Nancy Braam

Preparing Your Home For Sale – Part 2 of 5 -Step Inside

Continued from Part 1

Let’s step inside.

The Foyer

• The Foyer supports the desire to look further. Make sure it is clean, no cluttered furniture, light fixtures sparkles, floors are spotless and the general area is inviting.
• A small entrance table with fresh cut flowers adds a nice touch if there is room.

Preparing Your Home For Sale – 5 part guide to staging your home.

Let’s face it…most people don’t live this way! Many of these tips may appear overstated or unrealistic to you and your lifestyle. However, your home has now become a product offered for sale.  Just as an automobile is detailed before you try to sell it, we are detailing your house, or as the REALTORS say, “Staging Your House to Sell.”  We want to make the product, Your House, appealing to the majority of buyers. The closer you can get your home to the “ideal,” the more your goals of a quick sale at a good price will be accomplished. PLEASE don’t be offended. You deserve more than a sign out front and an occasional ad in the paper. Below are items we have discovered over the years that will help your home sell fast. The most important thing is -They work. Your home will be compared to model homes that are vacant and always clean, open and spotless. 

Buyers First Impressions
Your home’s “Curb Appeal.”  The first impression from the street and the view outside the front door is the most important thing that entices the potential buyer to take a look inside.

Remember, you are competing with over 1700 houses and condos for sale in Whatcom County.

From the Outside and more

• New floor mat at entry.
• Install new mail box and post if aged.
• Repaint exterior if needed. If brick, make sure trim is painted.
• Pressure-wash the home and driveway.
• Keep front porch clean and newspapers and flyers picked up.
• Replace missing shingles, as needed.
• Clean gutters.
• Clean windows until they shine—scrape if necessary.
• Clean shutters.
• Replace shutters if needed.
• Repair any broken boards on fence.
• Remove old rusted swing set, old basketball hoops, rusted lawn furniture, old rusted grill, dead trees or shrubs, old flowers from the past season, leaves, dead branches, weeds and debris.
• Garbage cans need to be stored neatly in the garage or designated area where they are out of sight.
• Edge the lawn and use quick greening fertilizer.
• Add mulch to flower beds and shrubs.
• Remove children’s toys and bikes.
• Remove leaves, pine needles from lawn and roof. Remove any moss from the roof.
• Cut lawns, shrubs and plant fresh growing colorful flowers.
• Paint, stain or varnish front door and polish hardware. Install kick plate.
• Oil squeaky doors.

Next: Inside

3 Reasons Why Now Is The Best Time To Sell

1. If you are selling to buy something bigger/better - is that opportunity knocking? For instance, if you are moving up…this market is great for you. Outgrown your present home? Just want more space? Acreage, maybe? Now is your time. In the Bellingham area, there are some tremendous bargains in the $399,00-$499,000 range. For that you can get a big house – 2700-4000sf, newer, in a good to great area. Or you can have a 2000-2500+ sf house on 5 acres with a shop. Throw in a view of Mt Baker. If you are willing to do some work, pay even less than that. If you have been wanting and planning to move bigger or better, do not let the fact that you can’t get what you want from your present home stop you. Now is not the time to be short-sighted.

From a percentage basis, the lower end homes have depreciated less than the higher end homes. The market is on your side if you are moving up.

2.If you are buying your last home.  I have heard this line from many clients only to be selling their home 5 years later. So let’s say, for people in  the age 60+ category. There are many areas around the country that have lost more value than we have in the Pacific Northwest. Yet many of these areas are places that would be great to live. Where do you want to live, or go back to, or follow grandchildren to? This might be the time.

3. If you want to move to Arizona. I’m not kidding – there are some absolutely screaming bargains for beautiful retirement homes in golf course communities, gated, un-gated, pools, no pools. Whatever you want. If that’s where you’ve been dreaming of going, this is your market. Our market has held up very well in comparison, yet many Pacific Northwesterners enjoy the opportunity to live in a dry climate. Even if you don’t want to sell now – buying the second home in Arizona is a savy move you would thank yourself for later.

If you need help pricing your home or for referrals to good agents in other places, contact me.

Pricing A Home To Sell: A Simple Lesson In Pictures

In an appreciating, or seller’s market, if you price high, with time the market will catch up to your price.

In a depreciating or buyer’s market, like we’re in now, it’s not the same story. If you price too high to start, you will be rejected by the market. You can tell if you are, because you get few or no showings. Sometimes seller’s don’t think they are too high because no one has even seen it. Sorry to break it to you, but that is telling you it’s too high. It doesn’t even compare well enough to get on the showing list.

Once you realise it is too high, you start reducing the price. Unfortunately, many sellers stay behind the eight ball. They make too little price reductions too slowly and the market keeps out-pacing them. In a down-trending market, you need to get ahead of it or you won’t sell at all. Do you realise that less than 50% of houses in Bellingham sell in this market during their listing period? Sad, but true.

Do your research. Listen to your Realtor. If you play the game of trying to get the highest price, you’ll end up losing in the long run. Contact me if you need some help.

Buyer’s and Seller’s Markets in Real Estate: A Simple Lesson In Pictures

The law of supply and demand in the real estate market. It’s like a see saw.

Buyer’s Market:

Fewer buyers, more inventory, prices go down.

Seller’s Market:

More buyers, less inventory, prices go up.

As the components change, you can start to see a change in the market. Are the number of sales going down or up? That represents the number of buyers in the market. Are the number of homes on the market growing or shrinking? That’s the inventory. Those two factors will tell you what’s happening with prices. No magic here.

3 Things You Better Tell Your Renters If You Want To Be A Successful Landlord

I admit it. I scare renters. What’s more, I actually enjoy it.

