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Your home’s value -price
Determine your homes’ value. You don’t want to market your home with too high of a price because often it will ultimately sell for less than it is worth, nor do you want to market it for too little as that “leaves money on the table”.
Size, location, functionality,
maintenance, fit and finish, and external market conditions will all be factors in the valuation of your home. Atomic Realty will use these factors to perform a "comparative market analysis", CMA, that considers these to aid in the valuation of your property. Atomic Realty will perform a CMA and provide the report to you at no cost or obligation to you. Consider:
List price is not sales price. The numbers you see on Zillow and other marketing sites are what people ask for, not what the property actually sold for. To determine actual values you and Lenders are concerned with what they sold for NOT WHAT THEY WERE LISTED AT! Some homes sell for less and some for more than the list price.
Atomic Realty suggests you price your home at a price you would be willing to accept, and no less. Some brokers will have you underprice your home to spark interest and hopefully have a multiple offer situation, others will intentionally want to overprice your home in hopes of getting your listing. We do not believe that underpricing or overpricing a home is beneficial, or honest to either buyers or sellers.
While we consider current listed prices to help determine trends, our CMA reflects sold properties to reflect what you can really expect. While we will list your property at whatever price you want, Atomic Realty will provide you with our honest opinion and will help you determine a price you can accept.
Remember, just because one neighbor sold their home for X dollars doesn't mean your home should sell for the same amount. Some homes sell for less and some for more than the list price.
It has been said that price is not always the problem with home but it is always the solution.
Staging is basically setting up your home to make a strong impression on property Buyers. Staging is not interior design. A professional home stager is an interior designer in reverse. Their objective is to make a home look as inviting as possible to a broad audience. So in other words, they take away design elements rather than introducing new ones.
Decluttering a house is always the first thing on a seller’s to-do list. Professional stagers simply organize and fine-tune that process. When all the extraneous items are taken away, the stager may add some neutral touches that will help buyers see themselves in the home.
You can stage a home yourself. The Seller can use some of their furniture, rent furniture, or any combination of the two for staging the house for showing. If you don’t want to move out and incur the cost of a professional home stager, a simple search on Google will reveal great staging tips such as including mirrors to make small rooms look larger or smaller touches like adding fresh flowers to a room.
Professional staging your home is an investment and is not for all homes. A Seller will need to decide whether the home will sell for enough extra money to cover all the costs and time of staging. If you don’t have the time, desire, or experience to stage your home and still want to stage it you can hire a professional home stager. However, professional home staging services are expensive. Home Stager’s overhead can be pretty high. They maintain constantly rotating inventory and have storage or warehouse costs. They also have to pay for transportation and gas, as well as ordinary business expenses such as insurance, payroll, and business licenses.
However, home staging can pay off in the end. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 82% of buyers’ agents report that professional staging helps clients visualize a home as their own. Furthermore, the National Association of Realtors, says for every $100 dollars spent on staging a home can result in a return of $400 and sell faster than non staged homes.
It’s more than an installation day. Professional home stagers need time to prepare. They don’t drive around town with a truck filled with furniture, There is planning and preparation that goes into it. If using a professional stager they should be brought in for a consultation as early as possible so that they can work with the client to discuss the listing Brokers process, timeline, and budget for staging. Staging shouldn’t be an afterthought. It should be a priority, like photography or cleaning, Stagers really mean it when they say the property needs to be ready on installation day. In a perfect world, the property would be vacant, and the landscaping and cleaning would already be done. But too often, stagers find a house that isn’t fully prepped.
As an example, for a vacant staging project an ideal situation would be brokers and homeowners would have all work (contractors, landscapers, cleaners, etc.) completed a minimum of 24 hours prior to arrival. The access details would be provided a minimum of 24 hours prior to arrival and no other people (including the homeowner and Broker) would be onsite for the duration of the stage. Then, the photos would be scheduled a minimum of 24 hours after the trucks arrive.
Usually a Buyer will make an offer and there will be a few week period where the Buyer can have inspections completed. After the inspections are complete the Buyer can object and ask the buyer to repair, lower the price, accept as it is, or back out of the transaction.
Atomic Realty suggests the Seller having a whole home inspection done before putting the home on the market. Often the Seller will find the inspection insulting and petty as some inspectors will note cosmetics, age of systems and things that may one day fail as issues in addition to the more serious “safety” and “does not work as intended” issues. However, by the Seller having the inspection completed prior to marketing there will be less surprises for the Seller and they can address any, some, or none of the inspection issues to reduce time extensions and further Buyer negotiations.
A Seller’s presale inspection is generally good for the Buyer as well, as the Buyer will know upfront whether this is a house they want to pursue at all. Usually Buyers will accept cosmetics and age of systems without objection but will object to Safety and “does not work as intended” issues.
