"How To Sell Your Home in ANY Market"

At the library the other day, I picked up the book by this title where Loren K Keim and his team who have been selling homes for over twenty years, identify 6 reasons a home doesn't sell-and what you can do to fix them. He's spot on for most of his advice. In the Denver metro area today, as in his turf in Philadelphia, many segments of the market are a buyer's market. Actually, in a hot market not every home sells.

Keim's 6 reasons for a home not selling are:
Reason No. 1 Poor Staging---It's remarkable how buyers respond differently to the same floorplan when it's set up to trigger a positive emotional response in the buyers. Buyers fall in love with the lifestyle a home can bring them. Some how your staging needs to help the buyer feel that connection.
Reason No. 2 Incorrect Pricing---Even in a hot market some homes don't sell because of the price. In a buyers market pricing is more sensitive. Some neighborhoods are very elastic in price with huge variations in price based on perceived (and real) differences in the homes. The obvious case is that a trashed home won't sell for as much as an updated home. However, every seller wants to know how much they can push the price for their improvements. Ask your realtor about the showing benchmarks in your neighborhood, so you know what to expect. Be realistic. It's frustrating and tiring and possibly expensive to lose prime selling time because your price places you out of consideration. Some experts suggest 90% of selling a home is pricing it correctly! Shortsales sometimes come into play here, as do lease/options if the seller owes too much and still has to move.
Reason No. 3 Improper Marketing---Market timing, marketing focus, effective marketing systems, and "guerrilla" techniques all apply here. Certain neighborhoods are not active in the winter, others are not active in the summer, if you choose to sell outside these times, the pool of available buyers shrinks and your time on market often increases. Ask your agent who are your likely buyers and how the marketing systems attract those buyers. For the tough sell properties "guerrilla" techniques may be needed. Guerrilla techniques target the buyers in non-traditional methods or with "give-aways" like vacations or appliances or bonuses or seller paid closing costs. In my experience, this can get more folks in the door and raise interest after the pricing is near right.
Reason No. 4 Location-Challenged Properties---What do you think the effect of a busy street or high tension power lines or a business next to a property? Any of these could affect a buyer's perception of the property and limit the number of buyers who will consider the property. In my experience of over a decade selling expired or withdrawn listings, price is affected by these location challenges. Market research can often determine just what the effect is on days on market and price.
Reason No. 5 Functionally Obsolete Properties---Imagine a home with only one bathroom or no central heat. The options for sellers in these cases are monetary-either upgrade the property to sell it at an acceptable standard for area buyers or sell at a discount for an investor or handyman to purchase and bring up to standard.
Reason No. 6 "Nobody is buying in the area"---Keim addresses what may have to happen if buyers are to be found outside the immediate area or cash flow is needed and a lease/option is a fall back position.

The rest of the book gives an overview of the sales process through closing in a generic way. Each state makes its own rules for real estate transactions. Ask your agent for specifics where you live. What is the sales process? Who pays for what? Who are the players? What is the time line? What are the usual tricky spots in a transaction? When do I know my home's sold? When do I move? When do I get my money?

That's the bottom line, right? It's about moving and getting your money from the sale. All the rest is done to get you there in as timely and profitable a fashion as possible. Here's to your smooth move.

The Buying Process, part 4

First, you started with saving and figuring out your better loan options (in the first installment ). Next, you proceeded in your home search with the aid of a professional realtor (in the second installment). Then, you and your realtor wrote and negotiated an offer on your first choice and went through the due diligence to make sure the home would work for you (in the third installment). In some states a lawyer is also used for preparing the contracts. Since loans and property ownership have tax and legal requirements, you may consider including your tax accountant and your lawyer when evaluating offers and what's required of you after you purchase a specific property. When in doubt, ask and check it out! After all this work, you're satisfied this is will be your home. You're ready to close the sale and move!

11. Reserve the movers or a truck.
Try to do this as early as possible. Make sure you won't be charged if something happens at the last minute to delay the moving date. Since the end of the month is the busiest time for truck rentals, schedule early! Whether you're moving across the street or across the country, it's labor intensive. For moves that involve a delay where your goods need to be stored, consider the moving boxes that you pack yourself. PODS is a company our clients have used successfully. My clients get a discount when using PODS, so remember to ask your realtor about promotional discounts they may have for their clients. Many of our clients have used the Moving Coach to get competetive bids for longer moves. We have discounts for our clients here, too. Here's a timeline for your move. When packing, consider this is an excellent time to purge and give away things you no longer need. There are some items movers don't transport, so review these packing tips.

