First Contact with Real Estate Agents?

[reubenray]

When we get back from our upcoming trip we plan on getting ready to sell the S&B and go full time. What should we do prior to this?

I already plan on cleaning up the exterior of the house and yard. We also plan on repainting the kitchen and baths walls. Our house was built in 2005 so everything else is in pretty good shape. We also plan on cleaning the bulk of the carpet, but will not move the heavy furniture.

Are there any other suggestions on what to do? Should we contact more than one real estate agent? Our first contact will be with the one that helped us get the house.

We also plan on getting in touch with a local company that does estate sales and auctions to help get rid of our stuff. I have already started selling some stuff on Craigslist. Should this be done before or after the possible sale of the house?

[okgc]

Have your Realtor show you nearby compatible homes that have recently sold and those that are currently For Sale. If you question the integrity of the agent, get another opinion.

With less furniture & stuff a house always looks larger, so keep the items going out the door when possible.

[vsheetz]

Quality and capabilities of real estate agents varies widely. Try to find who sells the most houses in your particular area of town.

Be aware of agents that say they can get a higher price than others, as a tactic to get the listing. After they have you signed up, as the house does not sell they then come to you with price reductions. This extends the time to sell and taints the listing in the minds of other agents reducing the number of showings. In short, ensure the house is priced right to begin with to enable an expeditious sale.

[TXiceman]

Talk to at least 3 agents and have them show you "comp" sales in your area. Also, it is agood idea to contact your local Real Estate Association or Group and ask them for the top producing agents in your area for sales and listings. You do not want one that just gets listings and then forgets about you and let's someone else market and sell the house.

Ask the agents about how they intend to market the place.

good Luck,

ken

[kamu]

Sell things to declutter your house. Keep the basics until it's sold, it could go quickly but sometimes it can take a while. Regardless of what you think your house is worth use the comparables as others have stated. That's what lendors are going to use. If you get offers make sure the down payment they are making is solid and reasonable, folks that are preapproved can sometimes move quicker than those not. Good luck and wish you the best.

[reubenray]

We are thinking about temporarily getting a storage unit to help with the decluttering. The DW has already started to put stuff aside for a garage sale also.

[dons2346]

Originally Posted by reubenray

We are thinking about temporarily getting a storage unit to help with the decluttering. The DW has already started to put stuff aside for a garage sale also.

This is what we did.
We took most of the stuff out of the cupboards and closets, makes them look larger.
Don't have a lot of knick nacks sitting around. All of the extra stuff was put in storage and not in the garage
Clean out the stuff in the garage so vehicles can be parked in it.
No dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
Wash the windows and open the drapes/blinds
Clean all of the carpet, don't go around the heavy stuff
Clean the stove and oven
Do a good yard cleanup
Don't worry about paint
Keep the beds made and clothes picked up.
Look in the newspaper and see what realtors are advertising houses
Call 3 and hear their spiel. Fees can differ from agent to agent and from broker to broker. Any worthwhile agent will have a list of comps in the area which should include what has recently sold and what is currently on the market.

Lastly, don't take the first offer unless it is for full asking price.

[Smitty77]

Some great feedback. When looking for an agent, also be aware that some of the agents with the highest volume of area sales - get that volume by being below market on the pricing of the home. (They'd rather sell more volumes of homes at say 5% below market, the fewer homes at market. Have seen this many times, and it comes down to seller beware.)

Interview at least 3 agents, then sit down and look at their marketing price and comps. Also use Google to check recent sold homes in the area that are similar to yours. This should give you a good price range to scrub the agents numbers with.

You don't mention price range, but non more expensive homes, professional staging can really help.

Best of luck,
Smitty

[TXiceman]

The agent we settled on was in the middle on where we should start and also had a stage come in and help get the house ready. My wife is good at decorating and eliminating clutter, so not a lot needed to be done.

She did additional research on the area because we had a unique property and really no comps in the area. So we settled on a bit higher asking price and put it on the market. Houston has an active market for the seller. Three weeks and we had a full asking price offer with a very clean contract.

Our agent had a professional photographer take a great photo spread to put on her website and the listing services. She took photo packets to several area offices to get the word out faster.

A couple of months later our daughter sold her place in two weeks with a full price cash contract.

We both had active agents that were interested in selling the house for as much money as she could get. equals more commission for them if they keep it in the same agency.

Ken

[Kiwi]

Originally Posted by reubenray

When we get back from our upcoming trip we plan on getting ready to sell the S&B and go full time. What should we do prior to this?

I already plan on cleaning up the exterior of the house and yard. We also plan on repainting the kitchen and baths walls. Our house was built in 2005 so everything else is in pretty good shape. We also plan on cleaning the bulk of the carpet, but will not move the heavy furniture.

Are there any other suggestions on what to do? Should we contact more than one real estate agent? Our first contact will be with the one that helped us get the house.

We also plan on getting in touch with a local company that does estate sales and auctions to help get rid of our stuff. I have already started selling some stuff on Craigslist. Should this be done before or after the possible sale of the house?

Staging your house is an Art.. but the Art of selling is Staging.

1) Paint your front door.
2) buy some pretty flowers and plant near front door. Get a few pots if needed.
3) Rent a storage unit.. get a climate controlled one if needed.
4) Take half your furniture out of your house to storage.
5) Remove half or more of the clothes in the closet..
6) Same for anything else stored inside.
7) clean out the garage and paint it. They look at this last and this is what they remember.
8) Get a professional cleaning service to super clean all bathrooms. Buy a few pretty towels for the rack. Put an air freshener in the plug.
9) Get a tiny crock pot. Put some apple pie cinnamon and cloves in it an plug it in when you show -- People love apple pie and motherhood.
10) Remove ALL family pictures from mantle and walls. People need to visualize their stuff, not feel like intruders.
12) If you have a large blank wall buy a Wal-Mart art thing..
13) If you have a pet, move him to Granma's house. You don't smell him anymore, but homebuyers will notice the odor.
14) Don't spend major $$$ for remodeling, people won't pay for it. However fresh carpet is cheap.
15) If the interior is painted in strong colors, repaint in white or off white. A light neutral color won't be objectionable. Your favorite green wall might be a huge turnoff.
Try to advertise yourself on Craigs List... Use catchy tag line phrases like
"Bookcases Galore and Professional Chefs Kitchen Too"

Have a little patience...

If you are totally unsure.... call a Realtor. Beware the price hype at listing. Matters not that they blow smoke to tell you "I can sell this place for $325,000 if it sits on the market for months. Count the cost of keeping it on the market and the cost of the commission. Reduce your price by that much and try to move it quickly on Craigs list or Zillow.

[Elf111]

If you already have the motorhome you plan to full time in why not move into it now then clean and stage the house for showing save yourself the hassle of keeping everything just so or having to leave every time a realtor wants to show it.

[reubenray]

We don't have the motorhome we plan on fulltiming in. But we have already discussed getting the house ready and then taking a long trip in what we do have. The agent that we used for the house we have now is coming by tomorrow to tell us what we need to do.

[Dog Folks]

I know this will sound strange but I have used it with 4 homes and it works well.

After the house is all fixed up, spend the money to have an independent appraisal. You then know exactly what the house is worth, and the amount that most lending agencies will lend. There is no sense in"getting" a high offer if the buyer needs a bank and they won't go that high.

Set the price and be firm. After all, it is what the house is really worth.

My houses always sold within two weeks, at the price I wanted. One sold in one day!

[homeless]

Don't be in a hurry to sale! Wait for your price...