6 INSIGHTS INTO PRICING YOUR HOME TO SELL

Think you know the ins and outs of home pricing? It’s more complex than you might imagine. 

Get a quick education on home pricing with this blog post on tough pricing truths.

The pricing conversation is always a challenge. You want top dollar for your home, and your real estate agent will, too. After all, a better commission comes from a better price. 

But a lot of psychology and strategy goes into home pricing, and if you don’t go in with your eyes wide open, you could end up heartily disappointed.

Here are some tough truths about home pricing. While they can vary a little depending on unique market conditions, they should all be in the back of your mind as you prepare to list.

1. Some agents will try and “buy the listing.” Sad but true: Some agents will tell you what you want for the home is accurate, even if it’s too high. Figuring they can manage disappointment and reductions down the line, the less-than-ethical agent will try and cut off the more honest competition by telling you the price you think you should get for the listing is the price you should shoot for.

2. Nobody cares what you paid for the home. No buyer in the history of real estate has ever agreed to pay more for a home because of the profit a a seller hopes to get. Yes, you may have sunk $150,000 in renovations into the basement, but the market will dictate the pricing, not what you “think is right.”

3. Lowball pricing is risky. Yes, you can generate a lot of interest by undercutting other listings on the market, but people may still attempt to negotiate. While you may stay firm on your price, you could find yourself making contract compromises you’d rather not make.

4. Precise pricing suggests you’re less willing to negotiate. List a home for $403,750 versus $400,000 and you’re basically broadcasting a kind of inflexibility. This may or may not be part of your pricing strategy, but whatever you do, don’t do it unconsciously.

5. Seasonal timing can influence pricing. Are you the only comparable home on the market in January? You might be able to get a little more, especially if schools are good.

6. Infomercial pricing can make a difference. Have a million dollar home? Swallow your pride and try your hand in the $990K+ range. Slipping under the seven-figure mark can cast a slightly wider net for buyers.

Most homes sell within 3% of a market-savvy asking price, so go with an agent who is willing to explore the deep local conditions. Curious how much your home might be worth right now? I’d be happy to put together a no-obligation pricing matrix for you: valeriemcconville@realtyexecutives.com

BUYING A FORECLOSED PROPERTY: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

When shopping for a home, many buyers look for a bargain. Some will look at foreclosures believing that they can buy a foreclosed home at a discount. 

While purchasing one of these homes may seem like a sound investment and a great way to get more house for your dollar, there are some issues to consider before purchasing a foreclosed property.  

Depending on your financial situation, your experience as a homeowner, and your access to information about the foreclosure market in your area, there are some risks involved.

Finances Of Foreclosure

The financial considerations of purchasing a foreclosed home can sometimes be overlooked.  Often foreclosed homes can be in need of considerable maintenance and repair to make them habitable.  You need to know this cost when making the purchase, or you may end up with a considerable amount of debt in bringing your home back to its original shape.  Also, even though the price of the property is right, there are other financial considerations you may not have considered.  

The cost of maintaining a home, property taxes, and utilities are all expenses that may be greater than your budget will allow, especially if you are purchasing a home that is much larger than your existing home or if you are unfamiliar with the costs associated with home ownership.  There is also the consideration of your ability to pay for the purchase.  Often foreclosed properties must be paid for in cash, so be sure you have the available credit.

Knowing The Facts

The process of purchasing a foreclosed home can be much more time consuming and complicated than a normal real estate transaction.  If the sale is occurring because an eviction notice has been served or if you are purchasing the property at auction, you may not be able to inspect the house before purchasing it or you may have to deal with some issues to get the current homeowners out.  

There is also the issue of not knowing the condition in which they have left the home.  You will want to be sure you get the advice of both a real estate agent and a banker to ensure that your purchase is both a good investment and will increase in value over time.

Overall, purchasing a foreclosed home can be a great way to enter the income property market or find yourself a great investment opportunity, but being sure you have all the facts can prevent you from making a poor investment decision.

USING TWITTER TO KEEP UP WITH BREAKING NEWS

If you have ever found yourself wondering why in the world you’d ever want to use Twitter, let me introduce you to one very useful feature: Breaking hyper-local news.

With all of the social media websites and mobile apps out there today, you might find yourself looking to cut back or even use certain social sites for specific functions. 

While Facebook might be great for keeping in touch with family and friends scattered across the country, and Pinterest might be ideal for “scrap-booking” ideas for your next home, what in the world should you use Twitter for?

If the idea of “tweeting” messages out in 140 characters seems like a waste of time, perhaps you should consider Twitter in a new light. What Twitter excels at is breaking news, especially hyper-local breaking news.

