Accelerate Your House Sale
By C. Von Petzinger
Copyright 2011 C. Von Petzinger
Smashwords Edition; License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Chapter 1 – Present An Image That Buyers Can Trust
Chapter 2 – Gathering Critical Information
Chapter 3 – The Listing Agreement
Chapter 4 – Forms For The Sale
Chapter 5 – Use Of The Home Owners Market Evaluation Report
Chapter 6 – Listing Is A Series of Steps
Chapter 7 – Reviewing A Sample H.O.M.E. Report
Chapter 8 – Blank H.O.M.E. Report
Chapter 9 – The H.O.M.E. Reference Guide
Section 1 – Items 6 – 10 Major Criteria
This book is about selling your home by taking charge and accelerating your house sale. It’s about making the most amount of money in the least amount of time. Most homeowners simply don’t know that the time spent “before” they list their home greatly affects both the bottom line and the time it takes to sell a home. That’s because we’ve been taught by the Real Estate industry that our only decision is to sell our home, and we should leave the rest up to an “expert”. It’s also because we’re lazy. This way of thinking and laid-back approach needs to change in order to make the maximum amount of dollars on what is likely our single biggest lifetime investment. We can accelerate the process of selling our home and beat out the competition by spiriting ourselves into action. If you are the type of person that cares about the financial return on your house and gets satisfaction in taking action to get concrete results, then this ebook is for you.
Home builders know that the quality of every home depends on the strength of its foundation. It’s similar when it comes time to sell your home. Every step taken “before” you actually sign the papers to list your home will affect what happens later. The planning and the details are what build trust and confidence between you and a potential buyer. When you have the trust of a potential buyer, you have the ingredients of a strong foundation to sell your home and negotiate for the best price.
Accelerating Your House Sale provides the step-to-step method to take charge of “how to sell your house” before using MLS Full Service, MLS Flat Fee, or For Sale By Owner. Here are some of the essential ingredients. Here’s HOW.
Design your listing sheet to build buyer trust and confidence
Show your home with winning descriptions and photographs
Make sure your MLS or FSBO Agreement benefits and protects you
Calculate the RIGHT listing price with proven appraisal formulas for peace of mind
Know what and where to get the Forms to sell your house and keep you legal
Disclaimer
The author and publisher shall have neither liability or responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information contained in this book. This book is for educational and entertainment purposes.
CHAPTER 1 PRESENT AN IMAGE THAT BUYERS CAN TRUST
Get It Right the First Time
The information you are required to complete your private real estate listing through MLS or FSBO will vary slightly. Gather all of the information before you hand it over for publishing. Once the listing has been registered, it can take days for any changes to be made and that can cost you a buyer. Putting it simply, they’re long gone.
It’s best to have everything right the first time. If you overlook some descriptions and details, a potential buyer can slip through the cracks. As a home buyer, I have personally disregarded a house that I had some interest in because more than half of the listing sheet was incomplete. I felt that if the homeowner didn’t want to take the time to let me know about their property, then I certainly didn’t have the time to pursue it. If you make errors because you are in a hurry, and a potential buyer notices, you can destroy your credibility. In addition, ensuring the accuracy of your information will prevent any chance of legal battles after the sale has been completed.
After the following headings and descriptions of what you need for a property listing, you will find a Worksheet for you to complete on your own property.
On average, you should have 10 – 15 digital pictures of your home. You will want these photos to be re-sized with a free program like Irfan View (http://www.irfanview.com). Most digital cameras carry their own software that will enable you to change the picture size as the photo will be too large to upload to MLS or FSBO. Your photos should be 640 x 480 pixels and need to be taken horizontally. Photos need to be in JPG or GIF format.
If you don’t feel comfortable with taking good quality pictures, perhaps you have a friend or family member who has a good camera and seems to have a talent for producing good photos. Here are a few things to remember when you are taking good quality photos. On bright days, windows can change the light setting of the camera and make rooms appear too dark. You may want to close the drapes and/or take interior pictures on a cloudy day. Take a number of pictures to get the best one. Experiment with flash on, flash off, lights on in the house, lights off and different horizontal angles. Natural lighting is always best as it will not distort colors. Exterior photos appear best under sunny skies. You may have to try different times of the day as it is always best to have the sun shining from behind you. Review your pictures with a critical eye. They will have the biggest affect on persuading a potential buyer to view your home.
