Survey: More Renters Want to Become Homeowners

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  Survey: More Renters Want to Become Homeowners

  Homeownership as a priority is on the upswing. And a look back shows perceptions about owning weren’t as negative during the recession as the media suggested. Read

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Updating vs. Selling In Current Condition

If you'd like to know what home buyers are looking for these days, just ask any real estate agent.  Or read this next sentence.  Home buyers are looking for a fully updated move in ready home that is priced $10,000 under their current budget.  That doesn't sound that bad when I go back in read it.

But my reality is in the Lincoln, Nebraska area there are a lot of home buyers looking for homes under $150,000 and even $100,000.  So, how do you have a granite counter tops in a $75,000 home?  In my opinion, you don't.

This article is written for the seller.  But a buyer might get a good idea of what to expect by reading this too.  I held two open houses this past Sunday.  One at a home that was priced at $190,000 and one at a home that was priced at $72,000.  The more expensive home had all new carpets, paint, and a fully remodeled kitchen complete with new cabinetry, counter tops, flooring, and appliances.  The other home have been updated throughout the years but still maintains it's original kitchen cabinetry.  I might mention though, that the $72,000 home had a master suite and the other home did not.  So, you can't hang everything simply on price!

So, I ask my sellers, "What is it you want to accomplish in the sale of your home?"  Yes, you're going to sell the home faster with lots of updates.  But it's also going to cost you more money and possibly blood, sweat, and tears if you're doing the work yourself.  There really is no right or wrong answer here.  It's all about comfort level and what you as the seller can live with.

I don't believe in asking my sellers to update their homes to make them beautiful just to sell it.  But I do ask my sellers to price them accordingly.  So, the sale price might not be quite as high on closing day.  As a seller, is that something you're comfortable with?  If not, then do the updates.  The updated home will most likely not be on the market as long and you'll feel better with the fatter check...If in fact, that's how you're wired.

If you want my opinion on your home, call me.  I'll be more than happy to help you work through your decision to update or not.

http://www.shelllyn.net

Top 10 Remodeling Projects That Offer the Biggest Returns

Top 10 Remodeling Projects That Offer the Biggest Returns

Staging & Staying

I've decided I need to be more careful when a homeowner asks me to be totally honest in helping them get ready to sell their home.  I was recently at a home of a wonderful family that had what I think was possibly the worst experience in real estate.  They had a horrible agent - yes, there are some out there, no it wasn't me.  The agent didn't get their home sold.  Then they tried to sell the home themselves and had no luck.  They've lived in their home for just under 10 years and have made many improvements to the home, but it's just not selling.

When I called her up...out of the blue...she was desperate.  They so badly want to be in a newer home with more room.  They're a young family with young and energetic children.  They need more space.  She asked me to be totally honest with them about the things their home needed to sell quickly and for the best price possible.

As I toured the home I took notes, I made simple suggestions and wrote my bigger ones down.  We sat down at the table and I explained my suggested changes.  I had over a page of updates, room remodels, and staging suggestions for them.  At first their eyes were huge and their jaws were on the floor.  But I calmly broke it down room by room and shared with them why the changes needed to be made.

After talking for a few minutes about the benefits of making the changes and how I could present the home to buyers with the changes made, he sat back in his chair, smirked a little and said, "We make these changes, we'll have enough room and won't need to move!"

I didn't panic, I reminded them why they wanted to move and they agreed.  Whew!!

My Home Didn't Sell, What Should I Do?

If you get a call from me because your home expired, the first thing to know is I'm sympathetic.  I'm also a home owner.  And before becoming a real estate sales professional I sold a home.  I tried selling it myself then I realized I needed to list it with an agent.  And it still didn't sell!  It's a long drawn out story that I'm not going to get into.  But after a year of carrying two house payments, the home finally sold.

Do you really want to sell your home?  If you've had it listed for the last 6 or 12 months, that tells me you do want to sell it.  But now that it didn't sell, and you're telling me you're not sure what to do. That doesn't mean you don't want to sell it.  It just means you're terribly frustrated.

Remember you hired your agent to sell your house.  Not to list it!  Listing your house is easy.  Selling it is another story.  And if your agent isn't selling your house...no matter how much you like him or her...it's time to consider hiring someone to sell it.

You need to ask yourself the hard questions now:

1.  Why do you want to re-hire the same agent to re-list your house?
2.  What will this agent do differently that he didn't do in the first 6 or 12 months?
3.  What has it cost you in using this agent? (Time, money, frustration)
4.  What is the new agent going to do differently?
5.  Do you think you "like" the new agent initially at least as much as you did the first agent?
6.  How much time should you realistically give the new agent to sell your home?
7.  What will you do if the new agent can't get your home sold?
8.  Are you being realistic about the price, condition, staging of the home?

