Who Cares About Staging and Curb Appeal??

Answer: You should if you are selling a home today.

A buyer’s market is a staging market. Buyers are picky and looking for value. Staging helps set a home apart and make it look more 'valuable'.

Staging is the process of de-cluttering your home and showing off the home in the best possible way in order to maximize the sales price. Loads of research show that it works and will actually help you sell for more money!

STAGING BEGINS AT THE STREET
Curb appeal is a big deal. It's the first impression that a buyer has of your home. The entire purpose of improving the curb appeal is to get a prospective buyer inside the home. If the front of the home is in bad shape and needs work then you’ve got a problem. People will skip it!

In home buying, people tend to judge a book by its cover, meaning if the front is unappealing, then they assume that the inside is just as bad. They may never get to see your completely renovated kitchen, because there is no landscaping and the sidewalk needs repair. They’ll move on to the next home down the street.

POLISH THE ENTRYWAY
Whenever a Realtor is showing your home they will pause for a minute at the front door to get the key out of the lockbox. While they are waiting, buyers will take a good look at the entryway. Make sure it gets some attention whether it’s a fresh coat of paint or repairing a loose handrail. Of course, don’t forget the welcome mat!

From there, think about the buyer’s experience and spend your time accordingly. De-clutter the entire home and start packing now. Think of your home like a nice hotel suite or a model home. Put away the family pictures and clean out the closets. Dust everything and change the air filters. You may even need to get a storage unit to get the stuff out of the house. (Yes, it’s that important!)

The kitchen and baths are usually most important so make sure they shine. Do some deep cleaning and clear off the countertops. Caulk the bathtub and buy a fresh shower curtain. Remove any odors that may be offensive, especially smoke and pet odors.

The idea is to lead a buyer through a home letting them imagine themselves living there, with nothing distracting to break the ‘spell’. If you can get a buyer ‘emotionally attached’ then you home will be sold!

I started by saying that a buyers market is a staging market. To get your home sold it MUST stand apart from the competition. Pricing your home is all about location and condition. We can’t change the location, but anything that you can do to improve the condition may be the difference between selling and not.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

How Much Will I Make Selling My Home?

One of the trickiest parts of my job is to help a seller understand how much money they’ll make at the closing. We call this the Seller’s Net Sheet. It’s tricky to come up with because I’m not a closing attorney, and it’s difficult to nail down all those pesky fees ahead of time. However, this tool is very helpful in comparing various offers and helping the seller get a grip on how the monies were disbursed. Let’s take a closer look…

In putting together a Seller’s Net Sheet we start with the Purchase Price. This is sometimes called the “Gross” Sales Price. Next we subtract all the items that the Seller has to pay for at closing. Here are some of the more common ones:

Commissions- The Realtor's commissions are negotiated at the time of listing and is usually a percentage of the Gross Sales Price. Part of the amount, usually half, goes to the listing agent and the rest is paid to the buyer’s agent.

Title Search/Policy- For each transaction, a title search is performed to ensure that the title if free of defects. If the title search is satisfactory, a title policy is issued to protect the buyer against future issues that may arise with the title to the property. The cost of this is based on the purchase price. For a $150,000 property, the title insurance will cost around $800. This varies so when I’m doing a net sheet I just call the title company to get the amount from them.

Buyer’s Closing Costs- It is quite common these days for the Buyer’s to ask for the sellers to pay some of their closing costs. It may be a set amount or a percentage of the price. Most loan programs limit this to 3% of the purchase price.

Down Payment Assistance- Through down payment assistance programs, charities like Nehemiah and Ameridream may pay a portion of the buyer’s down payment. For this to happen, the seller is asked to contribute to these charities. We have to subtract this amount from the sales price as well, not forgetting any ‘processing’ that the charities charge, usually an extra $500. (Note: These programs are set to disappear soon with the latest housing legislation that congress has passed.)