Talk to friends and family and ask what feature they like in each of the rooms or outside profile of your home. If you know you are moving before you list the property, take advantage of photographing before all the furniture is gone. If you’ve tastefully decorated, you might as well take advantage of the visual effect of a comfortable home, rather than empty rooms and barren walls. Read up on staging and use the most significant pointers of cleaning and de-cluttering before you take your pictures. You may even want to borrow vases, pillows, or towels from close friends or family.
The pictures that you will want to include are: a front picture of the home, kitchen, main living area, main dining area. Include more than one angle if there is more than one focal point to show. Other pictures to include should be based on unique features: backyard or exterior, master bedroom, view of park or ravine, expansive entryway. Bathrooms should not be overlooked, especially when they are big rooms with new fixtures. Smaller bathrooms are often difficult to be photographed and for this reason are often left out.
What do you need to say about your property that will create an inviting description to a potential buyer? Descriptions of your property should focus on key features. Key features could be a desirable location, ‘mature’ or ‘upbeat’ neighbourhood, ‘exceptional’ or ‘well-maintained’ condition of your home, and perhaps any upgrades or popular products that a buyer would be attracted to, and lastly what is appealing about the yard or outbuildings. Your description might also include general statements that appeal to the broadest audience of buyers in your neighbourhood, like emphasizing the 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home with a mother-in-law suite attached, or the 2 bedroom bungalow for empty-nesters. Descriptions should be kept to 100 words. Any Word software program will keep track of the number of your words.
Although there is no set format for these descriptions, the most common layout would be to begin with the location or neighbourhood, fill the middle with the interior features of the home, and end with a written picture of the outside. Let’s look at some of the ways to be effective when describing your property. The clearer you paint a picture, the better chance you will have of attracting the right buyer.
Here are some ways of starting:
Build TRUST and SAFETY
Great opportunity to live in a highly desirable and well-established neighbourhood
No through streets, wonderful children’s neighbourhood playground, excellent elementary school
Safe, quiet neighbourhood, with mature landscaping and peaceful surroundings
Build WELL-BEING and COMFORT
Enjoy the sunsets and panoramic views from the top of the hill
Watch the garden grow from your kitchen window
Entertain your friends in the comfort of this spacious living room
A country kitchen that is sure to impress
See how you can paint a picture to attract the right buyer! Our homes are sacred to us. They define who we are, or who we would like to be. We want to be safe there. We want to both find solitude from the world, and share treasured moments with friends and family. Your description should paint a picture that implies to a potential buyer that their new home (your home) will provide trust, safety, well-being and comfort. Know who your target buyer is by reviewing the type of homeowners in your neighbourhood. Do you want to attract young families, upwardly mobile couples, or retired middle class? Use this approach to describe the home so that you are targeting the potential buyer who is mostly likely to buy your home.
The paragraph above is 130 words! Rather than depend on some standard language that is being used over and over again to describe a property, create your own description that will captivate a buyer to view your home.
Suggestions for the middle:
Totally revitalized bungalow with large country kitchen for entertaining friends and family. Home boasts 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms that have just been remodelled. Kitchen has all new stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. Large recreation room in tastefully decorated fully finished basement.
Solid well kept home 1958 bungalow with hardwood floors throughout. Open and inviting kitchen/dining room concept and great floor plan throughout. Large living room with stone fireplace and vaulted ceilings. Unbeatable value. Unfinished basement open to your imagination.
Quality for detail cannot be missed in this one owner home, from built-in cabinetry to the oversized windows. The kitchen features tile floors, custom wood cabinets and natural granite countertops. Master bedroom has private deck, spacious ensuite and walk-in closets.
Notice the adjectives that describe the home. Words like solid, quality, tastefully, unbeatable, value, depict a home that someone would be interested in living in, a home of comfort. Sentences to describe the home’s potential can be included in moderation to suggest to buyers what could be done. An example: the bright walk-out basement offers a spacious place for a home office or in-law suite.
And the end:
The home is complete with a detached single car garage with a sprawling backyard ready for summer entertainment.
Very private yard with charming, private courtyard style-garden. Large attached double garage with plenty of storage.
Low maintenance. Great landscaping. Single carport. View this immaculate home. It won’t last.
Be upbeat but don’t oversell on your description. The best description will entice a potential buyer to view your property because you have created an image that connects them to positive feelings they want to have in their new home. Save some things to have them pleasantly surprised when they do walk through your front door. Review other descriptions of properties in your neighbourhood. It may give you information about your neighbourhood that you hadn’t considered, or help you identify key features of your own property. Making your description different than the rest may just attract the potential buyer that is ready to buy!