Pricing To Do’s and Not to Do’s When Selling Your Home

Pricing when selling your home in Weston, Wellesley, or Wayland, MA, may be one of the most complicated aspects of real estate. The goal is to have your listing price approximate your selling price. I like to refer to it as “right pricing.” And the million dollar question is how do you figure out the “right price?” I know this isn’t a very satisfying answer, but it’s an analysis based on previous sales (comparatives), strengths and weaknesses of the property, its condition, location, the state of the market as well as intuition and gut feel about the market’s reaction to it…a little of this and a little of that. As we real estate agents like to say, it’s an art and not a science.

When you “right price” your home, you’ll know. Buyers will act within a certain time frame and behave in a particular way. On the time frame aspect, the serious buyers, who are ready, willing and able to buy, will come through your door during the first few days your home is on the market. They are the ones who are sitting at their computers checking MLS every hour to see if any new listings have come on the market in their price range. If the price seems reasonable from their review of the property on MLS, they will schedule a time to come see it. In terms of their behavior, when they come to the house, their reaction will be, “Wow, at this price, you get updated kitchen and baths, four nice-sized bedrooms, and a great location.” In other words, they will overlook any of the negatives or not-so-great aspects of the house – the lack of a garage, small yard and only one full bathroom, for example – and focus on the positives because the price seems reasonable to them. It’s a “value” shall we say. And then not wanting to miss the opportunity to buy your property, and because they have likely lost others during their search, they will put in a strong offer without delay. Mission accomplished!

So…. in order to help you get to this point, here are some To Do’s and Not To Do’s to keep in mind and guide you when determining at what price to list your home – and sell it quickly:

1. Do Be Objective and Realistic. This is probably one of the most important and yet hardest things to do. If possible, be as objective as you can be about your home. See it through the eyes of a potential buyer and not yours as the owner, who has raised three children there. All homes have strengths and weaknesses – yours included – even though you love it so much and have built many happy memories there. Being objective about your house – and its plusses and minuses – will help you be realistic about the price. And on a related note, don’t let the selling price of your neighbor’s house influence you. Unfortunately your home is not the exact same as your neighbor’s home in every single way – square footage, lot utility, condition, timing of the listing, motivation of the seller – and so you can’t just use that price for your house. How often do you hear that your next door neighbor’s house, which is similar to yours, sold 9 months ago for $1,000,000, and so your house should sell for the same? I wish it were that easy….

2. Don’t Just Use a Calculation. Two points on this. First, the correct listing/selling price is not based upon a set formula or calculation. As I mentioned above, it’s a mixture of factors that are ever changing and can be difficult to interpret. Even more than this, the approach that … the price you paid for the house + what you put into the house since that time = the price you “need” to get … has no bearing on the selling price of your home. You as the seller will determine the listing price of your home, but the market determines its selling price.

3. Do Factor in Condition. You have a leg up if your home is new or recently renovated. Buyers today pay a premium for homes in which the condition is move-right-in. If the property is dated and hasn’t been updated in 20 years, especially the kitchen and baths, the buyers will significantly discount your home. It means that they will have to do the renovations to your home, and they end up inflating the renovation costs and add an aggravation factor to the equation. Note that you can do things to remedy the dated aspects – fresh, neutral paint colors, staging some of the rooms – but more on that in another post.

4. Don’t Overanalyze. You could spend months analyzing past sales and relating these to your home, and you could get opinions from 10 different real estate agents about what is the right listing price for your home. You could do these things until you’re blue in the face. But the reality is that you won’t know the market reaction to the price until your house is listed on the market. Only then can you gauge the reaction of the buyers to the price. We all have our estimates, opinions and predictions, but we don’t know for certain until it’s live on MLS.

5. Do “Right Price” Your House. Above we described how buyers respond when you “right price” your house. But some sellers end up overpricing their homes because they want to leave negotiating room for themselves or because they have a tough time being objective about the pricing and value of their homes. What I will say is that if you do end up overpricing your property, buyers will focus on its negatives instead of its positives. Using the example before, their reaction will be, “Bummer, at this price, I have to deal with having no garage, a small yard and only one full bath. Thanks, but No Thanks.” They lose sight of the positives and focus on the negatives because the price is too high, and they don’t see the value. And then what happens? The property sits and accrues days on the market, which results in buyers discounting the price. It may sound counter-intuitive, but if you overprice your home, you will likely get a lower selling price than if you had “right priced” it from the onset. I have seen it happen time and time again.