Hyper-local is a term which simple means “very close” to you or your neighborhood. While a wildfire two states away might not be of concern to you, a four-alarm disaster in your neighborhood can suddenly be a real priority.

You don’t have to tweet to make use of Twitter. In fact, one of the best ways to use Twitter is simply as an “awareness” tool for your immediate area. Many people don’t realize that a variety of services and businesses break news daily via short Tweets with links to more information.

Here are some common categories you’re likely to find if you search Twitter for tweets and accounts near you:

-   Fire / Police / EMS / local radio scanners

-   Public utilities (including power and water... great for getting updates on outages)

-   Local transit (trains, buses, taxis)

-   Local government and civic notices

-   Sports stadiums (traffic advisories, event information)

-   Local news stations (learn what’s going on between regular broadcasts)

-   Neighborhood blogs (very popular in cities)

-   Neighborhood businesses (often advertise specials, events, and “Twitter only” freebies)

-   Your actual neighbors!

You’d be surprised how useful Twitter can be when you think of it in terms of a breaking news delivery platform. Give it a try today. Who knows, you may even find yourself becoming a local news source yourself!

Ready to start reading hyper-local tweets? Start by following me on Twitter! Follow my account, @ValerieMcConvi1 today.

GARAGE STAGING TIPS TO HELP SELL YOUR HOME

Getting ready to sell your house? If you want to make it shine, don’t forget to pay attention to the garage! Staging all your rooms can make a big difference.

Making a house on the market shine is all about attention to detail. If you’re going the extra mile to ensure your home is a stand-out, you’ll probably go beyond the typical touch-ups that refresh curb appeal. You might even decide to stage your home, especially if you’re not living in it while it’s for sale.

One “room” you don’t want to forget when you stage? Your garage!

Staging a garage may sound excessive, but it’s an important and frequently-used entryway to a home. While many prospective buyers may expect a dark, cluttered, unfinished concrete box, you can surprise and delight them by following these simple garage staging tips:

1. Clear out the clutter. Yes, it might mean renting storage space, but that can be a good idea anyway when you’re staging a home to impress. Weed through the junk, have your garage sale, and then store the balance off-site.

2. Enhance the floors. Cracked, stained, or otherwise shoddy looking concrete flooring can be a visual turn-off. If you’re not planning on sealing, priming, and painting the floor, at least get a suitable cleaning chemical or power washer to brighten up the flooring.

3. Organize what remains. A workshop area with hook boards for small tools can be appealing, especially if great care is taken to make the area look tidy and functional.

4. Create more storage space on walls or hanging from the ceiling. Provided your garage isn’t low-ceilinged or particularly tight, shelving and hanging racks can show your buyers how much room they’ll have to keep extra tools, seasonal decorations, or sports equipment handy.

5. Tune up the lighting. A nice hanging fluorescent fixture, plugged into outlets or existing fixture outlets can change your garage from a dungeon into a clean, inviting place. Besides, don’t you want to highlight all that hard work you’ve done?

Want to make your house stand-out in your home city's real estate market? Talk to a local REALTOR who can offer you staging tips to sell your home faster.

KEEPING A SHARED SCRAPBOOK WITH CAROUSEL

Do you want to maintain a shared photo collection of design inspiration, dream homes, or family photos? Carousel is a free add-on for Dropbox that can help you with that!

Dropbox is one of the most powerful and useful cloud data storage services available. It's a great way to use files across computers, backup important files, and share media with friends. As Dropbox has become a convenient home for files, the company has recently expanded the number of features it offers as well.

Now Dropbox has launched Carousel, a mobile app which is focused on backing up and sharing your photos. Available for both iPhone and Android devices, the app syncs to your Dropbox Camera Uploads folder.

According to this extensive hands-on review of Carousel:

"...if you're already a Dropbox user, redundantly backing up images is never a bad idea, and you have nothing to lose with the Dropbox utility. Carousel, in this case, just makes everything easier to see, find, and share."

(Source http://thenextweb.com/creativity/2014/04/10/hands-dropbox-carousel/)

It's a handy app to share if you’re looking for ways to safely store and share family photos as well as scrapbooks of "dream home" ideas or interior decorating inspiration. Because it’s connected to your mobile device, it’s super easy to synchronize your photos-on-the-go to Dropbox’ cloud-based servers.

Check out the full review here:
http://thenextweb.com/creativity/2014/04/10/hands-dropbox-carousel/

Dropbox's dedicated site for Carousel is here:
https://www.carousel.com/

The app can be downloaded for iPhone and Android here:


iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/carousel-by-dropbox/id825931374?mt=8


Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dropbox.carousel

I love experimenting with mobile tech that can make the lives of my clients easier and more fun.

