Archive for the ‘style’ Category
4 Tips for Getting Multiple Bids and Offers on Your Home
1. Pristine and staged. The homes that I’ve seen get multiple offers in my own market recently are immaculately clean — not a whiff of anything within noseshot, so to speak — and dressed to the nines. Their photos look like something out of a home decor catalog or design magazine — like no one lives there, even if someone does. Their owners have often spent months in advance cleaning, decluttering, organizing, primping and otherwise sprucing their homes for sale with the intention of blowing the competition out of the water.
I won’t purport to capture the art of staging in a sentence, but prepacking is a good visual to hold in mind as you prepare your home. (And anecdotally, I will say that it strikes me that a large proportion of multiple-offer homes have actually been professionally staged. I’d urge a seller who wants multiple offers to explore whether there’s some level of staging service or even staging advice that is worth the investment, before dismissing it as too expensive out of hand.)
2. Low prices. The homes that get multiple offers are not priced at the top of their markets. In fact, I know that many of their listing agents and owners specifically aimed to list these homes slightly below what they believed to be the true fair market value of the property at the time they listed it. Why? What seems like it might be risky is actually a time-proven strategy for cranking up the number of buyers who come view the property.
When buyers see a beautiful home listing online for less than they’d expect for the area, they show up in droves, eager to get a great home for a great value. And the math from there is simple — it takes more showings to drive more offers.
Once these value hunters are at the place and fall in love with it, they often become willing to offer more than the asking price if they need to, to secure it in the face of competing offers, knowing that it was priced well to start with.
3. Ample exposure to the market. Part of the effect of a low list price is that it creates an auction atmosphere, the environment that churns up bidding wars. The other half of the auction equation is ensuring that the home has ample exposure to the market, both in terms of time for buyers to come see and fall in love with the place and in terms of marketing the property aggressively to reach as many prospective buyer/bidders as possible.
Ample exposure can be achieved in several ways. Professional photography. An aggressive online marketing campaign — most experienced local listing agents will happily brief prospective seller clients on what they do in this vein. One ample exposure method I’ve seen become a standard practice in my area is to create and publish an offer timeline. In my town, it’s now almost universal for listing agents to list the home a day or two prior to the broker’s open house, hold it open for brokers once, hold two general Sunday open houses and then take offers the Tuesday following the second Sunday open house.
By publishing this timeline as part of the listing, buyers are assured that they will have time to see the place and get their ducks in a row in order to compete for it. And sellers are assured that they will not forgo the great offer that might come tomorrow by virtue of taking a good one that comes in the day after they put the home on the market.
Now, sometimes, aggressive buyers force a seller’s hand, making an offer immediately upon seeing the property, despite a preset offer timeline. In those cases, the listing agent can call up all the other agents who have expressed an interest in the place and offer them the opportunity to get in the game. For this reason, and for any other important updates or changes that might come along, it’s essential that buyers and their brokers let the listing agent know if they plan to make an offer, even early in the published offer timeline.
4. Showable on demand. Hard-to-show homes just don’t sell, when there’s lots of competition. When buyers’ brokers put their home tours together, if a particular listing requires too much notice (i.e., 48 hours) or too many calls and callbacks for appointment-setting, they’re very likely just to turn to one of the other dozens of homes that’s easy to show. Anything that diminishes the chances your home will be shown diminishes the chances your home will receive multiple offers.
To get multiple offers on today’s market, in fact, a seller’s home must be showable on demand. If you require an appointment, you should keep advance notice requirements as low as possible — an hour or less is ideal. Even better is to be accommodating and let brokers show your home at their leisure — ideally, stepping out or running to the market when they come by. Allowing your broker to put a lockbox on the place and let it be shown at all times while you’re at work or out and about on the weekends will require that you keep the place in tiptop shape, 24/7, but it will also be well worth it.
Tara-Nicholle Nelson is author of “The Savvy Woman’s Homebuying Handbook” and “Trillion Dollar Women: Use Your Power to Make Buying and Remodeling Decisions.” Tara is also the Consumer Ambassador and Educator for real estate listings search site Trulia.com. Ask her a real estate question online or visit her website, www.rethinkrealestate.com.
