The Batsalkin Group | Real Estate Experts

Top 3 Home Selling Pitfalls That Could Cost You Tens of Thousands!

Danny Batsalkin — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:15:53 +0000

Your home is likely your largest asset and the goal when selling your home should be to sell it for top market price, in the shortest amount of time, while minimizing complications!

To achieve this goal, you must make sure not to commit one of the top 3 pitfalls that I see homeowners make, which could cost you tens of thousands of dollars in the sale of your home, not to mention frustration, delay and complications in the sale.

Top 3 Pitfalls that could cost you tens of thousands when selling your home:

1. Not Preparing Your Home For Sale Properly!

Often times I will see people decide to sell their home and proceed to simply “list” their home for sale with a real estate agent, without any preparation at all. The home gets put on the MLS, a sign goes in the front yard, and potential buyers start to come and see the house.

This is a huge mistake.

One of the most important time periods when selling your home, and the most overlooked, is the preparation phase before the property goes on the market. Just like when selling any product, and especially something as valuable as your home, it must be presented properly to obtain top market price.

In most cases, the condition of a home and the way it looks for sale is vastly different than the condition of a home for normal, every day living. Yet, most people don’t take the time and do the necessary steps before listing their property to present it in the best light to potential buyers.

Think about it. Have you ever sold a car? If you have, you probably cleaned out all the trash, got the car washed or detailed, repaired any dents and dings, and got it “ready” for sale. And that’s for an item worth a fraction of the value of your home.

What should a home look like when it is being presented for sale?

If you’ve ever gone to a new home development and seen their “model” homes, you have seen what a home should look like when it is being sold. While builders spend tons of money achieving that look, you can actually accomplish something similar for much less. The most common things that always need to be done are de-cluttering, a thorough cleaning, some landscaping maintenance, making sure there is sufficient and proper lighting, moving (and sometimes removing) furniture so that the space appears larger and flows better, and then de-cluttering again.

A professional real estate agent should guide you in this process and give you a list of everything that needs to be done to maximize value. For example, for every property that we sell, we conduct a “pre-listing evaluation,” which includes a detailed checklist of things that need to be done to prepare the home for sale. We will also usually bring in our preferred staging company for a complimentary professional consultation.

2. Not Having Your Home Marketed Correctly!

Selling a home for top market price is all about proper marketing.

Many people have the misconception that a home simply needs to be listed in the local multiple listing service to get sold. However, the fact is that only about 50% of all homes in the MLS actually sell. Long gone are the days when a for sale sign in the front yard and an MLS listing gets multiple offers in three days!

The most common mistakes I see in marketing are taking low quality or otherwise bad photos and not following an aggressive, defined marketing plan.

While your camera phone may be good for Facebook photos, it is insufficient for selling an item worth hundreds of thousands, or millions of dollars. Remember, over 92% of buyers now start their property search online. Before they decide to come and actually see your home in person, they have to know about your home and fall in love with your home online. Hiring a professional photographer or making sure that your real estate agent has professional photo gear is a must, not an option.

Of course, the best photos won’t do you any good if no one knows about them. To get a home sold in today’s market, and sold for top market price, an aggressive, strategic and effective marketing campaign must be executed. Just like with any product, the more exposure and demand that can be created, the better chance there is of selling quickly and for top market price!

For example, when we sell a home, we follow a defined 89-Step Marketing Plan that includes online and offline marketing and advertising, and also proactive methods of marketing such as telephone prospecting, e-mail exposure to a database of over 3,500 buyers, sellers and contacts, neighborhood canvassing and much more. It is these types of aggressive techniques that are required in today’s market to get top market price for real estate.

3. Overpricing!

OK, so you’ve prepared your home for sale by removing all the clutter and extra furniture pieces, cleaning and putting in some great landscaping in the front yard, and you’ve hired an awesome real estate agent that uses an effective marketing campaign.

However, your plans of selling your home quickly and for top market price can evaporate very quickly if you overprice your home!