Closing Attorney’s Fees/ Doc Prep Fees- These vary depending on your closing agency, but is usually around $250-300. You might also encounter some smaller $20 fees for overnighting paperwork or wiring monies for your loan payoff, as well as courier fees to get the documents to the Buyer’s closing attorney.

Property Taxes- In Nashville, these taxes are paid in arrears, meaning that they are due at the end of the period. Therefore, at the closing, the sellers will pay their portion of the property taxes to the buyer, who will pay all the taxes for the year at a later date. In effect, each party pays their share of taxes for the time they own the property. For sellers who aren’t expecting this, it can be an unexpected surprise at closing.

Mortgage Payoff- It’s good to have an estimate of your mortgage payoff, which is usually found on your monthly mortgage statement. If you need a more accurate amount, you can call your lender, however, remember that interest is charged daily, so the amount will change every day. Don’t forget to include any second mortgage’s that you may have on the home.

Other Fees- There can be many other items negotiated as part of an offer. Items like termite inspections and home warranties are the most common.

After subtracting all of these items from the Purchase Price, we should have a good estimate of the “Seller’s Proceeds”. This is the amount of the check that the Seller should get from the closing attorney after the transaction closes.

It’s a learned skill to do a net sheet. I’m proud to say I had a closing last week that was within $100 of the estimate I gave to the Sellers. Even still, I get nervous every time I’m doing a net sheet because if my numbers are off, you can bet that the sellers will let me have an earful about it!

-Peter
www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

“Easy to Show”- Music to my ears!

When I’m hunting down properties to show to buyers I love to see the words “Easy to Show” in the listing. Another good phrase is “Vacant-Show anytime”.

On the other hand, making showings difficult is a good way to keep your house from selling. How about these:

-Make Offers Contingent Upon View Interior
-Do Not Disturb Tenants
-Day Sleeper- No showings before 4 pm
-Agent Must Be Present For All Showings

I know that sometimes the circumstances can sometimes make showings terribly inconvenient, however, please know that putting any kind of restrictions on showings when your home is for sale will reduce the number of buyers that see your home. Even something simple like requiring 2 hours notice.

I also know you can’t always show your home at the drop of a hat, but again and again I’m out showing homes in a neighborhood and the buyers notice one for sale across the street and want to see it too! I hate to tell them that we’ll have to wait and do it another day.

The goal is to make it easy to show, at least as easy as possible.

On a side note, I believe this is even true for investment properties. These are often difficult to show if there are tenants involved. That's understood, but at least try to upload some interior pictures to see it it's worth the hassle to show. Even just a couple pictures of the inside help buyers get an idea of the home and decide to take a look. Without any interior pictures, people assume the worst and skip it. They assume that it looks terrible; otherwise there would be pictures, right?

So, the home-selling lesson for today is…
1. Make it “Easy to Show”
2. Have lots of fantastic pictures

Thinking about it? Give me a call.
-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

3 Ways FSBO's are Missing Out

I was talking to someone this afternoon who is trying to sell their home by themselves without an agent. She said that her main reason for doing this was that they couldn't afford any extra fees for Realtors. They owed too much on the home and were already behind on their payments.

This is a sad story that is happening too often right now. However, I'd say that situations like this are the most important times to work with a Realtor. Especially when the market is slow and buyers are few. Let's examine why I think this seller is missing out...

1. Who knows that her home is for sale??
This is a biggie. She has a sign in her yard. Even if she's on a for-sale-by-owner website, the most qualified buyers- those using a Realtor and needing to buy quickly- are searching the MLS and missing her home. I only knew about it because my client drove by.

Contrast this to how I market homes. Not only are my listings in the MLS with professional pictures and a virtual tour, but it's broadcast to numerous other home home searching websites and promoted by me through everything I do. People searching for homes online (which is where people look nowadays) will find my listings and they will look great.

2. Agents will not show your home. This is true mainly because they don't know it's for sale! In this case, the sellers were not offering any commissions even to the buying agent. In effect, they are actually discouraging me from showing their home. We may eventually take a look, but it will be at the bottom of the stack.

