Kari McCoy's Real Estate Articles
STANDING OUT AMONG THE CROWD
How do you get real estate agents and buyers to notice your home in the midst of an accumulating number of local “For Sale” signs? How can you make your house desirable enough to draw attention away from the competition?
Consult a local realtor before offering your home for sale. There are many factors to be aware of particularly with market conditions changing. You must decide on a price, which involves an analysis of properties that have recently sold and homes that are currently on the market. It is useful to get an objective evaluation from a licensed home inspector about the condition of your home and to make the needed repairs or cosmetic improvements.
Prepare your home before you list it. Get your home into prime showing condition by investing in fresh paint and yard work. If you decide to repaint the interior, choose a neutral palette that will provide a generic background against which homebuyers can visualize their own furniture. Remove all clutter, excess furniture, dust and grime. Repair or replace whatever makes the home look shabby—cracked windows or walkways, sagging porch steps, chipped plaster, missing roof shingles or drawer pulls. Refinish your deck if the wood looks worn or faded. Ask for staging advice from your real estate agent. What most home shoppers want to see are well-groomed landscaping and an immaculate, clutter-free interior. These simple and relatively inexpensive improvements will go a long way in a potential buyer’s eyes.
Homes that are energy-efficient also have a market advantage – they promise attractive savings on monthly utility costs. With hot summer days ahead we face the high costs of air conditioning. But you can reduce energy expenses by painting exterior walls a light color, putting a reflective coating on your roof or planting shade trees in your yard. A single tree, strategically placed, can reduce your air-conditioning costs by up to $300 a year or more. And according to the U.S. Forestry Service, a single mature tree will add about $5,000 per lot or 5 to 7 percent to the sale of the property.
Placing your property on the market at the right price is perhaps the single most important requirement for making your home stand out among local listings. Potential buyers will ask the price of your home first and then decide whether it measures up to their requirements. Homes that are priced competitively appeal to qualified buyers and draw a larger response from ads and word of mouth. Avoid overpricing your property! A fair list price will encourage offers that are closer to the asking price, and can even initiate a bidding war in a highly desirable area. An attractive listing price will keep your home fresh on the market and safeguard against “seller’s stagnation”.
Be willing to discuss any and all offers with your agent, and be as flexible as possible relative to the terms of the sale. Call me for up-to-date information about our local real estate market!
Kari McCoy is a resident of El Dorado Hills, and owns the Kari McCoy Group, residential real estate of Coldwell Banker. Call her at 933-kari, email her at sold@KariMcCoygroup.com or visit her website at www.TheRealKariMcCoy.com
Copyright© 2006 Kari McCoy