Pricing your house right the first time is the best way to go.

Whether you choose to market your home yourself or let a professional real estate agent do the work, it is vital that you price your home correctly from the very beginning. 

Many sellers (and some agents) are tempted to overprice a home when they first put it on the market.  They think they might get lucky and actually get the asking price, even though it is more than the house is worth.  Or they think that the house will be more appealing later, when it is advertised as “reduced.”  The problem with both of those ideas is that you will lose your first and best potential buyers.

Let’s assume your house is worth $260,000 but you list it at $280,000.  You are literally shutting the door on your earliest and best prospects.  How?  Most buyers will give an agent all of their search criteria—including the most they are willing to spend.  The agent will then input that criteria into the MLS system and come up with a complete list of houses in the right price range.  But your house won’t be there because you priced it outside the correct range!  The buyers who do look at your home will be comparing it to more valuable homes which are correctly priced—your home won’t compare well at all!

Then, after several months, when you realize that your home isn’t attractive to agents or buyers at the inflated price, you will cut the price to what it should have been in the first place.  By that time your house is “on the shelf” and that is a red flag to many agents and buyers.  Why didn’t the house sell sooner?  What was wrong with it?  They often think that the buyer must be desperate, so they usually try to force the price even lower than the house is worth.

QUICK TIPS FOR INTERIOR PAINTING

Even if your home was in pristine condition when you moved in, you may want to change some things so that your new home will reflect your own tastes and personality.  One of the easiest ways to make a dramatic difference is with paint.  While some difficult areas or fancy techniques are better left to professionals, interior painting is a great do-it-yourself project.

Here are a few simple steps that can make the job go quicker and get better results.  I wish you luck with your next project.

1. Before you begin pick your paint colors carefully.  You may love one color, but will it go well with your furnishings, carpeting, and adjoining wall areas?  Choosing with care can save you a frustrating and costly re-do.
    
2. Use water based latex paint for ease in application and clean-up.
    
3. Buy the correct paint for the surface you are painting.  Wood floors, concrete, masonry or metal require specific products.
    
4. Before you dip your brush in that paint, assemble every item you will need:
    
1. Enough paint for the entire job (you don’t want to take your paint smeared self back to the store in the middle of the job).
2. Brushes, rollers (if you settle for the cheapest quality you’ll get brush hairs and roller fuzzies all over your walls!)
3. Plastic dropcloths or old sheets (yes, you will make a mess)
4. A large damp cloth for wiping up small drips and mistakes while they are still wet
5. Stepladder
6. Screwdriver and claw hammer to remove wall hooks, switchplates, nails, etc.
7. Plastic automotive tape to edge windows, trim and carpet.
8. Hand cream—you will be so glad you used this on your hands and arms when it comes time to clean up.
    
5. Prepare the surface.  Cracks and holes should be filled with spackling and old paint should be lightly sanded so the new paint will adhere.  Make sure the surface is clean of dirt, grease, rust and flaking paint.
    
6. Paint in this order: ceiling, walls, trim, floor.  Remember, paint drips DOWN.
    
7. Use a roller for the big areas and a brush to cut in from the outside edges.
    
8. Tape all window edges, trim, and carpet edges.  You will thank yourself for this once you start cutting in with the brush!

Fielding a Lowball Purchase Offer on Your Home

Consider before you ignore or outright refuse a very low purchase offer for your home. A counteroffer and negotiation could turn that low purchase offer into a sale.

You just received a purchase offer from someone who wants to buy your home. You're excited and relieved, until you realize the purchase offer is much lower than your asking price. How should you respond? Set aside your emotions, focus on the facts, and prepare a counteroffer that keeps the buyers involved in the deal.

Check your emotions

A purchase offer, even a very low one, means someone wants to purchase your home. Unless the offer is laughably low, it deserves a cordial response, whether that's a counteroffer or an outright rejection. Remain calm and discuss with your real estate agent the many ways you can respond to a lowball purchase offer.

Counter the purchase offer

Unless you've received multiple purchase offers, the best response is to counter the low offer with a price and terms you're willing to accept. Some buyers make a low offer because they think that's customary, they're afraid they'll overpay, or they want to test your limits.

A counteroffer signals that you're willing to negotiate. One strategy for your counteroffer is to lower your price, but remove any concessions such as seller assistance with closing costs, or features such as kitchen appliances that you'd like to take with you.