Switch Out Shiny Brass Fixtures and Wall Plates
From switch plates to chandeliers…builder grade, shiny yellow hardware is OUT.
Home sellers should replace it with satin, nickel or stainless fixtures for a contemporary look. Or, replace it with rubbed bronze or black for a more traditional decor.
This updating project is inexpensive, straighforward and perfect for any homeowner. Buyers will notice!!
Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com. The home selling season is here. Get your home in front of millions of home buyers everyday with one of our turnkey marketing options.
HomeBuyers Dislike Wall to Wall Carpeting
Today’s homebuyers are not at all impressed by wall-to-wall carpeting. In fact, homebuyers list it among their top list of things they hate when looking at pre-owned homes. (Most hated item…Popcorn ceilings. Click to read about getting rid of popcorn or covering it up.)
Today’s Buyers expect hardwood floors, even in starter homes. If your home has hardwood under the carpet, immediately remove it, even if your floors aren’t in great shape. If you don’t have hardwood, consider installing it in the main living area of the home, especially if the room is visable from the entry.
If you don’t have hardwood floors or you can not remove the carpeting, at least make sure it is squeeky clean and smells great. At a minimum, hire a professional carpet cleaner and ask that they pay close attention to the traffic patterns. If the carpet can not be cleaned, satisfactorily, or if it is worn, torn, faded a bad color or it smells….don’t attempt to clean it….REPLACE IT.
Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com. We can assist you in advertising your home on the MLS or Realtor.com. Save thousands and reach millions of homebuyers everyday!! Call us at 1-800-381-9496 or visit why6percent.com for details.
Should You Hold an Open House?
Open Houses. Idea’s and Tips from the Pro’s
Topics:
- Market Conditions – Hot versus Cool
- Dates and Advertising Tips to Increase Attendance
- Open House Strategies for Success
Real estate Professionals have some compelling arguments for and against holding Open Houses. If you are considering holding an open house, you should base your decision on the amount of activity you are seeing from your other advertising, in addition to the strength or weakness of the housing market in your area, as a whole.
If your home is listed with a Realtor®, they will likely hold a private Realtor only tour and another for the public, during the first month your home is listed. Your Realtor® should take care of all the details including, advertising, greeting and assisting the attendee’s. The homeowner should stage their home in its best light for the Open House, but the homeowner is usually not present during the Open House held by an agent.
Market Conditions
- Sellers Market = Hot Market for Housing. If you are in sellers market, homes in your area are in great demand. In this type of housing market, holding an Open House is usually a smart decision. In hot markets, several potential home buyers will likely attend, many at the same time. This type of environment often creates a sense of urgency that can result in instant offers and multiple bids.
- Buyers Market = Cool Market for Housing. In a slower market, sellers may opt to hold one or several Open Houses. In a cool market, you need to use every tool available to entice buyers and lessen the impact from “We’ll give it away” home sellers. Open Houses provide easy access for buyers and allow them to compare why your home is a better value than House X down the street.
Dates and Advertising Tips to Increase Attendance
- Open Houses are usually held on Saturday or Sunday. If you are unsure which day is best, review the Sunday real estate section? Buyers plan for Open House tours based upon the day which they normally occur. Increase your traffic by planning your Open House for the most popular day in your area.
- Don’t compete with the Fourth of July or your High School Graduation ceremony. Select a date that does not conflict with major events or activities, nationally or locally. Pay special consideration to the dates of major sporting, school or religious events and all major holidays.
- What time of Day is Ideal? Again, what is customary in your area is best. As a general rule, Open Houses do not exceed 3 hours in length, nor do they occur before 1:00 on Sunday’s. Ideally, whichever day you choose, try to time your Open House in the early to mid afternoon.
- Idea’s for Advertising your Open House.
- Place an ad in your Newspaper Classified real estate section. Check to see if your local paper has a special Open House section, many do. You should run your ad the morning of the Open House and if budget allows, run your ad a few days in advance of the Open House.
