Granada Hills Realtor's Guide To Attracting Buyers

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A Granada Hills Realtor can make his property inviting to people and make a sale in a lot of ways.

Showcase your property. Persuade prospect buyers by letting them be aware of other interested parties on the property. Let people know of what your property has to offer that would make it the best pick, and make sure you gather contact details needed for callbacks to further the sale.

Promote your property by the use of advertising, and make your property known to all. Make your ad inviting and attractive to compel potential buyers to contact you for further information.

Invent ways that would motivate people to want to buy your property. Offer freebies and enticements or financing help to your buyer. Commission people you know to aid you in the sale of your property to better your chances of making the sale.

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A Professional Granada Hills Realtor Has Tips on How to Buy Directly from Homeowners

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If you thought that you can’t buy a house without a Granada Hills real estate agent, you are highly mistaken.

Around 20 percent of the total house sales annually are direct purchases. Meaning, the deal involves the buyer and the owner, minus the real estate agent. Although it’s not hard, you would have to complete some steps and you will have to depend on some experts to ensure that you are complying with state and local laws. Here are the steps to follow to have an easy, more direct, and cost-effective deal with a home seller.

1. There are two key factors that you’d need to consider when making a purchase: Price and place. How much are you willing to spend? Where would you like to live?

These two factors go hand-in-hand and are inseparable. A midsized home in a district known for its high quality schools will probably be more expensive than a bigger new house on the outer side of town with overpopulated schools. A condo unit may seem a like a good deal – until you receive a notice from the homeowners association for your monthly fee. Transportation cost also counts. Is public transportation readily available in the area or do you need to take a car loan? Determining your household’s mortgage limit is also considered. You clearly do not want to take loans that in the end you can’t pay.

You can do a simple calculation of how much you are able to spend on a house by adding your down payment, normally 10 to 20 percent of the cost, to your mortgage. You can use our mortgage calculator to do this; you can add some other variables to see that by just changing something so small can have a huge impact on your mortgage limit and home purchase price.

2. Get Pre-Approved: Getting preapproved on your loan will assure your seller that you are capable of buying his/her property. And when that happens, your seller knows that the negotiation that he/she is making with you is “in good faith.” Conversely, the seller would back off on the negotiation table when he/she knows that you can’t afford his/her property. Prepare all the necessary things when you are conversing with your lender, your calculations in step 1 and some other supporting documents. You would also need some proof of income and your bank account statement for the past few months and show how you’re paying on your existing loans.

It’s also a wise move to check your established credit score. The higher it is, the more likely that the lender will trust you. Having a midrange or low credit score would mean that you will probably pay more on your mortgage, that is if you are lucky to get one at all. The lender would also check your computations and documentations to verify or adjust your maximum mortgage.

3. House Hunting: The fun starts during this time. Try visiting ForSaleByOwner.com and search for your ideal home. You can also expand your search by including HomeFinder.com and ForeClosureTimes.com.

4. Establish Direct Contact with the Owner: When you have found a home that you like, contact the owner via email or phone call to get more information on the house. Try to set up a showing with the owner, there’s no middle man so most probably the owner will guide you through the tour. You can use the questions on the listing sheet as a starting point. Ask as many questions as possible and focus on the facts he/she mentioned. Avoid distractions and focus on what he/she is saying. Based on everything that you have gathered, deduce whether it fits your budget, preferred location, style and function.

5. Get a Property Report of the Home: You can do this either before or after you have seen the home. This will allow you to compare its asking price from those of similar houses that were sold in the neighborhood. You can get such report via comparative market analysis (CMA) of real estate agents or a computer-generated one. The latter is like the real deal which will compare the home that you’ve got your eyes on to up to 20 other home sales nearby. Take note that property reports and CMAs did not include renovations -- so can expect that the estimated value will be affected somehow. CMAs also may or may not include foreclosures and distress sales, which can unnaturally lessen the average selling price in the surrounding area. However, appraisers consider these factors when he visits the house per request of the lender (as mentioned in step 8). CMAs let you see the probable value of the house and the appraiser will consider all the factors in his appraisal.

