House Selling Tips - SC Home Buyers: Although it might be very tempting to do so, don’t declutter your house before you put it up for sale and send your unused and excess items to the garage. The reason? It’s simple. Buyers will look in the garage and will be most impressed if it appears to be spacious and neatly kept.

Don’t Store Your Clutter in the Garage

Where buyers are looking for a garage in which to keep their vehicles, they also want to think that they can effectively have a workshop in there, as well as some storage space. Just as it is inside the house, the less clutter that’s found in the garage, the roomier it will seem. To make it look as big as possible, have the least amount of stuff in it as possible.

If you must store your items somewhere to get them out of the way until you sell that house and move, consider asking a close friend or relative if you can use a corner of their barn, or perhaps an unused crawl space or attic. If this is not possible or you don’t wish to burden your acquaintances with your stuff, a self storage unit might be the perfect solution. You won’t be bothering anyone by storing your items there and the cost of most is very reasonable. Sign a short term contract with the storage facility in case you sell quickly. You can always extend it if necessary.

Remove the Oil Spots

Where there are oil spots on the floor, you can wipe up the excess. Then pour paint thinner over the spot, being careful to fully ventilate the area, of course. Pour something absorbent over the paint thinner and let it absorb the oil over night. Absorbent materials include clay kitty litter, corn meal, sawdust, or sand. Using a push broom or other stiff bristled broom, simply sweep up the material, and then use bleach or dry dishwasher powder to scrub the area clean.

Treat the Garage as Part of the House

The chances are, your garage may hold lots of things that you no longer want or need. That’s usually the last place in the house that gets cleared out or reorganized. It’s also the most common place in which to stash those things you don’t want in the house anymore. It’s a good idea to go through the garage just the same way you will go through the house, tossing what you consider trash, finding things to sell or giving away, and then organizing the tools and things you do need.

Summervile South Carolina House Buyers: When planning to sell your house, you will need to look at it objectively as though it isn’t yours at all. Those little quirks that you live with daily may not be OK with your potential buyers. Any smells that you are used to living with, dirty doorknobs, stacks of books and papers, a litter box in the bathroom, or any number of other personal flaws within the house should be eliminated before you even list it. Don’t risk bringing anyone in to view your house before it is sparkling clean and ready to show. If you show too soon the word could get around and you could lose interest from other prospective buyers.

What do we mean by finding flaws and eliminating them? Start at the curb and take a look at your house as though you never saw it before. Make a list of things that you would like to see cleared up or cleaned up. Sidewalks should be clean and so should the steps and entrance to the house. The lawn and yard must be mowed and picked up. No toys or dog droppings should be visible. Paint your trim and plant some flowers, preferably yellow, to brighten it up. Make the address clearly visible and clean around the mailbox if you have one.

Now step inside and do the same. The first step through the door will be the first impression of the inside of the house. Remove some of the furniture that makes it look crowded. It’s cozy and functional for you, perhaps, but might look small and cramped to a potential buyer. Do the same with your closets and all of the rooms in the house. Arrange the furniture to be attractive.

The smaller details should be taken care of. Got a set of curtains that are slightly crooked hanging? Fix them. Replace the curtains or clean them if necessary. Clean everywhere and everything. This will be easier once you have removed the clutter and excess furnishings.

Remove those items and circumstances that might offend some or put them off. Strong odors of any kind are a definite problem. That wonderful garlic chicken you made last night was absolutely delicious but has now left the garlic odor in the house. Use fans and odor neutralizer to get rid of it before you show the house. Finally, get a friend to come over when you are finished and do a walk through with you for a more objective opinion.

Selling Ugly Houses – Charleston South Carolina: There is no point in being concerned about the condition of your property if you want to sell it for cash to a real estate investor. They don’t worry about small details like a leaking roof or an outdated heating and cooling system that needs to be replaced. They don’t care if you have 10 years’ accumulation of random junk in your storage shed behind the house. It will be cleared out and removed from the property. The repainting of the exterior will be in their hands as they buy the most awful looking houses on the market with regularity.