- Edit your FREE InfoTube ad and include the date and time of your Open House on your free internet ad. Be sure to remove the dates from your ad, once the event has past.
- After editing your ad to include your Open House date, Print new brochures with the date and time, then refill your InfoTube. Edit, Reprint and refill with new brochures without the dates, if the event has past.
- Open House Directional Signs. Nothing boosts attendance as much as directional signs placed at all key intersections and the routes traveled to reach your home. You can purchase directional Arrow and Open House signs at most major home centers. Please collect all signs after your Open House to avoid possible citations. Many towns consider left over signs as “littering”, after the event has passed.
Open House Strategies for Success
- Set the Stage. Mow, clean, store and pack. Open the windows and pull back the drapes. Turn on the lights and light a few candles. For details, suggestions and ideas for staging your home refer to InfoTube News letter 3 of 12.
- Consider taking your pet to a neighbor or pet sitter during your Open House.
- Use a sign-in notebook to record contact information and invite comments and feedback.
- Ask a mortgage company to assist you in holding an open house. Many local companies provide an on-site lending officer to assist buyers in calculating payments and exploring financing options.
- Consider calling your local title company to see if they offer assistance to sellers holding open houses. Most of these companies offer a variety of free, helpful assistance, often including food, signage, advertising, etc…
- It is best to keep your Open House an adult only event. Consider arranging for your children to be away during your Open House.
- Don’t crowd the attendee’s or become their tour guide. Greet each visitor at the door and be available to answer any questions they might have, but stay in the background. Encourage the buyers to tour on their own and at their own pace. Make every effort to insure that each person is at ease. Allow them the privacy and time they need to discover all features of your home that interest them.
- Place small items, such as jewelry and medications, in a safe place during your Open House. Theft and stealing are very rare, but do occur occasionally in some areas. Safekeeping a few items will give you peace of mind and will assist you in your effort to Stage and Show your home.
- Be prepared for comments that you may not appreciate and try to not go on the defensive. You are selling, but remember buyers are buying. Remain composed when hurtful comments are made about your décor, price, neighbors, floorplan or location. Bite your tongue, smile, remain professional and courteous. Showing your own home is a most difficult task. To do it successfully, it is necessary to remain objective and most of us are not, especially about our home. Be polite and helpful to the buyer at all costs, no matter how hard.
- Smile, relax and enjoy meeting new people. Your Open House is your time to stand in the spot light, so greet your visitors as you would like to be greeted.
In conclusion, remember that holding an Open House is not mandatory for selling a home. It is a valuable marketing tool because it allows home shoppers easy access to your home. They are also very cost effective in terms of exposure, if you get the buyers to attend. On the other hand, you may not want the public touring your home or open houses may not be popular in your area. The decision to host or not is up to you…
Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com. If you are interested in a flat fee MLS listing or placing your home on Realtor.com, please contact us. We have helped thousands of sellers market their property and save money. We can help you, too.
How to Stage Your Home for Mass Appeal
Close your eyes. Picture multiple buyers, multiple offers and a bidding war. Envision selling in days instead of months. Feels pretty great being a real estate genius, doesn’t it? So, how do you create “We’ve gotta have it!” and “We’ll offer more!”?
In this Why Pay 6 Percent blog, we offer illusions, tips and tricks of the trade on the art of “Staging”. We ask you to look with “new eyes” at your house. Remember that your house is no longer “your home”…it is a product that is For Sale. The challenge is objectivity. The reward is mass appeal. The genius is in knowing that real estate is a numbers game. Better your odds by eliminating no one.
If you are unsure of exactly what staging is, think new home builders. Even though staging is a new concept to the resale home market, homebuilders have profited from staging for years. Their model home parks take “picture yourself living here” to an art form. They often sell entire subdivisions of homes, sight unseen, thanks to a few smartly decorated “model” homes.
