Eileen Kelsall, Real Estate Broker, REALTOR® - TIPS AND TRICKS TO SELLING YOUR VACANT HOME

TIPS AND TRICKS TO SELLING YOUR VACANT HOME

Eileen Kelsall, Real Estat eal Estate Broker, REALTOR®

Table Of Contents

Introduction

To Rent or To Sell? That is the Question

Not Living in Your Home Makes It Easier to Sell

Steps to Selling Your Vacant Home

Choosing the Right Agent

Why Changing Things and Small Improvements Can Gain You Thousands 25

Marketing a Vacant Home

Using Curb Appeal to Sell Your Home for More 35

Importance of Good Pictures

10. Staging Solutions and Options

11. Safety Points While Selling a Vacant Home 57

12. Selling a Home Out of State

13. Negotiating While Selling a Vacant Home

14. A Good Agent Can Help Sell a Vacant Home 79

15. Mistakes to Avoid While Selling a Vacant Home 87

16. Closing the Sale on a Vacant Home

About Eileen Kelsall elsall Real Estate Broker, Realtor®

Eileen Kelsall was raised in Bridgeview and Woodridge, IL. As a child, Eileen had aspirations of being a Teacher. Never in a million years did she think she’d work in the real estate industry, but you can’t always predict where or when you’ll discover what you’re meant to do in life. Eileen was taught at a young age, if you want anything in life, you have to work for it. She worked hard, working full time while going to college for her Bachelor's Degree for 11 years in the evenings and weekends. As the years went by, Eileen made her way from a Secretary in a Computer I/T Department to Senior Technical Professional at IBM, never wavering in her resolve to become the best version of herself with each career move. Eileen began her career in the Real Estate Industry in 2011, when IBM started outsourcing jobs out of the United States. Her own Real Estate Broker, Sally, years ago had stated how prepared she was to sell her own home on their first meeting. Sally stated Eileen would be an excellent Broker and Advisor in the Real Estate Industry and should consider Real Estate in the future as a new career. Eileen set out to learn every type of real estate transaction and how to market homes to achieve the highest benefits for her clients. She is always sharpening her skills and implementing tools and technology to provide exceptional service and bring value to her clients. She leverages and incorporates her I/T knowledge to increase your opportunities for success. As a member of Tom Ferry's Elite+ Coaching, she masterminds and collaborates with top Real Estate Brokers across the country. v

Listening to her clients goals and needs, while creating and advising the best plan of action are essential to our success. Listening, Communication, Problem Solving, Educating, Marketing, Negotiation, Patience, Technical Savviness, Social Media, Knowledge of the Industry and a Strong Work Ethic are daily skills she shares on our journey to your next chapter. Throughout her Real Estate career, Eileen earned numerous accolades, including: • International Sterling Society Award • Top Producer • Military Relocation Professional Certification, Relocation Specialist, Cartus Network Specialist, AARP, NFCU RealtyPlus, USAA, Realogy Advantage Network, Rocket Homes and Smart Home Technology Certifications • Homesnap - Top 15% Nationwide, Top 25% Most Prominent Agent and Top 25% Top Agent Awards • Dale Carnegie Training, Ninja Selling Training Eileen lives in Elgin, IL. She enjoys Live Music, Cooking and Dining with Family and Friends, Remodeling and Interior Design. Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Member. Volunteering for Community Events, including Art On the Fox, Homes For Dogs, Lake in the Hills Rockin' Rotary Ribfest, Artisan and Vendor Chair, Ribfest Planning Committee, Phil's Friends Blankets, Food Drive Donation Team Member, Salvation Army Bell Ringing, Sergeant at Arms, Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner Baskets for families needing assistance. Eileen aims to provide the highest level of service to her clients and takes deep pride in helping them achieve their real estate goals. vi

Foreword When I first ventured into the Real Estate Industry years ago, I did so with the hopes of helping sellers like you avoid the headaches often associated with the home-selling process. In my years of experience, not only have I helped alleviate the stress of selling for numerous clients, but I’ve also accumulated years of knowledge to help them get more money for their homes in the least amount of time. I decided to share all of my expertise in one place with potential clients. And this is why you’re receiving this book. I want to help you have the best possible home-selling experience. And by that, I mean I want you to: 1. Get the most money possible for your home 2. Sell in the least amount of time, and 3. Avoid the headaches most commonly associated with the home-selling process. Think of this book as my gift to you. It contains insider advice on the home-selling process to help you achieve your ultimate real estate goals, including:

• Secret strategies to sell your home for more money • Marketing techniques employed by top agents • Advice on how to appeal to today’s buyers • And much, much more

If, after reading through it, you want to hire me to help you sell your home, I’d be more than happy to meet with you to discuss a specific plan to sell your home. Happy reading!