I can't guarantee your home will sell.  I haven't seen it yet.  I don't know who said it, but I love it...
         "If you always do...what you've always done..you'll always get...what you've always got!"
If it's not working, change.  Give me a call and make a change in the right direction.  I want to sell your house, not just list it.

The Power of the Pre-Approval

You may have seen the ads on tv and maybe you've even been told by your agent to get your loan pre-approval.  Unfortunately you need it.  It's not a guarantee, as one banker told me recently.  And he's right.  But it does tell the home seller that you are qualified "enough" to be making an offer.

I had the unfortunate experience this past week of working with a buyer that hasn't even started her pre-qualification, despite being told to do so 10 days ago.  She's an out of state buyer that is interested in buying a home soon.  So, I told her, "get your pre-qualification started first thing on Monday because they can take a week or longer to get completed."  And one week later we found THE ONE!  The perfect home.

So, the question becomes.....Do we write an offer without the pre-qualification or do we wait?  Do we risk having the offer be rejected, or do we risk having someone else submit an offer before us?  I've drafted the offer.  But now it just sits.  Waiting a decision.

This is why it's very important to get the pre-qualification done.  Even though it's not a guarantee that you'll get the final loan on that specific home, it does allow you to keep the process moving when you find the house you want to buy.  It's a reassurance to the person you're making the offer to that you've got your ducks in a row and you're prepared to move forward.  Without it, the seller is left wondering if you even have a credit score worth a banks consideration.

Do yourself a favor.  Don't fall in love with a home only to find out you can't have it.  Get your pre-qualification done.  No, it's not as fun as shopping for a new home.  But it's not as agonizing as a root canal either.  Just get it finished, get it out of the way.  Once it's done, it's done.  And you know exactly where you stand.  You know how much money you need to bring to the table to make your dreams a reality.  You know what your payments will be.  And you know that when you find THE ONE, you can write THE OFFER.

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Why Effective Pricing is So Important in Today's Home Selling Market

Selling a home is an exciting adventure.  There are several things to keep in mind however, if you want to be successful.  Most home owners take a lot of pride in their homes.  And that's the way it should be.  But pride does not always convert to dollar signs.

Let's take a look at the Lincoln, Nebraska market as it is today.  At this very moment there are 1,776 houses for sale in Lincoln.  Now, luckily for most sellers, buyers are looking for a specific price and size range along with a certain number of bedrooms and an area of the city closest to work or family members.

So, let's break this down into a very popular home and look to see how many 3 bedroom homes there are available in Lincoln today.  That number is 527.  That's still a huge number of homes for a prospective buyer to fathom.  Now, their real estate pro will help them narrow that number down even further by price, area, and bathrooms and a whole slew of other features. 

But today, I'm talking simply price.  The average price of these 527 homes is $162,218.  The average Days on the Market is 75.  The least expensive home is $79,000 and the most expensive home is $239,900.  So, let's take the least expensive house and search for homes between $79,000 and $162,218.  Only 318 homes in that price range. 

How do I ensure that your home gets noticed?  The obvious answer is that I get more information from the buyer to narrow down the search.  But more importantly, I work with you to make sure that your home is priced right.  A $79,000 3 bedroom home is going to look very different from a $239,900 3 bedroom home.  Or at least we're all hoping they look very different.  But if we price your home at $79,000, it probably needs to look like it's worth $85,000.  And on a side note - I say "we price your home" because it's something you and I will work on together.

So, how can we improve the appearance?  When you list your home for sale with me, I'll give you a cheat sheet that will give you all the answers.  But some of the answers follow.

• Make sure the interior decorating is up to date.  Brass sea shell shaped curtain rods are no longer the fad.  Switch to something more natural looking.  Be sure any scuffed paint is repaired.  Remove stains from carpeting, consider new carpeting, or consider a carpeting allowance.
• Clean!  A clean home appears to be worth more.  And a buyer might wonder what is hidden if they can see dirt, grime, or even filth.  Keeping it clean is not easy, but it will pay off in the end.
• Maintain the exterior appearance.  Keep the lawn mowed, the trees and shrubs trimmed and everything in tip-top shape.
• Make necessary repairs.  Fix things that get broke.  Fix them before you list and if they break during the listing period, get it fixed.

You want to sell your home quickly and get the most money for it as possible.  Your goals are my goals.  By working together and taking an honest buyers-eye approach to getting your home ready to sell, it will sell faster and for more money.  You may have to set a little pride aside to do so, but it will be worth it.  Doing these simple things will help your home stand out.  First price it right, price it to sell.  Then follow my cheat sheet to help ensure you get the highest offer possible for your home.