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Top 10 Things to Know
When Selling a Home
Now that you are ready to sell your home, it is time to prepare the property for sale. One of the most important things to remember is that you only get one chance to make a first impression. The time you take initially to prepare your home for sale will prove invaluable once it hits the market. These are important points to keep in mind when preparing your home for the market:
1. Disassociate Yourself from the Home
Once you have decided to place your home on the market, it’s time for you to remove your personal attachment to the property and think of the sale as a business transaction. Your mindset must change from selling your “home” to selling a house you happen to own and doing what it takes to make it stand out amongst the competition.
2. Select a Realtor
When choosing to work with a REALTOR®, you are choosing to work with someone who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) with a membership comprising over 1 million brokers and salespeople bound by a strong Code of Ethics. Realtors are continuously pursuing educational opportunities, attending conferences, as well as taking part in local community groups and events in order to become a more seasoned real estate professional to whom you can turn when deciding to purchase or sell your next home or investment.
Werba Realty and our entire sales team is a respected member of both the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and the Long Island Board of Realtors (LIBOR). As such, in addition to our expertise and our longstanding relationships with qualified buyers and investors, we can offer you the opportunity to have your property marketed via the multiple listing service making it available to an even broader spectrum of potential buyers.
At Werba Realty, we believe that being a leader in the real estate sales and management business since 1965 gives us a tremendous edge in the local real estate market. We have been successfully promoting properties and building longstanding relationships with both buyers and sellers which will make the difference when selling or purchasing your next home or investment.
3. Get your documents in order
It’s important not only to prepare your home for sale but to be prepared yourself for inquiries that might arise regarding the property, as well as, be able to present the necessary documentation that your listing agent, attorney or potential buyers will request.
Go through all your paperwork on the property and prepare your documents to be complete and readily available, i.e. deed/mortgage satisfaction letter/copies of rental agreements, utility bills, tax bills, etc./utility company contact info/etc.
Make sure all outstanding town/city permits are closed out and building violations cleared.
Speak to your accountant regarding the sale of your home with regard to any tax issues you should keep in mind.
4. De-personalize, De-Clutter and Get Organized
Now the real work begins.
When selling a house, you want to create an environment whereby buyers can envision themselves in the space. Removing as many personal items and photos keeps potential buyers from being distracted.
Getting rid of excess furniture and other items that are not being used on a daily basis makes a living area feel more spacious. Clearing bookshelves, tabletops, and china cabinets of “chachkis” will also help to make the space feel bigger. Begin at your front door and go through the entire house tossing, donating and packing up everything in order to make the house feel less cluttered. Don’t forget the basement, attic and garage.
Organize the closets and kitchen cabinets. Sort like items of clothing and shoes together, place things in neat storage boxes and keep hangers facing in the same direction making the most use of closet space. Arrange kitchen cabinets so labels face forward, jars/cans/boxes are in rows, dishware is neatly stacked and everything appears in its place.
5. Remove Your Movables & Lighten Up!
Take the time now to remove whatever items you plan to take with you. This includes window treatments, lighting fixtures, packed boxes and any other items you do not plan to include in the sale of the property. Doing so will also help in staging the home for buyers.
Get rid of heavy drapery and window coverings that make the space feel dark and heavy. Open up the blinds and shades and let the light in from every window available. Bright, sunny rooms sell houses. Once the house is ready for showing, keep the doors open to the rooms throughout the house, with the exception of bathrooms, providing uninhibited access and traffic flow.
6. Repair it or Replace it
Walk through the house and make a list of all the things which need to be repaired and/or replaced.
Paint rooms to freshen things up.
Paint the Front door, garage door and any exterior trim to make the house more inviting.
Replace house numbers with new, visible and attractive lettering.
Replace burned out light bulbs and old/outdated or rusty light fixtures.
Replace broken or outdated appliances, leaky faucets and fixtures.
Re-caulk/Re-grout tiles in baths and kitchens.