Take a look at the real estate investment advertisements for the area. You’ll hear them claim that they will buy ‘ugly houses.’ You will see the advertisements inviting you to call no matter what the condition of your house so they can give you an offer. You might like the offer, or you may not. In any case, it costs nothing to approach them and ask.

The discounted rate at which they purchase these types of property allows them to do the work to fix them up, and then sell them for a profit or they often will prepare them to accept renters. That way they still own the property but the tenants help to pay off the mortgage. It’s a tricky time to sell houses so many investors are choosing to buy and hold the property while renting it out, knowing that the market will certainly improve someday at which time they can sell for a profit.

Their whole reason for buying houses is to make a profit. Renting gives them a monthly cash flow, while fixing and flipping, or re-selling, is another common way that they make profit in real estate sales. You can call if you know you’ll be selling your house soon, or if you already have it on the market. It can take a year or even longer to sell these days, so if you don’t have the time to wait or you just want to avoid the hassles that come with selling a house, go ahead and ask for someone to give you an offer.

It will be lower than the current market value of course, as they must factor in the cost of repairs and sometimes remodeling before they can resell it or rent it out. It can be a great deal for you when you factor in the same costs to you for marketing and repairs before selling.

There are three common reasons that a house sits on the market for month after month until a year goes by with no action to speak of. Then another year goes by and the house is still listed. This sounds like a long time, but it’s not unheard of in today’s tough market. The buyers out there have many homes to choose from so they can be very picky about what they want. Make sure your house offers the best they can find in your neighborhood and at a great price if you want your house to sell.

House Selling Tips – Charleston South Carolina

1) The first reason your house might be slow to move is that the price is all wrong. Homeowners that love their houses and are reluctant to sell, though they have to for one reason or another, tend to overprice their property. The best price might be slightly below current market value. Find the comparable prices from other houses in the area that have sold recently and that are for sale today. Dip your price just below that so buyers can see what a bargain your house is.

2) The second reason could be that the house is not kept up and appears to have been neglected. Go through the house and take note of the things that are not working correctly. Fix those things, clean the house up as best you can and keep it clean. That way when someone calls to come and see the house you can do a quick run through to check each room for stray items and it will be ready to show in just a few minutes. Putting a buyer off until tomorrow when the time is better for you might just cause you to lose the sale. Be as ready as possible to show the house right away. Clothing and toys must be picked up; no dishes in the sink and on the table and counters, and the beds should be made. It makes a difference so it will be worth the effort.

3) The third reason might be that the marketing of the house is not working and needs to be altered. Bad, blurry pictures with messy rooms are found all over the internet in listings, but you must make sure that your photos are clear if you want to sell the house. Clear pictures of the best features in the house along with a nicely written description are a must.

House Listing Tips – Johns Island House Buyers: The way you write your listing description will be very important in the image the potential buyers get right off the bat. When you list your house online you’ll most likely be placing it on one of the FSBO, For Sale By Owner, sites that will require you to write your own listing and provide your own photos and video tours of the property.

As you know, the way a product is sold to consumers has as much to do with the way the product is presented as it does with the product or quality of the product itself. That’s why some people refer to certain salesmen as being able to sell ‘ice cubes to Eskimos.’ It’s all in the presentation of what you are selling. In a real estate listing, that would mean you need to write some killer ad copy to describe the house. Don’t let that intimidate you. With a little creative thought and perhaps the help of a few friends you can get it done.

First, go to the internet and look at some of the listing that are available. What you might notice more than anything is the lack of creativity and boring descriptions of the houses. You’ll see words misspelled, incorrect grammar, punctuation, and generally poor writing. Unfortunately, some of these listings have been written by real estate professionals that for some reason can’t see what their listings look like. If you aren’t good with writing get a friend or family member to help you with this.

What you’ll want to do is to make a brief list of the basic features of the house that need to be in the listing no matter what else you put in there. Then start listing the additional awesome things that you want to point out to viewers. When you have this list in place, you’ve got your basic outline.

Next, expand on each piece of information until you have whole descriptive sentences that you can use. For example, where there is a window seat in the landing you can describe it as a ‘custom built-in window seat that gazes out over the rose garden and tree tops’ to elicit a much better picture in the reader’s imagination. Descriptive writing is how advertisers sell us everything and we are bombarded by it constantly. They know it works. Adopt their ideas into your house description and it could help you to make the sale.

