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Many home sellers wonder why their home languishes on the market. They’ve deep cleaned, freshened paint, priced it right, and staged the dining room table with china. Are you begging your listing agent to: “Sell my home” and thinking about dropping the sales price?

Before you cut your price or pay more seller’s costs, reevaluate your home staging.

The average home buyer only spends four minutes previewing a home. You must get them to invest more time to CONNECT emotionally to your home. The more time a buyer spends in a home, the more they think about where their furniture could go.

That’s you goal when showing your home–to get buyers to imagine living in your home. People will pay more for a home they fall in love with and want to live in.

To get buyers to imagine their grandmother’s clock or cream sofa in your living room, you need to allow plenty of empty space. This is where so many home stagers miss the mark; they think they need to fill a home with furniture.

On the other hand, many real estate investors paint a fixer all white, install boring beige carpeting, and show a stark house with no accessories to spark the imagination.

What you should do is to stage suggestions of happy living in your home.

Home Staging Tips

Of course, you know to deep clean and declutter your home. Beyond these steps, take YOU out of the home. Pack up accessories like family photos and anything that doesn’t speak to a buyer. You want the buyer to imagine their possessions in the space.

Remove extra furniture that makes the space feel crowded. This is especially important in warm weather. Fewer furnishings make your rooms feel cooler.

One you’ve lightened your rooms, take a critical look. You might want a friend to come in and help you evaluate the space. If the home feels sparse instead of “homey,” add accessories that will make your potential buyer feel at home. For instance, a game table with a chess set for upscale buyers or a family board game for first-time home buyers.

Adding suggested activities to your home gives buyers something to look at and keeps your buyers in your home longer than four minutes. You just might get them imagining their new home!

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

Jeanette Fisher, author of interior design and real estate books, teaches five ways to make more money selling your home or investment houses. Join our FREE “Home Selling Teleseminars.” Free Home Staging Information and “How to Sell My Home Fast.” http://sellfast.info

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Making a mistake in selling a home can cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars in lost profit. Often home sellers make the same mistakes over and over. Avoiding these mistakes is easy and takes little time and effort on your part. Take the time with your home sale and follow the guidelines in this report.

1. Distress Selling: At times, selling quickly is unavoidable. That’s when knowing the right techniques to sell your home without looking desperate and making yourself a target for low bidders really pays off. Know all there is to know about the market before listing and work hand in hand with the right real estate professional. Ensure that you are not settling for the first offer through the door.

2. Best Home in the Neighborhood: Your home is one of your most personal possessions. Don’t be blind to flaws and needed cosmetic improvements. This will cause overvaluing of the home, hurting its chances to be sold. Listing with the right agent gives you a well informed third eye that will help you price your home at a fair market price.

3. Limited Home Viewing: Buyers want to view a home on their own time schedule. Unfortunately their time schedule does not always coincide with your time schedule. Leave a lockbox or key with your agent so your home can be shown when you are not around. You never know if the one who got away was your buyer.

4. Restrain Emotional Decisions: Don’t allow a few hundred dollars to ruin a sale. That money will mean very little to you in the long run. Take a look at the big picture and react rationally. Use sound business judgment!

5. Make Cosmetic Improvements: Prospects make up their minds within the first twenty minutes. First impressions can make all the difference in selling your home. Spending $1,200 on new carpet might add another $4,000 to the price of your home. Get an objective point of view from your real estate professional. They can provide you with a list of items that will maximize the profit of your home sale.

6. Disclose Property Flaws: Property disclosure laws require sellers to list any flaws required by your state. If you are unaware of flaws or attempt to cover them up, you risk losing the sale and finding yourself in court. Get professional assistance from your agent who can introduce you to qualified inspectors and ensure the smooth sale of your home.

7. For Sale By Owner: Most homeowners who decide to sell their own home do so to save the commission paid to the real estate agent. Everything has a price and selling a home carries a high one. The enormous amount of time, cost and effort required to sell a home often surprises the “For Sale by Owner.” It’s o.k. to give it a try, just be as educated as you can be starting. Many costly mistakes can be avoided with the right guidance.