Fix any broken locks, doors, sliders, screens and drawers to ensure everything opens easily. A little “WD40” goes a long way.
7. Make The House Sparkle & Shine - Inside and Out
Vacuum and clean all carpets, rugs and window coverings.
Dust the furniture and mop the floors.
Wash the windows and don’t forget the window blinds.
Put out fresh kitchen and bath towels, blankets and bedspreads.
Air out closed spaces and place lightly scented air fresheners throughout your home.
Remember the utility room – clean gas/oil burners and dust free water tanks speak volumes to prospective buyers.
Make the front entry inviting by clearing cobwebs and replacing all the welcome mats.
8. Consider the Curb Appeal of the Home
Make sure the lawn is mowed, the leaves are raked and the snow is plowed.
Trim the hedges and replace overgrown bushes.
Plant flowers to make the home more inviting and appealing from the street.
Make the front entry picture perfect with lovely planters, a bench, and new mailbox.
9. Final Staging
You are now in the home stretch.
Arrange the furniture making sure pathways are clear and rooms feel spacious and defined.
Adjust and align window shades and blinds so they are level and let the maximum light into the rooms.
Pay close attention to bathrooms ensuring toilet lids are down and private toiletries are not visible.
Place fresh flower arrangements in the entry and/or kitchen.
Take one final walk through the house and make final adjustments considering the buyers’ perspective.
Now that the property is ready to show, call your realtor to arrange for pictures to be taken of the entire property, inside and out.
10. It’s Showtime!
Arrange steady convenient times, including both weekdays & weekends, when the house can be shown to buyers.
Make your home available for open houses.
Maintain the cleanliness of your home, inside and out, on a daily basis.
Keep promotional flyers showcasing the house on the kitchen counter for all buyers.
To avoid “being put on the spot” as a seller, it is best to take a backseat to your Realtor and allow the listing agent to direct all showings and field all questions from potential buyers. Your realtor will meet with you in a private setting to discuss everything in further detail.
Top 10 Things to Know
When Buying a Home
Knowing what to expect --and having a team of professionals to assist you along the way-- will help ensure that the process of purchasing your first home is a smooth, seamless and enjoyable experience.
These are important points for you to consider when purchasing a home:
1. Getting Organized
The time you take to organize yourself at the beginning of your journey towards buying a home is one of the best investments you can make.
Obtain a mortgage preapproval.
Assess your financial qualifications in order to determine a comfortable price range given how much financing is available to you.Define your Goals:
Location: consider proximity to work, family, school district or neighborhood
Type of home: 1 Family, 2+ Family for additional income to offset mortgage payment
Determine price range given your mortgage qualifications
Fixer Upper or Move-In Condition
Create a “SHORT LIST” of needs and wants
Establish a realistic time frame with regard to work/personal schedules, school year, sale of current home, etc.
2. Selecting a Realtor
When choosing to work with a REALTOR®, you are choosing to work with someone who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) with a membership comprising over 1 million brokers and salespeople bound by a strong Code of Ethics. Realtors are continuously pursuing educational opportunities, attending conferences, as well as taking part in local community groups and events in order to become a more seasoned real estate professional to whom you can turn when deciding to purchase or sell your next home or investment.
Werba Realty and our entire sales team is a respected member of both the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and the Long Island Board of Realtors (LIBOR). As such we can offer you an inventory of thousands of listings from which to search to find the most suitable property for you.
At Werba Realty, we believe that being a leader in the real estate sales and management business since 1965 gives us a tremendous edge in the local real estate market. We have been successfully promoting properties and building longstanding relationships with both buyers and sellers which will make the difference when searching for your next home or investment.
3. Beginning the Search
Now the fun begins. After careful preparation you have finally come to the point of beginning your property search in earnest. You can take your “Dream Home Wish List” which identifies your priorities and your “Short List” and sit down with your Realtor to identify properties currently on the market that will meet your needs and desires.
