Sell Your Fishers, Indiana Home

1. It can be expensive to sell your home. When you sell your home you will have Realtor costs and title insurance costs that will eat into the sales price of your home. In some states you pay your property taxes in arrears so you will also possibly have around a year's worth of taxes due. Once those expenses are paid, the remainder will go to pay off the mortgage.

2. All loans connected to your home - first, second & third mortgages, as well as home equity lines of credit (HELOC) - must be paid off at closing. If there is a shortfall, you will have to cover that amount at closing either from your savings, credit cards, or family loan.

3. You will have to make repairs to your home that involve safety and habitability issues. After you have agreed to a sales price with the potential buyer, that buyer is going to hire an inspector to look at the home and make sure there is nothing wrong. Depending on the problems found in the home, the buyer is going to write an inspection response and ask you, the seller, to have certain items repaired. While you don't have to agree to fix everything on their list, items that present safety or habitability issues will need to done or the buyer could walk away from the deal and get their earnest money back.

4. Your home should look like a model home. You need to do everything you can to make your home ready to show. Get a few of the home magazines and mimic some of the ideas shown in the pictures. Better yet, hire a professional to stage your home. Remember, you live in your home differently than when you are trying to sell your home. You want your home to look like it is home to the buyer.

5. Get rid of the clutter. Clutter can be the junk just lying around or it could be too many personal pictures on the wall or mantle. It never hurts to take a few books off the shelf and box them up. Less is more when you show your home. This can also pertain to furniture too. Nothing makes a room look smaller than over sized or too much furniture. You may want to take your favorite La-Z-Boy and put it in storage or loan it to a friend. Just because you love it, doesn't mean the potential buyer will. (Oh yeah, is your furniture covered with dog or cat hair? Get rid of it! Not the pet, the hair.)

6. Speaking of pets, get rid of the smell. Cooking smells can be just as bad%u2026 and smoking. Most people don't notice the smells in their own home, but they may be offensive to a buyer. Usually you can find a product that will absorb, not just mask, the odors in the home. Check at your local hardware/home store. Also, remember that over scenting your home can be just as bad. When a home smells too strongly of scented candles and air fresheners, the buyer thinks you're trying to hide something. It's best to get rid of the bad smells and minimize the good smells.

7. You may have to pay property taxes at closing. In some states, property taxes are paid one year in arrears. This means that you will have to credit the buyer around one year's worth of taxes at closing.

8. It is very common for the buyer to ask you to pay their closing costs. The lower the price of the home, the more likely the buyer will ask you for assistance on many of the lending costs. To many sellers this doesn't sound right, but usually the buyer needs this assistance or they would not be able to buy your home. The buyer may have good cash flow and enough to cover the down payment, but not enough for the closing costs. The key is to negotiate the sales price to cover these costs as long as the home appraises.

9. Some buyers even ask for the 3.5% down payment. Don't be surprised if the buyer asks for the down payment too. Again, the buyer has good cash flow, but no cash. So keep working on the price.

10. The pre-approval letter that the buyer shows you isn't worth the paper it's written on. Just because a lender was willing to write a letter that essentially guarantees nothing, it doesn't mean that the buyer is qualified to purchase a home. Home loans have to go through a nasty process called underwriting, and until the underwriter says there is a deal, there is no deal.

11. Even though you agree on a price with the buyer, the appraiser has the final say on what your home is worth (unless the buyer's paying cash). In the current market, appraisers are not as likely to rubber stamp the agreed upon price. Higher scrutiny on their work as led to lower appraisals. Also, it has become common that appraisers are covering home locations (neighborhoods, towns, etc.) they are not familiar with due to recent changes in the law. This also can make for low appraisals. Unfortunately, there is not much you as the seller or your Realtor can do about the appraisal process except cross your fingers or pray (it's your choice which one to do).