Consider the terms

Price is paramount for most buyers and sellers, but it's not the only deal point. A low purchase offer might make sense if the contingencies are reasonable, the closing date meets your needs, and the buyer is preapproved for a mortgage. Consider what terms you might change in a counteroffer to make the deal work.

Review your comps

Ask your REALTOR® whether any homes that are comparable to yours (known as "comps") have been sold or put on the market since your home was listed for sale. If those new comps are at lower prices, you might have to lower your price to match them if you want to sell.

Consider the buyer's comps

Buyers sometimes attach comps to a low offer to try to convince the seller to accept a lower purchase offer. Take a look at those comps. Are the homes similar to yours? If so, your asking price might be unrealistic. If not, you might want to include in your counteroffer information about those homes and your own comps that justify your asking price.

If the buyers don't include comps to justify their low purchase offer, have your real estate agent ask the buyers' agent for those comps.

Get the agents together

If the purchase offer is too low to counter, but you don't have a better option, ask your real estate agent to call the buyer's agent and try to narrow the price gap so that a counteroffer would make sense. Also, ask your real estate agent whether the buyer (or buyer's agent) has a reputation for lowball purchase offers. If that's the case, you might feel freer to reject the offer.

Don't signal desperation

Buyers are sensitive to signs that a seller may be receptive to a low purchase offer. If your home is vacant or your home's listing describes you as a "motivated" seller, you're signaling you're open to a low offer.

If you can remedy the situation, maybe by renting furniture or asking your agent not to mention in your home listing that you're motivated, the next purchase offer you get might be more to your liking.

More from HouseLogic

6 Tips for Choosing the Best Purchase Offer for Your Home (http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/articles/6-tips-choosing-best-offer-your-home/)

6 Reasons to Reduce Your Home Price (http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/articles/6-Reasons-To-Reduce-Your-Home-Price/)

Marcie Geffner is a freelance reporter who has been writing about real estate, homeownership and mortgages for 20 years. She owns a ranch-style house built in 1941 and updated in the 1990s, in Los Angeles.

Article From BuyAndSell.HouseLogic.com

By: Marcie Geffner
Published: June 10, 2010

Visit Houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

How to Use Comparable Sales to Price Your Home

Before you put your home up for sale, use the right comparable sales to find the perfect price.

How much can you sell your home for? Probably about as much as the neighbors got, as long as the neighbors sold their house in recent memory and their home was just like your home.

Knowing how much homes similar to yours, called comparable sales (or in real estate lingo, comps), sold for gives you the best idea of the current estimated value of your home. The trick is finding sales that closely match yours.

What makes a good comparable sale?

Your best comparable sale is the same model as your house in the same subdivision-and it closed escrow last week. If you can't find that, here are other factors that count:

Location: The closer to your house the better, but don't just use any comparable sale within a mile radius. A good comparable sale is a house in your neighborhood, your subdivision, on the same type of street as your house, and in your school district.

Home type: Try to find comparable sales that are like your home in style, construction material, square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, basement (having one and whether it's finished), finishes, and yard size.

Amenities and upgrades: Is the kitchen new? Does the comparable sale house have full A/C? Is there crown molding, a deck, or a pool? Does your community have the same amenities (pool, workout room, walking trails, etc.) and homeowners association fees?

Date of sale: You may want to use a comparable sale from two years ago when the market was high, but that won't fly. Most buyers use government-guaranteed mortgages, and those lending programs say comparable sales can be no older than 90 days.

Sales sweeteners: Did the comparable-sale sellers give the buyers downpayment assistance, closing costs, or a free television? You have to reduce the value of any comparable sale to account for any deal sweeteners.

Agents can help adjust price based on insider insights

Even if you live in a subdivision, your home will always be different from your neighbors'. Evaluating those differences-like the fact that your home has one more bedroom than the comparables or a basement office-is one of the ways real estate agents add value.

An active agent has been inside a lot of homes in your neighborhood and knows all sorts of details about comparable sales. She has read the comments the selling agent put into the MLS, seen the ugly wallpaper, and heard what other REALTORS®, lenders, closing agents, and appraisers said about the comparable sale.

More ways to pick a home listing price

If you're still having trouble picking out a listing price for your home, look at the current competition. Ask your real estate agent to be honest about your home and the other homes on the market (and then listen to her without taking the criticism personally).

Next, put your comparable sales into two piles: more expensive and less expensive. What makes your home more valuable than the cheaper comparable sales and less valuable than the pricier comparable sales?

Are foreclosures and short sales comparables?