WHAT IS A WALKABILITY SCORE?

More and more interactive home search maps will feature the “walkability score” of a particular neighborhood or home. Have you ever wondered what that really means? 

Check out my blog post on understanding the walkability score.

When you’re looking at home listings and comparing neighborhoods, you may notice a number attached to the listing or neighborhood called “walkability score.” Have you ever wondered exactly what that means?

Walk Score is a company which “analyzes hundreds of walking routes to nearby amenities. Points are awarded based on the distance to amenities in each category. Amenities within a 5 minute walk (.25 miles) are given maximum points. A decay function is used to give points to more distant amenities, with no points given after a 30 minute walk.”

Additionally, Walk Score looks at pedestrian friendliness, a component which takes into account population density, block length, and intersection density. (Source: http://www.walkscore.com/methodology.shtml).

Rankings are based on a 0 - 100 scale. Here’s how the scores translate to an area’s walkability:

90 - 100: Walker’s Paradise. Daily errands do not require a car.

70 - 89: Very Walkable. Most errands can be accomplished on foot.

50 - 69: Somewhat Walkable. Some errands can be accomplished on foot.

25 - 49: Car-Dependent. Most errands require a car.

0 - 24: Car-Dependent. Almost all errands require a car.

In addition to a Walkability Score, Walk Score also evaluates for Transit Score (how well a location is served by public transit) and Bike Score (whether an area is good for biking).

All three of these scores can help you determine your personal values when you’re buying a home. They can also be useful to profile the kind of buyer who might be interested in a home you’re selling. It’s important to understand that a high or low walkability score is not necessarily bad. It all depends on personal values. (Someone who wouldn’t walk to errands anyway might find themselves bothered by the proximity to a highly-trafficked commercial businesses, for example.)

If you’re curious about your own home’s walkability score, or you’d like to learn about the most and least walkable neighborhoods in a given city, you can search for addresses on the Walk Score website at http://www.walkscore.com/.

Want to see a walkability score in action? Search for listings on my website at: http://valeriemcconville.com/officelistings.html

WHAT IS A HOME WARRANTY PLAN?

A home warranty plan, also known as a home protection plan, is a service contract that offers homeowners a way to safeguard themselves against possible breakage or a malfunction within the home.  

It's impossible to predict the future, which is why so many buyers look for that little extra peace of mind to comfort them when life unexpectedly throws them an unforeseen problem.

Who Needs A Home Warranty Plan

Basically, anyone who purchases a home and is concerned with the cost of repairs should consider a home warranty plan.  This is especially true of first-time home buyers who may not be familiar with home maintenance.

Factoring In The Cost

When factoring in the potential cost of repairing a major appliance or other home component, a home warranty plan may not be a bad investment.  The actual cost of warranty coverage will depend on the plan chosen and the items protected.  As is the case with everything in life, it's best to shop around and compare prices.

Who Pays For A Home Warranty Plan

As a buyer, you can order a home warranty plan in conjunction with the purchase of your home.  However, some sellers or builders may include this type of offering as an incentive to attract potential buyers.  In this case, the plan is yours at no additional cost.  Some REALTORS® may also offer a home warranty plan as a gift to customers who buy a home through their agency.

What's Covered & What's Not

Just like a car warranty, no two policies are the same.  Coverage varies by location and issuer, and your REALTOR® can help you to choose a warranty plan that best suits your needs.  Most basic plans cover a home's heating and cooling system, electrical system, plumbing, water heater and major appliances, including a dishwasher, range/oven/cooktop, garbage disposal, etc.  Coverage does not apply to items that are misused or damaged, either intentionally or through negligence.  Instead, most home warranty plans are designed to protect the homeowner from defects that result during the course of normal wear and tear.

When considering the purchase of a home warranty plan, review the complete contract and familiarize yourself with exactly what's covered under your policy.  If you want an upgraded policy, don't hesitate to ask your REALTOR® if one is available.  Most companies do not require a home inspection and will notify homeowners when their coverage is about to expire.  The good news is that most policies are renewable.

What To Do If A Problem Arises

If you are unable to satisfactorily resolve an issue with your home warranty plan, either due to denial of a claim or undesirable service, talk to the REALTOR® who sold you the home.  If he/she refers a lot of business to this particular company, it may be possible for him/her to speak with them about reaching an amicable resolution.

The purchase of a home is a big step and it's likely to be the largest purchase you will ever make, so be sure to consider all of the options available to help protect yourself from costly repairs.  Ask your REALTOR® for more information relating to available home warranty plans.