Tips to House Selling – Charleston House Buyers: No matter what type of house you have for sale, there are things that you must do if you want to be competitive in today’s market. All house sales have common issues that can increase the challenge but if you know what these issues are before you get started, you will have a better chance of selling the house.

The preparation of any house is essential to the success of your sale. Since you will be selling the house to someone who will be most likely planning to live there, they will be most impressed with a house that is what is referred to in real estate terms as ‘turn key.’ That means the buyer will believe that he or she can move right in immediately after purchase and be comfortable living there.

The pricing of the house is critical in a tough market, as there is so much competition out there. Your ideal price should be just short of the current market value so any buyer gets the idea that your house is a good deal. Along the same lines, the timing of your sale is important, too. Put the house on the market when homes of your type are selling. If you can wait for the right time, you will have an advantage.

Know what it will cost you to sell your house.  It won’t do for you to sell the house and then be short the day of closing. If you will be receiving just enough for the house to get the mortgage paid off, you might have additional closing costs to pay for before everyone signs the contract.

Have resources available to help you where necessary. Make a list of good attorneys that specialize in real estate law, home inspectors, termite and pest inspectors, appraisers independent of the county or the mortgage lender, and you might need to know some good contractors or handymen to help you get the house fixed up.

You can find yourself in negotiations when you have a potential buyer. Get your priorities in order so you will know where you can be flexible about what your buyers may want. If they would like to receive a $5000 credit so they can replace the septic system you must know whether or not you can afford to do that.

House Selling Strategies - North Charleston House Buyers: Selling a house isn’t exactly like it used to be. While it is more difficult than in the past due to the larger number of homes available for low prices, there are far more creative and simple ways in which to do the marketing of the house to potential buyers.

Home desktop publishing programs for the average computer user allow for the creation of some wonderful and catchy brochures. These, or fliers and post cards, can be easily made with templates on which you simply fill in your specific information. Add a few great photo shots to the flier and you have a very good marketing tool. If someone picks up a brochure about your house, that piece of information can travel through several hands before landing in the sights of an interested buyer.

There are many new ways to advertise your house for sale.

An open house is not necessarily a brand new concept, but the way in which you market it and invite people is definitely a new process. Use your social media contacts and create a separate social media page just for your house for sale. On this page you can add almost unlimited numbers of photos. With today’s digital cameras there will be plenty of opportunity for good quality and specific pictures.

One couple sold their house by doing a virtual tour using a digital camera. They pulled up in the drive and began shooting photos in order all around the outside of the property. The viewers could see what the view looked like as well, and got a good idea of what the neighborhood flavor was. Then they took it inside and did the same room by room. These photos were placed on a social network page set up for the house.

Another modern tool that you can use is the blog. Along with the social media pages, the blog can also contain photos, anecdotes about the family of wild rabbits that took up residence in the garden, and the block party thrown last summer by thoughtful and friendly neighbors. The blog can also give specific information about the house that would otherwise be overlooked in a brief spec sheet on a typical listing.

Make use of the availability of readymade signs that can now be purchased for a low cost. A banner stretched across the garage on the street advertising your house for sale and the price will certainly draw attention.

House Selling Tips – Charleston House Buyers: Book after book has been written by those who succeed at this or that. Almost always, part of the great success story involves a plan of some sort that is created, and then skillfully carried out with diligence and commitment to excellence. What’s this got to do with selling my house, you ask?

In your plan you’ll want to include anything that you feel must be done
to make the house more attractive.

Doing anything at all will see a more positive outcome when you go at it with not only gusto, but a plan or at least some sort of organized way to keep track of what you must do, what you’ve already done, and what the goals are. This is an excellent way to look at the sale of a house. It’s a huge undertaking and will have many tasks attached to the end result. Before you can get the sale finalized and closed, lots of things must be done by you, the inspectors, the mortgage company, the buyers, and anyone else who is part of the process. If it’s your house, you are the one most likely to be the developer and the keeper of the grand plan.

