Useful Home Selling Real Estate Articles
When selling a home, it always pays to have advice you can use that is based on years of experience. Take advantage of some of these helpful resources below, whether you are selling a home in Massachusetts or elsewhere. These posts come from multiple sources across the web by agents that are well respected in the real estate industry.
Why You Should Avoid Dual Agency!
Dual agency benefits one party - the real estate agent! When selling your home, you should avoid dual agency like the plague. You are paying a real estate agent a lot of money. You want them to be in your corner throughout the transaction representing your best interests.
When you allow dual agency, real estate agents are no longer permitted by law to exclusively represent you anymore. The real estate agent becomes a neutral party. Be sure to read the article at Maximum Real Estate Exposure on why dual agency is so bad for sellers.
Dual agency optimizes what is wrong in the real estate industry. It has been banned in numerous states. Unfortunately, dual agency is allowed in Massachusetts. Plenty of agents who care more about their wallet than what's best for the client still practice it.
What to Know About Real Estate Commissions
When you are selling a home, one of the most significant expenses will be the real estate commission. While commissions are entirely negotiable, there is a range you will most likely see this expense fall into. Typically, in most areas of the country, the commission will range from four percent to six percent of the sales price of the home.
The article at Maximum Real Estate Exposure goes to great lengths explaining precisely what you should know about commissions when selling.
What is Entry Only MLS?
In recent years there have been other different commission models that have popped up beside the traditional cooperation policy. One of the more popular methods is what's known as flat fee MLS. With flat fee MLS brokers, the only thing they do is list your house in the multiple listing service for you. There are no marketing efforts or other typical real estate services performed. There are some obvious pros and cons with a flat fee MLS service. Before committing to this kind of marketing, it would be wise to understand them!
How to Sell Real Estate By Owner?
One of the most challenging things to do as a homeowner is to sell a home without the assistance of a real estate agent. The vast majority of people who attempt this do so for one reason - to save money. Who can blame them, as the commission on a home is quite substantial. Selling your home by owner, however, is not that simple.
In fact, many reports cite that the success rate is less than 20 percent. In the article, you will see some tips on how to improve your chances of having success as a for sale by owner (FSBO). By following some simple but smart advice, you can improve the odds of selling your home and saving a commission.
How Important is an Open House?
One of the pitches you are bound to hear from a real estate agent who is interested in procuring your business is doing an open house. This, of course, has been a common practice dating back many years in the real estate industry. The question, however, is who does it benefit you or your agent? Without a doubt, you are bound to be told that open houses work to sell homes by lots of real estate agents.
Don't believe it! A home will sell regardless of whether an open house is held or not. Buyers who are interested in your home will always schedule an appointment to see it. The myth of an open house being needed is created by real estate agents who use these events to obtain additional prospects.
This, of course, is fine, as long as they are honest with you! Some agents are not and never bother to explain the theft risks of having an open house. This is one of my biggest pet peeves as an agent.
What is a Right of First Refusal?
One of the more common types of real estate contracts is what's known as a right of first refusal. In real estate, a right of first refusal gives a buyer the legal opportunity to purchase a home when an offer from a different party is presented to a seller.
This right of first refusal gives the opportunity for a person holding this option to step forward and buy the property. A complete explanation of a right of first refusal and how it works, as discussed in the article.
Top Challenges to Selling a Home
Selling a home is not that difficult as long as you know what you are doing. Sometimes this can be an issue for folks who have never sold before. This becomes obvious when someone who has never sold hires a less than stellar real estate professional.
Kyle Hiscock talks about some of the top challenges to selling a home, including pricing too high, having a lack of proper marketing, not tackling issues in the house, not getting the "show ready" and quite a few others. Not understanding what it takes can easily lead to home sale failure.
How to Make Your Property More Appealing
When you are selling your home, having it looks it's best is critical if you hope to sell for the most amount of money in the least amount of time!
Making your home more appealing is something every homeowner should be striving for. In the article, you will see some of the best tips for getting your home to look the way it should to achieve top dollar.
How to Prepare For A Home Inspection
In a real estate sale, the biggest obstacle to getting to a closing table is the buyer's home inspection. More transactions fall apart at this time than at any other point in a sale.
This makes it vital for a seller to know how to prepare for the inspection. When you are well equipped, the chances of your sale coming to an abrupt end are minimized. Take a look at some of the more common issues found during a home inspection and make sure your place is free of these issues.
Most of them are not that expensive to fix and can significantly increase the chances of keeping your sale going smoothly.
Inexpensive Ways to Add Curb Appeal
To get an edge on your competition having your property look, it's best is an easy way to accomplish this. There are some low-cost ways to add curb appeal that every property owner on a budget should take advantage of.
In the article, you will see some of the better solutions for making your home look great when you just don't have lots of money to spend.
Buying and Selling Simultaneously
One of the most often asked questions by those who are buying and selling a home at the same time is how do you make it all work. The fear, of course, is that you will sell your home and not be able to find another, creating a situation where you are homeless.
