Packing continued--

There are 3 questions you need to ask about the stuff you are going to pack. 1. Do I love it and want to take it with me? 2. Can I afford to move it? 3. Would someone else appreciate it or do they need it more than I do? (Then I should give it away to them!!) Moving is expensive and tiring so think about that when you start--everything you pack you need to unpack and put away in the new place. I suggest you get a bunch of paper towels and zip lock bags and use them when packing. I found the paper towels to be great to pack glassware in since newspaper will get them black and the paper towels won't. The zip lock bags will consolidate stuff like rubber bands and q-tips and things that go together and make it easier to transport and put away at the other end. Trust me on this one--you have lots more stuff than you think and it will take you longer to pack and move than you think. (You will also have less people help you than you think) I have seen people pull all nighters because someone did not show up to help them. Also, be sure you have all the boxes you need to finish packing since Walmart may not be open at 3 AM when you need extra boxes to pack before the truck arrives in the morning. Be sure you have planned for meals for the people who help you move and if someone wants to help by keeping your kids let them do that. It will be a bigger help than you know!!

Whats next?

You've taken care of the cleaning and made sure that all the toys are put away. Next I suggest you start packing up your stuff. You are moving so lets get started so you don't have so much to do when you get a contract and have a short time frame to move. I suggest you go to Walmart or Target and get some plastic bins. We will start filling those along with some cardboard boxes for garage sale or give away stuff so the amount of stuff to finish packing and move will be less. We will need a staging area--a place in the basement (or a spare room) to start stacking the boxes we have ready to move and another place to stack the garage sale boxes until we have enough for the garage sale. The boxes we are going to move need to be labeled
what is in them and where they came from and where they will go in the new house if you know. (ie: towels and grandmas china from the hall closet--to the new hall closet) I took the movering guys by the hand and showed them which room was which when we moved and said if it says living room, that is here, and if it says Robs room, that is in here. Then each box was in the room it was to be unloaded in and it made it so much easier for me to find the stuff I needed when I was ready to unpack that particular room. Buyers understand you are moving and will overlook a neat stack of bins. Our goal here is to make your closets and bookshelves neat and clean and not like there is a lack of space. It also makes your home easier to keep clean and neat. When my dad moved I would clean out a cupboard and then he had a bin where we packed the stuff that went to his new place and the rest went in a box to get ready for the tag sale he had to get rid of the rest of the items he no longer needed.

5 reasons a house doesn't sell

There are basically 5 reasons a house doesn't sell: Price, Condition, Location, Terms and Marketing. We will buy bad bananas to make bread if the price is right. So Price is the main one. If the price is to high the buyers will compare your home to the others in the price range it is in and will purchase the best value for their dollars. An overpriced home helps the others in that price range sell, and sits on the market and becomes "market stale", a term meaning it has been on for a long number of days and something is probably wrong with it. Condition is next and that is how clean and pristine it is. How does it show? Cluttered and dirty costs you money and it can cost you a buyer. Location is the third one and there is not a lot you can do about the location, except reflect it in the price. Good location means a higher price. A location is good depending on what the buyer wants--close to the University so they can walk to their office or far from the University so they don't have to be around the students in their free time. Terms are what the market interest rate is. The rates are good or they are not so good. (Compared to what they were when we bought our first house they are fabulous!!) The lower the rate the more home the buyer can get for their money. And then there is marketing and that is my job. I market in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as well as local homes magazines. My office is in the local paper with the listings on a weekly basis. We both make sure your home is seen by upwards of 50,000 people a day

Things to do to help your home sell

We need to get together to see what you need to do to sell your home. Buyers look at homes based on the price range they can afford. Yours has to stand out in the price range and be a better value than any other home in that price range. It has to be spotlessly clean and all the fix up work has to be done, or we have to price it so the buyer can do the work and they get a bargain price for having to do the work. Stuff that is not done will cost you money on the sale. I have people who will help you with things that need to be done if you can not do them. I will advise you as to what to do and where to spend any money for fix ups--most things I suggest will not cost much and will make a big impact in the way the house looks and will attract a better price or a quicker sale. The lower the price the more buyers look at your home and the quicker the sale. There are 5 reasons a house doesn't sell--price, condition, location, terms and marketing. If all of these are in line, the home should sell and give you a fair price. The market is the thing that determines what you home is worth. Houses have to appraise out most of the time, unless you get a cash offer that does not require an appraisal and those are few and far between.