You’ve heard the saying, “You train people how to treat you.” I believe this wholeheartedly when it comes to tenants.

When I rent one of my properties, I always meet the prospective tenant face-to-face and give them The Talk. Look them straight in the eye, don’t smile and say something like this:

I will be the best landlord you have ever had, provided you do 3 things.

1. You must pay the rent on time. I have no sympathy whatsoever about late rent. If you are short, borrow from family and friends, not from me. Don’t even try an excuse on me – it won’t work. This is my investment, it’s not a charity. If you don’t pay I have no problem at all making you leave. 

Of course, you have to follow this up with action. Do Not tolerate late rent. Period. You are better off getting a new renter then to train them that it is okay to be late. I’ve had people that were deadbeats for other landlords who pay on time every month.

2. You must take care of my property. I am not a rich person, I can’t afford to have someone destroy my property. I do drive-bys, and I will inspect it from time to time.

3. You must be a good neighbor. I know all the neighbors. They have my phone number. They are not afraid to call me. I will not inflict a bad neighbor on them. It would just take you a few minutes to drop the neighbors a line and give them your phone number, just in case. Neighbors make great watchdogs.

Ask them point blank – Can you agree to these 3 things?

Watch their eyes. Trust your gut. Don’t be so desparate that you’ll take anyone. Train them right up front and you’ll save tons of time and money down the road.

Under $300,000 Sales For October 2010 in Bellingham Wa

There were 34 residential sales in Bellingham under $300,000 in October.

Lowest priced sale in Bellingham in October

Here’s the lowest:

510 W. Illinois

• 1208 square feet
• 3 bd, 1 bath
• Fixer-upper
• Central location on arterial
• Asking – $125,000
• Sold for $100,000
• 66 days on the market

Even in this slow market, we have sales that happen as soon as we put the house on the market. Sometimes we even have multiple offers. This month these homes sold in less than 10 days.

From the left:

1715 Woburn – 4 bd/2 ba, 2000 sf, built in 1979, fixer, sold for $131,000.

2410 Ellis – 3 bd/1 ba, 1363 sf, built in 1900, lots of new stuff, sold for $190,000.

3813 Ohio – 2 bd/1 ba, 864 sf, built in 1975, good area, sold for $195,000

For homes under $300,000 the average market time in October was 75 days. Average size was 1633 sq with 3 bdrms, 1.75 baths.

They sold for 94% of their asking price on average and 88% of their original asking price – so in other words the average house started at $252,159, lower their price to $235,041 and then sold for $220,735.

There were a total of 64 sales in Bellingham for the month of October. So the bulk of all residential sales were under $300,000 – 53% to be exact. 

To put this in a little perspective, there were 9 sales over $500,000 with the top sale at $1,040,000 for a Chuckanut waterfront home that was a short sale.

If you’d like information about a sale in your neighborhood or a specific home you’ve been watching, contact me - I am happy to get that information for you.

Yeesh! What’s That Smell? Did Someone Die?

When I got to the house to preview it, the seller opened the door and literally, a wall of stench hit me in the face and I am sure I took a step backwards.

I was trapped, I had to go in. Obviously, this woman was used to the smell, had to be, how could anyone live with this? It about made my eyes water.

The culprit was a really old dog that moped around with his overactive odor distribution mechanism.

The house itself was quite nice and in fact might work for one of my clients. We had looked at everything in Bellingham so when I called Joyce and told her I had a house to show her but that she had to get past the smell, God bless her, she was game.

As we stood on the front porch, I said “Here’s the plan. We’ll take a deep breath, look at the living room and dining room and then go out on the deck, where we can breathe. Then we’ll take another deep breath and see the kitchen, then out to the garage and breathe. Then another breath and on to the bedrooms.”

And that is how we saw the house.

So cut to the end of the story. Joyce and Brad bought the house and live there still. They had to rip out the flooring and seal the underlayment. What they couldn’t paint, they scrubbed and disinfected. They got rid of the smell and turned it into a beautiful home where they raised their son.

For the seller, it was a pretty poor experience. Her house took a long time to sell and she had to discount the price more than necessary.

People get used to their own house smells. Especially pet owners. Most buyers are sensitive to pet smells and they feel  they won’t be able to get rid of the smell without a lot of work and expense. And that can be the case. There are too many other houses that don’t smell, why deal with it at all. Your house gets passed up… again.

If you have pets and are planning to put your house on the market, do yourself and the future buyer a favor and deal with it now. First, get the carpets professionally cleaned and see if that works. Get an honest, non pet owning friend to give it the smell test. If that didn’t do the trick, I recommend you change the carpet. You wrecked it, you ought to fix it. Sorry if that is harsh. Don’t expect the buyer to “imagine” the house without the smell.

Then for the course of time it takes to sell, you have to keep Fido from re-stenching it. Is that a hardship for you? Yes, it is. When you are selling your home, it is a product on the market and you need to see it through the buyers eyes (and nose). It’s almost not your home, so start making that mental shift now. Don’t be offended just do what needs to be done.

In this buyer’s market you are required to please the purchaser. After all, there are only so many Joyces in the world.

The Top 3 Questions You Need To Ask Your Prospective Listing Agent

A lot of people ask, “How many agents do I need to interview?

I don’t care if you interview one or twenty, the key word here is interview.

Maybe the agent you met at the open house is fine – interview them. Maybe your nephew, the realtor you go to church with, your neighbor, the one with the nicest smile is the best match. Just interview!

Selling your house represents liquidating your biggest asset for most Bellingham folks. My point is don’t pick the person who will be your advisor, advocate and negotiator lightly.

What do you ask? There are a ton of possible questions, here are 3 that are imperative: Read the rest of this entry »