Archive for Selling A Home
Feb
03
Earn Easy Income by Referring Potential Home Buyers or Sellers
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We all like a little bit of extra income on the side, and what better way to earn easy income by referring potential home buyers or sellers. It is an easy thing to do, simply by sharing your stories or information with people around you, giving them an idea of where to look if they are interested in buying or selling a home.
Because the entire process of buying or selling homes can be stressful and difficult, giving someone the information to help them make educated and wise decisions concerning their choice to buy or sell a home, is an amazing thing to do. The entire concept of learning how to earn easy income by referring potential home buyers or sellers is made successful by people that are intent on sharing the information and on helping those trying to navigate the murky waters of home buying or home selling.
With the proper information on hand, you could be aiding someone in their search for their dream home, while making a little cash for your efforts. The only thing you will need to do is give information and ideas as they are needed to assist the person or persons interested in the home buying or selling process. Making the process move more smoothly is one of the multiple benefits of knowing and understanding before hand.
Take the time to familiarize yourself with all pertinent information before beginning the referral process. This enables you to handle any twists or turns that occur and allows for an uninterrupted flow of activity, giving you the chance to treat the prospective buyer or seller with the utmost attention, and to make their investment worth something to them.
Know your properties and your information prior to handling clients or prospective clients. They will want you to answer a myriad of questions before being satisfied of the situation and what they expect from it. Knowing before hand what you will be saying helps you to minimize any awkward moments and to rehearse your proper information.
Referring new buyers and sellers to a potential house dealer is always an easy way to make a good second income.
Finally, keep your lines of communication open at all times with both the client and with the potential home seller. A lack of communication is one of the most common issues that are ultimately harmful to a new investment. It shows not only a lack of caution, but a lack of playing as well.
Rent Back Fast
Jan
26
Use Your Storage Rental While Waiting on Your House to Sell
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Selling a house can be an extremely stressful process. Dealing with multiple walk through appointments, talking to your real estate agent, and making preparations to move all add to the confusion that is selling a home. One way to cut down on some of the stress is to invest in a storage unit while waiting for your home to sell. Why on earth would anyone want to rent a storage unit while waiting for their house to sell? It will help give them a head a start on their own move in the future while making their house more appealing to potential buyers.
After selling a house many sellers find that they have only 30 days to completely pack, move out of, and clean their old home. This might be doable for some hone owners but many home owners have a hard time especially if they are parents that have many children who are unable to help with the move. Investing in a storage rental unit will help get a head start on all of the chaos.
Before putting your house on the market, or immediately afterwards, invest in a storage rental unit if you do not already have one. If you do have one but it is a small one used for storing a few valuable items talk to your storage rental facility about upgrading to a larger unit. Then clean out your new unit and begin moving your furniture out of your home and into the storage unit. Focus on moving the furniture that you do not immediately need out of the house first. This can include couches, extra beds, desks, televisions, etc. Anything that you and your family do not need to survivor or do not use on a daily basis.
Next, start packing up your belongings that can be spared. This can include everything that is decorating your home that is pretty to look at but not immediately useful. Start packing up pictures, paintings, and other things that are hanging on the walls. This will give you a chance to fix any holes that might cause a problem with potential sellers while giving you a head start on minor repairs that will be necessary. Then start packing up extra clothing. Place all of the clothing in tight plastic containers that have been filled with paper to avoid moving and moth balls to avoid damage. Leave only enough clothes in your house that is necessary to get through work and casual activities. Always remember that you can go to your storage unit at anytime to retrieve anything that you placed inside by accident.
After you have packed everything into boxes or plastic containers that can be packed including clothes, books, and pictures start packing up all extra kitchen appliances. Once you have everything out of the way you can begin giving your home a thorough cleaning. This will help your home sell because visitors will see a nice, spacious, residence that is clean and well cared for. Also you will no longer have to worry about strangers coming through your home while you are gone and being able to go through all of your personal belongings.
Lastly, using your storage unit while you are waiting for your house to sell will make it easier for you and your family to move once your house has sold. As soon as your house has sold and you are able to move you will be able to easily have your remaining furniture moved to your new residence and your home made available to the new owner. This will help avoid an awkward transition between owners where the new owner must wait impatiently for the old owner to completely vacate the premises. By using a storage rental you will be able to quickly move into your new house and then slowly move your items out of storage into your new home. No more scrambling around trying to plan a last minute move from one home to the next.
