Keeping up with the Jonses: How to keep your listed home competitive

The competitive nature of the real estate market brings a whole new meaning to “keeping up with the Jonses.” When a prospective buyer enters search terms for specific criteria and location, whatever homes listed on the results page will be in competition with each other. Along with your home, the buyer is likely going to be looking at some of these other houses that fit your criteria. This means that you’ve got to stay competitive by both keeping up and standing apart. Some ways you can keep your home competitive when selling Baker real estate:

Keep up with your web presence

The number one way that buyers connect to sellers now is through the internet. With so many options for what kind of home you want, the internet makes it easy to filter out what you don’t want to look at. Because so many buyers primarily look for listings on the internet, it is essential to have an established web presence. Your agent should be working to market your listing on a variety of types of sites. And if your house was promoted on these sites when you first put your home up for sale, but haven’t been posted anywhere recently, you should market to some new sites and reach a different range of people.

Pricing

Pricing competitively is a no brainer, especially if you’ve become attached to the house and you have other houses around to keep up with. Many potential buyers know the asking and selling prices of comparable homes in the area, and they will know when a price is out of the correct range. If they have the choice of pursuing a home that is priced competitively and a home that leaves a lot of room for negotiation, they will more likely think the more reasonably priced but comparable home is a better use of their time.

Updates

A major reason that a homeowner will pick one home over another is because one is updated while the other needs some work. Even if an outdated area includes a budget for an upgrade, many sellers may be deterred by the idea that your house requires more work than another house. Even small updates or redecorations can make a difference, but most buyers will not be interested in too much of an overhaul unless they actually want to renovate everything to fit their own tastes. Have fresh eyes look through your house for any sore spots and work to give a better impression.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

Real estate transactions: What can go wrong

If you have reached an unofficial agreement or even signed some paperwork beginning the transaction to own a house, you should know that oftentimes what even looks like a sure sale can fall apart. Getting attached to a home only for there to be a problem or technicality in your way can lead to disappointment when your dream home falls out of your grasp. To make everything smoothly, perhaps consider a real estate agent to help guide you through putting up Denver Colorado homes for sale. During the transaction process, be on guard for the common ways that transactions fall through.

Contingencies

A contingency is a condition set into a transaction agreement that must be met before transfer of ownership becomes official. If the buyer or seller has a concern about something getting accomplished before the contract becomes official, then they can work this into the contract just in case. These are promises made by the two parties that protect them in case they need to fall out of the sale if the conditions cannot be performed. A contingency may have to do with passing inspection, or perhaps the buyer wants to include a clause that the sale of the house is not final until they sell their previous home. A contingency that most contracts have is that the buyer must obtain secure financing to purchase the home.

Disclosure

If you are seriously considering a home, there are things about the home that the owner is required to disclose. A disclosure is a required action by the seller to inform the buyer of anything they may need to know after taking over ownership. This could be anything that could affect the future ownership and value of the home. The exact rules may vary from state to state, but this could be something like leaving out that construction project that you know will be starting up later this year, making a lot of noise and covering up a great view. It could be a leaky roof or a termite inspection. A seller can face penalties such as lawsuits if they fail to disclose of a home issue.

Underwriting

An underwriter is a member of the lender’s team that will evaluate the risk involved with lending the hopeful buyer money. The underwriter will take a look at the actual value of the home in case it must be used as collateral and other financial information necessary to evaluate risk.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

How to amp up excitement over your home

Whether you’re gearing up to start showing your home after putting up Denver real estate for sale, or interest has dwindled since the initial rush of visitors, it may be time to rethink your game plan if you feel you aren’t getting enough interest. The problem may be that the impression of your home lacks pizazz. You should work with your agent on bringing interest back. Here are some ways you can amp up interest in your home:

Highlight your home’s strong points

Every home has its weak spots, but there’s nothing wrong with working to bring attention to your home’s strong points instead. Take a look at the most desirable features in your home and decorate or arrange in order to bring focus to that feature. If you have a beautiful fireplace, center the seating around it and have a warm fire going if the weather permits. If your pool is a wonderland, make sure the waterfall is running when you’re holding showings. Just repainted the exterior? Give your yard a little landscaping to showcase this. Highlighting the most prized features of your home not only gives a greater overall impression, but it will give your home more character as well if your buyers leave with certain elements sticking out in their mind. Some buyers will be looking at a lot of different houses, and so a house with character will be more memorable.

