Normally, each week I pull a post from the past to highlight again. This week, I'm pulling three of them. They were all part of a series I did on Cheap Tips...  

• Cheap Tips #1… Getting Ready to Sell
• Cheap Tips #2… Tip-Top Shape in 5 Steps
• Cheap Tips #3… Making a First Impression in 6 Steps

It has never been more important to make sure your house shows as well as possible. And for most sellers that I deal with (spelled n-o-t b-a-n-k-s), they don't have a bottomless pit of cash to spend while getting ready to sell their home. Finding efficient and inexpensive ways to make their home look WAY better than the foreclosure up the street are priorities. It doesn't matter if you are hiring an agent selling unrepresented (FSBO or For Sale By Owner), these tips will help out. Check out the posts from last year and feel free to drop some of your own tips in the comments.

Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

You are NOT a bank.  Your home isn't a foreclosure. Hopefully it isn't on its way to a foreclosure.  You need to maximize the price your home fetches on the market, and minimize the time it is on the market.  The problem is those foreclosures that your house has to compete against.  Foreclosures often have price going for them. That is a VERY powerful tool.  It can overcome a lot of issues.  But, you have to find a way to overcome the prices that banks are asking for their properties.

You are not a bank... so you probably don't have a pile of money to toss at your home to get it sold.  Even if you did, it likely wouldn't really pay back for you.  On average, renovations pay back half or less of their cost. Throwing a few thousand dollars at your house, while trying to sell it, usually isn't a great move.  But that doesn't mean that you just pack it in and give up...  It means that you have to be smarter than the banks.

• Paint.  There is NO better, cheaper way to REALLY affect the look of your house than with a coat of paint.  Especially on the interior.  The foreclosure up the street likely won't have fresh paint and clean walls.  Use neutral colors that fit with the personality of the home.  If in doubt, talk with a Stager about specific colors.
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  Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

  Shampoo Carpets.  Unless they are in really bad shape, it should be worth it to get them cleaned.  A professional cleaning would be the way to go, but even renting a cleaner at the store and doing it yourself would be better than skipping this step.  Remember, the foreclosure up the street is likely to have stained or worn carpets.

• Clean EVERYTHING.  And clean it well.  And keep it clean.  If you read Cheap Tips #1, you should already be in the process of getting rid of stuff and getting rid of clutter and extra stuff.  That means it is a great time to clean everything that is left.  Again, it isn't likely that the foreclosure up the street will be terribly clean.  My wife has been known to hit the sanitizer pretty hard after a cheap foreclosure.
• While you have the paintbrush in hand, you might consider painting cabinets.  If they are a nice wood, especially a lighter wood, I would probably advise against it.  But, if they are painted, dull or dated, it might be a great way to freshen up the whole kitchen or bathroom for less than the cost of a nice dinner.
• Drawer Pulls, Knobs and Hardware. For under a couple hundred dollars it can be the crowning touch on a kitchen or bath... especially the kitchen.  Oil-rubbed bronze, satin nickel and pewter are the finishes that are currently popular with buyers.  Don't go wild, but don't cheese out, either.  And keep in mind that the foreclosure around the corner is probably missing some of the pulls and knobs, especially if they were nice.


Image by lane.bailey via Flick

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For many sellers, there isn't a bottomless pit of money to get the house ready to go on the market.  Simply put, between pressure to get to market, the need to pay sales fees, buyers needing concessions like closing costs and even the cost of moving expenses, there isn't enough money to go in and make major renovations to the house before selling...

In fact, it is seldom worthwhile to make major changes to the home prior to going on the market.

But there are some inexpensive and relatively simple things that can increase the sales price of your home and decrease its time on the market.

Tip #1...  FREE!

Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

Perhaps the VERY first thing a seller should do as they prepare to bring their home to market is get rid of stuff.  Not only can this be free, but it can actually bring IN cash.  Here are a few ideas:

• Go through your stuff...  Look at the kids toys and clothes, see what really needs to make a move and what doesn't.
  • Are the kids still playing with that toy?
  • Can they still fit in those clothes?
  • Are you still wearing all of the clothes in your closet?
  • Do you really want all of the furniture that is in your house?
• Now that you have a big pile of stuff, figure out what needs to be in the house while it is on the market (major furniture like dining room tables, beds, sofas, etc. may need to stay.  Minor things, like extra dressers, tables or chairs may not need to be there).
• Talk with a Stager...
  • I recommend doing this, but it isn't my money.  The Stager might be able to help you figure out which items should stay and which should go... they also may suggest alternate arrangement for the remaining items.
  • A Stager is NOT the same as an Interior Designers.  The goals are different.  A Designer wants to make a space you like.  A Stager is trying to create a more appealing environment for Buyers.
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  Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

  Get rid of stuff that needs to be gotten rid of...

  • Garage Sale (maybe it will cover the cost of staging... and even a nice dinner to relieve some stress from doing all of this work.
  • Donate some things to charity.  Often, when we have a garage sale, everything that is left ends up with a local charity.  If we don't feel like having a garage sale, everything goes to a charity.  Our toys and clothes that have been outgrown usually find their way to charities like Family Shelters.
  • Give stuff away to family and friends that may be able to use the items.
  • Finally, throw away things that are at the end of their useful life. Don't donate junk just to try to get a tax write-off.

We aren't done yet...  We have removed things that we can't use anymore, or that are worn out.  That doesn't mean that the house is ready to show...  That just means that we are a big step closer.

Remember when I said that you should talk with a Stager? The Stager will likely have told you to "declutter" and "depersonalize".  That means that there are probably some things that you intend to keep, but they don't need to be on display in the house.

Pack It Up...

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Whether you get a storage unit, move items to your new home or just pack things away in boxes to neatly store in the basement or garage, you NEED to clear out the house of excess stuff.

I hate saying it to you as much as you hate hearing it.  Seriously.  I don't want to do it in MY house, and I don't think you want to, either.  But it is important. The goal is to allow the buyer to be able to visualize THEIR FAMILY in the home... not your family.  That can be kind of tough with your "World's Largest Collection of Plaid Fishing Lures" or "The Ultimate Precious Moments Collection".  I regularly see buyers spending more time looking at the items in the home and wondering about the people that live there than looking at the home itself.

A final note...

I hate to even have to say this, but it HAS to be said.  Absolutely pack up things that can't be replaced or that you don't want folks to see. "Strangers" will be wandering your home.  They should be accompanied by a real estate agent, but one agent (or even two) can't see everything happening at once.  Kids might bump something.  An item could turn up missing.  I've never had it happen to my sellers, and I've never gotten a call related to one of my buyers, but it CAN happen.  Be proactive.

Some of the things I recommend locking away or packing up include:

• Jewelry
• Cash  (I have walked into a house and seen several hundred dollars laying on a dresser, out in the open)
• Prescription Drugs (and other things that might be related...)
• Guns (an agent that I know had a kid walk out of a bedroom with a handgun that belonged to the owner...  EVERYBODY was a little freaked after that)
• Collectibles
• "Adult-themed" items...  I have stories about things that have been out in plain view ;^ )

Assuming you didn't go out and get a storage unit, and you were able to score some boxes from a local liquor store or grocery store (they often will keep boxes assembled and give them to you if they know you are coming for them), you might actually have come through this step with a little more change in your pocket than when you started.

That is the ultimate "Cheap Tip"...

Related articles

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• Potential Home Security Risks While Selling Your Home (homesecuritysystems.net)
• How to Sell Your Stuff (thebudgetfashionista.com)
• 10 Cheap & Easy Ideas for Decorating a Home Office (brighthub.com)
• Summer Cleaning Donations (turbotax.intuit.com)

Seller Tips on LaneBailey.com

I'm sure you've seen it... the commercial with the mom that is trying to find the sport her son is good at...  She tries football then baseball.  She gets him out on the golf course.  She shoots tennis balls at him.  Finally, he is singing in the choir, he is good at it and he is happy.

I certainly can understand the sentiment.  As a parent, I want my children to 'find their place'... see what they like and what they are good at... see them fulfill themselves.  To that end, I applaud this fictional mom.  She didn't give up... and she appreciated her child for who he is.

But there is one thing that kind of bugs me... ok, two, but one we don't really know.

The easy one would be figuring out what the kid wants... but we have to assume that mom and child talked about his interests...