Here’s why. The more exposure you can get for a product (assuming the correct price), the higher the demand and the higher the likelihood of selling for top market price.

When a home is overpriced, the fact is that less people come to see it. Consequently, demand is lower and it is more difficult to achieve top market price.

Have you ever heard of eBay? If you have ever bought or sold anything through eBay or another auction, you’ve probably seen how an auction that starts at a low price and gets multiple bidders usually results in the item selling at or above the market price. This is because the attractive initial price creates a lot of demand and emotion.

Remember, the purchase of a home is often times an emotional decision as well as a financial one.

The dangers of overpricing don’t end there. When searching online, most buyers (and real estate agents) will do a search, and then sort the list of results from the lowest to the highest price. Average buyers look at about 5 homes before making a decision to purchase. If your home is overpriced, buyers will not even look at it because it will be way down on the sorted list of homes matching their criteria.

If your potential buyer never sees your home, he or she can’t buy it.

“But Danny, shouldn’t we list it higher to leave some room for negotiation?” I’ve had quite a few clients ask me that question. The answer is that you are of course free to do that, if you don’t care about selling it quickly and for top market price. Remember, when you’re selling your home, you are not under any obligation to accept an offer that you don’t like. By pricing your home aggressively, you can attract multiple buyers and offers and have the ability to choose the best offer. Alternatively, by overpricing, you will either be left chasing the market down or accepting the only offer you get.

There you have it. If you want to sell your home quickly and for top market price, avoid these 3 common pitfalls that could cost you tens of thousands of dollars when selling your home!

If you have any questions about these 3 pitfalls, or what we do to sell property for our clients quickly and for top market price, please give me a call.

For a confidential and complimentary VIP home evaluation, please call me at 310-623-8711 or e-mail me.

Best Los Angeles Home Search is now Mobile!

Danny Batsalkin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:00:46 +0000

Our award winning Los Angeles home search site, www.BestLosAngelesHomeSearch.com, is now mobile!

The new mobile site gives you the ability to search for homes with ease while you’re on the go.

The site is packed with features, including:

The ability to view all nearby properties according to your current location!
Obtain driving directions to those properties using the map functionality on your phone!
View and save favorites!
Request a showing!
… And More!

Of course, the mobile site has many of the great features of the full site, such as full details pages for each listing, easy to navigate photos, and the ability to save favorite properties and request showings.

Start searching for properties now!

We hope you enjoy the mobile site!

Extraordinary Gated Tarzana Estate for Sale!

Danny Batsalkin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:06:21 +0000

Extraordinary Gated Tennis Court Estate situated on half an acre south of Ventura Boulevard!

Dramatic vaulted entry with imported limestone floors and skylights. Updated, exquisite kitchen features custom ceilings, granite and massive island. Expansive floorplan ideal for entertaining. First floor features tranquil master bedroom with high ceilings, patio, three additional bedrooms and office/bonus room. Upstairs is a spacious bonus room / den, bedroom and bathroom. The property has a full size tennis court, pool and spa, entertainer’s area and grassy yard. The main house is close to 6,000 sq. ft. and there is also a guest house with 2 bedrooms, large living room and bathroom. Truly a must see!

Check out the FULL DETAILS and VIEW ALL PHOTOS!

Spacious Light and Bright West Hollywood Condo for Sale!

Danny Batsalkin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:56:43 +0000

Spacious, light and bright, West Hollywood Condo for Sale!

Updated 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo in fantastic location! Stellar property features open kitchen with granite, wood flooring, recessed lighting and large balcony overlooking pool, with gorgeous views of the hills. Laundry inside unit. Master suite has spacious built-in closets, marble counters and dual master bath sinks. Beautifully maintained and secure architectural building designed by architect Kenneth Dillion, AIA 1973, features pool, spa and sauna. Prime location close to Melrose, shops and dining. *Short pay subject to lender approval.

Check out the FULL DETAILS and VIEW ALL PHOTOS!