Take professional photos

If your interest is stagnant, the problem may be that your photographs aren’t reeling anyone in. If your photos are low quality or unflattering, you still may get some visitors at first out of curiosity or from those that always check out a new listing. But after this is over a bit after you’ve started showing, then it might be time to take new pictures. A good idea is to hire a professional photographer and stager, a person who decorates a house with showing and selling in mind. If that’s not in the budget, your agent will still be able to make suggestions for better photos.

Redecorate or update

If you feel like your home presentation is dull, redecorating and updating can spice up the look of your house. This could be as simple as getting some bright throw pillows for the couch or as complicated as retiling a bathroom.
Give your marketing plan a second look

The problem could be simply that you’re not reaching enough people. Ask your agent what outlets they are using to reach buyers, and consider reaching out to different websites or client bases.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

Common turn offs for real estate buyers

It’s not uncommon for those looking to sell their home to become hopeful about certain potential buyers, only for the buyers to suddenly lose interest. You could be left scratching your head, wondering what you’ve done wrong. With everything on a home seller’s plate, they may have overlooked something that resulted in the buyers becoming uninterested. If you’re selling your home, take a look at these common potential buyer turn offs:

You’re not following procedure

Though it may depend on the market, a home sale transaction follows a certain legal and traditional procedure. If you don’t follow this established process, this could be seen as a red flag for buyers, who do not want a mess over technical matters to get in the way of buying their home. Hiring a good agent can ensure that you’re following the status-quo.

You’re always present at showings

A general rule for showings is that it is better for the seller not to be there. Potential buyers feel freer to take a serious look at a home if the buyer isn’t buzzing around. Looking at a stranger’s home is already slightly awkward, and so a buyer’s presence can take them out of their element and distract them from looking close enough for fear of being impolite. Without the seller’s presence, the buyer can more freely critique the home and tell their true feelings to their agent and buying partners so they can find the perfect piece of Berkeley real estate.

You weren’t totally forthcoming

When you put your home up for sale, you have to inform potential buyers about the home’s vulnerabilities that could cause issues for the new owner in the future. Disclosure isn’t just courteous, they’re required. Misrepresenting homes to buyers has resulted in lawsuits over later problems with the house, such as a chronically leaky roof or a driveway that is prone to flooding. A famous case over termites in 1986, Hill v. Jones, came about because the buyer failed to inform the seller of an infestation before the parties had entered into a contract.

Your price is too high

Whether you are leaving room for negotiation or truly feel that your home deserves a higher asking price than what your research or agent is telling you is fair, a price that is too high is one of the biggest turn offs for buyers. Even if the buyer initially show interest, they may need to be looking for some big redeeming quality with the property to justify spending so much money on a home, and then retreat after finding none. Or, perhaps their lower bid was rejected, and they feel they’ve lost steam when it comes to the home. An unfair asking price could also be seen as a sign that your judgment could make you difficult to do business with.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

May’s real estate report shows record-breaking numbers for Denver

For some time now, the stable regrowth of Denver real estate has been reassuring buyers and sellers. As one of the first to get hit by the housing crisis years ago, Denver is emerging as one of the first to recover. Record breaking numbers in May have further confirmed what we’ve been coming to understand about the state of the market: it’s officially back.

In May, home prices reached their highest since the market’s crash. Since last May, prices have gone up by 10% according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index. For seventeen consecutive months, Denver has seen these year-to-year increases. Partly due to an increased demand, the average price of a home during May reached over $308,000. While Denver’s population has been increasing as more and more discover what a desirable place to live the city is, this is also a sign of a healthier market. May’s broken records had not been met for seven long years, so these numbers have caused many skeptics to finally let out a sigh of release.

The demand is so high that many sellers are reporting finding a buyer within days or even the same day they put out their sign. Following the recession, a large number of properties that were selling were sold for less than $100,000, including many foreclosures, while the standard today has shifted between of $200,000-$300,000. This is a relief for sellers of bigger-ticket homes, as these typically take longer to sell. However, now, these sellers can hope to sell their home in less than a year instead of several years. A drop in the sale of foreclosures—from 40% to 15% in a few years—has also contributed to this, along with minimalized discounts on these foreclosure properties.

Only two cities in the United States have passed records set before the recession, and Denver is one. The city’s co-title holder, Dallas, is also experiencing increased demand. However, if you are a hopeful potential buyer, don’t let these statistics scare you. Even though Denver homes are in higher demand, a recovering market means that there are still plenty of houses getting put on the market of Denver real estate for sale every day, with 2,500 new homes entering the market from April-July of this year. Yes, there will be more competition, but you will also have access to more homes, meaning a greater chance at finding the perfect home for you.