12. You need a Realtor you can trust. Yes, a Realtor costs money and it always seems to be more than reasonable, but just like any other profession a Realtor has extremely high expenses and works for free until your home actually closes. It's a high risk and sometimes high reward business. So what are the real benefits of using a Realtor? If you want to be on the Multiple Listing Service, you need a Realtor. Also, a good Realtor is going to explain the process, guide you through the sales maze, help you negotiate the agreement, make sure you understand the good and bad of potential decisions, and make sure that no one takes advantage of you. Of course you can go it on your own, but realize that 80-90% of "for sale by owners" eventually are sold by Realtors. It might not hurt you to give FSBO a try, but if you're in a hurry, call a Realtor.

Every buyer is different. Something that might deter one buyer from making an offer on your home may actually be the thing that encourages another. Here are some things that you probably cannot change about your home buy may hurt its market price.

1. Are you near a major street? Is it in front of your home or in back? People with young children may be concerned about this. Adding a fence in your back yard may help, but top notch interior design will help distract the buyer from the negatives of a busy road.

2. Is your home on a pond/lake? This is often a double edged sword. The views can be wonderful, but again, parents with little children are often scared away.

3. Are you near a railroad track or airport? While some people love to watch the trains and airplanes as they pass by, the threat of excessive noise at strange hours will deter many buyers. Not much you can do about this other than hope the right buyer comes along.

4. Does the neighborhood have a home owners' association? Some people love them, and others hate them. The can be restrictive and sometimes expensive, but they will make sure your neighbor takes care of his lawn or does not build an amazingly ugly addition off his garage.

5. What is the condition of the neighborhood? Often when there is no home owners' association, the neighborhood can become a bit disheveled. Does the neighbor have a broken down car in the front yard or a privacy fence that is falling down? Many features of the neighborhood that are outside or your control as a seller are very important to the buyer.

6. What are the schools like? If the schools are award winning and receive good word of mouth, then you have a better opportunity to sell your home. If you live in a bad school district, you are going to have to hope for empty nesters, singles, or rich families who will use private schools.

7. Will the bathrooms and closets be adequate in the future? The trouble with older homes is they are designed differently than modern homes. The construction may be better, but usually the closets are too small and there are not enough bathrooms. While a closet may be easy enough to add, a bathroom is an expensive venture. If your home is lacking in these or other features, it is likely that the perfect buyer is knowledgeable about the home's amenities. You just have to be patient to find the right buyer.

While curb appeal is extremely important because it's the first thing a potential buyer sees when they drive up to your home, staging the interior of you home ranks right up there too. If you've ever been to a community where there is a model home at the entrance, you'll notice one thing about that model home. It's dressed to the nines. The builder pulled out all the stops when they decorated the model home. Why? Because homes that are exquisitely decorated are easier to sell.

Buyers are often not very imaginative when it comes to home shopping. A poor painting scheme can run a buyer away even though paint color is one of the easiest things to change. Even the wrong furniture or too much of it can kill a deal because a room crowded with furniture can make a room feel small and cramped.

While your best option may be to have your home staged. Ask your local Realtor and they can usually refer you to a professional. The only problem with staging is that it can be expensive. The last thing that home sellers want to do in a tight real estate market is spend extra money, but (stat on the benefit of staging).

If you don't want to pay a professional to stage your home, go buy a few home related magazines and look for a few staging tips.

If your home is vacant, you do not have to leave all your belongings. Sometimes just a few pieces of furniture and simple wall decorations are enough to give the buyer the idea of what the home could look like once they move in. Of course if you have vacated your home it is even more important to repaint your walls and trim and do the fixes that might otherwise be hidden by furniture or wall hangings.

You are better off selling your home while you still live in it. Yes it's harder to live in your home and keep it clean and ready to show at a moments notice, but think of the alternative. A vacant home is uninviting, boring, and cold. A vacant home only draws more attention to its flaws. A vacant home garners a lower sale price because of it's appearance and the buyer thinks the seller may be desperate.

Of course, sometimes you have to sell your home once it is vacant. When this happens what do you do? You do your best to make it look like someone still lives there.

The cheapest option is to leave as much of your furniture and decorations behind. Maybe it's worth sleeping on an air mattress and eating while sitting on the floor at your new home for a while to make your old home move more quickly and for a better price.