Another benefit of using your storage rental when you are waiting for your house to sell is that it gives you the opportunity to get rid of junk that you have been holding onto. Many people are pack rats meaning they love to hold onto to things even if they aren’t immediately useful. Packing things up and moving them into storage gives families and individuals two chances to go through their belongings in search of things to throw away. They have one chance when initially packing and moving things to storage and another chance when moving things out of storage into a new home.
Real Estate Professionals
Sep
27
Housemaxx 10 Tips to Sell Your Home by Owner
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We’ve tried to summarize the most important aspects of selling a home by yourself. We hope you find the information helpful. If you have any questions you may always contact us on our contact page.
SELL For Sale By Owner via HouseMAXX™ The key is to be properly prepared. If you are not, your home could remain on the market longer than you expect because you are not attracting and getting offers from qualified buyers. The Online Digital Picture Tours will help you screen and pre-qualify serious buyers. When they phone off your classified ad, just send them to the website and if they are serious, they will call you back for personal viewing appointment.
The information below has been specially prepared to help FSBO’s, such as yourself, understand the elements involved so you, on your own, can sell your home quickly and for the most amount of profit and keep your hard earned equity. To help you prepare, here are 10 tips that will help you sell your property in a fast, effective and professional manner.
HouseMAXX™ 10 TIPS FOR SELLING YOUR HOME
1. Price it Right. Correctly setting your asking price is critical. Setting your price too high can be as costly as setting it too low. Home prices are determined by fluctuations in the marketplace, not by your emotional attachment or by what you feel your home is worth. In order to establish a realistic price for your home, objectively compare the price, features and condition of all similar homes in both your neighbourhood and other similar ones, which have sold in recent months. You can do this by checking out your local, regional or national Real Estate MLS Listings. It is also important for you to be familiar with the terms of each potential sale. Terms are often as important as price in today’s market. Carefully budget your selling costs and prepare a net proceeds sheet to calculate your best estimate of what you will take away from your home sale. Prospective buyers may also request this kind of analysis of buying costs.
2. Prepare Your Home for Sale. First impression is crucial. Keep your home clean. Remember with the Online Digital Picture Virtual Tour you don’t have to waste your time with all day Saturday and Sunday Open Houses anymore! Make sure your home makes a positive statement by carefully inspecting all details and viewing it through the objective eyes of a buyer. Don’t gloss over needed repairs and fix-ups, as your prospective buyers won’t. Your job is to ensure that your home stands out favourably from the competition.
3. Prepare Yourself With All Necessary Legal Documentation. Its really very simple and you can do it yourself. You should get all your pertinent documents together….but all you really need is a Offer to Purchase agreement in which you and prospective buyers negotiate the price and conditions…you both sign the agreement and each party takes a copy to their respective lawyers to finalize and close the sale. It’s really that easy as a FSBO and with the professional Advertising Services of HouseMAXX™ you get to keep your hard earned equity! Some forms that you might need (Lawyer takes care of most of this):
Seller Disclosure, Purchase and Sale Contract , Mortgage Verification, Loan Application, Deposit Receipt, Property Profile Fact Sheet , Buyer’s Cost Sheet, Closing & Settlement , Personal Property Exclusion List, Real Property Report , Seller’s Statement of Representation
4. Market Your Home Effectively. Once you put the Professional HouseMAXX™ sign on your lawn with the Premier Listing Package, you should find other local effective ways to spread the word about your home. Local buyers can be reached through the newspaper, but this is only a small part of the market you are after. Be sure you include the many buyers who could already be working with a Realtor®. You may want to cooperate with a Realtor® and offer them $1000 - $2000 for their few hours work…its up to you to negotiate a reasonable commission fee? But remember, most realtors will tell you they have serious buyers just to lock you into a 30-90 day contract. If you do sign a contract, make sure that you get in writing an unconditional release clause. Also, because out-of town buyers are an important target, the HouseMAXX™ website will offer you increased exposure to reach these people as well. You can print off as many high quality feature sheets off the website as you wish and you can email your listing to possibly buyers via your listing page. You should also be very service-minded and make it easy for pre-qualified buyers to view your home. Ensure there is always someone available to answer the phone, pick up messages promptly, and be ready to give qualified prospects a tour of your home as soon as possible.
5. Remain Objective During a Showing of Your Home. Don’t let your personal attachment or emotion get in the way of successfully selling your property. The best way to do this during a showing is to remain physically in the background. If a prospective buyer says something negative about your home, it is better to counter-balance this point of view by illustrating the positives rather than becoming defensive.
6. Pre-Qualify Your Prospects. Don’t waste your time entertaining buyers who could never afford your home. Research their finances with respect to job security, salary, debts, liabilities and credit standing. Possibly ask them for a copy of Pre-Approval Docs from their bank.