3. What risk is the seller taking by being unrepresented?? As a Realtor, I believe that much of my value comes as I help negotiate the contract and then keep things from falling apart to the closing. Even so-called easy deals can have things pop up that can cost lots of money or ruin the entire agreement. My experience will help you avoid these issues and be prepared for each step of the process. Even if a FSBO doesn't hire me, I try to encourage them to hire somebody. It's just not worth the risk.

I appreciate a seller wanting to make more money on their own. It just seems that selling your home is a time when it's best to work with a professional. If you try it, please be careful and willing to be very patient. If you'd like some help, give me a call. :)

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Selling and Moving On With Life!

Last week we closed on our own home that we bought in 2003 and spent much of the past 4+ years in. The closing was fairly easy, but it was the end of a meaningful season in our life and the beginning of new ones.

We had spent those 4+ years living life and growing up. We had our first two kids while living there and saw them start walking and talking. We had hard times and wonderful times. It was life.

The house played a very central role through this time. It was a fixer upper that we bought from a seller avoiding bankruptcy. A wood sided 1920's bungalow in East Nashville with overgrown bushes and chipping paint everywhere. Lots of old trim & windows. Character and charm in every room. It had been through seasons as a duplex and suffered much neglect- but it was "livable"- at least to a young couple wanting a challenge to conquer...

Before/After Photos

We first moved into the dining room while we gutted and renovated the upstairs. This had to happen quickly because my wife was pregnant and we wanted to move out of the dining room! After this we started working downstairs and slowly finished a room at a time. I became a roofer, painter, electrician, foreman, plumber, tiler, landscaper and more!

The final phase began when we moved out of the home last July and were able to gut the kitchen and rooms along the back of the house that needed major work. We refinished floors and had the exterior repainted. There's a lot of me in that house. I became to be good friends with it.

It was quite gratifying to see our vision for the home become reality- to see the job to its successful end, to finish well.

This article may be part of a some kind of grieving process, but it's been a very real transition in our lives. I want to make note of it and remember the emotion, because I work with clients all the time who are experiencing many of the same things. Seasons are changing. They're moving up or moving down. Taking risks or removing risk. Staying close or moving far.

It reminds me again what makes a house a home. It's where LIFE happens!

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Real Estate Music?

Today was a flurry of last minute chores in preparation for a couple closings next week. I had amendments to fax, tile contractors to meet, and wiring instructions to coordinate. For some reason it reminded me of my years in the music business.

How, you ask? Well, it's kind of like preparing for a new production or a live concert video. To pull it off, a lot of different things must come together- and it's usually a little crazy. (That's an understatement!)

The satisfying part comes later, when the music begins or the closing happens. It's a creative process. We have to work together to make something that we couldn't do on our own.

I usually don't get so romantic about it, but once in a while I pause to consider what an honor it is to do what I do to bring people together to an end that benefits all involved.

I guess you could say, we're making 'music'. :)

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Pictures of WHAT, exactly?

When you're selling your home, most people agree that great pictures are essential, even if many Realtors overlook this. (One of my pet peeves.... )

The question is, WHAT do you take pictures of?

I just saw a new listing of a fabulous historic home. I'm sure it's wonderful, however, most of the photos were close up pictures of smaller details. I saw the grand piano, the fireplace, the outdoor trim and the stairway spindles. They were incredible, but what about the rooms?

The details are important, but I think that buyers want to see wider pictures of rooms. How do they lay out? Is there room for my furniture? Often the quality of a home is fine, but the layout is the deal breaker. At the minimum, you want a mix of the two.

Here's a secret: Usually the absence of room photos makes people there is something wrong with those rooms. Of course, everyone knows that if there is no picture of the front of the house, there is a funk problem. The same applies if there is no picture of the kitchen.

I see two easy solutions to this:

1. Put a couple combo pictures that show details, but leave most of them for the virtual tour.

2. Hire a professional photographer with an incredible wide angle lens. This is my opinion, but I believe that home marketing begins with fantastic photos!