Rest assured – I guess you could say – because the market will tell you if you’ve chosen the right price for your property. If you’re having multiple first and second showings just after listing your home, you are in the correct pricing ball park. If you’re having first showings but no second showings, your house is overpriced. And if you’re barely having any showings whatsoever, your house is very overpriced. If the latter is the case, then you’ll need to act quickly to reduce the price and rectify the situation because prolonged days on the market are your enemy when selling your home….

On that light note 😉, what are your thoughts on home pricing when selling your home? Have you followed some of these to do’s and not to do’s? If so, did they help? And if not, do you have others that helped you? I can’t wait to hear….

For more information on this or about the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns or if you are considering selling your home, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (www.lisacurlett.com, 781-267-2844 or lisa.curlett@compass.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.

What Does “Broom Clean” Really Mean?

Five years ago, I wrote a post called What is Broom Clean?  And now that I’ve been in the business that much longer and seen more during those years, it’s time for a refresher on the subject…. As I mentioned in my previous blog, it is clearly stated in the Purchase and Sale (P&S) Agreement – which is generally signed two weeks after the offer has been accepted and the home inspection has taken place – that “the Seller shall deliver possession of the Premises in broom clean condition, free of all debris, personal effects and other tangible items which are not sold to Buyer or left on the Premises with Buyer’s prior written permission.”

In practice, however, this term becomes quite subjective and open to interpretation. Some sellers are fastidious and get their homes deep cleaned once they’ve moved out so the house sparkles and is spotless. But others not only leave their homes with items that they say “go with the house” (i.e. items that were there when they moved in) but they also leave their homes in not so clean condition. And this can create quite a problem during the walk through and at the closing table, to say the least. Believe me, I’ve experienced it first hand….

So here’s my recommendation on broom clean, and I’ll keep it short and sweet – Follow the Golden Rule! “Do to others what you want them to do to you.” If you would want the kitchen drawers and cabinets dust- and dirt-free when moving into a home, then do that for your buyers. And if you have a question about particular items, ask in advance. For example, what if there is a door that was removed from a doorway 25 years ago and has been stored in the attic ever since? Instead of just leaving the door there saying that it “goes with the house” so that the buyers will have to ultimately deal with it, ask them if they would like you to leave it for them. My strong hunch is that the answer will be a resounding “NO thank you.” Isn’t that the way you would like to be treated if you were the buyer? And isn’t that kind of clean and uncluttered condition the way in which you would like to receive your new house?

Sometimes it can get confusing though, especially if you know the buyers aren’t moving in immediately because they are renovating sections of the house. In those situations, sellers may rightly think the house doesn’t really need to be broom clean because of all of the dust and mess that will be created during the renovations. But the bottom line is that it still does need to be broom clean, and before you make that assumption, ask the buyers. I can assure you that all of you will be happier in the long run….

What are your thoughts on this subject? When you sold your last house did you follow the golden rule with regard to the broom clean condition of the house? And did it make for a successful walk through? I can’t wait to hear….

For more information on this or about the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns or if you are considering selling your home, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (www.lisacurlett.com, 781-267-2844 or lisa.curlett@compass.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.

Selling Your Home and “Purging the Clutter”

This is another great subject for the New Year, and it also happens to be a very appropos topic for home sellers. Purging the clutter is one of the most important tasks in preparation for putting your home on the market. So I was thrilled when I was watching The Today Show earlier this month and saw Stephanie Sisco, Real Simple Magazine’s Associate Editor, tackle the subject of ridding some essential areas of the home of its clutter. Here are some of her tips, thoughts and suggestions:

“Take it room by room, piece by piece.”  The thought of de-cluttering – plus the time and focus that go hand in hand with it – can be overwhelming. In fact, if you look at the process in total, you might never get started. After all, who has the time to de-clutter the basement? But a room in the basement or a set of shelves in the basement is much more manageable and significantly less overwhelming. The piece by piece strategy applies to every area of the house – bookshelves (shelf by shelf), closets (hanging area by hanging area), kitchens (cupboard by cupboard), bedroom dressers (drawer by drawer) and more…. Not only this, but by breaking the projects down into pieces, you can feel success more quickly which in turns spurs you on to face more de-cluttering challenges.