What can staging do for you? Take a look at a couple of builders model homes. You will quickly spot that everything is new, fresh and clean. It smells good. It’s light. It’s bright. The lawn makes you want to walk barefoot. It’s very friendly. It feels like home, maybe better than home. Gottcha!
When touring a model home, don’t focus on the furnishings, but how they are placed in the room. Notice the amount of light in the room and where it comes from. Note what you don’t see…clutter, deer heads, dead plants. All these little things you see, and don’t, create an illusion of warmth, openness and universal appeal that make buyers say “I could definitely live here”.
You can also get practical ideas about staging on TV channels like HGTV and A&E. Shows like “Designed to Sell” and “Sell This House” have great ideas and feature real homeowners. Their websites, www.hgtv.com and www.aetv.com feature show highlights and special topics to discover at your convenience. Great staging idea’s can also be found in home magazines and websites. And, in case you are short on time, we’ve done a little research for you.
InfoTip 1: First Impressions are formed in 15 Seconds
A buyer called to see inside. Congratulations, your marketing is working and your curb appeal, appealed. What can you do to make a good first impression?
Buy a new Welcome mat. Avoid cutesy. Go classic.
Shine up the door knob and knocker
Mood Music, softly please. Avoid lyrics’, opt for soft jazz or classics.
Open the windows and air the house out. If outside noises are not a problem and the weather cooperates, leave a few windows open.
Adjust the inside temperature to an ideal setting.
Flower Power— Flowers are cheap, create ambiance, add personality and cheer.
Smells—Good, clean, subtle smells are good. Overpowering, disinfectant smells are used to cover something up and may also trigger allergies.
Add a nice guest book and pen to invite comments. Add small photo book picturing your house during a beautiful season.
Turn on the lights in each room. Well lit rooms show well.
Open the drapes and blinds, but don’t expose ugly views.
Highlight good views by drawing the eye to them.
Light a few groupings of candles in appropriate areas. Avoid strong scents.
Remove all items considered “real estate”, before showing. A good rule of thumb is, if it is attached or would leave a mark when removed, it stays with the house. Many buyers refuse to close, or worse, they call an attorney, when they discover the dining room chandelier they “bought” is missing, the roses bushes have been dug up or the basketball goal has been stolen.
InfoTip 2: Making a Grand Entrance
Area Rugs break up the expanse of a floor space and make rooms feel smaller.
Entry closets should be cleaned out. Hanging Coats should not touch each other.
Remove coat stands.
The entrance into all rooms should be free of obstacles.
InfoTip 3: Bigger is Better
Create illusion of big rooms that people can picture their stuff in. Think Spare, not Bare.
Traffic Flow—You should be able to walk through every room in your house without being impeded by furniture.
Counter Intelligence—Clear off all horizontal surfaces in the entire house. Store the designer blender. Decorate with a rosemary topiary, not functional items.
Bigger is better does not apply to furniture. Store oversized pieces.
Re-paint dark rooms in light, neutral colors. White reflects light-black absorbs it.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall–Seinfeld fans know mirrors create the “illusion of space”, feelings that there is a “whole other room in there”. Mirror magic is highly effective on birds, and home buyers… Mirrors also add light, elegance, enhance views, show off mantels and shrink long, narrow hallways.
Small pieces of furniture like footstools, end tables and throw rugs shrink space.
Dining Room or Home Office? Multi-tasking décor is confusing at best and screams that you have a lack of space and storage. Computers do not belong in the dining room, ironing boards do not belong in spare bedrooms. Stage each room for its intended purpose.
InfoTip 4: Hidden Treasures
Everyone needs Storage. Covered Parking. Garages. Attics. Basements. They may not count as finished square footage, but for homebuyers they count a great deal.
Clean and light these areas before showing your home.
Use a label or sign to mark hidden doors or areas buyers might miss.
Empty garages look bigger. Pack the bikes, lawn equipment and trash cans.
Basements should be aired out and free of mold and mildew.
Plywood can be placed in attics to create large, walk-in storage area’s.
Hide things in storage boxes that slide under the bed.
Lubricate the garage door.
