Selling your home is one of the most stressful things you’ll ever go through and one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. However, there’s a lot more to selling your home than just sticking a sign out in the front yard. Most likely, your home will need a little work before it is perfect.

Therefore, you’ll have to decide whether you need to take care of home improvement issues yourself or, to sell with the expectation that the buyer will be the one to do so. We put together a few pros and cons to doing it each way to make your decision a little easier.

Do The Improvements Yourself

Choosing to complete needed improvements yourself means that you will likely get a higher sales price for your home. In addition, with less work to do, it opens up your home to more buyers than one that is a fixer-upper does. Selling will usually be faster and closing more likely to go smoothly.

On the other hand, chances are good that you will not get the full value you put into those improvements at the closing table. In addition, when you are moving, money may be tight making this an even more difficult proposition.

Sell It As A Fixer Upper

The main benefit of selling your home as a fixer-upper is that you will not have to put that money in up front. If you are in a difficult financial situation or selling your home at a loss, this may be necessary. Additionally, you aren’t the one that has to deal with the contractors and calling around to get quotes on all of the work.

One of the downfalls to selling your home as a fixer-upper is that you’ll likely get a lower price and some buyers won’t even come out and check out your house if they think there is too much work that needs to be done. Plus, depending on the type of work that needs to be done, you may wind up in a pickle during the inspection process. Certain problems can prevent lenders from closing on the deal. You often find the closing process is slower and fraught with more concerns.

The reality is, it really depends on whether doing the improvement yourself or selling it as a fixer-upper is the right choice. Discuss your concerns and speak honestly about your financial picture with your trusted real estate professional and perhaps you will have a better idea of which of these options is the smart choice for your situation.

Filed under: Real Estate by Julie Woodward
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If you are thinking about selling your home, then you want to make sure that you get as much money for your home as possible. Therefore, there is a solid chance that you are thinking about all of the places that you watched your kids grow up, the numerous parties that you hosted, and the countless holidays that you celebrated. To you, those memories are priceless.

Therefore, you should put these factors aside when you are selling your home. You aren’t selling your memories. Instead, you are trying to sell a home. If you want your home to sell quickly, there are a few tips that you should follow.

Do Not Price Your Home High Immediately

You probably think that your house is wonderful. After all, that is why you decided to move in all those years ago. The problem is that if you price your home too high at the beginning, then it might sit on the market for a long time. The longer a home sits on the market, the harder it is going to be to sell. Therefore, do not miss that window of opportunity. Instead, try to price your home to sell. Generate plenty of interest in your home so that you receive multiple offers. That is how you can get the most money possible for your home while still selling it quickly.

Don’t Assume Recent Renovations Are Going To Provide You With A Higher Price

If you have watched a lot of TV shows, then you might assume that renovations are going to drive up the listing price. This is not necessarily the case. You need to assess the market value of the renovations that you completed in the context of your home. That way, you can make sure that you recoup as much money as possible.

Price Your Home To Sell

These are just a few of the most important tips that you need to keep in mind if you want to make sure that you price your home to sell. If you want your home to sell quickly, then you need to ensure that you get plenty of interest in it. Pricing your home to sell will help to make this happen.

Filed under: Real Estate Tips by Julie Woodward
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For most sellers, whether they’ve put a condo at the Grand Caribbean on the market or they’re selling a canal-front home on North Padre Island, it’s a big question: Is it easier to sell a home while you’re still living in it, or should it be vacant before you put it on the market?
Not everyone has a choice; in fact, most people sell their homes while they’re still living in them because they need to sell the home in order to purchase another.
But is it easier to sell your home while you’re living in it?

Should You Sell Your House While You Still Live in It?

There are a few aspects of selling that are tougher while you still live in your home, such as having to keep the house spotless and ready for a showing at any time or having to leave the house (and drop what you’re doing) every time someone comes to see it.
However, if you’re still living in the house when you sell it, you have some distinct advantages on your side.
First, it’s already halfway staged; second, a vacant house feels empty to buyers—and it may not give them warm-fuzzy feelings about buying it, either.
Homes show better when they’re occupied. Buyers don’t have to guess at whether their bed will fit in the bedroom or if they’ll need to buy a bigger dining room table. They can also identify each room’s purpose—provided that you’ve staged it properly.
The bottom line: Even if it’s tougher (and it is, sometimes) to sell your home while you’re still living in it, it’s probably a good idea because it’ll sell faster—and maybe even at a better price—than it would if you left it vacant.

Are You Selling Your Home in Port Aransas or North Padre Island?

If you’re selling your home, we’d love to help you do so quickly and at the right price. We’ll be happy to give you a free comparative market analysis so you know exactly how much your home is worth. While you’re here, you can also download our free home-selling eBook and read our useful tips for selling your home faster.
When you’re ready, call us at 361-563-7788 or contact us online to find out how we can help you sell your home in Port Aransas or North Padre Island.
 
 
 

Filed under: Blog, Selling by Julie Woodward
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If you’re selling your home, your Port Aransas Realtor® will walk you through all the steps you need to make to put its best foot forward.
But what else can you do to make buyers fall in love at first sight?

3 Tips for Staging Your Port Aransas Home

You want buyers to walk in and love your house, so you have to be proactive. Each house has its own charms, so you’ll want to highlight them; likewise, each house has its own quirks, and you’ll want to minimize (or eradicate) those.

