Sell Your Home Fast

Even in the best of times the real-estate market is competitive. With the recent avalanche in the economy, an increase in the number of houses and properties selling for one third their last appraisal is now happening. As the Feds pump more money into the system it would be a mistake to believe the economy is starting to recover. This is not a good time to carry the note or even the second note, for anyone. But it is a good time to get out from under any property that has heretofore not been performing well. According to the 2009 Mortgage Choice First Homebuyers survey, the number of people who are in the position to purchase new homes has increased 19%.

If you have put your house on sale, then it could be a sad and painful experience seeing it remain unsold for a while. Remind yourself that not everyone is a prospective buyer that whizzes on by. Those that do stop may be just curiosity seekers, or worse.. FBI Sources point out that in 2009 the Treasury Department received 62,000 reports of mortgage fraud -- more than 5,000 each month. The number of criminal mortgage fraud investigations opened by the FBI has more than doubled over the past three years. Professional Real estate agents recommend that you use:

• Home staging

Home staging is a new service being offered in real-estate marketing. In reality this is just redesigning or arranging furniture around the home to make it more neutral, homey and comfortable for the clients. Home staging can help clients picture themselves in the house and owning it.

• Hire a good agent. I too suggest that you hire a good agent. A good real-estate agent would have enough contacts and tools to introduce your home to hundreds more people than you can reach. They also screen most of the curiosity seekers out of your hair. Most importantly, they have the legalese to see the loan process squeeze through when a genuine buyer appears on the scene. The loan company will be demanding document after document and many times you won't even know what document is being asked for. Sure, you will be giving a commission to the agent when the sale is concluded. But oh my goodness, what hassles will be smoothed out for you by good real-estate agents.

When choosing an agent, make sure to check their references, background, and experience. Ask if a walk through is part of the package; a walk through will point out sales points that you can work on to improve the possibility of a sale. Remember that a good agent should know your neigborhood and its recent home market history. As truthfully as possible, answer any questions the agent has for you. Little lies can come back to bite you years later.

• Step up the landscaping

Prune your trees, line the drive, touch up the paint, replace the screens, fix the doorbell, clean up the garage, reorganize the toolshed.

• Name a good price.

Price is always important, it could either make or break the sale of your home. Your real estate agent should have an idea on what would be the appropriate price for your house and the price range in the location. A house which is too expensive may push away prospective clients while a very low price may raise some questions on the credibility of the property. You could ask your agent to do a comparable market analyses (CMA) to get an idea on how much the houses in your area were sold for.

• De-clutter

Remove clutter and tidy up. Put away things that are not frequently used. If potential buyers are coming over to check the house, it is to put away photos from walls and shelves. Potential buyers are not interested in looking at your holiday pictures, they are more interested in picturing themselves in your lovely home.People would want to visit and live in a nice home, not a messy one. Make your house look more spacious by getting rid of unnecessary furniture, clearing out cabinets, and removing items on top of tables and shelves.

• Fix things

You could fix minor problems in the house like broken faucets or window treatments. Take note of these problems when you check your house. It would indeed take time and effort, but would be worth it. Simple home improvement repairs could just be small things but buyers would be able to notice them.

• Leave the house

When prospective clients will visit your house, it is better not to be there. Of course, you would like to make people see how great the house is, but it would be uncomfortable for both buyer and seller. Buyers would not be able to talk to the agents about their real opinion of the real estate and property. Aside from that, buyers would be able to ask questions freely, if the owner is not present.

Selling Your Home

By Lin Stone