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CHAPTER 1 Introduction

Vacant homes pose real estate challenges and offer opportunity at the same time. Paradoxically, empty real estate can be easier to sell (e.g., it can be owner-unoccupied and beautifully staged for marketing) and at the same time it is harder to sell (it may be a piece of property left to you in a relative's estate, which may have been neglected for years. This is what we are going to discuss in this book — the challenges and the techniques to successfully sell an empty house. A home can become vacant due to marriage, divorce, job relocation, death, or other life events. The house could be in superb, average, or shabby condition. It may be updated or old- fashioned. It may be starkly empty and beautifully painted in neutral colors throughout, or it may be crammed with old furniture and the previous owner’s (perhaps your) possessions and have zebra-striped wallpaper in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Either way, it needs to be sold.

This book considers how.

There are two types of vacant home sales. One is where the homeowners/sellers have decided to vacate the home they currently live in and reside elsewhere while the house is sold, such as an apartment or rental home. They do this to make a home showing a more attractive proposition for the buyer. As we will see, this is “staging” a house for the market. The advantages of vacating the house before starting the home marketing and sales process include presenting a better staging 1

opportunity, more frequent showings, easier upkeep to curb appeal and a pristine interior, and less burden on the seller’s time and effort. The other situation is where the home is unoccupied — no one lives there and perhaps no one has lived there for some time. Maybe you were left the house, assumed it for a debt, or decided it was an investment that did not work out. Sometimes vacancies are due to a bank foreclosure or short sale in which the lender accepts less than the mortgage balance. A house that’s been vacant may look like a bargain, but buyers should be cautious because expensive problems can exist inside homes that have been unoccupied. While vacating the home during the time it is on the market can be a distinct advantage to the seller, this is not the case with all vacant property. This is the purpose of this book — to educate the reader on the issues involved in selling a vacant residential property.

CHAPTER 2 To Rent or To Sell? That is the Question

The decision whether to rent out or to sell a vacant home often arises in residential real estate sales transactions. Real estate is a prime investment. For most Americans, it is their largest investment, with the equity built up in the home of genuine importance in retirement planning. It may be an attractive proposition either for long-term investment or immediate cash flow if a homeowner has the opportunity (and financial ability) to become a landlord and rent out a home while affording another. A family may arrive at a point where more room is needed, or a change of location desired, or a new job requires a relocation causing someone to move, yet rent their house to tenants. Other situations where it might be more practical to rent out rather than sell out could involve a home that has languished on the market or where the owner is “under water,” the mortgage being more than the home value. By 2016, American home prices had recovered nearly all the losses from the 2006 downturn. In February, 2021, nationwide home prices grew 12% year-over- year — their fastest pace since 2006. Separately, CoreLogic's home-price index also recorded the highest annual leap since 2006, in February, 2021. Renting your home versus selling has many factors to consider. For example, is real estate a good investment in the overall economy? Is the housing market in general moving up or down? If you wait two or three years, will you see substantial 3

appreciation in local home prices or if home prices have been depressed but are slowly rebounding, it may be better to rent out your home than sell now. It makes sense to keep a house as an investment if it shows future growth in worth, provided you have the means to maintain its value with conscientious renters and appropriate upkeep. In a general down market, it could also make sense to hang onto the home and realize rental income until the market recovers.

A MAIN REASON TO SELL — NOW

The local situation is a big factor. Is the home in an area of economic stability and rising house prices or in a steadily decaying area? If the home is in an increasingly unstable neighborhood, it is economically a reason to sell quickly. Should the value of the entire area have vastly decreased, it is hard to know when it will stop, or if it will stop at all. Consulting with a real estate agent who has experience and knowledge about dropping neighborhood value will help you in figuring out what to do. If the agent believes the value is not going to go up anytime soon, it is best to sell your vacant home as soon as you can. Using a real estate agent to sell your vacant home will make the process go more smoothly, especially if you need to sell it within a short period of time.

ISSUES IN DECIDING TO RENT YOUR VACANT HOME

There are issues to help determine whether you can, or should, rent your home rather than selling it. Renting costs. Consider the costs in renting your home to decide if you can afford to go this route. Determine the going rental rates in your market using tools like the MLS listings, “shopper” guides, and online websites. Look for comparable properties in

your neighborhood to estimate the monthly rent your home could bring. Note features such as square footage, number of rooms, and upgrades such as granite kitchen counter tops. Take location and proximity to desirable schools into consideration while looking for comps. You can also talk to real estate agents and property managers to get their take on pricing. If it turns out you cannot cover your mortgage with the projected rent, then calculate how much of a loss you can take to still be able to afford to rent the house. In addition to mortgage payments, there are taxes, upkeep, and utilities to consider. Your home-sale situation. Your own economic circumstances may play a role in determining whether to rent your home or offer it for sale. Some sellers must evaluate whether they can afford to sell their home. If not, renting is a viable alternative. Here is an example of a situation where a couple had to examine how affordable it was for them to sell their house. The couple live in an area of Florida where houses have dropped in value since the peak in 2006, the same year their house was purchased. As they debated whether to sell their home in 2011, they realized that if they chose to sell, they would be forced to take a $50,000 cash loss, not including closing costs. They looked at the numbers and decided they could not afford to sell their home. For them, it made more sense to rent their home and purchase a second home. When you rent, you may take a loss monthly, but you do not have to come up with the cash to satisfy the loan immediately upon sale. If you sell at a loss, then there is no tax benefit. The couple bought some time for real estate prices to further recover. Beneficial tax deductions of renting a home. For homeowners in need of tax deductions, there are benefits to renting rather