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Listings Now Online Everywhere With KWLS.

When 'house fever' hits, buyers are turning to the Internet.

But where to search?? There are many options with each website offering a new slant on the home search. My personal favorite is the Interactive Map Search, which is why I had to have it for my own website.

When you're selling your home, how do you make sure that your home is listed on as many websites as possible? Just being on Realtor.com isn't enough anymore.

My firm, Keller Williams, is a market leader in this kind of technology and we've just started a new service called the KWLS (Keller Williams Listing Service) to give even more exposure to all our listings. Once I've entered the listing it is broadcasted to all the websites listed below and more! Incredible.

Realtor.com
Homescape
Yahoo
Yuvie
Point2Homes
Google
Trulia
Cyberhomes
Geebo
Vast.com
KW.com

My own marketing includes exposure on:
HomeSeekers
HomePages
NashvilleCityHomes.com
CraigsList
Backpage
VisualTour


I'm honored to be part of company that is leading the way in new technologies. You won't find this type of exposure with many of the other firms out there. Of course great Internet exposure is just a piece of the puzzle. If you're interested in the many ways that I'll market your home, please give me a call.

-Peter

REALTOR. City Home Specialist.
www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Real Property vs. Personal Property

"Do the drapes stay?", "Will they leave the chandelier?"

These are the types of questions I hear when showing homes to buyers and they are good ones to ask. It's important to understand what you're getting when you purchase the home. We refer to this as real property.

Real Property is not just the land and anything that is permanently attached to it, but also the rights and benefits that are included. Anything else is typically called personal property. For my clients, the key phrase is "permanently attached".

If you can pick up an item and move it, it's probably not considered real property and it doesn't come with the house. That is, unless you ask for it! This is important to know. If a buyer wants the refrigerator, but doesn't specifically ask for it to remain in the contract, the seller will likely remove it because it is personal property and not permanently attached.

Here are some examples. Do these come with the house?

• Drapes- Not automatically. You must ask for them in the contract.
  
• Kitchen Appliances- Maybe. Some, like the refrigerator and the microwave, may not be permanently attached and you could just pick them up and move them- they don't stay. However, the garbage disposal and the dishwasher are most likely hard-wired and considered real property. Note: If the microwave is built in and hard-wired it would stay.
  
• Washer and Dryer- Not automatically. Even if the seller offers them in the listing, you should make sure and ask for them in the contract to make sure they stay if you want them.
  
• Light Fixtures- Yes, they stay if hard-wired. The kind that hang on a hook and plug into the wall are considered personal property, though.
  
• Bathroom Mirror- This can be tricky. It stays if permanently attached to the wall. If it is just hanging on a nail, it's technically personal property.

As you can see, there can be some confusion about this. That's why if there is something about the home that is important to you, make sure to include it in the contract. It is all negotiable anyway. If you really want the drapes, chandelier, or even a certain piece of furniture be sure to ask and make it part of your offer.

You should also know that if you ask for much of the personal property in your offer we may use what's called a "Bill of Sale Agreement". This will list the personal property on a separate form and keeps it outside of the actual sales contract. This is done to keep lenders from thinking that you are borrowing their money to buy a bunch of furniture, etc.

The imporant thing is to think about all of this up front. Otherwise you may find that you bought a home without any bathroom mirrors...

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com
REALTOR. City Home Specialist.

Sell Your Home With Pictures

When you're looking at home listings and come across one without a picture what do you generally do? Skip it. How about if there's only one picture from the street an it's not very good? Skip it too. So here's my burning question: WHY ARE THE SO MANY LISTINGS OUT THERE WITH TERRIBLE PICTURES OR NO PICTURES AT ALL!!!

Okay. I'll try to be calm. This is something that has baffled me for long before I became a Realtor. Digital cameras are fairly cheap, and you don't have to be a photographer to get a good picture. There are huge reasons to show buyers as many great things about a house as you can- and you can always find something!