Charming Beverly Hills Home for Sale in Fantastic Location!

Danny Batsalkin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:39:48 +0000

Charming Beverly Hills home in fantastic North of Wilshire location!

Inviting French towered entry leads to open floor plan living room with hardwood floors, fireplace, high ceilings and beautiful archways. Stunning, remodeled chef’s kitchen features dark granite, custom cabinetry and professional grade stainless steel appliances. Beautifully landscaped grassy yard with fruit trees and lighting, and outdoor entertaining patio. Garage legally converted to 380 square foot office w/ HVAC (not included in square footage). All systems recently updated. Plans available for master bathroom remodel.

Check out FULL DETAILS and VIEW ALL PHOTOS!

6 Steps to Making Your New Year’s Resolutions a Reality!

Danny Batsalkin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:39:25 +0000

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Wondering how to actually make your New Year’s Resolutions a reality in 2012?

Most people make new year’s resolutions every year but hardly anyone actually follows through on them. The fact is that it’s not their fault. The reason that most people don’t achieve their new year’s resolutions is mainly because they are not structuring their “goals” correctly.

Here is an easy to follow 6-Step Plan to ensure that you achieve your goals in 2012 … and don’t just dream about them.

1. You must make a decision to achieve your goals.

Sounds simple enough, right? Skip this step, though, and you’re doomed before you begin. A major part of achieving your goals in 2012 begins (and really, ends) inside of your mind.

Napoleon Hill, author of such books as Think and Grow Rich, said that “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” To me, the most important word in this quote is believe. Conceiving ideas, dreams and goals is only the starting point. You must truly believe that you can achieve them.

In order to achieve your goals in 2012, then, you must make the decision that you are going to achieve your goals in 2012. This is the most important part of your success in any endeavor.

Whatever your goals for 2012, decide right now that you are going to achieve them. Decide right now that you are going to take the actions necessary to achieve them. Decide right now that you will not let anything stand in the way of achieving them.

2. Your goals must be specific, measurable and have a deadline date.

The #1 reason that New Year’s Resolutions aren’t achieved is because they are way too vague. ”I want to lose weight this year,” “I need to pay off some debt,” and “I will play better golf this year,” are some common goals, yet these are way too vague and have a very low probability of success. With goals like these, how will you ever know if you achieved them?

Compare those to “I will lose 15 pounds by April 1, 2012,” “I will pay off $3,000 of my unsecured credit card debt by March 31, 2012” and “My golf handicap will be 9.9 by August 1, 2012.” You should be as specific as possible (down to the color, style and options in the car you want, or the exact hotel you will stay in on your vacation, etc.) with your goals, make your goals measurable and always have a date attached to your goals. That way, when the date comes, you will either have achieved your goals or you won’t. Either way, you can track your progress and your results because your goals are measurable.

If the deadline date on your goal is further than a month out, I also recommend that you break it down into bite-sized chunks and shorter term goals. For example, sticking to the weight loss example above, in addition to the “15 pounds by April 1, 2012,” you should also have monthly targets. For example, “I will lose 5 pounds by February 1, 2012, another 5 pounds by March 1, 2012, and the final 5 pounds by April 1, 2012.” This gives you shorter term targets to aim for and hit.

3. Stop thinking small and really GO FOR IT!

The human mind is an amazing problem solving organism. Give it a problem and it will find a solution. Believe it or not, most people’s goals typically just aren’t “big” enough. For 2012, set up some really awesome goals! Challenge yourself and you will be surprised at how much you can achieve!

Don’t let your conscious, limiting factors stop you from setting up some great goals for the year. Have you ever wanted to take a month off to travel? Double your salary? Go skydiving? Don’t limit yourself in your goal setting. You can really accomplish anything that you desire.