than selling a house. You can deduct expenses related to owning and managing your property when you rent it. This includes mortgage interest payments, insurance, property taxes, maintenance, fixtures, cleaning services and even travel and local transportation expenses incurred in maintaining and managing the property and rent collection.

PROS & CONS OF RENTING OUT

The biggest advantage of renting out your vacant home is gaining an additional source of income. This extra money each month will help you pay property taxes, mortgage, and utilities (unless you rent with the condition that tenants pay for utilities each month, which is completely your choice). It is possible to return some profit. Another advantage is the increase in the value in your vacant home through appreciation and/or by having some renovations done for your tenants which could end up becoming an enhancing investment at ultimate time of sale. For example, finishing the basement and adding a kitchen and a bathroom will turn it into a basement apartment, and increase the home’s value for resale. By renting out your vacant home, you will avoid squatters, vandals, and thieves. For example, if you own a vacant home and you are rarely there, squatters and vandals are going to take notice. Therefore, it is best to rent it out even short-term, so there is someone living there if you are not planning on quickly selling it. You may get lucky and even have tenants, who can help with maintaining your property. This could be anything from lawn care to plumbing issues. A tenant could even become a future buyer for your property. One con to renting out is you are the landlord with the obligations, responsibilities, and headaches of this role. Property

management is a dynamic activity, meaning you do not simply rent out your home and await income and tax benefits. There is regular and emergency maintenance (e.g., mowing and the hot water heater that bursts at 3 AM.) Bad tenants are a serious concern for owners renting houses. They cause damage to property, are late on rent payments, or don’t pay rent at all. This will cause additional expenses for repairs, perhaps involve legal fees for eviction proceeding, and may eliminate the benefits of renting out your property. Background checks and requiring references on potential tenants is advised. Another con if you are expecting to sell within a few months to a year or two is that having tenants in the home can make the home more difficult to sell. For example, say you have let your tenant know that you are planning to sell, and that they must relocate within two months’ time. If they do not have options, they may drag their feet and make it as difficult as possible for you to prepare the home to sell. Whereas, if your home were empty, you could easily clean up, and get the property ready for the potential buyers, without having to work around your tenant’s schedule. Converting residential to rental property may involve capital gains tax. If you lived in the house for at least two years, then rented it out for under three years, you might be able to use the provision that allows you to exclude up to $500,000 of gains tax free. If you plan to sell a home you’ve converted to rental property, you should consult an accountant or tax expert.

CHAPTER 3 Not Living in Your Home our Home Makes It Easier to Sell o Sell

Some real estate professionals profess that it is 10 times easier to sell a house the seller is not currently living in than an owner- occupied home. For instance, buyer-agent showings may be increased. It is more efficient for real estate agents’ schedules to show unoccupied homes. If they have 20 homes to show and 5 are occupied, they may show the vacant homes first — or only — because it’s easier. They do not have to wait for an appointment confirmation. The Showing Appontments are set up as a Go & Show with instant confirmation. Also, a homeowner is not interrupted at inopportune times to show the home. A seller doesn’t have to go to a neighbor’s, go to the store, or leave the house while buyers are looking. Further, the seller isn’t under continual pressure to keep the home in immaculate showing condition and spotless at all times. With small children, this can be almost impossible to do, even if one of the parents does not hold a job outside of the home.

Finally, the home can be “staged” for sale.

STATISTICS FOR SELLING VACANT HOMES

Statistics from a 2015 survey indicate that homes expiring from their primary listings were generally homes lived in by tenants or the homeowners themselves. There were 400 homes listed on the 9

market as owner occupied. Approximately 36% of these homes’ listing expired, versus the 29% when unoccupied by the owner. Therefore, the statistics, in fact, show that owner-occupied homes will take more time to sell.

