Articles in category: "Sell It"
Staging Your Property; your best investment when selling
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Staging a property is a lot like getting dressed for a first date. In dressing for a first date, we make sure we are well-groomed and select clothing that highlights our best assets. We avoid calling attention to the negative, because it may be turn someone off, before they have gotten to know us. Each time your property is seen by a prospective buyer, it is a “first date” for your property. Therefore, your objective is to make a great first impression by showing your property “all dressed up” and “well-groomed”. The process of “dressing up the place” and “grooming” is called Staging.
1) CLEANLINESS IS YOUR FRIEND. Your property must be really, really clean. Not surface clean, “spring cleaning” clean. It needs to smell good and it needs to shine. There’s no amount of pine cleaner smell that can simulate clean. In fact, it shouldn’t smell like pine cleaner, at all. It should just be clean. Shine is good on floors, windows, blinds, tabletops, appliance fronts and all surfaces in the bathroom
2) CLUTTER IS YOUR ENEMY. Buyers want to feel that they will have places to put things when they move in. The seller’s junk all over the place communicates that there aren’t enough closets, cupboards and drawers. Sellers often don’t “see” the 7 cereal boxes lined up on top of the refrigerator, because they are used to seeing them there. Buyers will notice the cereal boxes and will be left with the impression that there’s not enough cupboard space in the kitchen. Less truly is more. Remove some items from drawers, bookcases, closets and medicine cabinets. A prospective buyer will think there is ample storage because there are lots of things stored inside. It works in the reverse for some reason. Room for more, allows the buyer to think there’s a lot of storage space.
3) REPAIRS ARE A MUST. Many little repairs left undone, do not come across as, individual small things, which need to be fixed. They accumulate and convey the impression that the property needs a lot of work. They also communicate that the property isn’t special enough for someone to care about. Additionally, moving is a lot of work, so not making extra work is important. Fix everything that needs to be fixed. Paint the hall that has needed to be painted for 5 years. Replace the light fixture that’s slightly goofy. Throw out the worn out mat by the door and replace it with a new one.
4) DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY. Once you put your property on the market, it is open to public commentary. Your goal is not to have people agree with your taste. Your goal is to attract as many buyers as possible, in order to sell the property for the asking price. If you need to tone it down, throw it out or rearrange it, do it. Try not to take it personally and remember that “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.
5) HIRING A PROFESSIONAL CAN MEAN MORE MONEY IN YOUR POCKET. A pair of new, fresh and creative eyes may be critical. A client of mine purchased an apartment that had been languishing on the market for many months. A few months later, he was transferred and put the apartment back on the market. We made only the most minor cosmetic changes to the apartment and yet he rapidly received many offers. The offers were for more than he had paid for the apartment originally, for more than the asking price and for much, much more than my fee. We had simply cleaned and polished the place until it was deep, down clean. We painted every room a bright white since the apartment had little natural light. (All the rooms had been painted gray when he bought it.) We turned lights on before each open house, brought in fresh flowers that looked and smelled great. We packed away items that would keep prospective buyers from imagining themselves living in the space. It was the same dark apartment whose windows opened on an air shaft, but it didn’t matter anymore. We had created an environment in which people wanted to live and this was reflected in his selling price.
Jane Rosenbaum is an Interior Designer and contributor to various websites and publications . To contact Jane, please visit her website at: www.JaneInteriorsNYC.com
Closing Costs 101
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Lots of people tell me that they are surprised at the enormity of the closing costs involved in the sale or purchase of real estate. Astonished may be the right word, and incensed probably works even better. This is especially true for those people who have scraped and saved for years only to find out that they are still $10,0000, $20,000, $50,000 or more short when the closing costs are factored in. What are the closing costs for? Who gets the money? Why didn’t anyone warn me about this?
Closing costs are called closing costs because they are generally paid at the time of the closing. They fall into two categories. Those paid to a government entity, usually in the form of taxes, and those paid to the various professionals you hired at various stages of the transaction. These include your broker, your lawyer, the bank, the appraiser, the title closer, etc. That’s right, indirectly; you did hire a title closer.