It is a valid concern, but these things usually work themselves out. What you need to know to go into this is that there are certain things you should not do or hope you can do in a real estate transaction. For example, some people think that to solve the issue of buying and selling at the same time, they can just make their home sale contingent on finding suitable housing.
Another tactic is to try to purchase another home contingent on selling their own. In the article, you will see why both of these tactics rarely work or are allowed.
What Appraisers Look At During a Real Estate Appraisal
One of the significant hurdles in a home sale is getting past the buyer's lenders' appraisal of the property. The appraiser is going to report back to the lender as to the value of the property.
This means if you happen to sell your property for an amount the appraiser doesn't feel makes sense, you could look at how to challenge a low appraisal. While a low real estate appraisal does not often happen, when it does, you will want to know what to do.
In the article, you will not only see what an appraiser looks at during the appraisal process but what to do if it comes in low. The method of challenging an appraisal is not tricky, but you have to be well prepared to show why the home should be valued higher.
The Best Tips For Moving Smoothly
Once you have sold your home, there will probably be a big sigh of relief. One part of the job is complete. The move, however, can be another very stressful task to think about.
This is why you will want to be well-armed for the best moving tips to make your life remain as stress-free as possible. See some of the top moving tips that will help you do just that!
Top Real Estate Articles
This is one of my favorite resources because it offers a wealth of information on selling and buying a home.
There are some top real estate bloggers who provide helpful information in this post. If you are selling a home, this is an article that is worth scanning. You may pick up a tip or two that you were not otherwise aware of. Without a doubt, there is some great real estate advice found here.
Reasons to Reduce Your Home Price
One of the most critical aspects of selling a home is pricing it correctly. If you get this wrong, everything else you do will be for not. Overpricing a home is the #1 reason why homes do not sell.
So how do you know when it is time to reduce your home price? In the article, you will see some visible signs on when a price reduction becomes necessary. If you want to have success selling your home, price it right from day one!
41 Home Selling Mistakes Not to Make
Selling your home does not have to be rocket science. Most of the time, a successful home sale is based on common sense. When it has been a long time since your last home sale or you have never done so before, it is not that uncommon to make home selling mistakes. Real Estate blogger Lynn Pineda, does an excellent job of explaining some of the problems that can occur in real estate sales and how to avoid them.
Flooring and Selling a Home
One of the first things a buyer will notice when looking at a home is the floors. The floors in your home really make a statement with a buyer, especially when they are not in good shape. One of the questions real estate agents get quite often is which floors should be replaced when selling a home? Most people will also want advice on what to replace them with.
Should it be new carpets? How about hardwood flooring? Is Pergo an excellent flooring choice? These questions and more are answered in the article over at the Flooring Girl's blog.
Real Estate Capital Gains and Your Home
One of the beauties of owning a home is the tax benefits. Many people do not realize that when you sell a house and are single, the first $250,000 in profit is tax-free. If you are married, this is bumped up to a $500,000 tax exclusion. While many people do not have the same equity in their homes as they used to when markets rise, this becomes far more important.
Understanding how real estate capital gains taxes work is essential. If you get this wrong, you could be costing yourself lots of money when it comes time to sell. Understand the tax law to save yourself some money.
Closing Cost Credits Explained
One of the more common things that happen today in a real estate transaction is a buyer asking for a seller to pay some or all of the buyer's closing costs. Another term that is often used is called "sellers concessions."
So what exactly are closing cost credits, and why would a seller want to pay them? This is where the confusion comes in. Sellers often get very uptight when they see a buyer asking for them to pay for the buyers closing costs.
There, in fact, should be no reason to get upset at all. The only thing that matters is what the seller is netting out of the transaction, not the fact they are paying some cost of the buyers. Closing cost credits actually allow some sales to take place that otherwise would not be able to happen.
They become a bridge to making the buyer's finances work. In the article, you will see a complete understanding of how a closing cost credit benefits both buyers and sellers.
Things to Put Away When Selling a Home
It may seem like common sense, but some people don't always have that! Buyers generally do not want to see your latest prize hanging on the wall or a line up on your kitchen table of all the things you are hoping will cure your illness.
It goes without saying that some things should be put away during a home sale. You may not like it, but if you want top dollar as most people do, it must be done!
Tax Deductions Selling a House
One of the benefits of owning a home is being able to have certain tax deductions each year. In the article at Maximum Real Estate Exposure, you'll learn what tax deductions to take when selling a house. The tax tips here could save you thousands of dollars!
What to Do About Unpermitted Work
When selling a home, it is not uncommon for sellers to realize that not getting building permits was such a good idea. Many disclosure forms will ask the question have you performed any work at the home that required a permit. Of course, it is in your best interest to answer honestly. Not doing so could lead to a nasty lawsuit. In the article, you will see some of the considerations on what to do when you don't have the required permits.
Three Mistakes Home Sellers Need to Avoid
There are lots of home selling mistakes that you can avoid, but real estate blogger Karen Highland covers three of the most common home seller mistakes, including hiring the wrong Realtor, not listening to a professional agent's advice, and not keeping up proper home maintenance.
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