MOVING OUT WHILE S T WHILE SELLING

A psychological benefit of moving out of your home while it is on the market is it signals a “motivated seller” to potential buyers. An occupied home will not always give the message the seller is ready to negotiate and sell when the home looks lived in. If you’re planning on putting your home on the market soon, it is best to do so after you have moved into a new place. This way, prospective buyers will be able to see you are ready to sell, finalize, and close the deal as soon as they are ready to go. This will also help in staging the home with furniture and decor. If the agent or you have decided the house should not be staged and instead remain empty, then all the better. Minimize furniture within the home when you move out. This will help buyers to picture where their furniture will fit into the home, even if their personal taste is not like what you currently have. Decorative pictures — not family portraits or pictures of your children — will also help the home to feel inviting, without being overpowering. Overall, a staged furnished home looks more spacious and attractive than an entirely empty home. During the process of moving out, check with your home insurance agent to find out the homeowners insurance coverage situation while your house is unoccupied. Usually, there is an insurance coverage difference in an “unoccupied” home (i.e., the owner is on extended vacation) and a vacant home (no one is living there). Your current policy will determine whether additional or different insurance is necessary.

As an extra security measure to ensure your house will not be a spotlight for potential break-ins, install a battery-operated burglar alarm with sensor lights on the exterior.

UTILIZING A STORAGE UNIT

Logistics and expense may preclude the owner from acquiring another residence during the home marketing and sale period. If moving out is not an option, you can still achieve some of the advantages of selling an unoccupied home by renting a storage unit and putting away as much personal items and belongings as possible. This will also help you when you do move because your things will already be wrapped, boxed, and ready to go. Remove all personal items, anything of value, family pictures, book shelves, decorations, and anything having personal value to you. Bulky furniture or items that would not work well with the showings should be removed, as well. It is best to make the house appear as you are not living in it. Having a storage unit, in this case, is your best bet, as you can easily store everything in one place and will not have to impose on friends or family to use their garage.

MOVING BEFORE THE SALE RE THE SALE

If circumstances allow, moving out of the home before the sale is a good approach and a method to more adequately prepare your home for the market. All preparations can be accomplished with a “blank slate” of a house, which can include filling nail holes, painting the walls, or replacing dingy carpet, or even turning carpeted floors into vinyl plank or wood floors. Ensure both the interior and the exterior of the home are spotless. This means a continually mowed lawn, raked leaves, trimmed hedges, and freshened paint outside of your home.

Leave some furnishings, such as couches, beds, plants, and tables, but nothing giving off too personal a feel or vibe. Even if a home is sparingly furnished, a staged home will sell quickly, and at a higher price when compared to a home occupied with clutter and family possessions. Your home will need to sell quickly if you are buying a new one before you move out. Handling and paying for two mortgages at the same time can be incredibly burdensome, but if you are able to do it, moving out and selling your home while it is vacant will be much easier.

CHAPTER 4 Steps to Selling Your Vacant Home

Selling a house is all about the finer details. It is about putting your property up for sale at the perfect time. It is about decorating it enough to look inviting, but not so much the potential buyers cannot visualize their own life there, and it is certainly about the price. Buying a house is a huge commitment, potentially the biggest chunk of money someone is going to ever spend in one sitting, and prospective buyers will scare easy. If one thing, one little aspect, makes them unsure, there is a good chance you will lose the sale altogether. In a perfect world, everything would fall into place. You would sell your home at the exact time you are ready to move into your new one. As we all know, it does not always work like this and many people sometimes move into their new home before selling their current one. This obviously adds pressure to a stressful time and as all your furniture and homey touches are moved into your new home, you may be attempting to sell an empty house. In sales strategy, buyers might use an empty home as a bargaining chip, believing the seller is anxious to sell. Was it overpriced? Is there something wrong with the property? Selling a vacant house requires taking an extra bit of care to make sure all details are perfect in order to guarantee every chance of closing the sale, and to encourage the buyer there is no reason to 13

be hesitant about considering your property.

An advantage of selling an empty house is it allows the potential buyer’s imagination to run wild during the home viewing. Without the distractions of furniture and homey touches, prospective buyers can imagine their own things in every room and start mentally placing their own lives in the vacant spaces. Emptying the house could well be a blessing in disguise if the seller is the type of homeowner who has clutter everywhere or a flamboyant taste in decoration. Too much personalization will leave potential buyers unable to picture themselves there, as they will be distracted by the clutter. There are ways to make an empty house feel homey. The impression you want to give is it is a home eagerly awaiting a new family to start creating memories. You do not want it to look neglected and sorry for itself, as if it had been abandoned. A house needs to have character to encourage a sale and there are ways to give a vacant home the appropriate bit of personality.

CLEAN! THEN CLEAN MORE!

This sounds obvious — cleanliness is next to salesmanship. However, many sellers believe a quick vacuum once they have packed up their stuff is enough to call the place clean. A house must sparkle to the point where it does not appear as if it has ever been lived in. Buyers are looking for a fresh start in their home- buying experience and will turn away from anything not meeting their “fresh start” expectations. Bear in mind moving furniture out of the house exposes all floor and wall areas. Keep up with cleaning on a regular basis for however long it takes to sell. The buyer will use the sense of smell as much as sight in viewing the house. Eliminate all pet and food odors. Make sure the place smells fresh always. Keep the home aired out by opening

windows every few days, and invest in very light scented plug-in air fresheners for a longer lasting effect. Keep the home smelling fresh and well-maintained, rather than musty and deserted.