The next several posts will explain and help you calculate your closing costs for several scenarios. Here’s how things will breakdown.
- Closing costs for a residential sale.
- Closing costs for a residential purchase.
- Closing costs for the purchase of a newly constructed condo.
Stayed tuned, all will be explained soon. Thanks for reading, Jim.
I work for you (but I don’t work for you)
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Let’s get something straight - you and me. I work for you. I am contractually obligated and have a fiduciary responsibility to you. Just you. I promise to always have your best interest at heart. I am your agent and you are my client. This is even true if I don’t like you (rarely) or you don’t like me (occasionally). I take our relationship very seriously and I always explain it carefully so you will too. What you tell me in confidence always stays between us - you and me. If you tell me you will accept less than the asking price or that, for some reason, you need to sell your home immediately - that stays between us - you and me. Anything you tell me that would reveal your negotiating position is just between you and me. These things are never revealed to the other side - the other you - the you who I am about to address.
Now as for you. I don’t work for you. I work with you. You are not my client, you are my customer. We have no contractual agreement and my only obligation to you is to treat you fairly and honestly. I take this particular obligation very seriously, and always fulfill my end of the bargain. I usually like you, and we often get along swimmingly and you can trust me. However, none of that changes that I don’t work for you. So, please don’t ask me if the owner is negotiable, or what can you get this place for. Those questions are all going to get you the same answer. The answer is that I work for the seller, and I take that obligation very seriously, and because of that I’m not going to answer those questions. However, if you need to know if the seller is negotiable, or how much you can get a property for, then make an offer. I promise to present your offer to the owner promptly, and get back to you with his or her reply. And this, in no uncertain terms, will answer your question.
Me? I’m a broker. I work for you. That is, the you who is selling your home and you, who has signed a contract with me. My job is to get you the best price for your place -. the absolute best price that the market will bear. I take my job very seriously. On the other hand, I don’t work for you. You, who has a lot of agents telling you that you should only work with them, that only they can find you the perfect home, that they are your agent, that they are your broker, that they are your best friend. Me, I don’t understand how they can say this to you. They have never signed a contract with you, they know that New York State law says that they don’t work for you, and they know who they really work for. They know that we all work for the seller. But that’s just me, telling you and you, like it is. Thanks for reading.
The Accepted Offer
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After Last weeks post, “What Happens Now?” I received a lot of questions about what exactly an accepted offer is. Here goes:
An accepted offer is defined as a verbal agreement between a buyer and a seller whereby a property owned by the seller will be purchased by the buyer for the agreed on price and terms.
Admittedly, Atticus Finch I’m not; but you do get the general idea: two people are agreeing to go forward with a transaction. It’s very important to note that this is almost always a handshake agreement. Further, it’s an agreement that either party can walk away from -anytime, for any reason. Buyer’s walk away when they get buyer’s remorse (and Oh Boy, do I need to write a post about that), find another property they like better, get divorced, lose their job, etc. Sellers walk away too -often because they have received a better offer. Point is, that no one is legally bound to sell or buy a property until both parties sign a written contract (and usually after a little bit of good-faith moolah, is handed over by the buyer). This is because, in New York State, there is a law called the Statute of Frauds and it essentially states that certain contracts (i.e. agreements) must be in writing in order for them to be enforced. In New York State, a Real Estate Contract of Sale, also know as a Purchase Agreement, happens to fall under the Statute of Frauds.
(Please Note: I’m not suggesting that you behave like a real estate monster. It is impolite to willy-nilly present or accept offers just because you can. Let me stress, beg, plead, implore, and appeal to your sense of decency by asking you not to verbally commit to a transaction unless you mean it. Besides the business reasons, you shouldn’t do it because it’s downright dishonest. )
Next week, I’ll write about how best to get yourself from Accepted Offer to Contract. Thanks for reading, Jim.