How Can a Seller Keep a Buyer Interested in their Home?

Hi Everyone,

   Hope you are all ready for the Halloween weekend, and may your baskets get filled with Treats, but no Tricks !

   The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) released their numbers for the September "Pending Home Sales" Index. The figures came in 4.6% below the previous month, and according to the NAR chief economist, Lawrence Yun, the housing market is being excessively constrained, and he pointed to “A combination of weak consumer confidence and continuing tight lending criteria held back home buyers...". This makes me wonder...If you are selling a home, what can you do to avoid losing buyers, and to convert your own pending home sale into a sale?

   "In today’s down economy, sellers simply cannot afford to neglect anything that makes their home less attractive", writes Vera Chinese for the TimesReview.com Website, in an article titled, "Pay attention to buyer turnoffs in your home".

   Kristen Rishe from North Fork Real Estate Inc. reminds sellers "to be anywhere but home when potential buyers come to look", since this might make the buyers feel hurried and hesitant. On the material side of the same point, Tom McCarthy of Thomas J. McCarthy Real Estate Inc. in Southold suggests that buyers "get rid of all their junk and clutter before putting their homes on the market", since you want the buyers "imagining themselves" in the home (difficult if it is filled with "the current owner’s belongings"). McCarthy admits it's painful for owners to purge years of memories, but that “Emotionally, it is not your house anymore once you put it on the market,” he said.

   "Mildew, mold, pets and cigarettes"..."Don’t forget the buyer’s nose. Smells can be critical", advises Jill Dunbar from Century 21 Albertson in Greenport. Dunbar says that some smokers, for example, "refuse to give up smoking in their homes", but says that "it’s the only cure".

   Internally and structurally, McCarthy suggests you make repairs, and that "What might seem like a small repair to a homeowner can represent a huge burden to a buyer". Some of his tips, which the owner might walk by every day, are the "missing trim around a door, a chipped countertop or peeling paint". As a final caveat, he warns that, "loud or particularly bold colors and paint can scare off some buyers".

   Do you think if these tips were implemented, we would see a spike in Home Sales? Perhaps...why not give it a shot !?!

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Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #housingmarket #repair #paint #Realtors #NAR

Top 5 Things NOT TO DO When Selling a Home

Hi Everyone,


Hope you're having a great week thus far.

Quite often, we hear from people who have had their home on the market for 6+ months, and true, the market is bad, but when they send over the photos for their Ad, it sometimes can raise some Red Flags.

So, our lesson for today is, "Ask before doing !".

Before you paint a wall, do infrastructure, or anything else to a home that you are selling, ask an agent, an appraiser or someone who can give you advice.

This list of the Top 5 things NOT to do when selling a home falls into two categories, which are "Bad Decisions" and "Inept Craftsmanship", and the following items will criss-cross both of these categories:

1. Do Not Paint your walls Red, Green, or some other flamboyant Color. A fresh coat of white paint will freshen up the walls and give off that nice new paint smell.

2. Do Not Put up wallpaper or paneling, unless you are filming a Brady Bunch Sequel.

3. Do Not paint over wallpaper. Remove it first using one of the many products that are out there, but do it professionally or you will wind up with lumpy walls.

4. Do Not undertake any infrastructure jobs that you cannot complete. Once you open a wall to do wiring, it needs to be Spackled, and once again, you need to avoid "lumpy wall"

5. Do Not invite "Huge-bush-asaurus", in other words, do not plant trees and shrubs that block the front of your home and windows. People are leaning towards the more well-manicured look of homes/landscaping, so don't hide behind a tree!

If you follow these tips, you should be steps ahead of the game. If you have followed these rules and you still are sitting and waiting for a sale, re-examine your pricing, and don't rule out a creative idea to sell your home, such as Rent to Own.

Have a Great Day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !