Advice on how to sell your house

Selling a house is harder than it seems, which is why people get realtors to do the work for them of studying applicable laws, doing a comparable market analysis and advertising the property to thousands of other realtors who represent buyers. A smooth transaction needs a real estate professional to determine the right asking price, negotiate the terms of the contract, set up the home inspections and resolve any issues that arise there, coordinate the appraisal, help the buyer with the loan process, and work on getting everyone to the closing table. Home buying should be a pleasant experience, and with the right real estate agent, it is. Feel free to ask me for advice with no obligation or pressure to buy or sell (of course if you are working with a realtor already, I can't step on anyone's toes). Here is some advice for everyone from multi-million dollar home owners to first-time sellers:

To ask me my advice, and to get a FREE market analysis for Selling Your Home, click here

How long will our house be on the market?

In my experience, I have seen the "Days On Market" or DOM, are affected by four factors:

1. Promotion

Marketing plan - should include word of mouth marketing in neighborhood, newest technology to encourage more showings (ask us about virtual tours, Voice Pad, websites, Trulia, instant messaging, text messaging, wide angle cameras, reflective signs, full color laser printed brochures, homefeedback.com). All of these tools are used to encourage more showings and a quicker sale

Advertising plan - how many current, active home buyers are you reaching this week? How many buyers are viewing your house online and in print?

My name in the community - The Heidi Fore Team represents quality, and excellent service. Other agents are pleased to show my listings.

The Heidi Fore Real Estate team at Keller Williams is well trained at how to conduct an effective showing, and we have a track record of successful Open Houses. We talk about our listings when we are in the community to help our sellers. We are well networked in Louisville.

Staging a room with furniture to use the space effectively, and show off the size of the room, views, and floor plan flow

Storing all unnecessary items - box up all your nick-nacks, souvenirs and personal photos. The only things out should be furniture, a few decorative, strategically placed items, and lots of lights

Painting/new door knobs/new fixtures - with over 5,500 houses for sale in Louisville right now, a buyer can be picky and buy one that is move in ready, with no painting to do, no carpet to replace, and no updating. If the house down the street has new bathroom sinks, lights, and kitchen appliances, and the bedrooms have new carpet and fresh paint with no nicks on the walls, compared to a house that looks "lived in" and needs cosmetic help, guess which one the buyers will buy?

Clean like you’ve never cleaned before - When I'm showing houses to buyers, they tell me, "this house is dirty. If they neglected to clean, what else did they neglect? It's probably in bad condition. They obviously didn't take care of it."  People really say this to me. They also say: "ooh, this house smells funny. Let's go."

Being on your toes for a quick showing - Sometimes an agent will be showing the house down the street and the buyers will say "Let's see that one!" meaning yours. Be ready to show it quickly to get the most showings possible.

Fixing items before they are issues - if you know the back door doesn't shut properly. If you know there is a roof leak or a wet basement. Fix it now. Better to put on the disclosures how you fixed a problem rather than have a showing where the buyer sees the problems as problems that they will have to fix.

 3. Pricing

If it is priced right from the beginning, you’ll get more for it. The longer it sits, the worse it looks.

Knowing the truly comparable properties makes all the difference. Get an honest Realtor who will tell you what your house really is worth, instead of telling you what you want to hear just so you'll pick them. Even if the truth hurts, look at the facts of what other similar houses sold for recently and make an intelligent, informed deicision. Other wise your house will just sit on the market for months and you'll end up reducing the price anyway.

4. Competition

What is on the market now – the cheapest or best houses sell first – if your house isn't A) the best price or B) in the best condition. You'll have to wait until the other houses in the neighborhood are chosen over yours. Then when your house is the one left, and a buyer wants to be in that area, they'll pick yours.

What was on the market and expired – condition, promotion or price. If a house was on the market for a long time, and then the sellers took it off, I can almost guarantee that it was either overpriced, not advertised well, or in bad condition. Other factors include a less-than-desirable location like backing up to a power plant with humming power lines overhead.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN IF WE GET
AN OFFER THE FIRST WEEK? 

There is an initial buyer burst when a property goes on the market. Buyers are waiting right now for the perfect house to hit the market. After they see if, they’ll call me or their agent, and after about a week, all the current buyers that have been looking for a long time, will have seen it, and we’ll have to wait for more buyers to enter the market one at a time.

WHAT DO PAST SELLERS SAY ABOUT HEIDI?

 “I was searching the net for realtors when I came to Heidi's webpage and I was immediately interested enough to contact her.  Heidi was the best. She listened to what I needed in a home, what location I was interested in and what type of property would best serve my needs.

Heidi was tireless in showing my patio home day and night and in arranging times for other agents to come in with their clients.  She created a beautiful brochure of my patio home and its best features.  I believe her creativity in the color brochure lured many of the clients who looked at my home.  She also gave me very helpful suggestions about ways to show my home to its maximum potential.  This resulted in an excellent offer which I accepted.  Her marketing skills are first rate.

Simultaneously, as she was working so hard to sell my house, she was busy finding houses for me to tour in the area I was interested in.

Our search was not a short one, but Heidi was ever-patient and always professional.  She constantly checked and rechecked the new listings in the part of town I was most interested in.  One of the most striking things about Heidi was her wisdom.  For someone so young, she has great maturity and honesty.  There were times when she would ask me just the right question to keep me on task and to stay within my budget.  She worked diligently to get both closings on the same day to make my move smoother.  The house we found is perfect for me.  Am sure I will be happy there.

I have recommended her to several friends and family members because of her energy and enthusiasm for her job and will continue to do so.  She has truly made the correct career choice and it shows.”

Gina Calvert, Seller client and Buyer client

Another letter from a happy client…

“From the first conversation we had about the sale of our house and search for a new one she was very responsive. She kept in constant contact and sent all types of information to help us in our quest. The best thing I like about Heidi is that she is a “doer”…she gets things done, and she thinks outside the box. Even though my husband and I have bought and sold a couple of homes, the market and options change quite a bit over the several years. Heidi always was there to educate us and give us ideas as well as guidance through the process. One item that she offered us was an online feedback that was particularly helpful when selling our home. We took the feedback serious, and based on the comments, we were able to make changes that sold our home in a timely manner. She did a great job, and we absolutely love our new home. Next time we need a realtor, we are calling Heidi!”

-Carla Kiser, Seller client and Buyer client

1. Advice on how to price their home to sell fast with the highest net to put in their pocket at closing

2. Quick relocations, and ability to make sure the events fall into their timeframe

3. Skills at making a room look bigger and more updated from simple room design techniques

4. Finding buyers through impressive and strategic marketing plans