I'm thinking of selling my home--what's next?

"I think I want to sell my home"--but I'm not sure what to do next. Call me and we will sit down and see just why you want to sell your home and where you will go to live. Will you move for a job transfer, to be closer to the kids and grandkids, to a retirement community or just to go to a different kind of home, maybe a condo or an assisted living facility? These are things we look at when making these kinds of decisions. What is your time frame for the move? Do you need to be there tomorrow or do we have time to get things going for you? Will you move and leave the home empty or will you live there while it is being sold? Will one spouse or partner stay with the house while the other goes to the new location for a job transfer? Will there be a relocation company involved that will pay the expenses or will you have to foot the entire bill? Will this be a short sale where you owe more than your house is worth and have little or no equity? These are questions we must answer to know what to do and when and how to take care of the sale of your home. What stays with the house and what does not--backyard play set, drapes, chandlier your parents gave you for your anniversary? All these questions I can walk you through to get answers to help us proceed with the sale or your home so you can move into that new situation that will make you live "Happily ever after!!"

Buying New Construction

But I really want a new house!! Lets talk about the difference between a new home and a "Pre Loved" home. New is great--new everything, roof, heating unit, etc. Pre Loved can have some problems depending on the date it was built. New has much going for it but lets talk about the things people don't think about in a new home. There has to be additional money for window coverings (sheets are ok for the first 6 months but we really can't keep them up forever), landscaping (builders packages and covenants only have a limited amount of landscaping that must be done prior to the sale--limited to about 1 tree and 3 shrubs--ha ha--and you may notice out the window that the neighborhood is lacking in those being big trees), furniture (this home is bigger than the tiny apartment you just left) and misc other things that come up. This is a trade off with a pre loved home in that you may need to redo the roof in time and you may need to get a new furnace or paint or redo a kitchen or bath or update some light fixtures, but you will get more home for the money with a pre loved home. When you purchase new construction, you can get it in many stages of the construction process--before you close it you will do what is called a punch list--you will go through with the builder or their representative and make a list for them to fix, touch up, redo, or finish. You will then go back the day before the closing to make sure they have completed the list. If it is not done, you will need to make adjustments at closing on the hold backs and know for sure what will happen if it doesn't get done. Most builders need to have satisfied customers because they own another lot or two in the neighborhood and need to be able to sell that too. Beware of liens on new construction--it is the latest problem to know about out there--

Why not to be a For Sale By Owner

For Sale By Owner(FSBO)--the ads on TV make it look simple--put a sign in the yard--hold some open houses--get a buyer--close on the house and save thousands of dollars!! Sounds easy but I have not seen a transaction go that smoothly in 25 years in the business. I have a list of 72 things that can go wrong with real estate transactions, and that is just what went on the list probably 10 or more years ago. Now a days, people want to purchase a property and "get a great deal". They will look to the FSBO to get that deal--after all, you are saving the commission of 6% so they want a piece of that savings so they knock 3% right off the top of and then they start to negotiate the price. You are able to negotiate with no emotion in the negotiations--even though it is your money they are taking, and your house they are not paying what you think it is worth. Not to mention, are they there to really see your home or case it, are they OK to let into your house and do they really have money to buy it or are they just "tire kickers" and want to get decorating ideas? Do you know them? Do you trust them? Will they tie your home up with a contract that falls through (and can you take care of the problems that arise) so that you can not move on with your life? Will they show up at closing with no funds and you have all your stuff in the moving truck in the front of the house? Still sound easy? In this financial era with all the problems we are having getting financing, refinancing, and speciality loans, this is not the time to try to save money--not to mention all the short sale problems that are going on and the trials and difficult situations that are happening every day. My advice is to hire a trained professional--like me--and let us take care of the worry of security for you, your family and your home along with making sure that you sell this one and get on to the next one. It may look easy on TV but in real life it is not even close to that easy--trust me on this one--it is the toughest market I have ever worked in in 25 years in this business!!