What Are the Associated Costs After You Have Sold Your Home?

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Welcome back. I wanted to thank you for watching our videos and submitting questions. We want to be your real estate resource and we appreciate your responses!

One question we were asked recently was about how much it costs to sell your home. Often we forget about the costs of selling. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Commission - If you use an agent you are responsible for paying their commission.
2. Moving - Are you going to hire a professional mover?
3. Home warranties - While these are negotiable, often times buyers ask sellers to provide a home warranty on the property.
4. Closing - This is negotiable too, but depending on how the offer is structured, a buyer may ask the seller to contribute or pay all of the closing costs.

If you have any questions about the above costs or just about anything real estate, give me a call at 912.658.7255

How Much Does it Cost to Sell Your Home?

When you sell your home you want as much money as possible. Sometimes we forget that to do this, there are some costs.

1. Repairs and upgrades - Buyers will always have a home inspection done. If an inspector finds something wrong or broken, the buyer may require repairs before buying.
2. Staging - This doesn't necessarily mean decorating. Staging is meant to showcase the best features of your home and sometimes that means renting a piece of furniture.
3. Vacancy insurance - If you move into your new home before you sell your current, you are required to purchase vacancy insurance which is different than just home owner's insurance.
4. Utilities - You want to keep the utilities on when showing your home.

These are all some costs that people forget about. If you have any questions about selling your home, please give me a call today!

4 Reasons to Sell During the Holidays

Welcome back! The holiday season is here and every year we get asked whether it's best to sell during the holidays or wait until spring. You might be surprised to find out that selling during the holidays actually puts you at a huge advantage.

1. There is less competition - During the winter and holiday months, fewer people put their home on the market, making your home more valuable.
2. Buyers are more serious - If buyers are taking the time out of their busy holiday celebrations, you know they are ready to buy. So while you may have less showings, the ones you do have will be quality. 
3. You don't have to move during the holidays - You might be thinking selling now means packing up and moving Christmas day. The truth is banks are slower and the closing process takes longer - about 45-60 days. That means you won't have to move until January!
4. Homes look better - Who doesn't love holiday decorations and lights and the smell of holiday cooking? Buyers become emotional seeing your home look so perfectly.

These are four great reasons why you should consider selling your home now. If you have any questions, please give us a call at 912.272.3463

Happy Holidays!

Selling with a Contingency

Welcome back to my video blog! Have you ever heard of contingency offers? I get asked about these a lot.

There are different types, but the most popular occurs when a potential buyer wants to purchase a seller’s home, but the buyer must sell their property first; the sale of one home is contingent on the sale of another.

How do you handle this situation as a seller? The good news is you have some options. You can decline their offer or you can accept the offer with the contingency, but you can add a ‘kick out clause’

What’s a ‘kick out clause’? The seller tells the buyer they accept the offer, but they will continue to market their home. If the seller receives another offer they will get the first buyer a deadline to either move forward or withdraw their offer. This way as a seller you have the choice between two solid buyers.

I hope this answers questions you may have about contingencies. If you have any other questions, please give me a call. Thanks so much for watching!

The Importance of First Impressions and Curb Appeal

How important is curb appeal when making a first impression?

Curb appeal is extremely important. Buyers often like to drive by a home so its vital that your lawn is manicured. If you have children, limit the number of toys in the area. Clean up the oil stains on the driveway.

Just as important, if not more, is how your home looks online. Did you know that 95 percent of buyers start their search online? The photographs and virtual tours are the determining factor whether a buyer wants to take the time to see your home in person.

You need good photographs and a proper staging to showcase your home in the best way possible.  Your online profile is like an open house to buyers behind their computer screen. Put your best foot forward.

If you have any questions, please give me a call at 92.272.3463. Thanks for watching!

How to Prepare Your Home for the Market

Welcome back to our video blog! A lot of sellers ask us what they can do to get their home ready for the market.

The most important step in getting your home ready is to make it appealing to the buyers. How do you do that? Imagine your home is a model home. Go ahead and start packing; take down the personal items and remove any clutter. Your buyer should be able to picture their life in the home.

You also want your home to be in good condition. That doesn’t mean just aesthetically, but structurally and mechanically, as well. It’s important to address any repairs before the buyer looks at the home. If you leave it up to the buyer, one of two things could happen: 1) the buyer could disregard your home all together because they don’t think you have the means to fix it or 2) they will automatically reduce their offer because they think the home is worth less than the listed price.

Addressing the problems before can prevent you from losing a bid and losing money.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you have any questions or are thinking about buying, selling, or investing, please give me a call at 912.272.3463

Thanks for watching!