If one or more of your comparable sales was a foreclosed home or a short sale (a home that sold for less money than the owners owed on the mortgage), ask your real estate agent how to treat those comps.

A foreclosed home is usually in poor condition because owners who can't pay their mortgage can't afford to pay for upkeep. Your home is in great shape, so the foreclosure should be priced lower than your home.

Short sales are typically in good condition, although they are still distressed sales. The owners usually have to sell because they're divorcing, or their employer is moving them to Kansas.

How much short sales are discounted from their market value varies among local markets. The average short-sale home in Omaha in recent years was discounted by 8.5%, according to a University of Nebraska at Omaha study. In suburban Washington, D.C., sellers typically discount short-sale homes by 3% to 5% to get them quickly sold, real estate agents report. In other markets, sellers price short sales the same as other homes in the neighborhood.

So you have to rely on your REALTOR's® knowledge of the local market to use a short sale as a comparable sale.

More from HouseLogic

What You Must Know About Home Appraisals (http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/articles/what-you-must-know-home-appraisals/)

6 Reasons to Reduce Your Home Price (http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/articles/6-Reasons-To-Reduce-Your-Home-Price/)

 Other web resources

New York State: "How Estimates of Market Value are Determined for Residential Properties" (http://www.orps.state.ny.us/pamphlet/mv_estimates.htm)

What's the Value of a View? Research from Texas Christian University (http://www.sbuweb.tcu.edu/mrodriguez/research/viewppr.pdf)

 Carl Vogel, a freelance writer and former editor of The Neighborhood Works magazine, lives in a home in Chicago that is not typical of those nearby, so he appreciates a savvy comp.

Article From BuyAndSell.HouseLogic.com

By: Carl Vogel
Published: August 05, 2010

Visit Houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Dos and Don'ts of Homebuyer Incentives

Homebuyer incentives can be smart marketing or a waste of money. Find out when and how to use them.

Be sure you're sending the right message to buyers when you throw in a homebuyer incentive to encourage them to purchase your home.

When you're selling your home, the idea of adding a sweetener to the transaction-whether it's a decorating allowance, a home warranty, or a big-screen TV-can be a smart use of marketing funds. To ensure it's not a big waste, follow these dos and don'ts:

Do use homebuyer incentives to set your home apart from close competition. If all the sale properties in your neighborhood have the same patio, furnishing yours with a luxury patio set and stainless steel BBQ that stay with the buyers will make your home stand out.

Do compensate for flaws with a homebuyer incentive. If your kitchen sports outdated floral wallpaper, a $3,000 decorating allowance may help buyers cope. If your furnace is aging, a home warranty may remove the buyers' concern that they'll have to pay thousands of dollars to replace it right after the closing.

Don't assume homebuyer incentives are legal. Your state may ban homebuyer incentives, or its laws may be maddeningly confusing about when the practice is legal and not. Check with your real estate agent and attorney before you offer a homebuyer incentive.

Don't think buyers won't see the motivation behind a homebuyer incentive. Offering a homebuyer incentive may make you seem desperate. That may lead suspicious buyers to wonder what hidden flaws exist in your home that would force you to throw a freebie at them to get it sold. It could also lead buyers to factor in your apparent anxiety and make a lowball offer.

Don't use a homebuyer incentive to mask a too-high price. A buyer may think your expensive homebuyer incentive-like a high-end TV or a luxury car-is a gimmick to avoid lowering your sale price. Many top real estate agents will tell you to list your home at a more competitive price instead of offering a homebuyer incentive. A property that's priced a hair below its true value will attract not only buyers but also buyers' agents, who'll be giddy to show their clients a home that's a good value and will sell quickly.

If you're convinced a homebuyer incentive will do the trick, choose one that adds value or neutralizes a flaw in your home. Addressing buyers' concerns about your home will always be more effective than offering buyers an expensive toy.

More from HouseLogic

Setting the right home price (http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/articles/6-Reasons-To-Reduce-Your-Home-Price/)

Using an appraisal to set your home price (http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/articles/what-you-must-know-home-appraisals/)

Choosing the right offer on your home (http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/articles/6-tips-choosing-best-offer-your-home/)

 Other web resources

More on homebuyer incentives (http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-29889.html)

 G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who gritted her teeth and chose a huge price decrease over an incentive to sell a languishing property-and is glad she did. A regular contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

Article From BuyAndSell.HouseLogic.com

By: G. M. Filisko
Published: September 01, 2010

Should You Move or Remodel?