InfoTip 5: Outdoor living rooms
When looking for ways to grow your space. Look outside.
Balconies, patios or porches are living area’s, if staged properly.
Tables and chairs near your grill create another dining area.
A comfortable lounger and coffee table create a reading nook.
Healthy, potted plants can stage a greenhouse effect.
Freshly mowed, green lawns have universal appeal.
Outdoor lighting and sprinkler systems set a mood of relaxation.
InfoTip 6: Stimulate Imagination. Buy this house and dreams come true.
Romantic, candle light dinners happen every night in this house… set your dining room table with your finest tableware. Add a center piece and the stage is set.
Use the romance and coziness of your fireplace to your advantage. Place a pair of wine glasses and a vase of flowers on the coffee table in front of the fire.
Sex Appeal. Set the mood in your bedroom with fresh, fluffy linens, decorative pillows, candles and soft lighting. Remove all personal items from view.
Well Healed His & Hers. In the closet, like clothing should be grouped together. Designate His and Her areas with his pants & shirts in his area, her blouses and dresses in hers. Allow for space between each hanger. Shoes should disappear. Shelves should not over flow.
Anything provocative could spoil the mood. Play it safe with displayed books, magazines and religious items.
Private Parts…bedrooms and bathrooms are private areas that people feel uncomfortable exploring. To lessen feelings of intrusion, hide all personal care products in a basket under the sink. Your Jacuzzi tub is sexier without the used razors and waxing creams. Stage your bath as a place of retreat and quiet pampering. Freshly hung, fluffy towels, candles, a basket of unused bath products de-personalize and give a bathroom the feel of a luxury hotel.
InfoTip 7: Real Life Issues Builders Never Face
Pets. We love our Pets so much, this topic is painful to discuss. Unfortunately, when buyer’s see pets, they start looking for trouble. They immediately sniff for evidence of accidents. They scrutinize for chewing, stains and scratches. They rarely venture into the yard for fear of what they will step in. You can’t pack your pet, so what can you do?
F Cat Fanciers- Change the litter and sweep up daily. Vacuum for hair. Pack the kitty condo and all the toys. Pick up the food bowls. Freshen up bedding. Brush your cat daily, so shedding is minimized.
F Man’s Best Friend- If you can take your dog with you or to the neighbors, during a showing, do so. If Doggie Day Care is available in your town, perfect. Dogs who feel their job is to guard the house must be confined or taken off the premises. Aggressive or barking dogs are best kept elsewhere until the house sells.
Pick up the toys inside and out. Scoop the lawn, daily. Repair holes, paths, bare spots and damaged fencing. Clean the pen. Paint scratches on the door. Remove feeding dishes and water bowls. Vacuum daily. Groom the dog and keep him clean. Freshen his bedding. Make it up to him when this is over.
Small Children—Can a two year old make selling difficult?
As small as they are, they sure have a lot of stuff. Try packing toys while they nap. When you unpack in your new house, they will think it is Christmas. Store the big life-size golf carts and doll houses. Pack up most books. Neaten their closets. Clean out diaper pails, daily. Move obstacles out of the entry or middle of their room. Clear off bathroom countertops and hide bath toys under the sink.
Teenagers. Bribe if necessary.
Scary, but their private space is now on public display. They should make their bed every day, especially on weekends. Take down the beads and re-hang the door. Roll up those super model posters. Get the TV, DVD, Computer, X-Box and Video Games stored out of view. The closet is clean. Clothes are put away. Hide the spider collection and the magazines. Repaint those purple walls boring white. If a buyer is looking at the house, get out of bed, even if it is only 10:00 a.m., or get off the phone, turn off your TV and get out of the house. Take comfort– a trip to the mall usually buys their forgiveness.
Staging is a hard thing to live with everyday. Thankfully, if you do it right, you won’t doing it for long. One of those Looky Lou’s will picture themselves lounging and entertaining in your house in no time. They will at long last become a homeowner and you will be recognized as a true, real estate genius.
Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com. Our turnkey marketing programs reach million of home buyers, from all over the world, each and every day. We can help you sell and save money to!!
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Do’s and Don’ts for Taking Good Real Estate Photo’s.
Profitable 2012 Resolution: Showcase and show off your home with great photo’s.
Photographs are important and powerful tools in marketing real estate. Statistics show that home sellers who provide numerous and good quality photographs of their property receive twice the amount of buyer interest than their competition.
When photographing your property, try to follow this advise from Dave Rezendes, #1 real estate photographer in the USA.
• Don’t assume that wider is better. Sometimes a particular vignette or architectural detail will better convey the feeling of a house and give a stronger effect.
…. CLICK HERE TO FINISH READING THE ENTIRE ARTICLE
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Made in the USA School Supplies
Americans spent a staggering $52 BILLION on “Back to School Supplies” in 2010.
We believe that very little of your $52 BILLION spent at big box retailers benefited American companies and US workers.
If you are worried about the future of the US economy…. If you care about the millions of unemployed and homeless Americans…Make a Pledge that in 2011 you will buy Back to School Supplies that are Made in the USA!!! It’s that simple. Keep your money in your pocket and Say “NO” to rewarding retailers and companies that sell out American companies and support foreign workers.
It’s easier than you think to find American Made Back to School Supplies. Here is a short list of companies to get you started!
| Backpacks | ||
| Duluth Pack | DuluthPack.com | |
| Trager | ShoeBuy.com | |
| Tough Traveler | ToughTraveler.com | |
| Lunchboxes | ||
| Mimi the Sardine | ReUseIt.com | |
| Laptop Lunch | GreenFeet.com | |
| Pencils | ||
| General Pencil | GeneralPencil.com | |
| Pens/Markers | ||
| Clementine Art | ClementineArt.com | |
| LiquidMark | RedAppleSupply.com | |
| EcoStars | RedAppleSupply.com | |
| Paper/Notebooks | ||
| Ampad | BuyOnlineNow.com | |
| Basic brand | SaleStores.com | |
| Mead (select items) | OfficeSupplySanity.com | |
| New Leaf | eConsciousMarket.com | |
| Computers/Accessories | ||
| Union Built PC | UnionBuiltPC.com | |
| Green Guru (laptop sleeve) | Greenopia.com | |
| American Jeans | ||
| Levis Capital E | Nordstrom.com | |
| True Religion Jeans | TrueReligionJeans.com | |
| Rock & Republic | RockandRepublic.com | |
| Paige Premium Denim | PaigePremiumDenim.com | |
| Robin’s Jean | RobinsJean.com | |
| Frankie B. | FrankieB.com | |
| Genetic Jeans | GeneticJeans.com | |
| Hudson Jeans | HudsonJeans.com | |
| Rich & Skinny | RichandSkinnyJeans.com | |
| J-Brand | JBrandJeans.com | |
| Earnest Sewn | EarnestSewn.com | |
| Citizens of Humanity | CitizensOfHumanity.com | |
| Rag & Bone | Rag-Bone.com | |
| ReWash | ReWashUSA.com | |
| American Socks | ||
| Thorlo | Thorlo.com | |
| ZKano | ZKano.com | |
| Fox River Socks | FoxSox.com | |
| American Shoes and Boots | ||
| Alden Shoes | AldenShoes.com | |
| Allen Edmonds | AllenEdmonds.com | |
| New Balance (select) | NewBalance.com | |
| American Clothing | ||
| Hard Tail | HardTailForever.com | |
| American Apparel | AmericanApparel.com | |
| Basic Threads | BasicThreadsUSA.com | |
| Fresh Produce | FreshProduceClothes.com | |
SOURCE Made in the USA Foundation
Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net. We have been making InfoTubes and InfoBoxes here in the USA since 1988. We appreciate your business and please visit our website for FREE home selling services. Thank You!
7 Tips to Sell Your Home this Weekend
In today’s’ super-competitive housing market, it is essential that homebuyers picture themselves living inside the home you are trying to sell.