Having trouble coming up with some good goals for 2012? Try this exercise … take out a sheet of paper and make 3 columns: Things I Want to Do, Things I Want to Buy and Places I Want to Go. Then, brainstorm for 5 or 10 minutes and fill up the columns. Just write whatever comes to mind. When you’re done writing, circle the things in each column that you want to do in 2012. That’s it! You’ve set up your goals for 2012.

4. Write your goals down as if you have already achieved them, and read them daily!

Goals that aren’t written down are just dreams, desires and wishes. Do this exercise now … take out a sheet of paper and write down your goals in the present tense as if you have already achieved them on your deadline date.

For example, “I feel great at X weight on July 1, 2012” or “I am so excited that I have paid off all of my unsecured credit card debt on December 31, 2012.”

Your goals must be written down and you should put them somewhere where you can see them all the time. Your goals aren’t going to do you any good if you write them down and then put them in a file cabinet and don’t look at them for a year.

Print out a bunch of copies of your goals, laminate them, put them everywhere, put a copy in your pocket, in your bedroom, in your office … wherever you are going to see them.

Now, read your goals at least twice daily. When you read them, really visualize and “feel” yourself having already achieved the goals. If you need to, close your eyes and touch, smell and feel yourself having achieved your goals. What will you feel like when you achieve your goals? What will your life be like? The more emotion you can bring into it, the better.

5. Share your goals for success!

One of the main reasons that people don’t achieve their goals is that they have no accountability. When we were in school, our teachers and parents (and to some extent, our peers) served as our accountability partners. When I was growing up, if I didn’t get an A in school, I got punished and stuff got taken away. Since I didn’t like my stuff getting taken away, I tried to get A’s in every class.

If you really want to achieve your goals in 2012, you must set up some accountability with someone that you trust. Tell your girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse, co-workers, friends and family about your goals and ask them to keep you accountable. If you can, find someone else that has goals to achieve in 2012 and agree to be accountability partners. Talk to each other daily or weekly to see how you are each doing.

Better yet, hire a coach to be your accountability partner. I read the other day that PGA Tour players have multiple coaches (swing, mental, short game, etc.) to hold them accountable for each area that they have set goals in. This is why people usually work out harder when they hire a trainer. If you can afford it, hire someone to keep you accountable to your goals in 2012.

Can’t find anyone to be your accountability partner? I’ll do it! Call me, share your goals and I’ll hold you accountable.

6. Create a game plan and execute on it every day!

OK … here’s where the rubber meets the road. Unfortunately, your goals aren’t going to achieve themselves. Steps 1 – 5 above are great, but without a plan in place, and without daily execution, nothing is going to happen.

If you watch Kobe Bryant (for those of you that don’t know, Kobe is a star player on the Los Angeles Lakers) in his post-game interviews when the Lakers win, he essentially says that they “executed their game plan well.” If you watch when the team loses, he says that “they did not execute their game plan well.”

The first step for you is creating a game plan to achieve your goals. Whatever each one of your goals is, you can break it down into bite sized chunks that you can execute on every day.

For example, let’s say your goal is to write a book in 2012, your game plan would probably include researching the topic, writing X number of pages daily, editing the book, finding a publisher or self-publishing it, promoting it, etc. You can then set up deadline dates for each step of the game plan.

The second step, and a critical one, is for you to execute on the game plan every single day. Execution is so important that we’ve made it our business motto for 2012. Print out your game plan for each goal and then execute daily.

Since your game plan and goals are all specific, measurable and have dates attached, you can then see, on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, whether you executed on your game plan.

There you have it … in 2012, instead of just having some New Year’s Resolutions and not following through on them, follow the 6-Step Plan above, set up some goals and make them a reality this year!

Los Angeles Luxury Real Estate and Homes For Sale – Beverly Hills

Danny Batsalkin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:31:48 +0000

This week’s Luxury Real Estate roundup focuses on the one and only Beverly Hills, California!

Perhaps the most famous city in Los Angeles and maybe the country, Beverly Hills is associated with celebrities, the rich and famous, and of course, luxury real estate and homes for sale!