When your house no longer suits you, you can move or remodel. Find out which big change is the right investment of your housing dollars.

Deciding whether you should move or remodel? The most important things you need to consider are the four things you can't change: your home's value compared to the rest of the neighborhood, how much you love your neighborhood, the size of your lot, and the cost to move your stuff to a new house.

Just about everything else-remodeling costs, the hassle of living in a construction zone, or the ability to live happily without one more bathroom--is a personal preference. After all, your home isn't just your largest investment; it's also the place where your family lives.

1. Will remodeling make your home better than everyone else's?

To make the right move-or-remodel decision, you have to know:

•Your home's value. Easy. Just ask a REALTOR® to estimate it and tell you how it compares with the value of the other homes in your immediate neighborhood. Ask her what she thinks your house will be worth after the improvements, too.

•Your neighbors' home value. Hit some open houses. Seeing the inside of area homes will inspire you; help you make good choices about finishes, room sizes, and how much to spend; and, admit it, entertain you.

•Your remodeling costs. Once you've got your renovation vision, get a quote from a home improvement contractor or, if you're remodeling it yourself, tally the costs of the items on your supplies shopping list.

Then add the remodeling costs to the value of your home. If the number you get is more than 10% above the average value of homes in your neighborhood, you're over-improving and probably won't be able to sell for what you put into the remodel.

Here's why: No one wants to buy the most expensive home on the block (your home) if they can spend the same money to get a similar home on a block of higher-priced homes. Would you pay $200,000 to live on a block where all the other homes are valued at $100,000? We hope not.

Make home improvements that are typical for the neighborhood. Don't put granite countertops in a trailer, and don't put laminate countertops in a Trump Tower condo. Your tour of open houses gives you a chance to verify that your planned remodel isn't an over- or under-improvement for the neighborhood.

2. Do you love where you live?

Want to keep your kids in the same school district, but can't find or afford a bigger, better house? Love the neighbors? Have an easy commute to work? Stay put. If you've soured on the traffic, the neighborhood's crime rate, or the nosy neighbors, move on.

3. Do you have room to expand?

If your remodeling plans include increasing the overall size of your home, the size of your lot may be the deciding factor in whether to move or remodel. If you live in a 1,500 sq. ft. ranch on a 3,000 sq. ft. lot, you might be able to add a second story to turn it into a 3,000 sq. ft. two-story, but you're not likely to add 1,500 sq. ft. at ground level. And if you have a septic tank and well, the location of those will limit how and where you add onto your home (or cost you a bundle to move).

4. Can you afford to move?

Consider these moving costs: sale costs for your existing home, shipping your household goods, buying window treatments and possibly furniture for the new house, costs to fix up your existing home before sale, higher utility costs (if your next house is bigger), insurance cost differences, and property taxes.

More from HouseLogic

Q&A: Author Sarah Susanka Talks Budget-Smart Remodeling (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/QA-author-sarah-susanka-talks-budget-smart-remodeling/)

Should You Move or Improve? (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/should-you-move-or-improve/)

 Other web resources

Find your local remodelers (http://www.nahb.org)

Average project cost (http://remodeling.hw.net)

 Dona DeZube, HouseLogic's news editor, moved across the same street twice when she remodeled two houses in Columbia, Maryland, before she moved to a house in Clarksville, Maryland. She remodeled that house and then moved back to the same street in Columbia. She despises moving, but her husband loves remodeling.

Article From BuyAndSell.HouseLogic.com

By: Dona DeZube
Published: August 24, 2010

Visit Houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Pet Odor Can Chase Away Buyers

Don't let pet odors derail your home sale.

Having pet odors inside your home can turn off potential home buyers and keep your home from selling. Ask your real estate agent for an honest opinion about whether your home has a pet smell.

If your agent holds her nose, here's how to get rid of the smell:

Air your house out. While you're cleaning, throw open all the windows in your home to allow fresh air to circulate and sweep out unpleasant scents.

Once your house is free of pet odors, do what you can to keep the smells from returning. Crate your dog when you're out or keep it outdoors. Limit the cat to one floor or room, if possible. Remove or replace pet bedding.

Scrub thoroughly. Scrub bare floors and walls soiled by pets with vinegar, wood floor cleaner, or an odor-neutralizing product, which you can purchase at a pet supply store for $10 to $25.

Try a 1:9 bleach-to-water solution on surfaces it won't damage, like cement floors or walls.