6. Seek Legal Help: Spending a few hundred dollars on real estate attorneys will equip you with all the legal advice and counsel you need as you go from offer to closing. Try to make use of local attorneys who are familiar with real estate business in your town – city ordinances as well as disclosure and tax laws. You can also rely on your attorney to walk you through the offer negotiation.

7. Make an Offer: Once you are finished with the above mentioned tasks, you are now ready to make an offer to the seller. Ask your attorney to make the necessary forms. This will make all of the technicalities of the paperwork an easy task. Make sure that your offer leaves room for negotiations and at the same time not too low to offend the seller.

Use the information you have gathered and the observations you have made regarding the condition and amenities of the house as the basis for your offer. If you believe that some of the amenities, like swimming pools and hot tubs, included in the house are of no value to you, you can deduct their perceived value from your original offer. Be sure to be objective when making these deductions and base them on function and structure and not on subjective factors. For example, it is reasonable to subtract $2,000 for the replacement of old refrigerators because every home needs a functioning refrigerator. On the other hand, it’s unfair to deduct $2,000 for replacing the curtains with the ones you prefer. The above case is a matter of taste, not functionality. Draw out your objective reasoning as an addition to your offer. This will allow your buyer to understand your reasoning.

Continue your negotiation with the seller until you have come into an agreement: the price of the house, scheduled closing of the transaction, and any seller concessions, which may be to pay some of the closing cost or to include personal properties.

8. Lock in Your Mortgage Rate: After reaching an agreement with the seller, the house is already “under contract.” You have to start working on multiple important tasks all at the same time.

· Let your lender check on your offer, this will strengthen the commitment for the mortgage. Although you are prequalified, take some time to have a look around one more time for better terms and lower mortgage rates. You can try to visit Bankrate.com for comparing your mortgage with current mortgage rates at major lending firms. You can also check out local banks and mortgage brokers for price comparison. Once you have established your mortgage with your lender and mortgage broker, it is “locked in” for 1 to 2 months – which is an enough time to do the rest of the paperwork and close the sale.

· Let the appraiser, who was assigned by your lender, to examine the terms of the contract and the house itself. This may pose a potential issue. That is if the appraiser noted that your offer is way above the prices of recent sales of similar properties in the neighborhood. If this happens you might want to renegotiate with the seller.

9. Get the Home Inspected: Hire a professional inspector who will check the house from top to bottom to see if there structural or mechanical problems in the house. It would cost you from $300 to $600 and usually takes two hours. By that time, you will have the report regarding the condition the home is in.

The inspector may or may not verify that the house is complying with local building codes. You can ask the inspector to confirm that the improvements, if any, were made legally and in compliance with local building code. If it’s not in accordance with the building code and you already bought the house, you are the ones who will handle all of the costs in bringing the house into code compliance.

You might want to re-negotiate the price after seeing the inspection report. For instance, if the inspector told you that the roof needs replacement, bring that issue to the seller to lower the price for compensation of the expenses that you would spend in making the replacement or the seller could offer an allowance at closing for repairs and replacements.

10. Close the Deal: Your attorney will be handling most of the task of closing the deal. He/she will also advise you if any special paperwork needs to be completed. They, your attorney and mortgage lender, will be assisting you in coordinating the financial aspect of the sale and provide payment to the seller. On the specified closing day, the seller will be signing the deed of the home. You will do all the necessary paperwork, and lastly and perhaps what you have been waiting for, obtaining the key to you new home.

This information is simplified, and many schools of thought say that you should definitely have professional help in such a potentially expensive undertaking. Lack of knowledge about a single aspect of the deal can cost you more than you would save. If you need help, there is always your Granada Hills Realtor just a phone call away.