There are many many types of inspections, but by far the whole house inspection is the most common,
Make sure buyers can easily find your house. Adding large very visible numbers to you house makes it easy and a pleasure to locate,
Just as great pictures are important, first impressions are important. You never have a second chance for a first impression. Some tips are, mow your lawn, trim up trees and bushes, get rid of extra cars and trailers.
That first walk to the front door sets the tone. Even a fresh coat of paint on the door will make the initial impression more welcoming.
You may want to add some flower boxes - in early spring and fall plant cold tolerant plants and flowers to give the initial impression a little pizzazz.
Your home doesn’t have to be perfect. However, to sell the quickest and to get the most money you should make minor repairs to the property, Atomic Realty suggests repairing some or all the items from your pre-sale inspection.
When walking into a home a good presentation, sometimes called "fit & finish", will not only help your home sell quicker, but people tend to pay more for a home that has a good presentation. Ask a friend's opinion as to what you can do to help your property show better. Don’t be offended at the suggestions, and don’t feel you must do them. (they are just suggestions.)
Cluttered or dirty houses do not show as well, will put off potential buyers, and generally will not bring as much money as a clean sparsely furnished house. Atomic Realty suggests approaching interior presentation in one of 3 ways 1) Have the house empty and clean, it will look the largest. 2) remove all the unnecessary items from the interior and exterior of your property and have the house sparsely furnished with your furniture. This method helps the Buyer visualize how they would furnish the house and costs you the least or, 3) Have the house professionally staged. Professionally staged is the costliest option but generally gets you the highest price but sometimes not enough to pay for the staging.
Depersonalize your Home: If you have lived in the home for a while, you probably have a lot of memories displayed in it. Putting away all the personal memorabilia, family photos, and trinkets before showing this allows a potential Buyer to focus and visualize the house as their own. Never post photos of your home with pictures that show your valuables or children.
The kitchen is one of the most important selling features of your house. Consider spending the dollars to remodel and upgrade your kitchen. Replace countertops, buy new cabinet hardware, and add some fancy appliances. Make it stand out.
When it comes to tips for selling your home, don’t forget about lighting. A well-lit bright home is one of the main items Buyers look for in a home. You can maximize the light in your property by cleaning the windows, removing, or opening the drapes, cutting down vegetation outside your windows, using higher wattage light bulbs, and perhaps changing out some dated fixtures.
Get rid of foul smells that could turn off potential buyers. Some of the recommended tips for home selling are to clean wash bins, trash cans, and drains, get the carpet cleaned, throw away old furniture, and create enough ventilation. Potential buyers visiting your property will probably be hungry. Offering them a drink and snack may make them want to stay around longer to look at the home. You could consider creating pleasant smells using freshly brewed coffee, cookies, or baked bread. The more positive the experience for the Buyer the better your offers will be.
Having your cats, dogs, or other pets around while showing your house is a major home selling mistake. Potential buyers don't know your pet and could get distracted from the house or put off by pets that are noisy or playful or worse vicious. Besides, some people are allergic to animal fur.
Have your condo association documents and contact information readily available for buyers. They will likely need this for a loan.
Many homeowner insurance policies do not cover homes that are not occupied for an extended period. If vacant make sure you have or can get a “rider” from your insurance company to cover your home until your home sells. If the house were to have major water, fire, or other damage make sure your insurance covers it even if it is vacant.
If your home is held in a trust or you have a power of attorney from the owner keep those handy as the title company will need them to close.
If selling without a Broker, as a FSBO, have a plan on how you are going to accomplish the process once someone says they want to buy your home. You may want to consider Atomic Realty’s $599 + 1% FSBO Assistance plan. You find the Buyer and we do all the paperwork.
Price. When marketing your home, Atomic Realty suggests you price your home at a price you would be willing to accept, and no less. Some brokers will have you underprice your home to spark interest and hopefully have a multiple offer situation, others will intentionally want to overprice your home in hopes of getting your listing. In this market we do not believe that underpricing or overpricing a home is beneficial, or honest to either buyers or sellers. Atomic Realty will help you determine a price you can accept.
Consider Competitive offers. To save commission fees many people want to sell as a ``For Sale by Owner” (FSBO). The Seller may have a friend or acquaintance that wants to buy their home. Does the Seller get the most money for their home this way? While every home is unique and each Buyer and Seller relationship is different, generally, the answer is no. Considering competitive offers will usually get the highest sales price and the best terms for both parties. Atomic Realty’s $599 + 4% plan will manage this for you and get you the highest price and terms that best meet your goals.