The other one is a little trickier, and there is an application outside of parenting.  (remember, this is just a commercial... I'm reading some things into it)  Mom seems pretty comfortable on the tennis court and the golf course.  She has the gear for her son for baseball and football... and she seems reasonably comfortable in those situations, too.  But maybe what her son really needed was a real coach...

The thing that is different about the choir than all of the other sports she tried is that there is a teacher (coach).  There would be no reason to assume that she just chucked her kid up on stage without him going to choir practice and working with a professional.  What if there had been a coach helping him with some of the other sports?

I know... I'm reading a lot into a commercial... but, stick with me for a minute...

Let's think about real estate for a minute...  If you really want to get your house sold, would you benefit from a coach? Would someone with emotional separation from the house be able to see it a little more clearly?  Would it be worth it to get someone with experience while you are trying to win this game?

Even the best players have coaches.

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Do you want to actually SELL your house, or just put it up for sale?  I talk with sellers pretty regularly that seem to just want to have their home up for sale...

• "We want to test the market."
• "If we can got our price..."
• "We aren't going to give it away."
• You get the idea, right?

And this isn't the market to play around in.  With foreclosures and short sales and unemployment being what they are, this is a bargain hunter's market.  This isn't a test market.

Along the same lines are some of the "strategies" I hear regarding pricing.  I wrote this post two years ago, and there are some warnings for buyers, too.

Sellers, price right and don't play around.

Buyers, when you find one priced right, don't play around.

Related articles

• Wayback Wednesday... Keeping the Mystery Alive... (lanebailey.com)
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Pricing Strategies on LaneBailey.com

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Mystery attracts, right?  That mysterious woman or man has an allure because of the unknown qualities they may possess.  You don't know their background or their motivation.  And so, the coolest possibilities are projected upon them.

But is that the case in real estate?

Two years ago I wrote a post with my take. There are a lot of agents that think that they can "build the mystery" and attract more buyers to a property by withholding information... things like price, address, amenities... even pictures.  Their reasoning is that consumers (buyers) will be curious and call.

Is that really the case?

I will tell you that a lot of the "gurus" in real estate tell us that we shouldn't EVER answer a question, but instead, we should ask another question.  The goal is to get as much information as possible before actually giving anything away.

I'll tell you right now that I don't subscribe to that... often to my detriment.  If you call me about one of MY listings, I will tell you about the property.  Even if it isn't the particular property you want to buy, I would love to work with you... but not because I tricked you into giving me information, but because I was helpful and forthright.

Take a look at the post and let me know what you think.

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Don't Be Mysterious About Your Home For Sale on LaneBailey.com

This  post was to appear yesterday, but was pre-empted. I am presenting it today. Sorry for the delay.

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Two years ago I got a bug in my bonnet because it didn't seem like I was seeing enough pictures for new listings.  A couple of months prior, one of our local Multiple Listings Services, FMLS, had raised the number of pictures that could be attached to the listing from 8 to 12.  Now it is 24...

It was shocking to look at the numbers...  I went back and looked at all of the listings that had posted in the prior 30 days to see how many had pictures and virtual tours.  It was stunning.

The VAST majority of buyers start their search online, and they want pictures.  They don't want one picture... they want as many as they can get.  They want virtual tours with 50 pictures.

To post a listing without pictures is bordering on derelict... even if the property is ugly.  That's right... even if the property is ugly.  There are some buyers that WANT ugly properties (at the right price)... and the ones that don't aren't going to forget that the property is scary/ugly.  And they aren't going to be thrilled that they wasted their time looking at it.

I think I need to pull out these posts a little more often...  Survey of New Listings, January 2009

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Listing Photos on LaneBailey.com

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A couple of years ago I wrote about a deal on a property I ran across.  It was priced around $330,000.  At the time I said that it would have around $75,000 equity.  It sold for $300,000.  The most recent comps in the neighborhood have sold around $400,000 in the last couple of months.  Also of note, it was only on the market for about two weeks.

Since then, I have posted a couple of other times about properties that looked like good deals.  None of them were on the market for more than a couple of weeks... often less.

I have also been working recently with a buyer that made 7 offers before getting one through.  In 4 of those cases (at least) the properties were in multiple offer situations.  Our offers were close to (in one case... OVER) list price.  These were properties that were on the market LESS than a week. He wasn't the only one... other buyers I have dealt with over the last year have been in the same boat... lots of offers and a lot of multiple offer situations.

