Goodlettsville TN

Selling your house can be overwhelming, and it can be a little weird to realize strangers are going to be walking through your home looking at everything. Take time to learn these 5 ways to show your house better so that you can win the hearts of buyers and get your house sold:

1. Pretend you are a buyer visiting your house for the first time with a real estate agent. If you don’t think you can be objective, enlist a blunt family member or friend to help you. Start by going outside and stand where buyers will be standing when they get out of the car. Look at what they will see, paying attention to places that need improvement. Search for things outside such as hoses that are not wound up neatly, dead or dying plants, messy lawns, overgrown shrubs and a front door in need of paint. Continue this exercise throughout every room of your home, making notes about what you can improve, refresh, remove or clean.

2. Make sure the entry area of your home is inviting and as spacious as possible. Remove the bulky dresser that conveniently keeps your hats and gloves because your closet is too small. Try to remember that at a minimum the space needs to welcome at least two people comfortably (one buyer and one real estate agent) but that often four or more people are looking at your house at one time.

3. Keep your house spotless and free of odors. Don’t go overboard with potpourri or air fresheners as they can be offensive in their own way if they are too strong. Buyers deduct large amounts of money in their minds for your dirt, and it makes them think that things they can’t see have not been well taken care of by you.

4. Declutter as much as possible before putting your house on the market. Make sure closets are no more than three quarters full and that everything looks organized and that you have ample storage space. If you have to pack up some belongings and store them in a rental unit off site, do it. In the long run that is much cheaper than reducing your house by thousands of dollars because buyers who did visit thought it was too small.

5. Remove pets during showings, and as much as possible remove evidence that they are living in your house at all. A good trick is to keep a laundry basket in the trunk of your car to quickly stow food bowls, toys and pet beds. If you must leave your pet at home during the showing make sure the agent knows in advance that the pet is there, and what special instructions you may have. Yapping dogs can make buyers want to get out of your house too quickly and even cats have been known to get aggressive and make potential buyers uncomfortable.

Your real estate agent should be very helpful to you with this. Ask them to help you critique your house so that you can show it off to its best advantage, and then take their advice. If you have questions about how to make your house appealing to buyers and show better, please give me a call.

Homeowners who are struggling to pay their monthly mortgage payment will try to sell the house before foreclosure proceedings are started. “Upside down” is the term used to describe properties whose outstanding mortgage balance is higher than the appraised value of the home. For these homeowners, selling their home is a complex matter.

In a typical real estate sale, the seller will pay off their existing mortgage with the proceeds of the sale. For an upside down seller, the sale proceeds will not be enough to pay off the mortgage, and a balance will remain. This remaining balance is called a deficiency.

Before a short sale can be finalized, the mortgage holder (usually a bank) must agree to accept the terms. Impacting the mortgage holder’s decision will be issues such as the amount of the projected deficiency, current real estate market conditions in the neighborhood, and the financial situation of the current homeowner. The mortgagee must decide on the best option for their business. Financially, does it make more sense to foreclose on the property, with all its related costs, or write off the deficiency; the seller’s wishes are of no consequence. Often the short sale is chosen as a faster, more inexpensive method of resolving a non performing loan.

For the buyer, this means a longer than usual time period between making an offer on the house and having it accepted. A professional real estate agent will keep you informed of the progress being made and what to expect next.

For more information about short sales, please give me a call.