Important things to consider when you are selling your home!

#1 Basing your asking price on needs or emotion, rather than market value. Many times sellers base their pricing on how much they paid for or invested in their home. This can be an expensive mistake. If your home is not priced competitively, buyers will reject it in favor of other larger homes for the same price. At the same time, the buyers who should be looking at your house will not see it because it is priced above their search limits. The result is increased market time, and even when the price is eventually lowered, the buyers are wary because "nobody wants to buy a house that nobody else wants". The result is low offers and an unwillingness to negotiate. Every seller wants to realize as much money as possible from the sale, Andrea is highly skilled at properly positioning your home to sell.

#2 Failing to "Showcase" the home. A property that is not clean or well maintained is a red flag for the buyer. It is an indication that there may be hidden defects that will result in increased cost of ownership. Sellers who fail to make necessary repairs, who don't spruce up the house inside and out, and fail to keep it clean and neat, chase away buyers as fast as Realtors can bring them. Even if they love the home, Buyers are poor judges of the cost of repairs, and always build in a large margin for error when making an offer on such a property. Sellers are always better off doing the work themselves ahead of time!  Contact Andrea so she can show you the exciting things put in place so your home will be 'Showcase-Ready'.

#3 Over-improving the home prior to selling. Sellers often unwittingly spend thousands of dollars doing the wrong upgrades to their home prior to attempting to sell in the mistaken belief that they will recoup this cost. If you are upgrading your home for you personal enjoyment - fine. But if you are thinking of selling, you should be aware that only certain upgrades are cost effective. Please contact Andrea first, BEFORE committing to upgrading your home.

#4 Choosing a Realtor for the wrong reasons. Many homeowners list with the agent who tells them the highest price. You need to choose an experienced agent with the best marketing plan to sell your home. As an experienced Realtor who knows the market and is a highly skilled negotiator your home can sell at a higher price at the closing table, selling in less time, and be a smooth and seamless transaction. Put Andrea's 20 years of experience to work for you.

#5 Using the "Hard Sell" during showings. Buying a home is an emotional decision. Buyers like to "try on" a house and see if it is comfortable for them. It is difficult for them to do so if you follow them around pointing out every improvement that you made. Good Realtors let the buyers discover the home on their own, pointing out only features they are sure are important to the Buyer! Many sales are lost by overselling. If buyers think they are paying for features that are not particularly important to them personally, they will reject the home in favor of a less expensive home without those features.

#6 Failing to take the first offer seriously. Often sellers believe that the first offer received will be one of many to come. There is a tendency to not take it seriously, and to hold out for a higher price. This is especially true if the offer comes in soon after the home is placed on the market. Rely on Andrea's advice for offers.  She is constantly monitoring the local market and will know how much weigh to give each offer recieved.cess. The home is at it's most saleable early in the marketing period, and the amount buyers are willing to pay diminishes with the length of time a property has been on the market. Many sellers would give anything to find that prospective buyer who made that first, and ONLY offer!

#7 Not knowing your rights and obligations. The contract you sign to sell your property is a complex and legally binding document. An improperly written contract can allow the purchaser to void the sale, or cost you thousands of unnecessary dollars. With Andrea on your team to fully explain, you'll know the "ins and outs" of the contract you are about to sign, or have your lawyer review it before acceptance.

#8 Failure to effectively market the property. Creative Target-Marketing is one of the key factors that bring the best price.  Getting information out to buyers that are looking for the kind of home you're selling is imperative.  Good marketing opens the door that exposes the property to the marketplace. It means distinguishing your home from hundreds of others on the market. It also means selling the benefits, as well as the features. Andrea excels in her marketing savvy.  The two most obvious marketing tools (Open Houses and Print Advertising) are the least effective. Just 1% of homes are sold at open houses, and advertising studies show that less than 3% of people purchased their home because they called on a print ad! Agents use these tools to attract future prospects, not to sell the house. More and more, the Internet is THE tool of the trade for buyers. The National Association of Realtors reported 80% of those buyers started their home search on the Internet. DO NOT underestimate the power of an Realtor who is Internet Marketing savvy! Andrea will employ a wide variety of marketing activities, emphasizing the ones that work best such as effective Target Marketing, Multiple Listing and Internet Exposure.