7. Negotiate Effectively & Knowledgeably. There will be many details to resolve before a sale can be considered final: price, terms, financing conditions, home inspections, dealing with the home inspector, home inspection condition, survey pitfalls, inspections, possession date, buyer concerns and objections. Make sure you fully understand the contract you have drawn up so you can in turn explain details and ramifications to the buyer and make any amendments to the sale that are necessary. The contract you use should be thoroughly examined by your real estate attorney. Check out the buyer/seller resource section for help with appraisals, lawyers, inspections etc.
8. Know Your Buyer. Be objective during negotiations and remember you are in control, don’t get desperate. Try to determine what your buyer’s motivation is. Do they need to move quickly? Do they have enough money to pay your asking price? Have they been pre-qualified for a certain amount? Knowing this information will give you the advantage in the negotiation because you will know up front, what you will need to do in order to get what you want.
9. Don’t Move Out Before You Sell. Certain studies have shown that it is more difficult to sell a home that is vacant. It looks forlorn, forgotten, simply not appealing. It could even cost you money. If you move, you’re also telling buyers that you have a new home and are motivated to sell fast which can, of course, give them an advantage at the negotiating table
10. Know Why You’re Selling and Keep it to yourself. You must understand your buyers’ motivation also besides your own motivation to sell. Your reasons for selling will affect everything from your list price to how much time and money you will invest in getting your home ready for sale. Your motivation will help you determine what is more important to you: the money you walk away with, the length of time your property is on the market, or both. Different goals will dictate different strategies.
As a property owner who wants to sell FSBO without using a real estate agent in an effort to save the commission, it is likely that money is one of your primary considerations. Whatever your reasons, however, it is very important to keep them to yourself so as not to place yourself at a disadvantage at the negotiation table. When asked, simply say your housing needs have changed Private sale can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to sell your home. Just make sure you’ve done your homework! HouseMAXX™ Quick Checklist
Choose a lawyer and review required paperwork - Obtain standard Offer to Purchase Forms (Buy at Office Depot or Staples for $8.00) - Research market and set asking price accordingly. - Review mortgage with bank. - Use HouseMAXX™ to your advantage for Maximum Exposure - Distribute fact sheet flyer at local establishments (print off your listing) - Erect “for sale” sign - Handle phone enquiries and/or emails - Show the property. Hold Open House if desired - Use HouseMAXX™ to screen & prequalify - Negotiate offer with potential buyers.
Quick Property Sale
Jul
26
Buy Or Sell Rent To Own - How Does Rent To Own Work?
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Wouldn’t it be great if you could buy or sell any home rent to own within a month or two tops? Well, it is possible and even probable if you know the right strategies and plan your moves carefully. Of course it is always a good idea to consult legal advice when buying or selling a home.
With the housing bubble bursting, it is currently a difficult time to sell a pre-existing home. Interest rates are rising, housing prices are falling and with so many people in debt foreclosures are increasing. There’s currently something of a glut of homes on the market. If you are stuck in a variable-interest rate sub-prime home loan you may feel like you are caught in the grips of a very large trap.
There may be a way out. By selling your home rent to own you could help both yourself and the cash-strapped buyer who may have poor credit. Once you are out of your current mortgage you could rent, or now would be an excellent time to buy a home. There are tremendous deals out there currently with all the home foreclosures.
Here’s how rent to own works. The buyer makes an agreement with the owner that part or all of the rent money will go towards the down payment of the home, after a length of time, usually 2-5 years, the renter will buy the home, using the extra rent money that was set aside as the down payment.
There is usually not much money put down initially, outside of the normal renter’s deposit for a rental home, so this is a good way for a strapped individual to get into a home for little or no down payment.
Another advantage of rent to own for the buyer is that if you compare how much rent money is applied monthly to the home price, even if it is only 20-40%, it is basically all applied to principle in the form of an eventual down payment. This is very unlike a traditional loan where all the initial payments go up in smoke as interest. It is important for the buyer to note that if he cannot purchase the home in the agreed time period, he may have to move out and lose the extra rent money paid - planning is important.
Many real estate agents and established mortgage companies will advise home owners to not try to sell or buy homes via for-sale-by-owner or FISBO, but they have obvious interest in giving such advice - they won’t make as much money if more people buy and sell their homes without the middle-men. If however, the seller is willing to take the time to learn the ropes, plans carefully, and consults legal advice - it can be done.
I have included two links to resources that can arm the buyer and seller with inside, minimally circulated information that can give them the knowledge to successfully profit from the current housing situation in the author’s section below. Currently there exits great money saving and even profit potential in rent to own and foreclosure properties.
