The E.R. for frustrated Home Sellers...

You've lived in your house for a number of years, maintained it well, made improvements, decorated it nicely, and now you need to sell. You're thinking; who wouldn't love to buy our home? You hired a real estate agent. He/She took some pictures, entered it into the MLS, and several months later you have not had any offers, and hardly any showings. What could be wrong? It is a mistake to entirely blame "the market conditions" for a home not selling. Even though fewer homes sell in a buyer's market, the homes that are properly prepared, priced and marketed DO still sell.

My Home Seller E.R. service is specifically suited for what I call 'Expired Rescue'. There are a variety of reasons why homes sit on the market without selling and/or without showings. Consider the following:

LOCATION
Yes, it's true - and there is no avoiding it: "Location. Location. Location." Is your house located on a busy thoroughfare? Are there unsightly electrical wires/cell phone towers in the area? Is the quality of the neighborhood declining? Is there a local development or nearby zoning issue that is controversal? These are factors you really can't change, unfortunately -- but don't fret, there is a buyer for EVERY home and other things you can do...read on!

PRICING
There's an old saying that says: "price cures everything". No matter what defects or imperfections a house has, and even if it is suffering from location issues, a lower price will make it more attractive to buyers. On the flip side, no matter how nice a house is, if it is overpriced for the market, it will be less attractive to buyers. One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a seller is to insist that your agent price your home significantly over market value, thinking you can negotiate down or reduce your price later. Overpricing your house in the beginning is like shooting yourself in the foot. Have you entertained thoughts of "Let's price it high, and let buyers make an offer. I don't want to risk selling for less than I might get if I aim high". Home selling is one of those situations where "aiming high" will result in "selling low"! By pricing high you only help to sell your properly priced competition up the street!

CONDITION
"You don't get a second chance to make a good first impression". Buyers will look at many other homes. In many instances they will be viewing/touring model homes. To get top dollar you need to offer your home in its top condition. There are many low cost ways to spruce up your home and make it more attractive to buyers. If you're not willing to do small repairs or improvements (either yourself or by hiring a handyman or contractor) then you need to lower your price to reflect worn conditions or defects.

DOES YOUR LISTING OFFER FAIR COMPENSATION TO BUYERS AGENTS?
This is a lesser known aspect of the "inner workings" of the real estate world, that can gravely impact your odds for selling. If your selling agent has "dropped their commission" to get your listing, they may be offering a "lower split" to buyers agents in your MLS listing (make sure you ask for a copy of your MLS listing so that you know exactly what it says!). Offering a lower split makes buyers agents less interested in showing your house! With the large number of homes on the market today, many agents will not show homes that are not offering fair compensation to buyers agents (they can even set their MLS search criteria to filter out lower than average buyers commission splits so that they don't even appear on the results that they pass onto their homebuyers). This is one of the reasons why you need to avoid discount brokers, and why you should be careful when you negotiate a "lower commission" with a listing/selling agent.

FINANCING TERMS
In a buyers market, many sellers offer incentives to potential buyers such as contributing to closing costs or loan points, throwing in requested fixtures, appliances, or furniture, and/ or allowances for repairs/upgrades. Are you offering anything to make buyers choose your home over the competition?

SELLER MOTIVATION
Do you really WANT to sell your house? If you do, you need to be willing to do what it takes to attract buyers - that means pricing properly, and expending the effort to repair, prepare, and stage your home. If you are just "putting out a listing feeler" in the hopes that Mr./Mrs. Money-is-no-object will walk through the door and fall in love with your home, then you are wasting your and your agent's time and resources. If you get offended by the objective recommendations that your real estate consultant has made for prepping your home for sale, you may need to rethink whether you really are wanting to part with your home or not. Your willingness to be realistic about your reasons and motivation for selling your home will relate directly to the amount of exposure (powered by marketing dollars and time/effort) that a savvy and professional Real Estate Consultant will allocate to marketing your home. Even the most expensive marketing plan and hard working agent can't sell a home that is overpriced for the market and/or neighborhood that it is in.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILL OF YOUR AGENT
It is important to hire a professional and dedicated REALTOR®. (By the way, not all real estate agents are REALTORS®. A REALTOR® is bound by a code of ethics and adheres to a professional standard established by the National Board of Realtors™. This affiliation with a professional organization/governing body sets them apart from run-of-the-mill, non-affiliated agents.

• 87% of buyers now utlize the Internet during the course of their home search. Does your agent have an effective web presence? Is your REALTOR® a certified ePRO®?
• Has your agent provided you with specific information, a checklist and/or pointers for preparing your house so that it shows well?
• Has your house been priced strategically? Strategic pricing is accomplished by looking at active, pending & sold listings in your area. Looking only at sold listings does not take into account your current competition and can drastically increase the time your house stays on the market.
• Is your agent using high quality and technologically current marketing materials (i.e. virtual tours, color flyers, signs etc?)
• Does your agent keep you informed about market trends, conditions, and the feedback that buyers are giving about your home?
• Has your agent provided you with an outline or summary of the marketing plan for your home?
• Have you seen what your house looks like in the Multiple Listing Service? The MLS is, in effect, the "storefront" for the sale of your home, since the MLS is the database that drives both internet searches and the tailored searches that buyers agents provide to their pre-qualified buyers. If pictures are missing, blurry, dark or discolored, buyers & agents will not have much interest in seeing your home. Using the maximum number of bright, high quality images creates more interest in your house, which will result in more showings. In addition, if details such as square footage, room sizes, garage info, lot sizes etc. are incorrect, you risk losing the buyer who is looking for a home just like yours.