1. A listing with no pictures will generally be overlooked by buyers AND Realtors. If I do think one of my buyers may be interested, I'll start by seeing if I can find a picture of the home with WebPro. (Go to this website and Click the WebPro icon) This page is hosted by the TN Property Assessor and has pictures of about any property I've looked up. Of course, it won't normally be a good picture, but I can at least see what the home looks like.

2. A listing with low quality pictures makes the home look low quality. (or at least the Realtor- ha!) This would include pictures with bad lighting or pictures that were uploaded upside down or off 90 degrees. I remember a picture of a home that had a large luxury van parked on the street in front of it. All you could see was some of the roof peeking out above the van. Unbelievable!

As a Realtor, I don't want to waste my buyer's time by taking them to a home that is not anything near what they wanted. That means if the pictures are bad or missing I'll have to go preview the home before I pass it along to my buyers. All of this extra work means that the home will likely take longer to sell and will have less people interested in it.

3. A listing with few pictures tells the buyer that there aren't many good things to look at. I had a recent client point out that if there aren't pictures of the kitchen or bathrooms they assume the worst. Me too! I'll admit, the kitchen may not be a selling point in some cases. However, it's usually possible find something else to include. The multiple listing service (or MLS) allows 10 pictures and I can always find 10 things about a house to show off- even if it's the park or convenient restaurant down the street.

4. Internet users want to see more. I go beyond the 10 pictures with a virtual tour for every listing. Going this extra step will allow buyers to get a much better feel for what the home is like. I've found this especially good for out of town buyers who are thinking of moving into Nashville. Sometimes homes are even purchased sight unseen by people seeing the home through a virtual tour.

Great pictures are the basics to marketing a home. It's square one. If you're interested in getting your home sold through great pictures and a virtual tour (and much more, by the way) please contact me or request a Free Home Value Report.

-Peter

www.nashvillecityhomes.com
REALTOR. City Home Specialist.

Get Your Stuff Out! (Please)

It's always amazing to me how many homes on the market are just a few easy steps away from being in their top condition (whatever that is). Many times, just removing personal items and clutter will change the entire impression that the home gives. Here are a couple examples:

I just sold a home in Forest Hills that was vacant. It was a family home where the older parents had moved into a retirement community while the children took care of selling the home. The problem was- it still had many of the family's personal items and outdated furniture from decades ago. It wasn't dirty or in need of repair, it just felt like someone else's home. Later, when the home was empty, it felt much different and looked incredible. If they had cleared the contents sooner would they have sold it for more or quicker than the 6 months it was on the market? Who knows, but it wouldn't have hurt.

Another home I recently listed and sold was a fixer-upper that hadn't been lived in for over 2 years. However, all of the contents of the home were still there from when the home became vacant! Even though it was a home in need of some serious rehab, I knew it would show better if it was at least empty. We ended up having all the personal items removed and then sold it for full price on the second day!

When you're selling a home, you want it in the best possible condition to entice the most buyers to take a look. If possible, it's great to stage the home. Staging involves rearranging furniture, decluttering, etc to get as close as possible to being a model home showplace. You want to "wow" the buyer as they tour your home, not distract them with all of your family pictures and unusual collections.

This is especially true in this day of Internet home searches. Buyers make a lot of judgements based on the pictures (or lack of them). So it's best to have your home presented in the best possible way.

I remember hearing Dave Ramsey talking on his syndicated radio program about how you should move everything that you possibly can out of the house into a storage unit when your home is on the market. He said it should look like a model home and you'll even feel different living there because it won't feel like your home anymore.

That is the idea. It's not always possible, but many times the steps to making your home more appealing to buyers just takes a little extra attention and short-term inconvenience.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com
REALTOR. City Home Specialist.

Of Alleys and Septic Systems.

I've learned a couple things about alleys and septic systems that I thought I'd share before I forgot. As a homeowner, you may never run into these problems, but my last two listings have had some unusual issues that had to be dealt with.

