**This is an article I think my brother and I wrote some years back, other than internet paying a more vital role, it is amazing how accurate the rest still is today.
By: Marc White
There are several factors that affect the sale of a home. Typically, however, there are four key principles that influence how quickly your home sells and for how much money. Overlook even one of these factors, and you might experience a rough time selling your home.
Location
Nothing has a greater impact on your home's value than its location. The dilemma with location is that you can not change it.
Nothing has a greater impact on your home's value than its location. The dilemma with location is that you can not change it.
Your humble abode might be worth a king's ransom were it located in Palm Beach, Aspen or San Francisco. It might even jump thousands in value just two streets over, but in the next school district. The point is: location rules in Real Estate.
There are ways to compensate for a poor location. Adjusting your price is the most common, but alternatives such as seller financing, lease options, or closing costs and incentives are popular as well.
I will help you accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative of your circumstances. An example might be using foliage to screen off offensive adjoining properties or dampen traffic noise.
Price
Overpricing is the most common reason homes don't sell. When you ask an unrealistic price, it sets in motion a process that often works against you.
If you have a house that really should be priced at $200,000 and you've decided to market it for $260,000, buyers are comparing your house against homes that are worth closer to $300,000 than they are to yours. It only makes sense that your house will have a tough time competing with those homes.
You want to compete with what is available among similar homes. If your home is overpriced, it will remain on the market longer than it should, and agents and buyers may begin to wonder if there are other, more serious reasons why it isn't selling.
The best way to find out if your home is priced right is to find out what home comparable to yours have sold for in the past 6-12 months AND the price of homes currently on the market. I can provide you with this information, FREE and with no obligation.
Condition
Your home is competing against shiny new houses in those pristine developments with their attractive prices, incentives and community amenities. The good news is most of the work will be cosmetic and relatively inexpensive: a new coat of paint, a few attractive window boxes, a thorough cleaning of floors and carpets.
As a Real Estate Professionals, I can advise you on where your time and money are best spent. I always try to give people a "To-Do" list. I believe that paint is probably a seller's best friend because it makes things smell fresh and look fresh. If it's time to paint, it's time to paint. It's the best return on investment, followed closely by landscaping
Marketing
Gone are the days when an agent could simply place your listing with the local multiple listing services, hold a halfhearted open house and wait for another agent to bring forth a buyer.
Gone are the days when an agent could simply place your listing with the local multiple listing services, hold a halfhearted open house and wait for another agent to bring forth a buyer.
Today's top performers launch a multilevel marketing plan that includes web-based marketing strategies, listing tours for area agents, broker open houses, newspaper, multimedia advertising, buyers agent open houses, professional marketing pieces, and placements in local, regional (and sometimes national) real estate publications.
Computers and the Internet continue to change the real estate industry. According to the National Association of Realtors, today more than 80% of all home buyers use the Internet for finding a home. The best real estate agents are computer-savvy. They have your listing in color on their laptops to show clients and communicate frequently via e-mail, a particular advantage when working with out-of-town buyers.
Suffice it to say that if a real estate agent isn't listing your home online through multiple web sites as well as with the local MLS, you may not be getting the exposure necessary to find a buyer.
*Originally written Oct 2006
*Originally written Oct 2006
Marc White
Marketing Specialist, ABR, ePro, GREEN, GRI, zPro
Broker/REALTOR, Cash Realty & Construction
Top Listing Agent 2009, 2010
Cell/Direct 828-406-2134
Search 1,000s of Homes Instantly at www.MarcWhiteHomes.com
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