Dottie Cordwell with Advance Realty:

Your Dream Home Awaits! Whatever your residential real estate needs happen to be, we have no doubts that we can fulfill them. Whether you’re a buyer or a seller, we will help you with your real estate goals, just as we’ve successfully been doing in this region for many years. We will take you, step by step, through the often confusing, sometimes intimidating real estate arena, and eliminate any mysteries surrounding the entire process. From start to finish, we will never abandon you.

Many home sellers like the idea of trying out the FSBO plan first. This package is similar to the Full Service marketing plan, excluding the MLS system. You can upgrade to the Full Service Marketing Plan

in the future. Your total marketing cost will not exceed 1.75% of the sales price.

Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a network of all cooperating local real estate agents who can sell your home to one of their pre-qualified clients.

If your home is listed for sale but excluded from the Multiple Listing Service, it has not been exposed to the entire marketplace. Therefore, most potential homebuyers are not aware that your home is available for sale. This can result in fewer offers and you will not receive the highest amount for your property.

CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN - If your house is on the market, a bright and sparkly home can attract buyers like a magnet. A house can never be too clean. If you were a buyer, would you choose the house that is slightly dingy or the home down the street that is clean and welcoming?

By making a clean house a priority, you do several things at once. First, you stay on top of maintenance issues, spotting potential problems before they become expensive ones. Secondly, you don't allow dirt and junk to build up over time. Things like mold can become a nuisance if allowed to spread unchecked. Finally, a clean house is healthier for you and your family!

Remember, de-cluttering is a form of cleaning. Just as dirt builds up, so does clutter. Don't waste money moving your junk around. Get rid of it now. When it's time to sell you will feel confident about what you are presenting to the buyer.

CURB APPEAL - Want a fresh perspective on the value of your home? Walk across the street, turn around and ask yourself, "Does my house have curb appeal?" Does your home look attractive, welcoming and structurally sound at first glance?

Make a list of ways to enhance the positive and eliminate the negative. If you have a nice curvy walkway, accentuate it with flowers or lanterns. If the first thing a visitor sees is your big wide garage, try to guide their eyes into a beautiful front yard, or paint your front door red to guide the eye there. These things add value.

Take a digital photo and look at your home in black and white. When the color is removed, the truth comes out. That is where you see the cracks in the walls and the glaring flaws.

Keep things clean and tidy. Talk to your neighbors because this affects them too. Curb appeal doesn't stop at your property line. Your home will be more valuable if you live in a place where everyone pays attention to appearance.

Host a neighborhood cleanup party. Team up with neighbors to mow lawns and trim hedges. See who wants to go in on a few flats of border flowers. By adding curb appeal to your entire neighborhood, you will all boost your home values.

When you're looking at your curb appeal, don't forget the side and rear views. Buyers walk around and peek over fences.

AVOID OVERPRICING AT ALL COSTS - As you prepare to sell your home, you should be aware of costly do’s and don’ts that should be observed as the house goes on the market. However, with the possible exception of painting your home’s exterior a bright shade of hot pink, the most significant mistake you are likely to make involves overpricing.

Selling your home can be an emotionally-charged chapter in your life, which makes it all too easy to get caught up in the moment. Let’s face it – we are all biased when it comes to our homes. After all, our home conveys a special meaning to us that is unique among all of our possessions. Thus, we tend to hold onto a biased notion that our home ranks heads and tails above others of similar design, size and location, and, thus, deserves a “special” price tag when we part with it for good.

But, make no mistake about it. This notion could cost you greatly – in terms of time and money. And as hard as it may be to shake the conception that your home should easily fetch a price well above what the competition is seeking, you will have to do just that.

Force yourself to look at your home objectively, exactly as the buyer would. Also, enlist the aid of your Realtor to help you study the competition and the marketplace (current, as well as recent past. Try to learn why some houses sold in a matter of days, while others languished on the market for months on end.

You will probably find that many of those homes, which took forever and a day to sell, were most likely overpriced to begin with. Take note of this, and learn from those sellers’ mistakes. According to many Realtors, the best opportunity to sell your home comes within thirty days of its first appearance on the market. If a home is overpriced, most buyers entering the marketplace will bypass it. Thus, the prime opportunity for the seller vanishes quickly.

Other key reasons why overpricing of your home is a no-win situation:

Value – buyers will sidestep your home if they feel it is priced well above comparable homes in the area. Why pay for a house that is overpriced, if they can purchase a much nicer home for the same amount of money elsewhere? Also, many buyers who may be on the borderline, as far as qualifying financially for a home comparable to yours, will likely be intimidated and just assume the home is out of their price range.

Time factor – if your home is overpriced, it will most likely have to sit and wait it out until all the comparable homes in the area have been sold, since that’s where the home buyers will be flocking. Problem is – new homes similar to yours, but more in tune with normal market prices -- will continue to enter the market in the meantime. In this situation, the competition wins while you play a waiting game that may never end.

Stale factor – many potential buyers will notice when a home has lingered on the market for an unusually long time. They will often assume something is abnormal about the house, and will stay away from this “stale” property. Oftentimes, the utterly frustrated seller will end up trying to unload his property at a below-market price. Thus, he’s lost the opportunity to make a decent profit, while also losing time during the lengthy selling period -- a time frame in which he could’ve been investing that profit, or enjoying his new home.

Financing difficulty – if a buyer (from another world, perhaps) who is willing to pay the unrealistic price you’ve set is actually found, he or she will have to obtain financing from a bank or mortgage company. In that case, however, the lender will require an appraisal. Unfortunately, the home would, in all likelihood, be appraised for a lower amount than the seller’s price, resulting in a mortgage loan denial.

Emotional/mental strain – The fact that you will need to continue to keep your home in spotless condition for showings while it’s on the market can take its toll on you emotionally, mentally, and, even financially. After all, it takes time to clean and maintain a home in “showroom condition.” And, as the saying goes, time is money.

It’s wise to remember that, after interviewing a few different real estate agents, it’s not a good idea to go with the one who recommends setting a price that is well above the market. That should tell you this he or she is either not really in touch with local market conditions – perhaps he or she is new to the area, and is used to working in another market where prices run higher.

Explore Our Website - In addition, we are pleased to point out that our website contains a variety of helpful links, easy-to-use tools, and other useful features which you can access anytime. Especially of interest to those of you who are new to the area is the information contained within the numerous pages of our website describing local schools, demographics, other unique facets of our thriving communities. And, of particular interest to buyers is our database of MLS Listings, a powerful, yet, user-friendly tool, which is available 24/7 to help you narrow your search for that perfect home or investment property.

Helpful Links
Not only do I have local information on my site, but I have also put together the following links that you may find useful. Please note that all links will open in a new window.