Categorize the Items. In addition to attacking the clutter piece by piece and drawer by drawer, Ms. Sisco suggested that the next step is to categorize items into “a Keep pile, a Donation pile or a Limbo pile.” When setting your organizing sights on a bookshelf, for example, she said, “If it [a book] has sentimental value, we say keep it. Otherwise, it’s time to go. Somebody else could use it.” She suggested donating some of the books to schools or charities, including Operation Paperback which donates books to troops overseas and military families state-side, and throwing away loose pamphlets or tattered novels. On that note, she reiterated that with the donation pile, these items should be in good condition – not stained or torn. With regard to the items in limbo, she advised “storing them in a box outside of the room. And if you go back and look for them, they deserve a place in your wardrobe.” Otherwise, it’s time to give them the heave-ho as they say.

Organize by Use and Color. Once you’ve decided what to keep, Ms. Sisco recommends making the bookshelf, for instance, “visually appealing by color coding the remaining books that you are keeping and adding a few decorative objects as well…. And then leave yourself some space to keep growing.” When putting items back in the closet, she advocated “organizing them by use – casual to business to formal wear toward the back of the closet, and within those, arrange them by color so again it’s visually appealing.” Not only is the clutter gone, but now your bookshelf, closet or other storage area is organized and aesthetically pleasing.

Remember the Statute of Limitations Rule – Ms. Sisco asserts that “If you haven’t worn something within two years, it’s time to say goodbye.” And this time frame is actually fairly conservative. Some de-cluttering experts advocate a 6-month policy. I wish I could take this rule to heart. That’s a hard one for me because I always think, “What if I want to wear it one day soon….” And so I decide to keep the item, going against all of the de-cluttering principles. If you find yourself in this kind of situation – having a hard time parting with a particular item – she suggested giving it a “test run.” In other words, wear that skirt, which you haven’t worn in two years but think you might wear one day soon, to a party or to work, and see how it feels. If it just doesn’t fit right or feels dated style-wise, then you have your answer. Or you may wear it and become overcome with joy for having brought it back into action….

Store Everyday Items Separately from Sentimental or Barely-Used Items – I love this concept. It’s so practical and is a great organizing tool. For example, my ice bucket, which I don’t tend to use much and takes up quite a bit of cabinet speace, really doesn’t need to be stored in the kitchen. In can be stored in the basement and brought up for its infrequent use. This frees up much-needed space in the kitchen. Alleluia! Same with those sentimental drawings that your children may have made for you.  They can be placed in a “Sentimental Bin” in the attic. They are safe and preserved but don’t take up much needed space in your office drawer or dresser.

When ending the segment, Savannah Guthrie summed it up by saying, “A lot of tough love here….” I would concur with that, but as Ms. Sisco reminded her, de-cluttering becomes much less daunting if you “start small” and remember that “there’s no time frame, no pressure.” Plus it feels so good – almost like a weight has been lifted – once you’ve successfully de-cluttered your bookshelf, closet, dresser, kitchen and on and on….

What are your thoughts on the subject of getting rid of clutter? Did you use some of these tips when you were de-cluttering your home to either sell it or just simplify living in it? Do you have your own de-cluttering principles and guidelines? I can’t wait to hear….

For more information on this or about the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns or if you are considering selling your home, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (www.lisacurlett.com, 781-267-2844 or lisa.curlett@compass.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.

How to Sell Your Home in Record Time

How do you sell your home in record time? Can you guess the answer?  I’ll give you a clue – it’s a three-word answer….  Price it right!  And the next three words are – from the start.  Price it right from the start! Are marketing, advertising and signage important? Yes, and all of those elements come in to play when selling a home.  But it really comes down to one bottom-line factor – the price.