In your plan you’ll want to include anything that you feel must be done to make the house more attractive. That will include a task list of repairs, replacements, painting, flooring, and general cleaning up of each room. Don’t forget the outdoors portion as that’s important for your curb appeal. Those items can be checked off as they are finished. This will more easily allow you to delegate others to join in and give you a hand where you need it. If a brother-in-law wants to help, give him the list of fixtures that need changing in the baths and kitchen, for example.

The accurate pricing of the house and all of the pertinent details must be held within the plan. List comps in your area from which you created the perfect asking price. Keep all documents and information so you can use them to show a potential buyer how you arrived at your conclusions. Some buyers love to ‘kick the tires’ and will appreciate well organized documentation.

The plan will then need to incorporate the ways in which you plan to market the house. List all tasks necessary to accomplish this largest of projects and include a good timeline by which you’ll plan to achieve your goal. List all necessary legal and contractual paperwork you’ll need in your area to close the sale. The more organized you are with a solid step by step plan to sell the house, the less stressful it will be.

South Carolina House Buyers - We Buy Houses Charleston AFB: Placing an ad for your house could be as simple as listing the price, how many beds and baths, and your contact information along with a picture of the front of the house. This is not an ad that will grab attention from buyers. It doesn’t matter where you are listing the house, you will still want to make sure that it is the best and most creative piece of advertising that you can manage.

You can advertise in lots of free ad places and low cost websites for homeowners who are selling their own homes. This should leave you with some marketing money that can be used for you to hire someone to write your ad copy, shoot your photos, create a tour video, and perhaps even find the best places for you to list your house. Bring in the help of professionals that can give you the edge over others that are also trying to sell their homes.

With free listings you really have nothing to lose!

There are no rules in attracting attention when you are advertising your listing outside of typical FCC rules. So no vulgarity or other offensive material should be used and you’ll have to adhere to the guidelines for each of the sites you use. Outside of that, the sky’s the limit.

Try an ad that has a creative financing angle to it. Point out that buying your house will cost them less than it does for them to rent a house. Point out that it is for sale at a price below the market value, giving them instant equity. That always gets attention, as all buyers want instant equity. The idea of buying something and immediately owning more value for your dollar is enticing, to say the least. So by all means, if there’s equity to be had by the buyer, shout it out.

Is the house in an award winning school district and a family oriented neighborhood? Let it be known to those who come across your ad. There are many parents who choose their new homes according to the performance records of the local schools. Award winning state champion sports teams at the school? Say so in your listing. With free listings you really have nothing to lose and you might just grab someone’s eye that’s looking for a just what you have to offer. It’s competitive out there in the housing market and you will need to stand out from other listings.

Property Managers in Charleston South Carolina: There are some things that are better left to the professionals. One case in the selling of a home is to find someone you trust to care for your home if you are not present. Many people find it necessary to move out of their house before they get it sold. Some may have the need to move to start a new job, some may need to move to be closer to a family member that needs help, or sometimes it’s just because they need a new home and has moved out before the house sells. They have found something that suits them better and are gone on to their new life.

The old house is still on the market and must be maintained throughout the sale process. Someone must go to the house and turn the lights on and off, water the garden, mow the lawn, and pick up the papers and residual mail that may show up. The house will still be for sale and therefore must be kept at its optimum for those who come to see the house as potential buyers.

When you are away, you need to have someone you absolutely trust to care for the home.

There are always friends or relatives that want to help at first, but let’s face it. The burden will get to them at some point as they try to manage their own lives as well as your house. If you are paying someone, it might be a better situation. You’ll need to compensate them for their gas, their time, and the inconvenience.

There is an answer and you can take advantage of this without taxing your friends and family until they are tired of going over to mow your lawn. Professional property management companies exist in almost every town in America. Look in your local phone book or look it up on the internet. If you have a chamber of commerce or local paper, you can usually find the information there. Look for someone who has been in business for several years with good references available.

If they are a new start-up business, don’t automatically dismiss them. Their rates may be very competitive and they might just have some good references that are familiar with their quality of service. You can put them to work taking care of the details you can’t manage from a distance.