1. When you are selling your home, allow it to be shown at a moment's notice. Qualified buyers aren't "a dime a dozen."
2. When you are selling your home, keep it clean and tidy ALL the time. Let it get out of hand and an otherwise serious buyer WILL show up. If you don't have time to clean, hire a cleaning service.
3. If you have a limited budget for sprucing up your home, consider devoting a good chunk of it to getting your kitchen in top shape. Consider replacing appliances and fixtures. Whatever steps you take, just make sure your kitchen is in top shape.
4. When selling your home, be realistic about your asking price. You can check public record at the courthouse, or in many cases on-line, for the amounts of recent sales in your neighborhood.
5. Some offers for your home are better than others. A contingent sale is a bad one. The potential buyer makes their offer contingent on selling their own home first. Avoid these like the plague.
6. When searching for homes, buyers focus on those they can see. Regardless of where or how you market, you must include home photographs in your marketing material.
7. When showing your home, you need to have a friend watch your pet. You also need to go through the home and remove all pet odors, hair and so on. Once you sell the property, you can buy another one with a bigger yard for your little one.
8. Most states require real estate contracts to be in writing to be enforceable. The buyer invests time and thought in the process of committing his offer to paper. When you receive his written offer, you know ALL the items the buyer is trying to "nibble" from you.
9. Whether buying or selling, it is important to recognize the type of market you are in. After years of a hot seller market, the beginning of 2007 introduces us to a distinct buyers market. Home prices are falling, which means we have a volatile market.
10. Many people work so hard to get an offer on their home that they do not know what to do once they get one. Your choices are to accept it, reject it or make a counter offer.
If you are a seller, the real estate news probably sounds pretty grim. It really isn't. There is always a market for sellers and buyers. You just need to put your nose to the grindstone a bit. Since most people don't, you'll have an advantage and get that sale.
The "Buyers First Program" was designed to take that a step further. Instead of wholesaling to real estate investors with all the associated risks, I chose to work with Real Estate Agents and use the entire MLS as my inventory. I develop a "retail, end buyers list" to give to agents. Buyers First is fully RESPA compliant and is readily accepted by the traditional Real Estate community. You already know that Real Estate Agents only do things that are fully disclosed and traditional in nature. Dealing in the regular real estate arena, it has to be simple and fully compliant or agents won't participate, and correctly so.
A list of buyers usually consist of familys that are looking for a home. They may want a 5 bedroom 3 1/2 bath property in a certain area for school district purposes. Folks on the list may be only looking to spend a certain amount for a set price range.
Making a list of buyers is easy. One of the best ways to do it is with a three line classified ad promoting a special report titled "You Can Still Purchase a House Even if You Have Bruised Credit but have a Small Down Payment" or "The Seven Questions Every Home Buyer Should Ask A Real Estate Agent." With that in the local newspaper and a toll free number, you can locate many people looking for a home. Some folks will call and are just curious. The easiest way to handle these people is to allow them to ask questions and answer them to the best of your ability. They usually call back later telling you they are now in the market for a house. Any way you do it, your list is made up by the contacts you make.
You can also gather names from family and friends. People know people. Google Ad Words is yet another proven, inexpensive way. By having a list, you can make groups and categorize the prospects.
You can then get your mortgage broker pre-qualify people that are on your list. Some people will have credit issues and others will be in the process of repairing their credit. These are perfect prospects.
Formulating a buyers list means you have a good start on a marketing plan of action. Every business has a client base. Think of your buyers list as your client base. The more you have, the more business you can do. The more you do, the more money you can make. By formulating a buyers list, you are building a strong, stable and long term real estate investment business
Both Hal James & Jack Sternberg are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Hal James has sinced written about articles on various topics from Real Estate, Home Buyers Guide and Mortgage. Join our at FSBOAmerica.org.Feel free to grab a unique version of this article from the. Hal James's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.
Jack Sternberg has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Buyers Guide, Mortgage and Interest. Jack Sternberg is a nationally recognized expert on real estate investment who's been in the business for more than 30 years. Sternberg is the creator of the renowned "Buyers First" Program. His deals have totaled over $750 million and he's been to the cl. Jack Sternberg's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.