LANDSCAPING

First impressions are paramount in homes sales and the last thing you want is for a potential buyer to be put off before they have even entered the house. Give prospects a warm welcome by ensuring you keep the outside looking neat and tidy. Trim the hedges, mow the lawn, and depending on the season, keep on top of snow removal and fallen leaves. You want your house to look like you just moved out yesterday, and the building is still alive. Allowing anything to become unkempt and derelict is going to give the impression the house has been abandoned and neglected, which is never going to help a sale.

OUTDOOR MAINTENANCE

Like landscaping work, you must also pay attention to the finer details of the exterior of your house. Keep the gutters cleaned to avoid mess and check on the paint work, roof tiles, and brickwork. Walkways should not be cracked or broken. A frequent turn-off for a potential buyer is to arrive at a property and their first thought is of everything they see they would need to attend to. You also want to create the impression your house can withstand the different weather elements. If your house is still in great shape in harsh weather when other properties are looking tired and shabby, this will greatly increase your chances of a sale.

PLAY UP YOUR ASSETS

An advantage of selling a vacant house is any strong or unique

feature your house has will not be obscured by your possessions. Buyers may look at a vast number of properties before deciding on which one is for them, so you need to highlight features which make your house stand out. This is your opportunity to make the most of it and to make your features stand out. If your house has hardwood floors, for example, make sure they are gleaming. Do you have a dramatic view? Take those curtains down and let the light shine through. Whatever made you fall in love with your house, make sure they see it too. The golden trick to all of this is letting the buyers discover everything for themselves. If you must point out the floor or point out the view, then it is likely not be enough to encourage a sale. There is psychology involved in selling a home. If buyers are to be convinced to part with a vast sum of money, they need to have confidence it is their decision. Buyers do not want to feel convinced into saying yes; they’ll want to fall in love with the house on their own accord. Let the house speak for itself by making it look its best.

SMART COLORS

Your home is how you express yourself. People can get a good read on who you are by the way you decorate, and your personality is in every room and spread throughout your home. This is not an advantage in home-selling. It means your home may be filled with different colors or funky wallpaper patterns. The best thing to do when selling is take it all back to neutral. Choose plain but warm colors to invite a buyer in. If you keep the glaring pinks, purples, or football team colors in a teenager’s room, a buyer is going to be reminded they are stepping in one someone else’s memories. No one wants to feel like they are invading someone else’s space, so take it all back to neutral and let prospects put their own spin on it.

It is best to paint over any woodwork or fixtures starting to look shabby to tidy the place up. The bonus of all the effort is your house will have the “new home” smell, making the buyer feel like they are moving into a brand- new home.

FURNITURE

So now your accumulated memories and belongings have vacated the house, the buyer can take the opportunity to picture their own life here. The best thing you can do is give them a nudge in the right direction. If you can spare a few pieces of your furniture, and it really takes few pieces, place certain pieces strategically to help the buyer establish what they can do with the space. One chair by the window is enough for the buyer to picture a relaxing morning with a book staring out at the view. A table in the dining room gives an idea of the space available to work with and how many people can come over for dinner. These subtle little hints are not too much and will create the blank canvas aspect you are going for, plus it will do wonders to encourage the buyers to begin envisioning their own lives here. A few plants here and there on countertops will bring color and life back into the house. It could easily be the difference between a sale and a near miss, so it’s worth the effort.

UPDATE FIXTURES

Anything broken must be repaired and anything looking rundown should be replaced. Again, this is so the buyer does

not straight away get overwhelmed with a list of “little” things to change and fix if they agree to buy. You want your buyer comfortable they can get the keys and just start living. Anything posing as too much of a “fixer-upper” will be a major turn off for most buyers. Make sure you check all the doorknobs, faucets, lights, and fix them.

RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE

Let’s backtrack a little. All the advice you have received so far is under the assumption you get buyers to come for a viewing. Before we get to this stage, you need to consider a few aspects to make sure you get them to come in the first place. This comes down to the right price and right time. Avoid, if possible, putting your house up for sale just before Christmas Day, for example, as not many people will be looking to buy with the expensive holidays coming up. Keep an eye on the property market. Prices are known to rise and drop all the time, so try and avoid choosing to sell your property during a drop, or you will not get the price you are hoping for. Keep a close eye on the competition when it comes to choosing what price to list your property for. Have a look around your area for houses of a similar size with similar features and see what they are listing — and selling — for. You can get your house valued by a professional and decide from there. It is good to do your own research so you know what is fair for you. It is also worth choosing a reputable agent who can get you the right exposure and optimize your chances of selling. It may cost you a little more than other places in commission, but it’s always

worth choosing a company you know will get results because of their experience and reputation. All this does is increase your chances of closing the sale. So this is everything you need to know about how to sell a vacant house and make it look like a home. Just a few little changes can make all the difference in making your house go from abandoned and lifeless, to homey and enticing. Make the most of the blank canvas, rather than the remnants of your home and allow the buyer to picture their life in the property and you’re as good as sold. This means while you are selling an empty house, it should not be so empty if you wish to sell it as fast as possible.

