Jacqueline Maurer

The Top 10 Reasons Your Home Won't SELL

2011-05-02T18:46:00Z

Let's pretend you are on the game show "FAMILY FEUD" your up with the host in front of thousands of TV viewers expected to answer a question with the best answers to bring in the BIG win for your family. Your shaking in your boots~~~~ your trying to convince yourself your mind WON'T go blank when he throws the question out there.   The clock starts ticking and there it is ~~~~ "THE WINNING QUESTION"

NAME THE TOP 10 REASONS A HOUSE DOESN'T SELL...

PRICE
There isn't a house that the right price won't sell. That's right ... make sure your competitive in your market and stay on top of appropriate price reductions. Don't ride the market or you are sure to fail.   Price correctly from the starting gate and you'll be pulling in the offers over your competitors. Remember: You cannot sell the house for what you NEED to NET only for what the House is WORTH in today's market. The SALES of like homes will dictate this and the numbers do not lie. If your intent is to sell for way above market value because you need or want to NET a certain number do not list your home it WON'T sell.

   2. CLEANLINESS

If you are going to welcome in buyers consider them guests. When we have guests we want everything to be in order and show well .If your not a clean freak ~~ that's O.K. Hire a cleaning service. It's worth the investment.
   3. CLUTTER

This is a big one. Sometimes we let papers, magazines, bills and clutter in general pile up in certain places and don't "see it anymore" we are so used to it being there.    A buyer does not want to see your latest edition of Sports Illustrated or how much you have on your Macy's bill. Put these items away in place that are easily accessible to you but out of sight. Same goes for the 10 hair gels, and 15 shampoos laying on the bathroom vanity. Clean counters, a plant or two, decorative knick knacks to a minimum is all you need. The buyers are sizing up your counter space to see if it is sufficient to there needs. Don't clutter it up so it looks smaller.
4. LOCATION

If you live on a main busy street, in an area with commercial property, power plants, etc. The only thing you can do is adjust your price to compensate for these obsolescence.   There is nothing you can do to change these facts. You must offer the home at the right price so compensate.   Your target market may also change. Your buyer may be an invester looking for a rental property who does ot care so much about the busy street as long as the house works out to be a good addition to his portfolio.

5. CURB APPEAL

  Does your house have overgrown landscaping, tall grass, chipped paint, broken light fixtures?
The first thing a buyer sees are your homes pictures prior to viewing.   If the curb appeal is lacking compared to the competition what do you think the buyer will do?   SKIP.... your listing and view the others in your neighborhood.   You want them inside your home so that you have more of a chance to SELL the hosue.  So make any necessary repairs to the outside and freshen it up.   If your not sure how the house looks ask some friends or neighbors for there opinion.

   6. DECOR

   Same as curb appeal.  What is the buyers initial reaction when they walk into your home?   there are certain colors that have been know to offend buyers. If you like canary yellow walls with ruby trim that does not mean that the vast majority of buyers will. Neutral, Neutral, Neutral always wins.  You might think it's boring but believe me your home will show better.   If you have dated wallpaper you can remove it or the buyer will remove digits from the offering price. When buyers see dated wallpaper the first thing they say is "wow, that's a lot of work to take off" there goes your offer price. They will reduce to compensate for the work they have to do or hire out to do.

7. SHOWING AVAILABILITY

   No one said that selling was convenient.  If you want to sell your home ALWAYS be ready, ALWAYS be flexible, and ALWAYS say yes to a buyers agent request.   If you turn away potential buyers your house will sit longer driving up the days on the market and possibly not get shown at all.

8. WEAK MARKETING

   Is your home advertised all over the internet?   If not you have a problem. That is where the buyers are. 85% of buyers search onlne before they call an agent to view. You need to be in front of your buyers.

9.   SIZE / AGE

  This is a common one. You cannot change the homes age, size, or floor plan. It is what it is but you can change how it shows and the price to attract buyers who may be searching for there first home and may not mind a smaller 2 bedroom as long as it's in budget.  Offering a home warranty to buyers also helps to alleviate fears of failing appliances and A/C systems.

10. ODORS

It always hard to tell a seller a home has a bad odor.  Smoke, Old rugs, pets, etc cause some homes to retain a weird smell.  If this is the case we suggest removing the rugs or having them cleaned, hiring a cleaning service or offering the buyer a credit for a service to come in and clean the air conditioning coils and air to combat smoke smells. Air fresheners, candles, fresh baked cookies can also help to combat some smells.

Jackie Maurer GRI
Realtor
Century 21Sunbelt Realty
239-565-5082
Jacquelineshomes@aol.com
www. JackieMaurer.com

*Licensed in the State of Florida.

What's the silver lining in the foreclosure moratorium??