4. Making the Choice
Once you have found a home or investment that meets many of the desires on your “Wish List” and most of those on your short list, you have 3 options: you can accept the sellers asking price and terms and create a contract, reject the asking price and have your agent present a different offer, draw up different terms and make a counter offer. You need to assess the down payment you would like to put down on the property, the loan amount for which you will more than likely qualify and the recent comparable properties in the area which your realtor can help gather for you.
5. Presenting an Offer
Your Realtor will present your offer to the seller, who will accept, counter or reject it.
Once a price is negotiated, you and the seller will sign a purchase agreement defining the terms of sale.
The sellers’ attorney will initiate contact with the buyers’ attorney and contracts will be drawn up for signing by the both parties.
6. Arranging a Home Inspection
As a buyer, you will arrange to have a home inspection. Home inspections are important to check electrical and heating systems, the presence of termites, as well as any other issues that should be addressed when reviewing a home for purchase. Your realtor should be able to recommend several home inspectors to you if you do not already have one in mind. Once the inspection report is completed, any issues and concerns should be addressed between the buyers and sellers, in conjunction with their attorneys, at this time.
7. Going for a Mortgage
Once a final contract has been signed by both the buyers and sellers, the buyers can move forward with securing funding for a loan. Choosing your lender and the type of loan that is best suited for you given the property you have now decided to purchase is an important decision. With the preparation and steps you as a buyer have taken at the beginning of your search this process should fall into place in a timely manner. The bank or lending institution will require an appraisal of the property at a date and time which they will ask you to coordinate with your realtor and the listing agent. Once the mortgage has been approved a closing date will be set.
8. Getting Insurance
There are various types of insurance you can purchase on a home or investment. It is best to speak to an insurance broker to go over the details of each type of insurance available in order to decide which one and how much is most suited to your purchase. Your realtor should be able to recommend several insurance brokers if you do not already have one in mind. Title insurance, homeowners’ insurance and flood insurance are just some of the main types of insurance you should be speaking about with your insurance broker. Homeowners’ policies are required by lenders for mortgage approval.
9. The Closing Process
The closing is when all the necessary documents to complete the transaction are signed. Once a closing date has been determined, a final walk through of the property should be arranged for the buyers with the listing agent and the sellers. This will allow the buyers to view the property one last time before closing to verify that the condition of the property has not changed since the sales contract has been signed. The property should be delivered “broom clean” when moving out.
All utilities required by the home such as water, sewage, gas and electric, as well as, oil accounts should be paid in full by the sellers and the accounts transferred to the buyers as of closing for future billing purposes.
There are closing costs, legal fees and other additional fees which will arise and come due at closing. The buyer should speak to their attorney and lender prior to the closing to be prepared with all payments necessary to ensure a successful closing. Having completed the title search it is possible that errors may exist on the records and therefore it is imperative to make sure title insurance is in place.
Once all the documents have been signed and all payments have been made accordingly, the title to the property is transferred from the seller to the buyer. The buyer then receives the keys.
All signed documents including deeds and loan papers are filed with the local property record offices. It is important to keep your copies of all these documents of sale for your new property in a safe place. They will become necessary for tax purposes not only in the current year the property is purchased, but also when it is sold in the future.
10. Home Sweet Home
The moment has finally arrived for you to enjoy the fruits of your labor. You have come to the end of the road in your property search and are settling into the home of your dreams. You are unpacking your boxes and getting to know the neighbors as well as becoming familiar with your new surroundings. When you finally settle in completely you might want to consider taking pictures of each room and storing them in a safe place to should you need them for insurance purposes.
Remember when speaking to your neighbors to ask them for recommendations on local services, eateries, places of worship, and shopping markets depending on how familiar you are with the area. They can provide you with a wealth of information to help you integrate yourself into the community.
Relax and Exhale! You have worked hard and deserve to enjoy many happy memories in your new home.