CHAPTER 5 Choosing the Right Agent ht Agent

Selling a residential property involves more than 100 people with different skills and expertise who participate in the transaction from start to finish. Whether it is for a home inspection or a title search, it takes more than 20 steps to finalize the sale of your home. A real estate professional who is knowledgeable in all phases of real estate can make the process much easier. You do not need real estate expertise if you engage a real estate professional who has it. Choosing the best real estate agent for you can be problematic. Recommendations from friends and relatives and references are valuable. A friend might recommend an agent because the agent was able to sell the house at 20% more than hoped for (but would be wrong for you as unfamiliar with your neighborhood). Gather all the bits of advice from people who have dealt with one real estate agent or another, but do the legwork yourself. Understand choosing the best agent can make the difference between selling your vacant house or it still sitting empty in a year. Selling a house is an expense of the homeowner’s effort, time, and resources. It is a complex and emotional exercise because people grow attached to properties they have owned. Having a great agent can help you through the process and you will complete the transaction a happy person. The remaining question is, how to find the real estate agent who suits your needs and is comfortable to work with. The best way to start the process is to interview agents you might 21

consider using from among your recommendations, existing knowledge of local real estate agents, or online search. There are many ways of finding a good broker. Personal recommendations from friends and colleagues are often helpful. If someone outside the real estate business with nothing to gain is bringing up a broker, you can be pretty sure you are on to a winner. The best brokers — will listen to your goals and objectives, then discuss how they can help you achieve them — not tell you what to do. A first meeting need not be a formal one and can be noncommittal. Through the conversation you will learn a lot about the agent. This will also give you time to know how the agents treat their clients. Through the informal interview, you will have the chance to ask about each agents’ selling record, how well they understand the local market, and how the agent can help you sell your house. You want someone with enthusiasm and drive, someone who will give you the attention you need, and steer you through the whole process with courtesy and professionalism. These are appropriate topics to be discussed prior to making a real estate agent selection:

HOW MANY TRANSACTIONS DOES THE AGENT HANDLE PER YEAR? ER YEAR?

This will give you an idea of how fast the agent can get a deal. A competent agent who has some experience in the field of real estate should have a respectable number of sales under their belt. However, do not rate the agent simply according to the transactions per year, as you should also note: more transactions do not necessarily reflect the agent’s capability or compatibility. An agent may have a lot of transactions which left the sellers or buyers deeply unsatisfied.

CAN THE AGENT FULL GENT FULLY EXPLAIN THE S AIN THE SELLING OR BUYING PROCESS? Any real estate agent should be able to explain the complete process of selling or buying a house. If you happen to notice the agent does not have a firm grasp on the idea of selling or buying a house, there is a possibility the agent might land you in trouble in the long run. CAN THE AGENT EXP GENT EXPLAIN THE S AIN THE STATE, FEDERAL, AND LOCAL REQUIREMENS FO UIREMENS FOR HOME SELLERS This is a very important interview question. A real estate broker should understand all requirements whether federal, state or local. The importance of this question is to ensure all legal documents are properly crafted. The agent should advise you to hire a lawyer to handle the legal work. The agent should even recommend the best lawyer suited to your needs.

WHICH AREAS OR CITIES ARE S R CITIES ARE SPECIALTIES?

This is also of importance since it will help you know whether the agent can attract the right buyer and sell your house at the right price.

DOES THE AGENT HAVE REFEREN VE REFERENCES YOU CAN CHECK? U CAN CHECK?

Asking for references is vital. It will help you understand how the agent treats their customers by talking to people who have dealt with them previously. It will also give you a grasp of how capable the agent is in handling the transactions.

HOW OFTEN CAN I EXPECT TO HEAR FR O HEAR FROM YOU WHEN SELLING THE HOUSE? When you put your house on sale, it is important for the agent to communicate with you regularly. This should include Offers Received, Showing Activities, Broker Tour and Open House Results, Feedback, Internet Traffic Reports, Marketing Activities and Social Media Exposure. It will help you determine if the agent lists your home on the MLS and promotes your home to achieve maximum exposure and receive the highest sales price you can expect from the sale.