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So, in what is supposed to be THE worst housing market since Adam and Eve were foreclosed in the Garden of Eden, there are properties selling for OVER list price, within DAYS of coming on the market.  Of course, there are others that languish for months (or years) without so much as an offer... and barely a look.

If you are a seller, the secret is the price.  If you are giving it away, there WILL be a line.  A low price MAY actually start a bidding war... or it may not.  But price HAS to represent value to the buyer.

If you are a buyer, time may NOT be on your side.  Low prices and killer mortgage rates are pulling people in.  There is a good chance that the property YOU are attracted to, if priced right, will be attractive to someone else.  Make realistic offers (regardless of the list price).

Of course, a LOT more goes into it... if you need an agent that understands it, feel free to give me a shout.

Here is a link to the original post...

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from LaneBailey.com

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Not so fast there, Mr and Mrs Homeseller...

A lot of sellers think that the sailing is going to be smooth after they go "Under Contract".  After all, the hard part is getting an offer, right?

Maybe...  Maybe not...

Actually, I have dealt with a rash of buyers falling out of contract lately.  Inspections haven't been good to a couple of sellers.  The specific issues aren't as important as the concept here.  The home isn't sold until you clear the closing table.

Homes fall out of contract for a variety of reasons.

• Inspection issues
• Buyer financial problems
• Buyer's remorse
• Appraisal comes in too low
• Seller can't produce title
• Lender changes standards

And of course there are always strange and unique ways for sales to fail.

What can a seller do?

One of the things I always recommend is for a seller to get an inspection... just like the buyer would.  This gives the seller the opportunity to look at the property through the eyes of a buyer.  And then act on the results.  The BEST time to take care of inspection issues is BEFORE the buyer has them.

While, as a seller, you usually don't have the ability to derail financial problems on the buyer side, or buyer's remorse... and certainly not things like changes in lending standards... and even title issues (the closing attorney will find them), YOU CAN often figure out if there will be appraisal issues.

Appraisers are VERY conservative in the current environment.  While I wouldn't tell every seller to run out and drop another $300 on an appraisal, it wouldn't be a terrible idea to get your agent to check with one of their lenders to see what the AVMs (Automated Valuation Models) say.  Check Zillow, too.  It isn't the last word, but it gets you in the realm.  Most homes are fairly easy to value.  There are similar comparables in the same neighborhood, so an appraiser can grab those, make a few adjustments and come out with a value.

But, in addition to your real estate agent's CMA (Comparable Market Analysis), getting a real appraisal may be a good idea for an unusual home.  Remember, though, appraisers issue an opinion, so while one might assign an agreeable value, another may not.

The best tactics are to go into the process aware of the pitfalls, and do what you can to minimize the poor outcomes.  Keep your property clean and neat and in good repair.  And be flexible with the buyer...  Sometimes the next offer is just as good as the first one, but we often see the best offer is the first one to hit the table.

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Two years ago there were worries among sellers that buyers couldn't obtain financing.  Those worries are back... but, then as now, money was available.

Of course, in the middle there were issues with getting loans funded.  But now, the loans are available.  Of course the credit restrictions are tighter and there are fewer loans available for those with weak credit.  But, many would be buyers think that getting a loan is all but impossible... that may be what they heard on TV or saw in the paper.

So, a great opportunity for sellers (and their agents) is to make sure that would be buyers KNOW that they can get a loan.  When I take listings, I call up one of my best mortgage guys and have him build out a few financing scenarios.  This lets prospective buyers know up front what their payment options might be... and if the property might be within their budget.

When I am working with buyers, if they haven't already, I get them to get a pre-approval.  This allows them to deal with issues with which they might not have been aware, PRIOR to putting an offer in on a property.

Here are a couple of links for Ken Cook, one of my mortgage guys.  He has access to a LOT of programs for buyers (there is audio on this link) that might be on the edge, as well as tools to help those that might have credit challenges to overcome.

Let's not forget the post from two years ago...

When selecting a listing agent, it helps to have one that also works with buyers.  A balanced agent has the resources and relationships to make it easier for a buyer to get your home.

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