Home leasing is similar to rent to own, some money is paid up front in a lease agreement. The buy must plan to have good credit to purchase the home after the agreed time period. There are other strategies for the home seller to use in today’s housing environment; rent to own, wholesales, pre-foreclosures, rehabs, lease Options, used private money, commercial money and the list goes on. If you are interested in buying or selling a home, now would be a great time to learn about all possible options, especially those used by the professionals and not normally offered to consumers as viable options.
Passive Income
Jun
10
Is Home Staging Still Worth It?
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Home staging has been promoted in the mainstream for a couple of years now, and the nice thing is, it’s still a relevant tool when selling a home. Home staging works to make your home more appealing, which in turn means it a) sells faster, and b) sells for a higher price than most non-staged homes.
However, many people don’t completely understand what home staging is. Staging is a relatively simple concept that involves some key principles to make it work.
First, de-clutter. This is the essential rule of home staging. If you do nothing else, do this when selling your home. The kind of de-cluttering I am referring to is more than just clearing the papers off your desk, though that’s recommended too. The kind of de-cluttering required for a home sale is deeper. It requires you to evaluate every room in your home and eliminate everything you no longer absolutely need. Beyond spring cleaning, even, this is about paring down your junk to the bare minimum. Then, in home staging, you take it another step further. To truly achieve the feel of a staged home, you need to de-personalize it.
De-personalizing a home involves removing things that you don’t want to get rid of, but that serve to remind potential buyers that this is your home. These include family photos or personal mementos or knickknacks of various kinds. The goal when selling a home is to make the buyer feel at home in your home: to create a space that they can imagine themselves inhabiting. But pictures of your family and highly personal items can diminish that, which is why they need to be packed up. Consider it a head-start to your much larger packing job once the home sells. But don’t store the packed boxes in the garage, these need to be gone, too.
Other than maybe a couple of storage boxes, it’s best to find somewhere off the property to store anything you don’t want to be around while your home is being shown to buyers. Since garages, spare rooms and storage space are features buyers appreciate in a home, you don’t want to over-fill these spaces with your boxes. Some sellers rent storage space. Others make use of friends or family’s storage space. Whatever you do, stick to the rule of keeping out the clutter in your home for sale, no matter what.
Other than boxes packed with family mementos, you may want to consider moving out appliances you rarely use but aren’t ready to part with. Having clear counters in the kitchen is another imperative. Same goes for the cupboards. Don’t empty them, as an empty house is almost harder to sell than a crowded one, but keep everything, everywhere, neat, tidy and sparse.
Another aspect of home staging is often to modernize the look of the home. Many home-stagers, when they’re given the budget to go all-out on a home, rearrange and even replace furniture to give the home a better look. Usually, home stagers are interior design professionals. Sometimes they even own their own selection of furniture and art to use for staging, or have an arrangement with a local furniture company. If your budget just doesn’t allow for this, try to do it yourself by keeping bright and easy in mind. Your goal is to insure that one can easily move around a space, and nothing is awkward about the room. Consider getting together with some friends are rearranging your furniture until you get something everyone agrees looks best. Remember, this isn’t how you’d arrange it for your own convenience or livability. This is simply to make it look good at first glance.
Speaking of first glance, those first impressions are really the most important when showing your home, as a buyer makes a decision about whether a home is on their ‘maybe’ list or ‘no’ list within less than a minute of first seeing the home. Details within the home only minimaly impact that first impression. That means that the outside of your home needs to be in ship-shape, too. A clean and well-groomed yard is what you need.
The other first impression, often overlooked by the home-seller, is smell. Here’s where your friends can come in handy again, because while you are used to the unique smells of your home—so much so that you probably don’t even notice them—friends coming over will easily be able to give you their first impression of your home’s smell. If you have pets, or smoke, or even cook at home, the smell of your house will tell the story. Your goal should be to make that story a pleasant one. If it isn’t, then whip out the baking soda and sprinkle it into your carpets. Leave it sit for a few hours before vacuuming. Consider having furniture and drapes professionally cleaned. If you want to make a bigger olfactory impression, consider baking cookies on showing day and leaving them out for viewers. Some people recommend just having some mulling cinnamon sticks on the stove, but this may make buyers think you’re trying to hide something. A fresh cookie on the other hand, will give them something to remember your house by. Don’t forget some bottled water sitting in a bucket of ice. Now your home staging is complete, and if you did it right, you won’t need to put up with too many showing dates, and will be able to enjoy viewing other people’s homes as you get ready to buy anew.
Passive Income
