Tips for Selling Your Home

BY : john mce

Whatever the housing market is doing, there are a number of tips that will always help your house appeal to potential buyers. These are ways to make your home appeal to the greatest number of potential buyers.

First impressions

Your house needs to look great from the very first impression; curb appeal is critical! Make the front of your house look as good as it can. Plant flowers, trim bushes, weed, pick up leaves, repaint your front door, clean or replace house numbers, park your old car somewhere else.

The front of your house is a good place to spend a little extra time and money. If it looks good, it may even attract passersby.

De-Clutter

Potential buyers need to imagine themselves living in your house. You need to show a blank canvas, in which they can picture their own belongings. Estate agents can tell you stories of potential buyers rejecting a house because they didn't like the DVD collection! Buying a home is an emotional decision; you want potential buyers to make an emotional connection with your home by being able to "see" themselves in it.

Put away everything you don't use on a daily basis. Pack up ornaments, photos and posters in kids' bedrooms. Large pieces of furniture should go into storage; this will make rooms feel much bigger. In the hallway, clear away coats and shoes. In the bathroom, hide all your toiletries. In the kitchen, clear the worktops of appliances, jars and tins and replace any ragged tea towels or grubby bins.

Watch out for over-stuffed wardrobes - yes, people do look in them to check the amount of storage space - so clear them out.

Clean, clean, clean

Your home must sparkle and smell clean! Getting professional cleaners in can be money well-spent. Have the carpets, curtains, sofa covers and oven cleaned. Make sure your windows are clean inside and out. Pay special attention to the kitchen and bathrooms, which need to be inviting and hygienic. Buy a new toilet seat and some fresh white towels. Clean grubby fingerprints from light switches and doors. Make mirrors sparkle. Add a strategically placed plant or two, or some fresh flowers.

Fix it

Go around the house room by room and make a checklist of all those little jobs which need doing. Fix dripping taps, repair peeling wallpaper, touch up paint chips. If you can't stretch to re-tiling in the bathroom, re-grouting should bring it up like new. A couple of new kitchen doors can really smarten up a tired-looking kitchen.

Leaving these little jobs undone will give the wrong message to potential buyers - that you haven't looked after your house.

Freshen Up

A fresh coat of neutral paint, new tiling or lino, and will transform rooms. Neutral colours may be a little boring to live with, but buyers really do find it easier to imagine themselves living a home where they can't object to your colour scheme; they find it easier to imagine brightening it up, than toning it down!

You can add some character back with a few bright accessories. A new shower curtain in the bathroom, some new cushions in the sitting room, some bright bedlinen on the beds - all these can add a little spark, without detracting from the feeling of light and space.

If you have too many different floor coverings, it can make any area seem smaller. If you can't stretch to replacing all your flooring, close the doors on the other rooms until showing each room in turn.

Pets

Leave pets with a neighbor, and thoroughly clean up any cat hair in particular, as many people are allergic to animal hair. Your beloved pooch may make viewers nervous, or leave a distinctive aroma which won't appeal to the buyers.

The best side

Most properties have good and bad points to them. Don't point out the bad side, or even comment on it. Remember, buyers will only buy what they perceive your house to be worth. If your house is presented at its best, then people will want to live there.

Buying Foreclosed Property

5 Great Tips that Will Help You Profit in the Current Financial Climate.
Lance Thorington

The current financial climate has lead to an increase in mortgage defaults which puts the foreclosed properties on the market, often at a price well below market value. This would seem an ideal time to get into property investment, but before you jump straight in, there are some important things you really need to know. We will discuss these in this article.

Tip 1: Buying a foreclosed property is little different to buying any property, at any time. You need to research things like the best areas to buy property, property values and predictions, what you can afford, what you intend to do with the property etc. If you are buying as an investment, find out about the rental market in different areas, expected rent return, demand for rental property. Complete all your research before you start looking at properties, keep your list of results with you and refer to them when you are considering individual properties.

Tip 2: Organize your finance before you start to look at any property so that you are qualified to buy when you find the ideal property. A pre-qualified buyer has greater bargaining power when offers are being negotiated. Look for a lender who is experienced with foreclosures and understands the special requirements for this type of sale. When you are properly pre-qualified, there is less stress with the buying process.

Tip 3: Understand the laws and the process with buying foreclosed property. You need to know how the property is being sold - by auction, private treaty, open market etc. Make contact with a real estate agent who specializes in foreclosed property sales and increase your advantage. Look out for Sale by Owner properties in which you negotiate directly with the seller.

Tip 4: Stick to your game plan. If you have decided you want a four bedroom, two bathroom, double garage home, don't even look at a three bedroom, one bathroom, single garage house. The reason you spent time on research was to pre-determine what you wanted to buy, so keep to your plan. If there comes a time when you realize that your original decisions might need reviewing, do this at the appropriate time and not at an auction! You need to be happy with your purchase after the sale has gone through and there is no need to rush the process - there will be many more properties for sale.

Tip 5: Searching, short-listing, viewing and negotiating is a process that is the same no matter what type of property you are buying, the only difference being that you will be targeting foreclosures. It can be a long or short process but it takes as long as it takes. Don't rush into buying the first property because it seems like a good deal. When you find the right property at the right price, negotiate a better deal. Consider taking over the current mortgage, if you are dealing directly with the bank - they will look favorably at this at may lower the price.