Denver’s recovery is indicative of regrowth in the market all over the country—the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller price index also reported US home sales had hit a five year high in May.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

Real estate lingo any buyer or seller should know

Even if you aren’t knew to the real estate game, understanding real estate lingo can be confusing. You may find yourself constantly researching the words you’re looking at. And if you don’t have a real estate agent to help you sort things out with homes for sale in Denver CO, you should look forward to study sessions to get a handle on the process. To help you out, we’ve listed some common real estate lingo with some helpful definitions:

Closing costs—the price of the home in question is not the only expense that buyers and sellers have to deal with. The total costs associated with closing on a home are called closing costs. These may include fees or costs dealing with mortgage, escrow, attorneys, brokerage commission, taxes, transfers, insurance, and anything else that is paid for when buying the home.

Fixture—this term deals with the difference between real property and personal property. In the legal sense, real estate is termed “real property” while anything movable that the previous owners will be taking with them is personal property. Fixtures are a part of real property and are often put in writing so it’s clear who will be getting what, because it can be tricky with items like blinds that could be seen as either and that the previous home owner may have become attached to.

Contingency—a contingency is an agreement that includes an if. This means that the terms of the agreement are not officially legally binding until a certain thing happens. For example, a home buyer and seller could have an agreement that states that the buyer must have an appraisal that matches the asking price of the home before legally purchasing it. Even if they agreed to sell, a seller here could back out if this condition isn’t met because of a contingency provision.

Disclosure—this is anything that the seller must inform the buyer of before they take over ownership. These are things that will have an effect on future value or use of a property. This could be a leaky roof, a property that is prone to flooding, or anything else that the new buyer may need to know.

CMA—a comparative market analysis or competitive market analysis. This report will analyze the market for similar homes in the area that were sold, and what price they were sold for. These reports also often show details for homes currently on the market.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

Why buyers stall

Whether your home has been on the market for a year or a week, having a potential buyer is exciting. Before you even put your home on the market, you and your agent have put in hours and hours of work preparing and marketing your home. So, once it seems like you might have a buyer, it is easy to get anxious over when things will become official. But it can take some time between a buyer unofficially expressing serious interest and actually taking over ownership, and stalls can happen at any point in the process. If you are looking at putting up Denver Colorado homes for sale, take a look at some common reasons why potential buyers may stall officially buying during this period:

They’re letting the decision settle

If you have been playing the real estate game for a while, it can be easy to forget what a big decision buying a home is. From the seller’s end, for the most part, as long as the financials look good, the decision to sell to a certain buyer is easy. But the buyer has to consider many different aspects of the home, the financials, and yes, even the seller. Especially if they are first time home buyers, this life-altering decision can cause anxiety.
Letting the dust settle after initially considering the possibility of calling a home yours is common. While very motivated buyers may want to go full speed ahead, you may find that your right buyer needed a little more time to feel comfortable with the decision. This is “sleeping on it” in a broader sense of the term.

They’re still shopping around

This doesn’t mean that they’re totally unsure about your home. It could be that your potential buyers want to gather more information on the market, similar homes, and other data to make sure they’re getting the right deal. It’s like finding a great pair of shoes, but looking around anyway just to make sure there isn’t a similar pair out there for cheaper. Odds are, this is just confirming what they already know, and getting the reassurance that this is the right house for them might take a little more market scoping.

Not everything’s right

Your buyer may be stalling because the house isn’t exactly what they wanted. They could still be interested, however, because the totally perfect house is difficult to find, and many homeowners are open to compromising. Perhaps one member of a buying partnership has some misgivings. These types of buyers may stall because they are hoping for a price reduction or to motivate the seller to accept a lower offer, or they may just be taking their time considering a home that doesn’t have everything they wanted.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

Why you’re not getting any more showings

A common question from those selling their home is: “Why can’t I get showings anymore?” Many sellers may host many showings at first but then see them slowly taper off the longer your home is on the market. There are many reasons for this, and many ways you can stimulate interest:

The initial rush is over

Before you put your house on the market, you should understand that there is already a market of buyers that have been looking around for their dream home for a while, hovering over the listing database for any new listing to look into. Many of these buyers have already seen everything that’s already out there, and so they will be sure to look into any new listings right away. They already know what they want and they already know what their market has to offer, meaning if they have any interest on the home, they will want to jump on the opportunity right away in order to avoid competition from other similar prospective buyers.