CHAPTER 6 Why Changing Things and Small Improvements ements Can Gain You Thousands ou Thousands

The housing market is more competitive price-wise than it has ever been. It’s on the seller to do list to go the extra mile and make sure their house stands out. We will now talk about the extra steps necessary to take to earn more money on the sale. These are proven methods to raise the price of your home. This discussion of “staging” and other strategies are backed up by statistics to prove how important these extra steps can be. There are steps to improve your home and make it more welcoming to your audience during a drive-by or walk-through. Taking these steps will affect the online presence as well. It is a paradox, as there are so many mediums and platforms where houses are advertised today, it is harder to stand out. This places the importance of the home’s immediate appearance at a higher level. You can choose a professional stager or a staging company, as many of them are available in most cities. Even a property stylist is appropriate in some circumstances, since they will make your house stand out much more.

WHAT IS HOME "STAGING?"

Home staging is the process where your (empty) home is prepared, dressed up, and presented to look extra attractive and

extremely welcoming to a prospective buyer. Home staging is about creating more space by cleaning clutter, removing objects and furniture, giving rooms a fresh and neutral color, and making necessary repairs. Replacing carpets and flooring is a common practice. The process may involve professional painting, deep-cleaning, furniture rental or placement of appropriate pieces of the seller’s furnishings, and continual maintenance. To minimize expense in home staging, you or your professional’s first step is going to be to do as much as possible with everything you already have. The priciest items will probably come with making updates and repairs, inside or outside the house. Least expensive are the things the sellers are willing and able to do themselves — maximizing space by moving objects around and cleaning your house out. An important part is choosing accessories and furniture to dress up your newfound space, creating a welcoming and warm environment. Home staging makes prospective buyers see all the possibilities of purchasing the home and living in it. They need to be able to imagine their own life’s taking place in each part of the home. Money spent on staging should not be considered as waste, but should as an investment or cost of doing business, and it will be recovered when the property is sold. It will pay off in the long run when the home’s perceived value is boosted.

DOES HOME STAGING WORK?

According to the information from the Real Estate Staging Association, properties professionally well-staged, look more appealing and spend less time (about 75%) on the market. They are most viewed by buyers as “well-maintained” and “must-see” houses, and subsequently sold at a higher price.

When it comes to acquiring real estate, most prospective buyers imagine or think they can overlook empty rooms or poor décor and see only potential, but they really do not. The sole purpose of staging is to make it easy for prospective buyers to envision how they will live in the house. It gives an example of the type of comfort and life that prospective buyers can have in the house. This is the main reason successful builders use model suites and model homes to sell their projects. Experienced home sellers discover the same principles from modeling a home are also useful in the resale market, thus, they rely on professional home stagers to make sure they sell at a higher price and get off the market quickly. When hunting for a house, home buyers start with a reasonable list of prospective properties, but the house they buy is often chosen mainly for emotional reasons. The aim of staging a house is to ensure prospective buyers see the great possibilities of owning the house will bring. The prospective buyer can walk into the home and have the “finally, I’ve gotten my dream home” feeling. Potential buyers pleased with the staging may be willing to look beyond some of their “must have” features, such as a fireplace. It is paramount to put minute details into consideration. Small things you overlook such as personal memorabilia, overcrowded rooms, scratched doors, or dripping taps can disengage the buyer emotionally from the home. They will envision the problems they will have to face later, rather than the stone hearth which might tempt them, and immediately shift their attention to the next appointment while writing off your house. The greatest motivator for someone to make an offer on your property is a connection they make with it while imagining their

life there. If this can be achieved, then you may have put an end to the buyers’ search for their perfect choice. Your motive is to keep them restless with the feeling if they decide too late, someone else will buy their dream house.

IMPORTANCE OF ONLINE MARKE NLINE MARKETING

This is the online shopping age. Most prospective buyers first look online for what they want, before even employing the services of real estate agents. One survey said 90% of home buyers in the United States begin their search for houses on the internet. It is the photos of the home, more so than a written description will interest a prospect — or not. When listing a house, your photos of the house need to be captivating, so buyers become anxious to see the house in person.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES AND IMP GES AND IMPROVEMENTS

There are numerous things to do to get your property ready for the market. One of the most important things is to get rid of your clutter. This may be difficult, especially if you do not see it as clutter, but be aware a prospective buyer will. Emotional attachment to your things should be kept low, as it may keep you from realizing how cluttered your home will appear to strangers. If your spending is done appropriately by replacing worn out items and making small improvements, you stand a better chance of selling your property quickly, and at a better price.