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Professional Granada Hills Realtor Has 9 Ways to Sell a House Quickly

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Now that the house hunting season is backing at the driveway of the real estate market it’s now time to take closer look at some of the ways to quickly make a house sale. Although there has been some improvements in the economy as of late, the housing market is still tilting towards the buyers side of the fence. You’d be surprised at how many buyers are gunning for a house on sale. The truth of the matter is, sellers are as always in a competitive market and must learn to distinguish themselves from their competitors to make a sale. Luckily, there are several proven and tested techniques that can help you sell your home at the quickest possible way not to mention, sometimes if you’re in luck, help you get you a few more bucks out of your home.

9 Ways To Sell Your Home In A Buyer’s Market

To ensure that your home is going to sell in a buyer’s market, there are several ways that you could. Here are 9 ways to help you to take your property off the market quickly:

1. Set the right selling price.

We all know how hard it is to sell a home for a much lesser price than what you bought it for. And it’s even more difficult if you’re knee-deep on your home loan. But insisting what you want won’t do you any good. To set the right price, you need to research about prices of homes for sale in your area. You can do this by going to websites like like Zillow and HomeGain, asking around for other home’s prices, or hiring an appraiser.

You’ll be in a better position than your competitors if you know the average price of homes in your area because you can adjust your price to compete with that of your competitors.

2. Make your home clutter-free

Having a messy home is surely a blow-off. So make sure that your house is as spick-and-span and organized as possible even if it meant spending a few bucks storage fee. Looking at magazines or even an IKEA catalog will give you some idea on how your home should look like to attract buyers. Here are some few tips we rounded up that will help guide you:

· Show as much surface as possible by removing unnecessary tables, desks, and countertops.

· Depersonalize your home removing personal items like family photos. What you want is for buyers to visualize themselves living in the house.

· Allow more living space in your home by removing unnecessary furniture.

· Take out unnecessary extension cords and power strips. You don’t want your potential buyer to think that your electrical system inadequate.

· Make the illusion that your closet is bigger than it actually is by removing your clothes from it.

· Any extra clutter both inside and outside of the house should be stored away.

3. Improve your home’s appeal

“First impressions…last,” this is also true in the real estate business. Your goal here is to make home improvements at the same time considering your wallet’s capacity. There are a lot of inexpensive ways to improve your curb appeal.

Here are some ways to improve your home curb appeal:

· Beautify your home’s surrounding. It is the very first thing that your potential buyers would notice. So be sure to trim down those hedges and mow your lawn.

· Well polished windows and surfaces.

· Neutral colored walls and doors. If it needs to be repainted, do so; but remember to choose neutral colored paints.

· Replace those old window blinds and drapes. Remember to update your window treatments.

· Power-wash or repaint your home’s exteriors. Well-painted exteriors will surely draw in potential buyers.

4. Do those minor and major home repairs.

Do a room-by-room check of the entire house for anything that needs fixing. Small things count and potentially turn your buyers off. If you noticed them surely your buyers will too. Set aside some of your free time to fix those things one after another. If you don’t have the time, you can hire someone else to fix them for you.

5. Take some time to learn the Art of Home Staging

Home staging is not the same with removing clutters and/or cleaning. It goes beyond what was mentioned above. It also engages intangible things which include:

· Making your home pleasant to the olfactory of your buyers will surely add to the overall appeal of your home. Your home will not only look good but smell good as well.

· Making the temperature of your home just right will let your potential buyer feel comfortable.

· Check the lightings of the entire house. Adjusting window treatments or turning the lights on if the room is dim. Well lit rooms will surely entice your buyer’s visual senses.

· Arrange the furniture in an orderly manner. This will add to the overall visual appeal of your home.

· Showcase your well-designed fabrics, decors, and knickknacks. They can add additional color to the room where they are in.

6. Make use of the internet to market your house

Today is the internet age and a lot of people are spending their time surfing the net than those watching the NBA finals. Post your ad on Craigslist, Zillow, and HomeGain, surely someone would notice your ad. You can also capitalize on the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. You can promote your house there with no cost whatsoever. You can also send emails to your contacts on your email to see whether they are or know someone who is searching for a house to purchase.

There limitless ways in which you can make use of the internet to market your house. You just have to explore different ways and make use of whatever you have at your disposal.