7 Home Selling Tips from the Lips of Top Selling Agents
- For starters, take down the Wallpaper – Trust me when I say, “Buyers just do not like wallpaper.” If you doubt how personal wallpaper is…just walk into any wallpaper store and stare at the thousands of available patterns. Chances of your tastes matching are at least a thousand to one. Don’t risk it! Pull that paper down!
- The Clutter HAS to Go! Living in a house is alot different than Selling a house. It is easy to get blind to your own clutter. Ask a friend, neighbor or neutral party to be honest with you. Then, pack away every single thing you don’t use. And, clear the kitchen counters completely.
- Smelly Homes Will NOT Sell. Agents have an old saying, “If I can smell it, I can’t sell it.” Pet smells, musty odor’s, etc will kill a sale everytime.
- White is not a Color. But, paint is your friend. Every room should have a fresh coat of paint in a warm, neutral color.
- A Spot of Color. Everyone loves flowers. Place pots with colorful annual flowers by the front door or plant seasonal color in the beds to make your home inviting and memorable.
- Househunting Begins on the Internet. If your property is not exposed on the internet, your chances of a buyer finding you are very small. Tip the odds in your favor by advertising your home on the MLS and all the major search engines for real estate. InfoTube also offers FREE property listings on its website. Also, make sure your listing includes at least 10 good photo’s of the interior and exterior of your home. If possible, also include a video tour of the house and neighborhood.
- Forget About Comp’s and Sold Properties. Study your competition, which means homes currently For Sale. If your home is priced too high when compared to your competition, it is going to sit for a long, long time.
Homeowners should please keep in mind that Buyers have a lot of choices. The homeowner who can make their house stand out among the vast inventory of “For Sale” signs will the one who wins the selling game.
Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com,, your do-it-yourself home selling source. We can bring buyer’s to your door. Check out our website to see how we’ve helped thousands of home sellers.
Who is Buying a Home This Year? The Baby Boomers, Baby!
If you have a condo, ranch, one level bungalow or a home with the master on the main level that you need to sell, this may be your lucky year. The baby boomers (those 77 million people that were born between 1945 and 1964) are back in the housing market in a big way..and they often pay cash.
The aging boomers have finally worked up the courage to sell the family house, depreciated as it is, and roll the home equity into their last ever home purchase. Ironically, the catalyst for this trend has nothing to do with real estate. The motivation is age, quality of life and the stock market. The stock market is back, bringing with it the net worth of the boomer generation, who controls 80 percent of the financial assets in the United States.
If you own a one level, low maintenance home…you are already sitting in tall cotton…but you can do some simple things to sweeten the pot even more…if you know what to emphasize and what needs to be done.
Capitalize on the needs of the 65+ year olds, who are looking for place that they can grow old in. They are naturally drawn to homes that are easy and safe to live in, even if managing stairs and home maintenance is hard to do.
- Replace door knobs with levered handles.
- Replace knob-type plumbing fixtures and cabinet pulls with levers or open handles.
- Today’s house only needs one bathtub. Offer at least one, barrier free shower on the main floor, even if means taking out a bathtub.
- Put a laundry room on the main floor, even if you have to eliminate a closet or half-bath to do so.
- Consider making entryway staircases longer and more gentle. Create an option to add a wheelchair ramp to one side, if needed.
- Consider adding grab bars in glass enclosures or if your bathroom has wide open space.
- Replace carpeting with tile, hardwoods or laminate flooring for easier maintenance, durability and a smoother surface.
- Provide ample indoor lighting and don’t forget the outdoor security lights.
- Provide outdoor handrails on stairs, inclines or wherever necessary
Marketing Insight: Most home improvements, suggested above, offer easy living appeal for all ages. Just because your house is senior friendly doesn’t lessen the appeal to everyone else, but always be tactful. Design two InfoSheets for Buyers. Offer one in a standard format and create another that highlights senior-ready amenities.