Pricing your home right from the start may be easier said than done, but it’s important to do if you want to sell your home quickly.  As a seller, you probably have certain ideas about what your home is worth and the price you “need” to get.  I’ve always addressed this in my Comparative Marketing Analysis (CMA) and listing presentation.  The seller determines the asking price, but the market determines the selling price.  It all comes down to what the market will bear, or in other words, what a buyer is willing to pay for the home.

And so, if you paid $600,000 for your home, and you put another $50,000 into renovating it, but the market is not as strong now as it was when you purchased the home, you may very well lose money on the sale of your house (i.e., you may not get back your renovation costs and/or you may get less than what you originally paid for the house).  This can be disheartening, to say the least, as you approach the home-selling process.

Thankfully the market usually gives you strong signs about how your home is priced. If you have multiple first and second showings during the first week on the market, then you have priced the house appropriately, and your house should sell quickly.  If you have several first showings but don’t have any second showings, then you are priced a bit too high.  And if you don’t have any showings that first week, then you have missed the mark.

This is the general rule of thumb, but sometimes there are exceptions to the rule.  For example, the high-end of a given market tends not to have as much activity mostly because the buyer pool is limited at those high price points.  It may also depend on the time of the year. The holiday season (starting right before Thanksgiving and going into the New Year) is typically the slowest time of the year, and summer is often less busy as well.  And so if you put your house on the market in the middle of December, it could be slow just because of the timing.  But besides these few exceptions, the market generally tells you how you are priced right off the bat.

There is an interesting phenomenon with regard to pricing, which is if you overprice your home when it first goes on the market, you usually get less for the house in the long run.  I know this seems almost counterintuitive, and it may not completely make sense, but it’s the truth. Sellers often want to leave themselves “negotiating room” so they overprice their houses to give themselves a cushion.  Time and again, I see those sellers ultimately getting less for their homes than if they had just priced it right from the onset.

The other thing to keep in mind is that when you price your home correctly right out of the gate, a bidding war may ensue.  This is a win-win scenario for you as the seller because this kind of competitive situation usually results in the bidding up of the price of the house. Good news!

In essence, to sell your home in record time, here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Price your home right from the start based on the current market situation and the comparatives (the homes that have sold in the last six months). Your real estate agent will share all of this information with you in his/her Comparative Marketing Analysis and listing presentation. Don’t overprice your home to give yourself “negotiating room.”

• Keep in mind that you do not determine what the selling price will be, the market does. And unfortunately the price that you feel you “need” to get may not be the price that the market will bear.

• Make any price adjustment as quickly as you can if you have indeed mispriced your home. The activity on a home new to the market is greatest during the first two-three weeks when the most serious buyers come through the house, thus making it the ideal time to capture your buyer!

What are your thoughts on selling your home in record time? Have you found yourself in this situation? If so, how did you decide to price your home? Did you use some of the pricing tips/recommendations detailed above? If so, were they effective? I can’t wait to hear….

For more information on this or about the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns or if you are considering selling your home, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (www.lisacurlett.com, 781-267-2844 or lisa.curlett@compass.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.

Maximizing the Marketing of Your MLS Information

You’re selling your house, and because almost 90% of buyers now begin their search for a new home online, the way your property is marketed on MLS (a.k.a. Multiple Listing Service) is extremely important. In essence, the real estate related sites – Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow and hundreds more – get their information by downloading what’s on MLS.  And so it’s essential that you pay careful attention to the MLS information and ensure that your listing is being showcased to maximize the marketing of your home. Keep in mind that buyers are looking for reasons not to come view your property, and so you want to make sure the MLS information minimizes any potential negativities and maximizes the buyer’s interest in seeing your home. After all, you can’t sell your home if people don’t come to see it. The ultimate goal is to get the buyers through the front door so they can fall in love with your home and ultimately buy it!

In terms of marketing your property on MLS, there are three aspects to which you should pay especially close attention:

1. The Photos – This is the most important aspect of your MLS listing. Before buyers look at anything (besides price and address), they will look at the photos of your house. The pictures are the buyer’s first introduction to your home, and they can make or break your property. It’s prudent, therefore, to hire a professional photographer so that the spaces look as large, focused and well-lit as possible. If the photos are fuzzy and make the rooms look small, dark and unappealing, a buyer will surely dismiss your property. It brings to mind the saying, “You only have one chance to make a first impression.” And in this case, the first impression is an online one, which makes the quality of the photos that much more paramount.