Earnest money is money that a Buyer will put down as a commitment to the Seller that they will not back out of the purchase for no reason. To strengthen an offer, sometimes the Buyer will agree that the earnest money is not refundable for any reason, However, generally the earnest money is refundable if the Buyer’s loan doesn't go through or the inspections do not have satisfactory results, or the bank's appraisal values the home for too little.
Take time to consider all offers. Historically a person puts their home on the market and considers each offer as it is made. A common way of doing business is to show your home for a week or two and set a date that you will consider all the offers that have come in. This lets the market decide the value of the home and you decide a price and terms you feel most comfortable with. With Atomic Realty’s $599 + 4% plan Atomic Realty will field all the offers and discuss the pros and cons of the price and terms of each.
Escalate or not? An escalation clause is sometimes part of an offer that increases the offer up to a certain level. Usually these are relevant in multiple offer situations. An escalation clause increases the Buyer's chance of getting an accepted offer and increases the Seller’s sales price. With. Atomic Realty’s $599 + 4% plan, Atomic Realty will manage and advise every aspect of the escalation in an offer.
Closing costs - Legally, everything in real estate is negotiable, closing costs included. Often, which party pays them is determined by local convention. As a part of Buyer’s strong offer the Buyer may offer to pay most of the closing costs. However, if a property is priced too high or the market is weakening the Buyer may ask the seller to pay such costs.
Appraisal: An appraisal is an opinion of value performed by a licensed appraiser generally employed by a bank to confirm there is enough value in the home to be adequate collateral for the loan - in markets where prices are rapidly rising, appraisals often don’t keep up with sales prices, as the appraised value is determined from other prior sales. In a Sellers’ market to strengthen the offer a Buyer will often waive the appraisal. What this means is that if the bank's appraiser does not appraise the home for the purchase price, the Buyer agrees they will pay the difference between the appraised value and the purchase price. In a neutral or Buyer's market the Buyer will generally not waive an appraisal.
Comparative market analysis (CMA) - Is an opinion of value provided by a Broker taking into consideration past prices, current prices, and price trends. Generally banks will not accept these and will hire an appraiser which generally uses only past sales prices, for the purpose of the loan.
Inspection - This is a third party either hired by the buyer or seller to determine the condition of a home, not its value. Banks generally do not require an inspection for conventional loans.
ATOMIC REALTY’S VIEW ON PRE LISTING INSPECTIONS
Historically, and still common in many markets, a Buyer will make an offer to purchase and if accepted by the Seller there will be a multi week period when the Buyer can have inspections completed. After the Buyer’s inspections are complete the Buyer can object, no matter how minor or major an issue is, and request the Seller to resolve the issue by; lowering the price, accept the home “as is”, or backing out of the transaction completely. Inspections are not mandatory for either the Seller or Buyer.
A Seller having a pre listing inspection completed in advance of bringing the property to market, ultimately serves both the Seller and the Buyer by providing everyone important information. For the Seller, it advises the Seller as to what deficiencies are present in the home, it arms the Seller in advance as to what issues Buyers may use as bargaining chips, and it provides the Seller the opportunity to proactively remedy deficiencies or, alternately, acknowledge the problems and choose not to repair issues. Either way, the Seller is able to become fully informed from the outset, in advance of negotiating with a Buyer. Furthermore, the Buyer isn’t making uninformed assumptions about the condition of the property but is provided with a snapshot on its current state. This is a win-win for all parties.
As a Seller, wouldn’t you want Buyers to have this information upfront before they submit an Offer to Purchase, rather than after making an offer when they could walk away collapsing the deal, or try to hold you ransom for a price abatement?
A pre-listing inspection should focus on proper functionality of all major systems and components of the house such as heating and cooling; electrical; plumbing; roof and structure; siding; and doors and windows. Simply put, everything from the exterior to the interior will be evaluated. It only takes a few hours for the inspection to be completed. In the end, the inspection will give you a report of all the things noticed during the inspection.
A Seller’s “pre-listing” inspection is an optional step that a Seller may or may not choose to do. However, it may give the Seller an edge in attracting and retaining Buyers. While Sellers may be reluctant to spend the money for such services (often $500-$1000), In modern markets Sellers often utilize a “pre-listing” inspection” as there are many potential benefits to both the Seller and the Buyer for such an inspection, such as;
Atomic Realty recommends pre listing inspections and supplying them to potential Buyers, but it is entirely the Seller’s decision as to whether to do so.
At Atomic Realty we are professional, honest FULL Service Real Estate Brokers offering sensible commissions. We are based in Los Alamos and service Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Taos, Red River, Angle Fire, White Rock and Espanola. We use no misleading tactics. We tell you exactly what we are going to do, and exactly what we charge. We are people you can count on. NO tricks - Whether buying or selling we will honestly assist you.