Posts Tagged ‘home selling tips’

You may or may not have read my post about selling my own home, but now that I have input from my home stager, painter, a few repairman and a fellow Realtor, my remodeling budget is fairly firm. Feeling the agony that I put my Sellers through has definitely given me a new perspective!

We decided to nix the window treatments and spend money on new interior and exterior doors. Instead of adding a tiled backsplash to the kitchen, we will spend money on new appliances and focus on landscaping.

We are adding some crown molding and will paint the entire interior. It’s so easy for me to advice Sellers, but when it comes to my personal property, it’s difficult to be objective about needed improvement and pricing.

Now the topic of pre-inspections has come up, and I’m still undecided about that!

See my budget below and let me know if you have any input!

• $700 fixtures (2 ceiling fans @$100 ea; 1 chandelier $100; 6 lights @$60)
• $200 light switch covers, shower ring; mailbox; kitchen cabinet knobs
• $300 landscaping (mulch, plants)
• $1400 ceiling repair
• $600 crown molding
• $2,500 paint
• $500 garage roof repair & replacement of side garage door
• $1,000 refinish hardwoods
• $1,300 stove (Amana 30-inch $600), dishwasher $300, sink $150; faucet ?
• $500 repair fence, shutters
• $400 tree trimming
• $700 furniture rental ($225 x 3 months minimum)
• $300 door in back bedroom
• $700 French doors

After my remodel is complete and my home is staged, I’m planning a preview party for fellow Realtors.

Really, the best way to sell your home is to market to fellow Realtors, and they will offer me valuable input about my list price and preparation of my home for sale.

My remodeling budget is fairly firm – selling my home in Tulsa Oklahoma

The tried-and-true home selling formula remains the same, regardless:

• Get your home in top-notch, move-in condition and stage to “WOW” a Buyer
• Price your home competitively
• Choose a Realtor who will market your home aggressively, including extensive internet exposure and marketing to fellow Realtors (that would be ME!)

Lori Cain is a residential Realtor with Chinowth & Cohen Realtors serving the greater Tulsa Oklahoma area, including midtown Tulsa, Owasso, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Sand Springs and Jenks. Please visit Lori’s web site, LoriCain.com or call 918-852-5036.

Home Buyers: Don’t fall in love with a house and ignore the old roof!

I bought my first home before I became a real estate professional. I was in that home for less than two minutes before I knew it was the perfect home for me.

Because I saw the home in daylight, I never noticed that there was no electricity in the detached garage. My cousin gave me an electric overhead garage door opener as a house-warming gift, which of course couldn’t be installed until I ran electric lines to the garage.

I also didn’t pay attention to the fact that “the new roof” advertised by the Seller was a third layer. That was insurable eleven years ago, but isn’t now.

The better insurance companies have the same basic criteria regarding roofs.

• If a roof is ten years old or newer, the property owner can purchase replacement cost coverage on the roof.
• If the roof is 11 – 15 years old, the insurer will write the property insurance, but only if they can write the roof on an actual cash value (ACV) basis.
• And if the roof is over 15 years old, most companies won’t write the insurance period.

By replacement cost, I mean the insured would get a new roof, less their deductible. For ACV, the company would depreciate the roof, and only give the value of what the roof is. So, if the roof was 20 years old, and it was originally roofed with shingles rated for 20 years, than the company could say that the roof is fully depreciated, and not give much to the insured as far as a claim check.

It’s okay to fall in love with your new home’s granite counter-tops, hardwood floors and landscaped yard – you’re SUPPOSE to do that.

Home Buyers: Don’t fall in love with a house and ignore the old roof!

But, please don’t overlook the big ticket items that can drain your bank account in the future:

• roof,
• electrical updates,
• plumbing,
• heating and air,
• hot water heater.

If you are selling your home and can’t afford to roof your home prior to putting it on the market, ask your Realtor about including verbiage stating that a new roof will be installed prior to closing. Many roofing companies work with Realtors and will install a new roof once you have a contract on your home and will wait to be paid out of your closing proceeds.

If you are buying a home and an allowance is made for a new roof prior to closing, ask about the type of shingles the Seller is planning to install and seek guidance from your insurer. You may want to upgrade to a better quality shingle and pay the difference.

Go ahead and fall in love with your new home. Just make sure your Realtor is investigating the condition of the higher repair and replacement components, and don’t ever skip the inspections available to you!

Lori Cain is a residential Realtor with Chinowth & Cohen Realtors, serving the greater Tulsa area, including midtown Tulsa, downtown, Owasso, Jenks, Sand Springs, Bixby and Broken Arrow. Visit Lori’s web site, LoriCain.com or call 918-852-5036.

Getting Your Home Ready to Sell in Tulsa – Select a Listing Realtor right for the job – Questions you should ask

Not all Realtors are the same.

It doesn’t seem to matter if my Buyers are looking at $80,000 houses or $300,000 houses – we will run across listings with no photos, no virtual tours and little information on MLS. And, Buyers will totally rule out looking at homes that they can’t preview from their home computer. So, before you sign up with a Realtor to SELL your home, be sure to ask where and how your home will be marketed.

Individual Realtors offer different services, and we pay to advertise your home out of our own pocket. We don’t regain that investment until your home sells.

In order to select a Listing Realtor who will properly market your home, ask lots of questions!

Questions you want to ask your Realtor include: does your Realtor offer the enhanced advertising on realtor.com that allows more photos, extensive verbiage and virtual tours?

On which web sites will your virtual tours be displayed? Ask them to send you links of their other listings on Realtor.com, Trulia, Yahoo and Zillow so you can be sure of what type and level of exposure you can expect for YOUR listing. [links to trulia, zillow, etc.]

84% of Buyers are searching for homes on the internet before they ever contact a Realtor, so if your photos and virtual tours are not plastered on YouTube, Realtor.com and a dozen other popular web sites, the number of Buyers NOT seeing (and considering) your home is almost unquantifiable.

Select a Listing Realtor right for the job – Questions you should ask – Will your Realtor be honest with you about the needed updates to prepare your home for sale? Is your Realtor looking at your home through a potential Buyer’s eye?

Does your Realtor offer an electronic keybox, so that your showings can be accurately tracked and does your Realtor follow up with cooperating Realtors to get feedback? Will your Realtor provide good directions to your home so that Buyers and Realtors can easily find you?

What staging services will your Realtor offer and will your Realtor go over comparables to price your home competitively? What steps will your Realtor take to promote a sale within a reasonable time frame? Will your Realtor present you with his/her marketing PLAN?

How often will your Realtor communicate with you? You probably know how often your home is being shown if you occupy your property. Establish expectations from day one, and you’ll be less frustrated.

Lastly, ask for references. I display testimonials on my web site, and am happy to provide you with phone numbers of previous clients.

Your home will sell if it is in top condition, priced correctly and marketed aggressively. Choose the Listing Realtor that understands this selling strategy.

Marketing your home is expensive, but priceless.