This is why you will typically see a rush of interest after first putting your house of for sale. Along with the above types of buyers, you could also see some that are just curious about the new listing and aren’t serious about buying anything anytime soon. If this rush of interest does not result in any offers, don’t worry—it is common for this initial interest to not result in anything serious, as many prospective buyers are so thorough that they will check out a new home even if they have a hunch it isn’t for them. You may see a prospective buyer come back later after this rush after considering your home or other more serious interest after your home has been on the market for a few weeks. Some serious buyers also may not jump on the house right away, as they may be focusing on other houses first or want to reflect upon the listing before approaching the home itself.

Your marketing isn’t reaching anyone

This may be an issue with your agent or your marketing strategy if you are selling by-owner. The reason you’re not getting any showings may be because new prospective buyers may not be seeing your listing. If you initially marketing your home through several outlets and put out fliers, you may not be getting any new buyers because these strategies aren’t attracting any new people. Whether you are listing Cherry Creek homes for sale or other areas of Denver and Aurora, changing up your strategy and listing on different websites or other outlets to try and widen you marketing network.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

Renting vs. Owning

When thinking about where you want to live and what you want to live in it is important to decide whether it is more cost effective to buy or rent a home. These are some things that make coming to that conclusion easier. Purchase costs are the costs you pay at the close of the purchase including the down payment and typical closing costs. Yearly costs are recurring monthly or yearly expenses. Mortgage payments, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, condo fees (or other community living fees), maintenance and renovation costs.

Selling costs is what you pay when you go to the closing for the house you are selling, including the remaining principal balance that you pay to your mortgage bank as well as the broker’s commission and other fees. The money that you receive from the person who is buying your home is what is called proceeds from sale. This amount reflects the value of the house that year, it is shown as a negative number because it is money you receive. If your buying total is negative, you made enough of a profit to cover yearly operating expenses and the cost of your home.

Renting is ideal for someone who plans to live in an area for fewer than three to five years. If you were to buy a house in that time, you might not get the return on your investment. Renting is ideal for the nomad who has yet to settle down. You should rent if you don’t want to be tied down to a mortgage or if you know that you never stay in one place for very long. If you purchase a home and sell it within a couple years, you’ll lose about 6 to 7 percent of the money you put in to the home through the cost of selling it. That said, no one should rent forever. Apartment rents are expected to increase by 12 percent by 2015.

House prices are making the jump as well, but when you own the house you are putting your money into that investment not into a landlord’s pocket. If you plan on being in your home for only a little while then renting is the way to go, as not to lose money trying to sell it when you decide to uproot again. Rent if you can only commit yourself to staying in the same spot for a year or two. If your career keeps you in the same place for many years, now is a good time to buy Denver real estate for sale.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

What to expect from certain types of buyers

If you are looking to sell your home but nervous about interacting with prospective buyers—don’t worry, buyers are just people. Many buyers will be easy to work with, and your interactions will be different depending on the type of buyer they are. Not all buyers are the same, but you often spot a trend when it comes to decision making and personalities of the buyer. But there’s no need to crack open the psychology textbook: like any other interaction, just try to read their personality—if they’re a minimalist, then their buying process will probably reflect this. Your Denver real estate agents will likely be the go-between , but if you get a chance to chat, take a look at some common trends when it comes to certain types of buyers:

The first time buyers

About the buyer: First time buyers will be more tentative when it comes to selecting their home. They may make most communication through the agent. They also may ask a lot of questions. Most buyers are cautious, but usually for a different reason. When it comes to first time buyers, they might be nervous concerning their new life stage and intimidated by what a big decision their first home will be.

What to do: The most important thing with first time buyers is to be patient. If an interested buyer has never bought a house before, pressuring them can scare them away from the sale. Make sure you keep interactions relaxed and casual.
The thorough lookers

About the buyer: Some buyers will be very thorough with their decision making process. This does not necessarily mean that they will take a long time, but rather that they may inspect every aspect of your home closely and want to know very specific details about everything. Some people just enjoy shopping and like to know everything about what could potentially be theirs.

What to do: You could consider indulging this aspect of this type of buyer, letting them know all the little tidbits about the home. Letting them enjoy the process can increase their intrigue concerning the house. Also, it is a very good idea to clean just as thoroughly as they will inspect. You can expect this thoroughness when it comes to every aspect of the buying process, from showings to signing on the correct dotted line.

The careful decision makers

About the buyer: This is not to say that it is bad to be careful or that those who decide on a home quickly are not careful, but some buyers may like to take a bit longer with these decisions. Unless there is competition, such as other bids for your home, they may not seem very motivated to buy your home.

What to do: Don’t assume that just because a potential buyer doesn’t seem interested that they are not thinking about your home. They may just be cautious about making decisions. If you aren’t getting bites otherwise, it is important to be patient with these buyers as well.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.