Showing your House Tips

1. Remove clutter and clear off counters. Throw out stacks of newspapers and magazines and stow away most of your small decorative items. Put excess furniture in storage, and remove out-of-season clothing items that are cramping closet space. Don’t forget to clean out the garage, too.
2. Wash your windows and screens. This will help get more light into the interior of the home.
3. Keep everything extra clean. A clean house will make a strong first impression and send a message to buyers that the home has been well-cared for. Wash fingerprints from light switch plates, mop and wax floors, and clean the stove and refrigerator. Polish your doorknobs and address numbers. It’s worth hiring a cleaning service if you can afford it.
4. Get rid of smells. Clean carpeting and drapes to eliminate cooking odors, smoke, and pet smells. Open the windows to air out the house. Potpourri or scented candles will help.
5. Brighten your rooms. Put higher wattage bulbs in light fixtures to brighten up rooms and basements. Replace any burned-out bulbs in closets. Clean the walls, or better yet, brush on a fresh coat of neutral color paint.
6. Don’t disregard minor repairs. Small problems such as sticky doors, torn screens, cracked caulking, or a dripping faucet may seem trivial, but they’ll give buyers the impression that the house isn’t well-maintained.
7. Tidy your yard. Cut the grass, rake the leaves, add new mulch, trim the bushes, edge the walkways, and clean the gutters. For added curb appeal, place a pot of bright flowers near the entryway.
8. Patch holes. Repair any holes in your driveway and reapply sealant, if applicable.
9. Add a touch of color in the living room. A colored afghan or throw on the couch will jazz up a dull room. Buy new accent pillows for the sofa.
10. Buy a flowering plant and put it near a window you pass by frequently.
11. Make centerpieces for your tables. Use brightly colored fruit or flowers.
12. Set the scene. Set the table with fancy dishes and candles, and create other vignettes throughout the home to help buyers picture living there. For example, in the basement you might display a chess game in progress.
13. Replace heavy curtains with sheer ones that let in more light. Show off the view if you have one.
14. Accentuate the fireplace. Lay fresh logs in the fireplace or put a basket of flowers there if it’s not in use.
15. Make the bathrooms feel luxurious. Put away those old towels and toothbrushes. When buyers enter your bathroom, they should feel pampered. Add a new shower curtain, new towels, and fancy guest soaps. Make sure your personal toiletry items are out of sight.
16. Send your pets to a neighbor or take them outside. If that’s not possible, crate them or confine them to one room (ideally in the basement), and let the real estate practitioner know where they’ll be to eliminate surprises.
17. Lock up valuables, jewelry, and money. While a real estate salesperson will be on site during the showing or open house, it’s impossible to watch everyone all the time.
18. Leave the home. It’s usually best if the sellers are not at home. It’s awkward for prospective buyers to look in your closets and express their opinions of your home with you there.

Reprinted from REALTOR magazine (REALTOR.org/realtormag) with permissionof the National Association of REALTORS. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved

Negotiating Tips for Buyers and Sellers

NEGOTIATING TIPS

FOR BUYER AND SELLERS

Rule #1:
Do not go back and forth between the Buyer and Seller more than 2 times in negotiating. The 1st round is about the home and getting it sold or bought. The 2nd round it is about money. The 3rd round it becomes about who wins and becomes personal. The end result becomes lost in the negotiating.

Rule #2:
Buyers and sellers must not dislike each other. You must make sure that the agents and the buyers and sellers don't talk about each other. Focus on the putting the deal together.

Rule #3:
Stay focused on the goal of completing the sale. Keep emotions, personality, and personalities away from the transaction. Stay relaxed, cool, calm and collected. Don't let the negotiations and concessions interrupt the goal of the transaction.

Rule #4:
People believe what is in writing. Everything that is negotiated or discussed be put in writing so that there will be no uncertainties. Verbal uncertainties can not be upheld in any court. When things are put in writing make sure they are written with zero grey area, because "Error falls on the Scribner".

Rule #5: When you negotiate concessions make it a two street. If you want something, give something in return. This goes back to Rule #3 and #5. Negotiating can be sometimes considered a team sport. When both sides do some give and take, it makes the negotiating more successful.

Rule #6:
Never respond to negotiating or offers to quickly. This can come off as eager, and anxious. Make all decisions and negotiating done in the time frame of the contract but don't make it seem that is was not cut and dry and simple. Eagerness can make you look weak.

Rule #7:
Never brag or gloat about the terms in the contract or disclose material facts to anyone prior to the closing. This can hinder future negotiating of concessions. Clients are less likely to work with others when they think they received the short end of the deal.

Rule #8:
When you work on a contract and hit a bump in the road or a wall, stop and work the other terms of the contract. You can not try to fix multiple issues at same time. Negotiate through the entire contract and then come back to the bump and focus on one singular issue. It is easier to solve one task at a time.

Rule #9:
Do not loose trust with the buyers,sellers and the agents. Trust can carry allot of weight. When trust is lost, buyers and sellers second guess all negotiating and concessions.


Rule #10:
Never disclose that you have any time pressure. This is a sign of weakness. Work the transaction as if time is not an issue. If you use time as part of negotiations, you say to the other person that you will do what ever needed to get it done in the time frame that you need.


All these rules work don't work all the time. Some of the rules work all the time.

These are not set in stone, but have worked in the past over the last 10 years in the Real Estate Business. For more information contact Edwin Gerace mail@609sold.com or http://www.edwingerace.com/ or follow him on twitter at www.twitter.com/edwingerace