Got a stubborn pet odors covering a large area? You may have to spend several hundred dollars to hire a service that specializes in hard-to-clean stains.

Wash your drapes and upholstery. Pet odors seep into fabrics. Launder, steam clean, or dry clean all your fabric window coverings. Steam clean upholstered furniture.

Either buy a steam cleaner designed to remove pet hair for around $200 and do the job yourself, or pay a pro. You'll spend about $40 for an upholstered chair, $100 for a sofa, and $7 for each dining room chair if a pro does your cleaning.

Clean your carpets. Shampoo your carpets and rugs, or have professionals do the job for $25 to $50 per room, depending on their size and the level of filth embedded in them. The cleaner will try to sell you deodorizing treatments. You'll know if you need to spend the extra money on those after the carpet dries and you have a friend perform a sniff test.

If deodorizing doesn't remove the pet odor from your home, the carpets and padding will have to go. Once you tear them out, scrub the subfloor with vinegar or an odor-removing product, and install new padding and carpeting. Unless the smell is in the subfloor, in which case that goes next.

Paint, replace, or seal walls. When heavy-duty cleaners haven't eradicated smells in drywall, plaster, or woodwork, add a fresh coat of paint or stain, or replace the drywall or wood altogether.

On brick and cement, apply a sealant appropriate for the surface for $25 to $100. That may smother and seal in the odor, keeping it from reemerging.

Place potpourri or scented candles in strategic locations. Put a bow on your deep clean with potpourri and scented candles. Don't go overboard and turn off buyers sensitive to perfumes. Simply place a bowl of mild potpourri in your foyer to create a warm first impression, and add other mild scents to the kitchen and bathrooms.

Control ongoing urine smells. If your dog uses indoor pee pads, put down a new pad each time the dog goes. Throw them away outside in a trash can with a tight lid. Remove even clean pads from view before each showing.

Replace kitty litter daily, rather than scooping used litter clumps, and sweep up around the litter box. Hide the litter box before each showing.

Relocate pets. If your dog or cat has a best friend it can stay with while you're selling your home (and you can stand to be separated from your pet), consider sending your pet on a temporary vacation. If pets have to stay, remove them from the house for showings and put away their dishes, towels, and toys.

More from HouseLogic

Preparing your home for sale (http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/articles/5-tips-prepare-your-home-sale/)

Staging your home for sale (http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/articles/7-tips-staging-your-home/)

Spring cleaning guide (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/spring-cleaning-guide/)

 Other web resources

More tips on eliminating odors (http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/removing_pet)

 G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer whose former mutt Marley no doubt created a wet-dog aroma in her condo that still remains. A regular contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

Article From BuyAndSell.HouseLogic.com

By: G. M. Filisko
Published: October 15, 2010

Visit Houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Cost vs Value

Job Cost	Resale Value	Cost Recouped
Minor Kitchen Remodel Replace cabinet doors, oven and cook top, laminate counter tops, sink, faucet and floor, repaint.	$8,568	$8,355	98%
Major Kitchen Remodel Redesign kitchen, replacing all of the above, plus built in microwave, custom lighting, island.	$30,779	$37,432	122%
Bathroom Remodel Update existing bath with new tub, toilet, vanity, medicine cabinet, lighting, tile.	$9,044	$10,082	111%
Bathroom Addition Add a second bath to a house with 1 or 1.5 baths.	$13,779	$16,820	122%
Master Suite In a house with 2-3 bedrooms, add a 24-foot by 16-foot master suite with walk-in closet, whirlpool tub, separate shower.	$42,398	$41,788	99%
Two-Story Addition First-floor family room and second floor bedroom with full bath.	$72,817	$67,655	93%
Attic Bedroom In a 2-3 bedroom house, convert unfinished attic space with bedroom and shower/bath.	$26,734	$31,440	118%
Family Room Addition Add a 16- by 25-foot room with skylights, hardwood tongue-and-groove floor.	$30,650	$32,132	105%
Deck Addition 16'x20' deck of pressure-treated pine including built-in-bench, railings and planter.	$7,942	$6,595	83%
Replace Siding 1,250 square feet of new vinyl or aluminum siding and trim.	$5,099	$1,717	30%
Home Office Convert existing room into office with custom cabinetry and rewiring for electronic equipment	$8,272	$5,597	68%
Replace Windows 10 new 3'x5' aluminum-clad windows with trim.	$7,456	$7,139	96%

Source: Remodeling magazine,  Cost vs. Value