those beautiful sites, actually pull from the local MLS boards.  So don't shoot yourself in the foot and NOT get the most exposure that you possibly can get when marketing your home.
• Google search – how do you find a home? Well, we just googled, "homes for sale in ada mi."   2^nd best way to get exposure but tricky for everyone to make the front page of google unless they (Realtors) are paying for Ad words.
• Facebook Ads – another tool that Realtors use to push out a home. This one works well, but because it's an "Ad", there is obviously a cost associated with it.
• Virtual Tours – these are popular to add on to a listing since it works like a video and video ranks high in searches.
• Videos – my favorite!!! I love video walk throughs on listings.  I do this quite often for buyers who are out of town and I need to be their eyes.  You physically video tape while walking through the home.

There is a lot that goes into marketing your home.  The goal is to give you the most exposure to drive up the price, to have you bank the most money!  Creating a Marketing Buzz is the best way to get that result!

Contact me if you are interested in seeing how I create a "Marketing Buzz" around your home!