If leaving your furniture is not an option, then you really should hire a professional to stage your home. It won't make it look like someone lives there, but it will provide a freshness and style that makes your home more inviting. Staging gives the potential buyer an idea of where furniture could be placed and distracts they buyer's eye from minor flaws.

Ultimately, you want to make your home as inviting as possible. And if it has to be vacant, spending a little extra to keep the home looking fresh will most likely pay you back at closing.

Want to know more about staging your home?

Why St. Joseph? Why not? When you're desperate to sell your home, why not try something that only costs a few bucks and takes very little time. Here is how it works.

Bury a small statue of St. Joseph about three inches below grond near you For Sale sign. If you have no yard, use a large plant pot. Place the St. Joseph statue facing the street in the hole. As you cover the statue, say the prayer that is written below. The prayer may also be in the packaging when you buy the statue. Once you have sold you home, do not forget to dig up St. Joseph and take him with you to your next home.

PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH FOR SELLING A HOUSE
O, Saint Joseph,
you who taught our Lord
the carpenter's trade,
and saw to it
that he was always properly housed,
hear my earnest plea.

I want you to help me now
as you helped your foster-child Jesus,
and as you have helped many others
in the matter of housing.

I wish to sell this [house/property]
quickly, easily, and profitably
and I implore you to grant my wish
by bringing me a good buyer,
one who is
eager, compliant, and honest,
and by letting nothing impede the
rapid conclusion of the sale.

Dear Saint Joseph,
I know you would do this for me
out of the goodness of your heart
and in your own good time,
but my need is very great now
and so I must make you hurry
on my behalf.

Saint Joseph, I am going to place you
in a difficult position
with your head in darkness
and you will suffer as our Lord suffered,
until this [house/property] is sold.

Then, Saint Joseph, i swear
before the cross and God Almighty,
that i will redeem you
and you will receive my gratitude
and a place of honour in my home.

Amen.

I'm told only 1-2% of homes sell through an open house. With the internet providing so much information and pictures, most people are less likely to spend their Sunday afternoons driving the neighborhoods looking for homes. Once they find a few houses they like online, they usually either call the listing agent or their Realtor and schedule a showing.

Open houses are perfect opportunities for thieves to case your home or even steal something during the open house. Before I worked in real estate, I had a visitor clean out my medicine cabinet while my Realtor wasn't watching. And if you are holding an open house, have you removed all your jewelry?

If you are interested in having an open house, you may want to consider hosting it yourself. You know more about your home and the neighborhood than anyone else. You won't be kicked out of your home for three hours on a Sunday afternoon. And anyone with ulterior motives may think twice when they know the home owner has seen them.

Ultimately, if you do have an open house and one person comes through, that may just be one more than you would have had otherwise. So with that in mind, it may not hurt to put the sign out front.

I can guarantee my clients that I can sell their house. I could almost guarantee that I could get an offer within the first week. What's the catch? They have to let me price their home. Every home has a price and every home would sell if it were priced right.

Finding the right price for a home is often a challenging task. Actually, for most homes the price is easy; it's getting the seller to agree to price it there. Why? Usually it is because the seller owes too much on the home and the market value has dropped. While the seller may need $200,000 just to break even after Realtor commissions, title charges, taxes and other miscellaneous expenses, the current market value of the home may only be $190,000. When this happens the seller has only three options: 1) sell below what they owe and bring money to the closing, 2) not sell and stay in the home, 3) rent the home.

Unfortunately, even if the seller's home is the nicest in the neighborhood with all the bells and whistles, the neighborhood as a whole is going to dictate the price of that home. If every other home in the neighborhood is selling for $200,000, it is unlikely that the seller's home will sell for $300,000. And even if the seller were to find a buyer at that price, an appraiser may not agree with that price, which may prevent the lender from agreeing to finance the purchase. If it is a cash deal then go for it.

Ultimately, you need to know what other similar houses in the area have sold for. It does not matter what other houses are currently listed at. Only houses that have sold count. Once you know what other houses have sold for, you are well on your way to nailing down a price that will attract a buyer.