Why 6 Perent has been helping home sellers’ reach home buyers while saving thousands of dollars in commissions and fee’s. If you have the ability to show your own home to buyers’, then you should seriously consider a low flat fee MLS listing or an ad on Realtor.com. Our specialized program reachs 10 million home shoppers each month for pennies a day.
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A Green Fix for the Current Real Estate Mess
More than 150 years ago, America’s greatest landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, created Central Park and changed New York forever. He went on to transform dozens more cities, leaving a priceless legacy of vibrant, beautiful cityscapes. And, in the process, he increased property values.
Olmsted discovered this himself when he tracked the value of land around Central Park and found that the city’s $13 million investment had led to an astounding $209 million increase in just 17 years. The architect recognized what many planners still fail to grasp: Parks and managed green space are vital pieces of urban infrastructure that not only improve the quality of life for millions of people but also drive economic growth.
Today we must act again to transform our cities. The commercial real estate binge of the past decade and the growth of online shopping as an alternative to brick-and-mortar stores have left more than 200,000 acres of vacant retail, office and industrial space. Residential real estate is a massive problem as well. Distressed properties are a drag on our communities and the economy, and threaten to topple even more banks that hold mortgages on these “toxic assets.” We need to move these toxic assets off the banks’ books, reduce the surplus of commercial space and create jobs, all while revitalizing our cities. This brings us back to Olmsted.
Olmsted designed transformative parks, campuses and greenways; his firm completed an amazing 6,000 commissions and launched a green wave across 19th-century America. The same kind of wave could help resolve the 21st-century real estate mess. We don’t have the luxury of vacant land that Olmsted often started with, so we must bulldoze underperforming and underused property, put people to work creating parks on some of the land and “bank” the rest until the economy recovers.
Beginning with Atlanta, Georgia Tech is researching what is needed to accomplish this in 12 major cities. The project is known as Red Fields to Green Fields. Under this plan, some of the abandoned or underutilized property would be acquired by a parks agency or by public-private partnerships, which would then begin demolition, park design and construction, putting people to work immediately. More jobs would come as the improved areas attracted development.
This would not be the first time that property has been bulldozed for economic gain. The railroads, which had many miles of underused track to maintain, pulled up 55 percent of their tracks in the past 60 years to increase profitability, enabling the creation of 19,000 linear miles of “rails-to-trails” parks.
Pittsburgh, realizing that the steel industry was never coming back, tore down riverfront steel mills and replaced them with an attractive mix of parks and office space. In Michigan, Flint and Detroit are finding ways to “bank” land as open space. The banking system and the federal government could play an important role in this effort. Rather than backstop bad real estate paper, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and the Treasury Department could help finance the acquisition of excess commercial real estate through a land bank fund.
Instead of buying mortgage-backed securities, why couldn’t the Fed buy excess developed real estate to be held as green space through “land-backed securities”? Why couldn’t the FDIC give some of the useless properties it obtains through bank closures to land banks or nonprofit organizations? With the right financing structure, philanthropic entrepreneurs could use leverage to remake America just as some of our bad developers used easy bank financing to help create the excesses.
Acquisition money could also come from expanding tax incentives that encourage banks and landlords to donate land and encourage wealthy individuals and corporations to buy conservation tax credits. Georgia Tech’s analysis has also shown that the money needed for a nationwide program would be a tiny fraction of current real estate support programs, such as the Fed’s “quantitative easing” or its recent purchase of $1.5 trillion in mortgages.
The 2009 stimulus package did much to protect jobs but little to stimulate the economy with transformational investments. Converting underused commercial real estate to green space and “banked” land would be transformational. It would create jobs, strengthen the banking system to encourage lending and stabilize property values so that real estate owners would be ready to spend again. Most important, lush new parks would enhance neighborhoods across the country.
Michael G. Messner is a Wall Street investment fund manager. He and his wife, Jenny, funded the documentary “The Olmsted Legacy,” which is airing on PBS, and are funding the Red Fields to Green Fields research at Georgia Tech.
Why6Percent.com thinks that Mr Olmstead and Mr. Messner may be on to something here. We will follow this topic and update you with further developments.