2010-10-18T15:47:00Z

The "Foreclosure Moratorium" ~~~ at first we thought the sky was falling. At least in LEE county Florida we did. A good 60% of our listings consist of short sales and foreclosures. In other words "that's all we have" literally to sell. Buyers have flooded our market looking for the red tag sale and many have found bargains they never dreamed of. Who would pass up a newer 3/2 home for $75,000??? Not many. These homes gave first time buyers the opportunity to own a home with little debt and investors the chance to scap up a home for pennies in hopes or re-selling in the future. It also provided much needed rental properties to many who NEEDED to vacate their homes because of foreclosure. This is the circle of life here in SW Florida. We have been accustomed to selling these homes. The one thing we all forgot about in this foreclosure and red tag frenzy is the traditional seller. The seller who may still have some equity in there home. They are older homes purchased in the 80's or 90's that just might be hanging on to the little equity they have left in this down market. Many of these sellers want to re-locate, downsize or even up size. They have been stuck in the foreclosure frenzy not able to compete with the newer low, low, low priced homes thrown on the market by the banks. Now is there chance. If they banks slow down the foreclosures it gives opportunity to the traditional sellers to take advantage of the "time out". Inventory will be lower and buyers still want a deal. If the traditional sellers play there cards right and price aggressively but realistically they will have a strategy to win. In essence the market may even see a rise in values because of this lull in foreclosures. The snowbirds are coming and the buyer demand will increase. With the right homes on the market at the right price buyers will make offers. I believe those buyers that have been burned by long short sale wait time and foreclosure bidding wars will welcome the convenience of working directly with a seller, cutting there wait time to 24- 48 hours. Ahhhh the thought of it.. only waiting 24 hours for a response to your offer. No bank addendum's the size of a phone book to sign, no 6 month wait for the bank to say Nay or Yay. Wouldn't it be nice to see the market stabilize for a time even if not permanently?

Therefore the silver lining in the foreclosure cloud is this. Like the nature of Real Estate timing is everything. Traditional sellers ~~~~ if you out there~~~~ take note: THIS IS THE TIME TO LIST! If you are serious about moving on with your life and have been held back, pick up the phone and call Jackie @ 239-565-5082. Take back your market from the banks while you can. The buyers are coming...

Short Sales..... becoming a dirty word??

2008-07-07T01:40:00Z

Short Sales The new fad of Real Estate. Many agents find them necessary to bail there sinking clients out of a bad situation. On the other hand many agents run for the hills at the shear mention of a short sale. So how do you handle a market laden with them? No two short sales are alike, therefore each must be researched, and negotiated on an individual basis. I tell my buyers to think of each short sale as it's own personality. Each with it's own set of character flaws. When it comes to listing short sales it is imperative to research not only how much is owed on the property in relation to the true current value of the market but also just how many liens are on the property. If the seller is seriously upside down and have used the home as an ATM machine at some point......I say head for the hills and run as fast as you can. I for one am all for helping people but in some of these situations you are just setting yourself up for an unrealistic outcome. If the home can be priced in the realm of current market value and not a low... low ... teaser price that will never get approved by the bank, I say, list it. You have a shot, especially if there is only one lien on the home. It is possible to get approvals on more than one lien I have done it before. It takes great patience, tenacity, and the guts to play hardball with the lender. If the home goes into foreclosure the second lien holder stands to get nothing therefore it is in there best interest to negotiate with you to take a small payment or cash contribution at closing. Make your sellers aware that they may have to contribute "something" to appease the guy in second position if they want this nightmare to end. I think there is opportunity in some short sales. If you can help a seller out of a bad situation or if you can get a "patient" buyer a hell of a deal. Although many agents avoid them like the plague there are others that are writing offers on a continual basis. It all lies in the competence of the negotiating skills of the listing broker. I have negotiated short sales in situations with PMI, HELOCS, etc. Most told me to walk away it cannot be done. I'm here to tell you IT CAN BE DONE. Do not give up and DO NOTtake the "NO" from your negotiator as the last word. I for one will not accept someone whose main motivation is there commission and closed file quota at the end of the month dictate the fate of a deal that multiple people have worked endless hours on. I have buyers agents that bring good buyers to the table after driving them around for hours at $4.00 gallon gas prices. Buyers who have waited 6-8 weeks for an answer on a home they found appealing enough to put an offer on. Request to speak to a supervisor or dept. manager in order to be heard. You have nothing to lose and only to gain. Make it known you will continue to climb the chain of command. Too many short sales are dying on the desks of an overworked negotiators merely because they don't have the negotiating skills or motivation to convince the PMI companies, or investors it is in there best interest to save the deal. There ultimate cure all is "sign the promissory note" ...... The one thing they do not tell you is that the promissory note is NEGOTIABLE. If the negotiator won't negotiate the the promissory note then find out who is requesting the promissory note and contact them yourself. Short sales do not have to be a dirty word. The outcome is all in the research and negotiating but most of all keeping the asking price real.