7. Seek professional help

In most cases, it’s much better to work with a professional agent than to sell the house on your own. Granada Hills Realtors have the knowledge and experience in finding buyers and showing your home. Although our job looks fairly simple but it’s harder than it looks. However, bear in mind that we are talking about serious amount of money, your money. So don’t just jump onto any agent that comes your way. Ask for recommendations from your peers who might know some good real estate agent or you can just call some Granada Hills real estate firms and ask for their number one sales agent. Remember to choose an agent that you are comfortable working with and be sure to ask questions.

Another piece of advice, don’t sign an exclusive contract with any real estate agent unless you are certain that he/she is worth it. You clearly don’t want to make the mistake of signing an exclusive contract especially if the real estate you hired sucks at what he/she does.

8. Use your right side of the brain.

If your potential buyer wanted to buy your house but is having doubts because they need help to close the deal, just give them a little push. Make an offer that is just too good to miss. For example, you can provide some assistance to them in the closing cost. This usually works on first time home buyers.

Be creative!

9. Don’t be there

Do yourself a favor by leaving the house. It’s uncomfortable and unusual on your part to have strangers walking to-and-fro inside your home and looking into your closet. And on the part of the buyer, it’s uneasy to have the owner of the present during the open house. It’s as if they are intruding into your personal space. In a way they probably are but you don’t want them to feel uneasy, do you? Leave everything to your real estate agent; he/she knows what his/she’s doing.

Making a house sale is not a walk in the park. However, by following these few simple ways, you can take your home off the market pretty quick. Your Granada Hills Realtor can help make this happen.

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How a Professional Granada Hills Realtor Sells A Home

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In today’s housing market where selling a house is like selling Halloween costumes on December, knowing how to make your house appeal to your prospective buyers may be the only difference between making a sale or having swarms of flies around your commodity.

According to Michael Gentile, a Granada Hills REALTOR®, there are seven ways to make your home appealing to your buyers.

Price your home aggressively. If the mortgage rates are low and there isn’t a lot of competition, sellers can raise their prices and usually get them. Although the houses are overpriced, sellers would still get some offers, as buyers are desperate to find a home that suits their particular taste and needs. Pricing is absolutely critical especially when things are slow. But instead of being aggressive, price your houses just right in the average of what similar houses are selling. If you want to sell your house quickly, price your house low, among 25 percent of the bottom. This will attract prospective buyers who are serious in making a purchase.

Cutting prices when you don’t get any nibbles. Though what sellers ultimately want is to sell their homes at a price they would be happy of, but sometimes they are forced to make necessary cuts to just to take their houses off the market. In a market where there are few buyers sometimes you have to make price cuts to make the sale more quickly.

Work with the right agent. Choosing the right agent for the job is critical especially in the current market where buyers are few. You need a real estate agent who is on top of his game. Try asking your family, friends, and neighbors for their recommendations. Do several interviews with different agents and hire the one whom you think is the best one.

Make your home as appealing as possible. Surely having an affordable asking price would draw in buyers but there’s nothing more than a great curb appeal. Take a quick stroll around your neighborhood; if your home doesn’t stand from the rest of the homes in your neighborhood, it’s probably time to wear your hard hats and start working in making your home more appealing.

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A Granada Hills Realtor’s Guide to Selling Houses in Today’s Market

Here are some strategies to sell homes in today's market:

• Know you your customers are by determining what they need and want. A Granada Hills Real Estate agent must always meet with the buyer midpoint.

• Fix a property well. Overfixing will cause overspending for repairs or other costs. Underfixing will produce low price negotiations.Image by Getty Images via @daylife

• Prepare and furnish the house well before showing the house to the potential buyers. An empty home or unarranged may cause lost customers. The house must always be ready for presentation.

• Display a Pocket of Emotion. This will include creating a detailed setting of a homey style part of the house, such as flowers, magazines and decorations. It is important to give the potential buyers an opportunity to express their emotions and expand their interest on the home.

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