12. Contact your insurance agent.
Have you heard that being a homeowner can result in discounts for your other insurances, like car insurance? Ask your insurance agent for a quote that includes your new home and your other posessions. Your realtor will also know some good insurance agents, so you can get a couple of reliable quotes to compare. Your lender will need to know who your insurance agent is shortly after you have finished the home inspection, because the lending institution will require that your first year of homeowner's insurance is paid at time of closing.

13. Contact the utility companies to change your service locations.
No doubt you've already determined whether or not the cable/internet/power/water/trash utilities and services that you need are available where you're buying. (Yes, some people are off grid and not every location has the same services!) You need to put a change/cancellation order into your current utilities for the day you're moving. For the home you're buying, you need to put in a change/setup order, too. Ask your realtor what utilities you're responsible for in your new home. Your realtor will also have the names of utility and service providers in the area. Many people who work out of a home office will need to setup their internet service as soon as they know when they'll be given posession at the new home. For brand new homes, phone service can take a long time to set up, so start early on this.

14. Contact the post office for change of address.
You can either fill out the change of address form at your post office or do so on-line. Also, for any magazines, periodicals and regular bills you receive by mail, you'l want to submit a change of address with them before you move.

15. Gather materials for the buyer of your home.
If you're selling your current home, gather warranties, receipts for appliances and major home repairs, HOA newsletters, names of neighbors, trash day, service providers, and any other materials you feel would help the new owner in the future. Put them in a kitchen drawer or bring them to closing on your the house you're selling.

16. Close the transaction.
A day or so before closing, your should receive the buyer settlement sheet or a copy of the HUD. These documents show your closing and loan expenses and what money you need to bring to closing. Your realtor will review this document with you before closing. When you compare the loan closing costs to your good faith estimate, there should be no surprising expenses. Under Colorado law, you must bring good funds (cash, wire transfer, or cashier's check) to closing. Title companies have tightened up the requirements even more. For cash transactions, they are requiring the funds be wired to closing from your bank to the title company's bank. (Have your realtor get the routing instructions for you.) For all other transactions, a cashier's or bank check will also provide the good funds. Days of bringing cash to closing are over. Lately, some lenders have been slow to get the loan figures, documents, and funding wire to the title company. A delay in any of these can delay your closing date and posession of your new home. Have the good funds ready for closing and keep in touch with your lender this last couple of days before closing.

By the contract you will also be given the right to have a final walk-through of the property. This allows you to verify the condition of the property before closing and work that was supposed to be completed before closing was indeed done.

Along with the good funds (money), bring a photo ID (a drivers license or passport will do). Some of the real estate and loan documents that you'll be signing must be notarized. You will sign all the paperwork required to transfer the real estate over to your name (called the warranty deed) and all the loan documents to put the loan into your name and make it secured to your new home (called the deed of trust). While the closing can seem a daunting task, the escrow officer at the title company and your realtor can explain the steps along the way. Expect your lender to go over figures with you before closing, too. In some states your lawyer will be preparing your documents and going over them with you. Be sure the loan and property are what you were expecting. Once you sign the papers, it's yours. Keep your paperwork for at least 7 years. You will want to reference them at tax time. The 2008-9 tax credit has specific requirements, and can be applied THIS YEAR in an amendment on your taxes! Congratulations!

17. Move and clean.
In some cases, you'll get the keys to the property at closing, upon delivery of deed (dod). In Colorado, it's standard to get posession from 24-48 hours after closing, if the seller needs to move out and you negotiate that transfer for after closing in your offer. It's also standard that you'll leave your current residence in broom clean condition (per your lease or selling contract). So plan on some time to clean up after the movers are done. You can expect the same for the home you're buying. Some people prefer to have a thurough cleaning before moving in. Your realtor will know some dependable house cleaners, if you want to get help with this task.

18. Settle in.
Congratulations! You're in your new home and ready to get settled. The hubbub of moving often draws out the neighbors. Make time to say, "Hi, what do you like most about this neighborhood?" This will give you a talking point when you see them again and fill you in on good things to look forward to after the boxes are put away. Feel free to contact your realtor with questions you have as you get settled.