A Home Needing A Sewer Line...
The first home was a fixer upper that had been vacant for a couple years. When I listed it, the sellers told me that it had a septic tank. This was unusual since it was located in the middle of town. Apparently, when the sewer lines were installed years ago, the homeowners were not required to connect, though most did.

I knew this would be an issue to anyone that might purchase the home, but in speaking with my broker I learned it may even be required to be connected before it could be sold. To confirm this and get some more answers, I called the folks at the Metro Health Department who said this was true. If the property was sold, the buyer would not receive clean title to it until it was connected to the sewer line.

If the home was not located on a sewer line it wouldn't be an issue, but at this home, the sewer ran right through the backyard. It was an ordeal getting it done, but we got the sewer line finished by closing and it's all behind us now!

Building a Fence in the Alley...
My other recent listing was unusual in that there was an old alley that ran beside the home, in addition to the one behind. This side alley was left from earlier times when they were used for fire truck access. It hadn't been used for years and the sellers wanted to enclose it with a privacy fence.

In cases such as this, the city unofficially allows fences, etc as long as the adjacent homeowners allow it. I say "unofficially" because there are no official documents allowing the fence, and it is still a public right of way. This means if the city ever does need to use the alley, they have that right and they may remove the fence, etc. at without replacing it. The homeowner is at risk for the improvements.

For an alley to be officially closed, an ordinance must be passed that abandons the alley. When this occurs all the adjacent owners dived the alley right down the middle.

You have to have patience in dealing with Metro Government on these sort of issues. You'll probably get transferred to two or three other departments before getting the answers you were calling about. It seems that it has gotten a little better over the past few years as they have greatly improved their website with lots of direct numbers and even email addresses for the people you need to talk to.

I remember getting a building permit for some home remodeling in 2003 and being so frustrated because I could never get anyone on the phone. I'm sure that still happens, but I do see improvement. It is a bureaucracy after all.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com
REALTOR. City Home Specialist.

Take the Mystery Out of Home Prices.

It's always interesting to talk with people about the price of their home. It's usually a tedious subject because the homeowner often already has a price in mind. Perhaps they know of one down the street that sold for a high amount, or they've been renovating and need to price it high enough to make a profit. Sometimes they just want to get enough to pay back numerous home equity loans.

These methods may make some sense, but they may also be totally inaccurate. The prices for homes in the United States, like most other products, are based on supply and demand. When there are lots of buyers demanding a home on your street (with limited supply) the prices will go up. However, if no one wants to live on your street the prices will drop.

Even though the press may report home sales stats like the daily Dow Jones average, local home price trends typically move slower and even tend to lag behind large economic changes. When the changes do happen they may be felt most in the luxury market as opposed to those in the the lower price ranges due to a more steady demand for housing a these prices.

So, how do you really know what your home is worth? Good question. Here's the answer: It's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

Before you say that was a stupid answer let me explain. Your homes value is not based on what you spent on repairs or how much you need to buy your next home. It's based on recent comparable home sales in your neighborhood.

For a Realtor to research this we use what's known as a Comparative Market Analysis, or CMA. We can pull historical data for all the surrounding homes that have sold recently and get an average price per square foot. Using the square footage of your home we can get an estimate of what your home may be worth.

To go further, we'll look at those homes and pick out the ones that are most like your home. These are called "comparable homes". If you live in a subdivision where all the homes are the same basic size and floor plan, this is pretty easy. However, if you live in a historic neighborhood where every home is unique and of varying size, it may be more of a challenge.

This is where a Realtor's experience and opinion come in. The CMA is the starting point. It shows you the cold, hard sales data to get the price in the right ballpark. Then, based on the unique selling features of a home and your specific wants and needs, the final price is arrived at.

Of course, the home seller ultimately decides on the price. These are all tools to aid in that decision. When actually preparing to list a home for sale, I will go much deeper into this process to really understand the neighborhood trends and what buyers are wanting. I'll have to get into this on another day.

Intrigued? Interested in what your home may be worth? Click here to request a Free Home Value Report.

Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com
REALTOR. City Home Specialist.