Home Staging Tip #1: Make Buyers Feel Welcome

Your goal: to make buyers feel right at home. Ideally, your potential buyers can envision themselves living in your space. In order to help them do that, you can:

• Leave the house. Buyers don’t want you hanging over their shoulders during a showing. (You wouldn’t, either.)
• Put out wrapped candy or other takeaways that your potential buyers are welcome to take.
• Make the interior temperature as comfortable as possible. Forget about your utility bills, just this once, to ensure that potential buyers aren’t sweating or freezing.

Home Staging Tip #2: Set the Mood

Turn on water fountains if you have them, and light a fire in the fireplace if it’s cool enough outside to make sense. (Remember that you’re leaving, though, so you’ll have to time it right.) If you can, pipe soft, relaxing music throughout the house.
Open all the shades to let in as much natural light as possible. Turn on all the lights, too. The brighter the home, the more likely buyers will view it more favorably. However, if there’s something unsightly outside, keep the blinds partially closed.

Home Staging Tip #3: Skip Heavily Scented Deodorizers or Air Fresheners

Lots of people are sensitive to synthetic smells, and lots of other people are just plain turned off by certain scents. Don’t burn candles or spray perfume, and skip the air fresheners and deodorizers.
Instead, open the windows if you can. (If there’s a lot of noise outside, though, leave them closed.)
If you’re going to bake cookies, make sure you leave them out for visitors with a nice note that says, “Please help yourself.”

Are You Selling Your Home in Port Aransas or North Padre Island?

If you’re selling your home, we’d love to help you do so quickly and at the right price. We’ll be happy to give you a free comparative market analysis so you know exactly how much your home is worth. While you’re here, you can also download our free home-selling eBook and read our useful tips for selling your home faster.
When you’re ready, call us at 361-563-7788 or contact us online to find out how we can help you sell your home in Port Aransas or North Padre Island.
 

Filed under: Blog, Selling, Staging by Julie Woodward
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When you’re selling your house, you want it to be as appealing to buyers as possible while increasing its value… and one way to do that is to make all kinds of upgrades everywhere, right?
Not necessarily.
You could be wasting your money on upgrades and improvements that your home doesn’t really need to appeal to sellers.

3 Improvements and Upgrades That Don’t Necessarily Increase Your Home’s Value

Every home is different, which is why it’s so important to talk to your Realtor® about what you should (and shouldn’t) do before you put your house on the market.
With that said, these three improvements and upgrades aren’t likely to bring you much (or any) return on investment.

All-Out Professional Landscaping

Your yard needs to look its best. Pick up sticks, rake the leaves, clear out grass clippings.
But it doesn’t need to look like the South Texas Botanical Gardens. If you overdo the landscaping, you could send buyers the message that they’re looking at a high-maintenance home; that’s the last thing you want to do.
Landscaping choices are personal to many people, so you could even drive off potential buyers with your handmade bridge over the flowing creek to the koi pond.

Swimming Pools and Hot Tubs

Install a swimming pool if you’re doing it for yourself, your family, and your friends.
Don’t install a swimming pool because you think buyers will like it.
The cost of installing swimming pools and hot tubs doesn’t usually work its way back into your bank account once you sell a home. Instead, focus on the fact that some families just won’t buy a house with a pool.

A New Roof

The average lifespan of a roof is about 30 years. If your home’s roof is older than that, replacing it isn’t really considered a home improvement; it’s just good maintenance. If it’s not and you replace it early, buyers are likely to think that’s a nice touch… but you might not want to expect any return on your investment through the sale.

Are You Selling Your Home in Port Aransas or North Padre Island?

If you’re selling your home, we’d love to help you do so quickly and at the right price. We’ll be happy to give you a free comparative market analysis so you know exactly how much your home is worth. While you’re here, you can also download our free home-selling eBook and read our useful tips for selling your home faster.
When you’re ready, call us at 361-563-7788 or contact us online to find out how we can help you sell your home in Port Aransas or North Padre Island.
 

Filed under: Blog, Selling by Julie Woodward
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Real estate agents in |**CITY**| will tell you that it can be harder to sell a home in the winter. The days are colder and shorter, leaving less time to show a home to potential buyers.

The good news, though, is that most buyers looking at houses in the winter aren’t just killing time. They’re serious enough about finding a new home to house hunt at a time when most people might rather stay inside.

There are a several steps you can take to make a good impression on home buyers this winter.

First, if there’s snow or ice on the ground, make sure walkways are safe. Spread out ice melt or sand to provide traction during snowy weather. Shovel the snow on the driveway and sidewalks to make your home more inviting. Be sure to place a mat on which for visitors to wipe their feet.

Second, warm up the house. Buyers will remember the house that was pleasantly warm on a frigid day. This also demonstrates to buyers that your furnace is in good working order.

Next, to make a “welcoming scent”, bake cookies the day of the showing. Some people are sensitive to the fragrances in air fresheners and perfumes, so skip spraying those when expecting someone to look at your house.

You can also serve snacks in the kitchen. Give the buyer a reason to linger in your home by leaving a light snack in the kitchen. If the weather is cold, consider providing chili or soup in a crock-pot to keep it warm with festive disposable bowls. Or, to keep it simple, you can provide coffee or hot chocolate and cookies.

Lastly, to make your house appear warm and inviting during cold winter months, turn all the lights in the house on; place warm-toned throws and decorator pillows around the living room. Play soothing classical or jazz music; keep the volume low enough that buyers can talk quietly to each other.

These techniques each can help your home seem more inviting this winter.

Filed under: Around The Home by Julie Woodward
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