There are currently 187 homes for sale in Beverly Hills, CA, with an average list price of $5,583,839 and an average price per square foot of $905.

The most expensive home currently listed in Beverly Hills, CA is this 36,000 square foot estate priced at $55,000,000, that can be seen as you drive down Sunset Boulevard.

We offer a fantastic, comprehensive Beverly Hills Real Estate Guide that includes current market statistics as well as information on all properties listed in Beverly Hills, foreclosure listings in Beverly Hills, short sale listings in Beverly Hills, just listed/new listings in Beverly Hills, price reductions in Beverly Hills, land in Beverly Hills, condos in Beverly Hills, and villas and townhomes in Beverly Hills.

5 Things You Can Do With Your Extra Hour on Sunday!

Danny Batsalkin — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:59:31 +0000

Yeah, yeah, you’ve probably already gotten 10 e-mails today reminding you that daylight savings time ends this weekend and you should turn your clocks back on Saturday night.

But did you realize that by turning your clocks back you are getting an extra hour on Sunday?

Here are 5 things you can do with that extra hour:

1. Read a motivational or inspirational book! What a great way to spend your extra hour on Sunday morning! Let’s face it – around this time of year, many people just pack it in and wait until January 1st to get started on their goals and New Year’s Resolutions. Why not get a jump start and get going on achieving your goals today! Here are two of my favorites: The Success Principles by Jack Canfield, and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

2. Get out and exercise! Whether you hit the gym, jump on the treadmill at home, dust off your P90X CD’s and pop one in, or just get outside for a walk, using your extra hour on Sunday morning for some exercise is a surefire way to get your week off to a great start. Check out this chart of how many calories you can burn in an hour with various activities!

3. Catch up on Sleep! Been burning the candle on both ends to achieve all of your 2011 goals? Or maybe the kids have just been keeping you up. Regardless of the reason, sleep deprivation can can cause fatigue, loss of brain function, and weight loss or weight gain. If you need to catch up, don’t feel guilty … just go ahead and sleep in on Sunday morning!

4. Have a Super One Hour! The Super One Hour is a combination of many things, but it’s interesting to see just how much you can accomplish in just one hour of time! In this case, it’s an hour that you got as a bonus.

5. Get Ready for your Fantasy Football matchups on Sunday! With about half of the NFL season gone, things in most fantasy football leagues are starting to take shape. An extra hour of preparation on Sunday morning may equal a big win for your team! If you’re up at the top of the standings, it’s time to start thinking about bolstering your team for a run at the championship. If you’re in the middle of the pack, you may just be one trade or waiver wire pickup away from a climb up the standings. And if you’re at the bottom of the pack, don’t throw in the towel! Keep scouring the waiver wire and look for some players that you can acquire in a trade that have under performed and may have a strong second half.

OK, and if all else fails, and you’re just dying to look at some homes online, jump on our website – Los Angeles’ Ultimate Property Search – and check out all the great deals to be had right now!

What are you going to do with your extra hour?

Exclusive Off-Market REO Program

Danny Batsalkin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:48:34 +0000

The Batsalkin Group is pleased to offer its clients an exclusive off-market bank owned (REO) properties program.

The Batsalkin Group has access to off market REO properties that typically sell for substantially below market value.

These are generally unlisted properties and are not available to the general public. Properties may be purchased individually or in bulk.

For more information on this exclusive program and to see if you qualify, please call Danny at 310-623-8711 or e-mail us.

Warm Traditional Home for Rent in Reseda

Danny Batsalkin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:38:53 +0000

Spacious, light and bright and recently painted and refreshed four bedroom home for lease in nice central Reseda, CA location. Hardwood floors, galley kitchen, central air and heat, large backyard with Hot Tub, bonus room in back, 2 car garage. Washer and dryer included, tenant to supply refrigerator. Available immediately – Move in ready!

19108 Hartland Street, Reseda, CA 91335

Offered at $2,300 per month

For full details and all photos, please click here.