Three Easy Steps to Prepare Your Home for Sale

Getting your home ready to go on the market can be an intimidating task. The preparations going into selling are usually stressful, cumbersome, and might even involve getting your hands dirty. This is especially the case if you're like most people and get your home ready for sale just a few weeks before putting it on the market.

The front yard
If you're planning on selling in the spring or summer, be sure to plant lots of bulbs in the prior fall. Even if you don't want to maintain a flower garden, this will be a good move because by the time the flowers need to be cut back next year, you'll have moved out. Many homeowners focus so much on preparing the house that they forget that the yard will be the first thing that potential buyers will see when they come to view the home. A well manicured and landscaped yard will go a long way towards getting buyers to believe that your house is the right one for them.

Minor repairs
Save a few bucks by planning ahead and hiring contractors in the off-season. Painters are not as busy in the winter so negotiating a painting contract during the off-season will allow you to get the job done for a better price. The same goes for heating & air conditioning contractors and moving your stuff into storage.

Taking the best picture possible
How your home is photographed could mean the difference between standing out from the hundreds of other homes competing for a buyer, and not getting noticed at all. One of the best things you can do to get ready to sell is to keep a camera handy for capturing that moment when your home won't look washed out and colorless in a picture taken at high noon. Murphy’s law says that if you wait until the last moment to take the listing photo for your home, it will be dark and cloudy the day your agent shows up to take a picture.

Even if you're not planning on selling in the immediate future, the next time after it rains, see if you can find the place where you can take a picture of a rainbow that "just happens" to end right behind your home. Come springtime, make sure to get an early morning picture with the sun casting its gentle rays down on your gorgeous flowers on your front porch. Little things like that can make a huge impact.

With just a little advance planning, you can greatly enhance the effectiveness of preparing to sell your home.

There is nothing more reassuring to a buyer than an uninterested third party validating your home's price.
Since real estate dealings involve such a large financial commitment, sellers can boost their home's odds of selling by getting the professional opinion of real estate appraisers. Appraisers are third party real estate experts with no vested interest in the home. Their job is to document an impartial estimate of the value, considering the condition and quality, of the home. By getting an appraisal in advance you ensure that you get the higest value possible for your home because of the feeling of security the appraisal offers to the prospective buyer.

While evaluating the home, the real estate appraiser judges how sound the construction of the home is, the condition of the total property, and how dated (or outdated) the home may be compared to other homes that have sold. They research the entire property by taking observations and searching public records for the details of other properties, past sales and leases, and any other transactions.

Negotiate with the appraiser in advance to make sure he/she will transfer the appraisal to the new purchaser.
If used properly, an advance home appraisal is a tangible asset that is part of the home, but it loses its value to the seller as soon as the home is sold. Why not let the borrower use your appraisal? It can save the buyer $300 to $700, which, in turn, can help you increase your odds of putting a deal together in the first place. In addition to helping reassure the buyer of the home's worth, you will be able to get some -- or more likely all -- of the expense of the initial appraisal back, by giving it to the borrower. Besides saving the buyer money, you also guarantee that your home will appraise, because if the borrower hires their own appraiser, it's possible that that appraiser will think the home isn't worth what they're paying.

For a small charge in the grand scheme of things, usually $25 to $50, you can have the appraiser re-write the appraisal to the new owner. In this real estate market, buyers can walk away from a contract for any reason and, sellers must use every tool possible to make sure their deal makes it to the closing table. Getting an advance home appraisal is a good, inexpensive bone you can toss into the deal to show your good faith and cooperative spirit as a seller. It not only increases the buyer's confidence in dealing with you, but it might put a few thousand extra dollars in your bank account as an added bonus!

Selling Your Home: Seven Steps to Ensure a Smoother Transaction

Selling the home in Whittier or La Habra or where you've lived a part , or maybe even all, of your life isn't easy. It's hard to think of your home as simply a house, a piece of real estate, when it means so much to you. These tips will make selling your home go a little more smoothly.

#1. Detach from Your Emotions
Be sure to use your head and not your heart as you prepare your home for sale, set a fair opening price, and negotiate with potential buyers.

#2. Choose a Real Estate Agent You Like and Trust
You may need to interview several agents to find the right one. Choose someone with whom you "click," but also someone who isn't shy about giving you honest feedback. Centuryside Real Estate is the most qualified in Whittier and La Habra.

#3. Prepare Your Home for Sale
According to RealEstateABC.com, you want your home to be clean, inviting... and anonymous. So pack up the personal family pictures and mementos. Potential buyers want to imagine themselves living in your space, and your family heirlooms lying around make it that much harder. It's also important to keep your home clean so you can be ready to show at a moment's notice. Potential buyers may be turned off if they have to wait a long time to get into a house.

#4. Set the Right Price
Many buyers make the mistake of setting a high opening price, figuring they'll just drop it in a few weeks if the house doesn't sell. Krecker and Associates Appraisal Services in Whittier can assist you. But RealEstateABC.com warns that by the time you drop your price to a more realistic one, your house will already be "old news." People who bypassed it once as out of their price range may not be back for a second look. Work with your realtor to set a fair opening price.

#5. Disclose Defects and Material Facts as Required by Law
You are required by law to disclose any material facts and potential flaws or hazards associated with your property. Not fully disclosing these items can nullify a sales contract. Complete honesty is the only way to go.

#6. Negotiate Fairly
If a buyer is interested, be willing to negotiate a bit on price, repairing items prior to the buyer taking possession, etc. Your realtor can help you decide what is reasonable and what is not.

#7. Make Agreed Upon Repairs by the Closing Date
If you and the buyer have agreed upon certain repairs, have them completed by the closing date, and bring documentation to the closing to show that you have made the repairs.

Following these steps won't necessarily guarantee that your home will sell immediately, but they will lead to a smoother sale and a more hassle-free closing day.   

Deciding Whether or Not to Pay Discount Points on Your Home Loan

Many people pay for points in order to get their mortgage home loan monthly repayment bills lowered. However, paying discount pints is not always a good idea. There are many factors to consider when determining whether or not you should consider paying discount points on your home loan.

What Is a Discount Point?
A discount point is equivalent to one percent of your mortgage home loan. In essence, you can "buy down" your interest rate by paying discount points. You can purchase incremental reductions in the interest rate on your mortgage loan by paying points. One point is an up front payment equivalent to one percent of the total amount of the amount of money you are borrowing.

How Much Can I Save By Paying Discount Points?
Typically, each discount point that you pay will reduce one-quarter of a percentage point off your interest rate. However, this may vary among lenders and loan programs.

Will I Save Enough on Interest to Offset the Cost of the Discount Points?
Even a small reduction in the interest rate on a mortgage loan can result in a significant savings over the life of the loan. If you are planning to stay in your home three years or more without refinancing, it might be beneficial for you to pay discount points to lower the interest rate on your mortgage.

However, if you plan to sell your home or refinance in less than three years, you are not likely to realize any savings as a result of paying discount points. The longer you plan to stay in your home, and keep the same mortgage, the more likely you are to benefit from buying down your interest rate with discount points. Put some serious thought into how long you intend to stay in your current home before you commit to paying discount points.

How Do I Decide?
When deciding whether or not to pay optional discount points on your mortgage, keep in mind that a lower interest rate is not the only factor that should be considered. While the thought of having a lower interest rate is very appealing, don't be blinded by the fact that with discount points, you are paying money up front to reduce your interest rate.

While your mortgage lender can't decide for you, he or she can probably run the numbers for you, to show at what point in the life of your loan you can expect to break even by purchasing discount points. Once you know how long you will need to keep the mortgage before breaking even and then going on to realize financial savings, you are in a better position to make a decision about what is best for you.