Here are some basic rules for proper staging of a home:

• The house must be clean. “Sparkling” should be the right word to use for your house. This kind of cleaning attracts

top offers. Unless you love to clean, it is often achievable and only feasible by employing the services of a cleaning crew. Your windows and home should be professionally cleaned inside and outside. • Repair or replace. A cracked tile or dripping faucet will send a wrong impression to prospective buyers. Replacing them or getting them fixed before putting your house for sale is mandatory. • Use neutral colors. Neutral colors sell. Conveying an image of neutrality and quality is important. Prospective buyers walk through your home imagining themselves as the owners. Odd or loud colors can turn buyers off. They won’t be able to imagine living with those colors or will envision having to paint as part of moving in. Those sports team colors in the den will have to go! • Depersonalize. Remove most objects personalizing the home to your own memories or tastes. Overt signs of political causes or affiliation are not going to help the sale and might detract. This can affect desire to work with the seller if objectionable to the buyer and subconsciously affect the buyer-seller relationship. There are emotional aspects to buying a home and you want prospective buyers to attach emotion to your home by making it possible for them to see themselves as the owners. • Critical areas. While staging, be especially sensitive to the entrance, kitchen, and bathrooms. Buyers put more emphasis on these areas.

CHAPTER 7 Marketing a Vacant Home acant Home BENEFITS OF ADVERTISING ON MULTIPLE PLATFORMS The boons bestowed by web technology have rendered it extremely easy to sell property on multiple platforms. While most homeowners engage or eventually resort to an agent to sell their property, some turn to the online real estate portals, online classified ads, video sharing sites, blogs, and social networking sites. Several sites are specially designed for property selling. In addition, sellers can utilize the capabilities of real estate companies featuring mobile apps to handle the complete range of processes associated with home selling. Home buyers make broad and sophisticated use of the online market. However, their online activity significantly varies. Some are hunting for properties by locating specific brands on search engines. Others are keen to go through reviews and ratings on properties, or interacting with the members of various real estate communities using social media sites. Many are also watching property tours presented through YouTube videos. Many make use of handheld devices to search for their dream homes online. The sales scenario existing today can give the widest exposure, reach, and coverage to your property. Due to the diverse kinds of customer behavior online, your sales strategy must involve multiple platforms. About one-fifth of real estate searches happens on handheld devices. Over the past four years, real estate searches over Google have grown more than 253% percent. One study found on average, shoppers make about 31

11 searches before taking action on a real estate issue.

More than half of the actions taken on real estate brands ensue from a search engine. Many real estate sites and FSBO have high rankings on popular search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Added advantages presented by these sites include facilities like email marketing, social media marketing and several other marketing strategies helping to drive leads. Research found more than 70% of links clicked by search engine users are organic and not paid. Larger brokerages have their own social media channels to post their client’s properties including Facebook, Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. Your agent should also have their own social media channels to promote and post your property. New to the Market, Open Houses, Videos, Video Tours and Paid Ads should be posted to promote your home to potential buyers.

USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO SELL THE HOME

Social media is one of the most prominent media outlets on which to advertise your home sales information. Studies have shown social media conversations significantly influence property buying decisions. The phenomenal amount of exposure your property will get on social media is encouraging. Using social media enhances the possibility of selling your property and selling it quicker. While providing the widest and most targeted reach possible, social media advertising is also the least expensive avenue — free! To take best advantage of this marketing channel, create a social media page for your house using Facebook and Twitter. Both have advantages. The former is good for imagery and the latter is the best avenue to develop local networks. Make the page appealing to potential buyers with a strong cover, profile picture

of the home, and details of the location in text boxes.

Great images are the key to attracting potential local buyers. Consider using a professional photographer. The amount you spend will come back in attention. Take advantage of the video possibilities on Facebook and YouTube. Post a walkthrough of your home for potential buyers — a virtual showing. Share information about the locality, neighborhood, and the highlights of the property. Share your page with your friends and contacts through your Facebook and Twitter accounts requesting them to share with other friends too. This can immediately open a network. If there is a local home buyer blog or website, share it there too. Post personal emails in the footer region. Once you find people searching for property in your area, you can comment on their tweets. The most important thing is to stay interactive and promptly respond to comments from potential buyers to see you profit from those leads.

CHAPTER 8 Using Curb Appeal b Appeal to Sell Your Home f our Home for More USING CURB APPEAL TO SELL YOUR HOME FOR MORE Your landscaping, physical exterior, and facade of your home are seriously important aspects of consideration — vital if you want to sell your home for more. Curb appeal, the overall attractiveness of your home from the street, is the opening gambit in showing your home for sale.

WHY CURB APPEAL AFFECT EAL AFFECTS THE SALE S THE SALE

Nothing sets the tone of a relationship or transaction more than first impressions. Envision how a potential home buyer sees your home as he or she drives up to your curb for the first time. Think of curb appeal as a department store window — designed to draw you in to see what else is inside. A potential buyer looks for signs indicating how well the home has been maintained. Neglect and disorder outside warns of shabbiness inside. If the exterior has a lawn well-manicured and the exterior shows maintenance is kept up to an appealing standard, it shows the current homeowner takes pride in their property’s aesthetics. Conversely, if buyers see neglect or decay, there is a good chance they will take the sole impression away with them and go elsewhere. As most buyers look online first to see general photos, curb appeal carries over to virtual home shoppers. Having good curb appeal and attractive photos posted within your ad will ensure 35

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