Archives for November 2019

Putting your house up for sale can be quite a challenge. However, with some proper planning, selling your house can really be a simple and straightforward process. There are many reasons why people sell their houses – foreclosures, liquidations, divorces, or job relocations. Proper planning helps you sell the house quickly and efficiently without reducing the asking price or stressing out. Be sure to follow my 6 steps below to help ensure a successful house sale!

1. Price the house right.

Putting a house up on the market with an exorbitant price tag is a sure way of keeping potential buyers at bay. Be sure to fix a price that resonates well with the neighborhood, house size, and the amenities found in the house. Thanks to the internet, it’s easy to have a comparative market analysis done. This way, you can reach an informed decision by comparing your price with the listed houses in your immediate neighborhood. After all, a correctly-priced house is better placed to attract the attention of the right kind of buyers!

2. Don’t skimp on the paperwork.

Of course, buyers require all necessary paperwork to be made available for examination before committing to a sale. After all, you, the seller, don’t want to keep scheduling meetings because of missing title deeds and other documents. By having all the necessary paperwork handy, you’ll earn the trust of potential buyers. Relevant paperwork includes:

• Declaration and any deed restrictions on the house.
• Utility bills – water, sewer, electricity and tax bills from previous years.
• A comprehensive list of items excluded or included in the sale.
• Inspection reports for pests and environmental hazards.
• Repair history of major appliances and building components.

3. Carry out proper home staging.

Be sure to spruce up the house before showing it off to maximize its appeal to potential buyers. Realtors will attest that home staging significantly reduces the DOM (days on market) of homes for sale. Even things like a well-manicured lawns and properly trimmed bushes will help to strike the proper resonance with potential buyers.

4. Hire a photographer.

A picture is indeed worth a thousand words. Realtors often point out that houses featuring magnificent and alluring photos tend to get snapped up faster than those that don’t. A good professional photographer can bring out some esthetic characteristics of a house that will appeal to potential buyers. So, don’t use your phone’s camera – hire a top-notch photographer who uses different light settings and effects to capture the best features of the house and makes your photos alluring to buyers.

5. Plan open houses carefully.

Buyers often need to create an emotional connection to a house before committing to a sale. Ensure that your schedule is flexible enough to allow you to hold open houses and and private showings. Recording an open house at various times of the day allows you to showcase the house on video on your website for people with hectic work schedules; you can even create a virtual tour of the entire property. It’s no secret that showing off the house when it looks the most resplendent — like when the outdoor planting is particularly colorful or when the sun rays filter through the bedroom windows — is more likely to move people emotionally.

6. Offer incentives.

Sometimes offering an incentive can be just the right motivation needed for borderline buyers. Incentives are a great alternative to cutting down the asking price for a house. Examples include offering a decoration allowance, leaving the splendid Christmas tree and lighting, or including a household item such as an outdoor grill. You can even refer buyers to local suppliers where you got discounts. Any advice you can give to ease the hassle of settling down in a new environment is to your advantage.

By following these 6 steps, you should be off to a better house selling experience and a higher selling price! And if you’ve got questions about selling or buying any type of home in metro Albuquerque, be sure to contact me today!

Despite Albuquerque’s abundance of sunny weather year-round, we’re not complete strangers to gloomy winter days. Making your home shine in the colder and darker winter days does require a bit more preparation. Here are my 6 tips to help get your home sold by the end of this winter.

1. Price it right the first time. Don’t think that because there’s less competition in the winter, that buyers will pay more than your home is worth. Barring some unusual winter weather blizzard, most listings, on average, receive about four times more visits in their first week than they do a month later. Your price drops later may well go unnoticed.

Have you given serious thought about pricing your home? Sure, you can stop by a few open houses in your neighborhood (with amenities hopefully close to yours). And reading up on some local real estate blogs can be quite helpful (such as this one!).

But when you’re finally ready to list your home, you should find an experienced real estate agent who can help you determine its price. Your agent should do a comprehensive comparative market analysis (CMA) to determine baseline pricing, then adjust for your home’s strengths and weaknesses.

2. Get professional photos. Despite the cold, barren landscaping of winter, good online photos are highly critical to your home’s selling success. High-quality photos will get more views than homes without. I can’t suggest strongly enough the need to hire a professional photographer to take your photos!

3. Keep your home warm, well-lit, and welcoming. Start outside by keeping your walks and driveway clear of ice and snow (yes, we do get some in New Mexico!), leaves, and debris. Keep your heat on, open your curtains, and turn on indoor and outdoor lighting, so people feel invited to come in and stay a while.

4. Clean up and declutter. Around holiday parties and gatherings, it can be difficult to keep your home immaculate. Move winter clothing and gear out of site, and keep up with vacuuming, sweeping, and dusting. Don’t leave holiday decorations up too long. Before listing your home, do a thorough deep cleaning – carpets, floors, kitchen grout, bathroom tiling, and windows.

Nonessentials should be put in self storage or boxed neatly in totes in the garage. Obviously, some furniture should be used to define the living space. In fact, I generally recommend staging for the best showings.

5. Make sure your home is in good condition. Go through each room, making a list of anything that’s damaged but easily fixed, like holes in walls or peeling wallpaper.

You’ll also want to make sure that your home’s infrastructure is intact. Start thinking home inspection now. Check the condition of your roof, electrical system, plumbing, foundation, drainage, and windows.

6. Choose an experienced agent.

An experienced Albuquerque real estate agent will give you sound advice and guide you through the entire home selling process. They’ll know your area, help you understand pricing your home, explain what to expect with negotiations, and handle any unusual issues that may arise. They’ll use every online and traditional marketing tool to get your home noticed, and they’ll be available to answer any questions you or your potential buyers may have.

That’s why if you’re looking to list your Albuquerque area home, you should contact me today!