8. Refusing to Trust Your Agent: Would you tell a physician that you’ve decided to run your own tests and come to your own diagnosis? By choosing the right Realtor, you can relax and trust their judgment. The right agent is a valuable team member who will protect your best interests and make your sale as profitable as possible.

9. Know Your Market: Most homes that do not sell in their first listing period are priced too high. Conversely, most homes that sell quickly are priced too low and cheat the homeowner out of profits. You need to understand the market and evaluate the value of your home based on fact, not gut instinct or conventional wisdom. A professional agent knows the market, just as you know the market for your business.

10. Choosing a Realtor Based on Personal Relationships: Home sellers often pick a friend or family member as their agent. It’s very difficult to fire a friend or family member if things aren’t going well. Instead, choose an agent with a strong track record and aggressive Marketing Plan. A top producer knows the market well and can generate many buyers. Selling your home is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make! Base your choice on good, sound business sense and the rewards will add up.

Before you make one of your most important decisions regarding your home sale become as informed as possible? By aligning yourself with a top agent you ensure that all the important issues and seemingly insignificant but… very important… details are handled professionally. Your home sale should not be a grueling ordeal. The more informed you are, the better chance you have of making a sound business decision.

The Author, Terry Wilson is a long time Real Estate Investor, Licensed Real Estate Agent and Real Estate Investment Instructor.

This article may be freely distributed on the condition that all hyperlinks and anchor text are kept active and not altered in any way (including cloaking links or adding the nofollow tag). Anyone using this article that alters the content or hyperlinks agrees to pay the copyright holder $100 for use.

Author Terry Wilson
http://www.propertybuyingexposed.com
http://www.yourutah.com

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Are you looking to purchase your first home, but you don’t know what to do first? The first step to owning your own home is to get a plan in place.

By planning ahead, you can be sure that you are ready to buy a home. Purchasing a home is a big deal. It is a stressful and emotional transition. But it can go smoothly with a little preparation.

First, you need to assess your credit. If you already have a good credit rating, then you are set. If your credit needs a little work, then you need to take the time to improve it. Your credit rating will determine how much interest you pay on your mortgage. A small increase in an interest rate can add up to tens of thousands of dollars over thirty years.

You can improve or maintain your score by simply paying your bills on time and using your credit wisely. The key is to have less credit than you can afford. A poor credit rating can mean that you will be rejected for your mortgage. You have to start working on your credit.

The second thing you will need to do is to start saving. You will need money for a down payment, closing costs and for repairs and maintenance after you own the home. Start a savings plan that will help you handle the financial burden of owning a home. You should be prepared with more money than necessary in your savings. This will cushion you from any surprises.

Create a budget to help you know how much you can afford on monthly housing expenses. A budget is simply an accounting of what you get in income and what you spend in expenses. Many online calculators will help give you a general idea of what an acceptable housing expense should be. But only you know what you spend each month, so you should look to your own spending to determine a final figure.

Be aware that there is more to owning a home than a mortgage payment. You will have property taxes, utility costs and hookup fees, maintenance, moving expenses, closing costs, homeowners’ insurance and private mortgage insurance. These expenses can add up quickly and will hurt you if you aren’t prepared for them.

You should also consider any increases that could occur from your new home. For example, you could be further from work, which increases your fuel expenses for commuting. If you purchase a condo, you will have association fees to pay each year. Think of all the extra expenses that will affect your budget.

Take the time to get help in planning to purchase a home. Whether you research the process over the internet or simply ask for family advice, you will find that knowledge is one of your most important tools when buying.

Owning your own home brings a lot of responsibility to you. If you are prepared, plan ahead and take your time, the process can be positive and rewarding. The most important thing is to be aware of all the possible factors, from securing a loan to paying for the home in ten years. Knowledge is the key.

Martin Lukac, represents http://www.RateEmpire.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies! Visit http://www.RateEmpire.com today.

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