2. The Copy – The MLS description of your property is also important and conveys aspects of your home that the numbers, figures and even photos don’t. For example, perhaps the home technically has only four bedrooms because of the septic size, but it functions as a 5 bedroom home. This is crucial information to share with buyers and can be articulated through the MLS description.  In fact, reading this could cause a buyer with three children, who was feeling that the bedroom situation wasn’t adequate for the size of her family, to ultimately decide to come see your house. Mission accomplished!

3. The Room Sizes/Floor Plan – We look at the room sizes/floor plan using the “buyers are looking for reasons not to come see your property” filter. And when we look at it this way, there are some crucial guidelines to remember. First, if the room sizes seem small, you may not want to include them. Perhaps your dining room is 8′ x 12′, but feels much bigger when you’re actually in the room. In cases like these, including the room size could be detrimental to the listing and become a reason for a buyer to cross your property off her home viewing list. In addition to leaving room sizes off the MLS listing sheet, you may decide not to attach the floor plan as well. Let’s say that the buyer doesn’t like it when the family room and kitchen aren’t open to one another, but in truth, when you’re in the house, they do feel open to one another. If the floor plan is attached and they see the lack of openness on paper, they could very well dismiss your property and move on to other properties. For these reasons, you may decide not to include the room sizes and not to attach the floor plan to the MLS listing, thus motivating buyers to come see the spaces, layout and room sizes for themselves.

One other MLS marketing question involves the inclusion of a virtual tour. Should you have it on the MLS listing or not? And is it an effective tool for the buyers? My answer is yes, I think you should include it on the MLS listing, but I don’t think it is the most effective marketing tool. Often times the tours last for three minutes, and that’s much more time than buyers care to spend watching them. But for those who are willing to devote the time to watching the tour in full, it could ultimately be the tool to convince them to come see your property.

So that’s it – the 1-2-3 of Maximizing the Marketing of your MLS Information. What are your thoughts on the subject? When selling your last home, did you find that the MLS photos, description and room sizes/floor plan helped or hurt your property? What would you do differently in this regard next time? I can’t wait to hear….

For more information on this or about the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns or if you are considering selling your home, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (www.lisacurlett.com, 781-267-2844 or lisa.curlett@compass.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.

The Nitty Gritty of Preparing Your Home for Showings

There are so many blogs about how to best prepare your home for sale and for showings. (And as an aside, I must admit that I’ve written one, two or three of these blogs myself….😉) But I especially love this nitty gritty, no nonsense, short and sweet list* of what to do to make your home shine before a showing:

Exterior

Summer:

1. Keep the lawn trimmed and edged.

2. Trim the shrubs and eliminate dead trees and branches.

3. Keep the yard free of debris.

4. Confine outdoor toys to the back yard and keep them in a bin or container.

5. Clean downspouts and gutters.

6. Replace any broken windows.

7. Keep the front entrance particularly clean, well-swept and add a colorful pot of flowers.

Winter:

1. Keep the walkways well shoveled and sanded.

2. Keep the driveway well plowed.

3. Be sure that all exterior light fixtures are in good working order especially given that it can be dark by 4:30 p.m.

Interior

1. Ensure that walls are clean and free of smudges and fingerprints.

2. Scrub bathrooms, bleach mildewed surfaces and recaulk the tub/shower, if needed.

3. Wash windows inside and out.

4. Shampoo soiled wall-to-wall carpeting. If a shampoo cleaning won’t remedy the soiled state of the carpet, remove or replace it.

5. Repair loose doorknobs.

6. Install high wattage light bulbs in all fixtures.

7. Clean out and organize the closets.

8. De-clutter countertops, basement, garage, etc.

9. Open the curtains and blinds for maximum light.

It basically comes down to that old adage – you only have one chance to make a great first impression. Of course, there are many more things that you can do to make your house sparkle and shine before a showing, but this list is a great place to start.

What are your thoughts? Have you followed some of the items on this list when you were selling your home and preparing for a showing? Any other things you did to make your home show-ready? I can’t wait to hear….

For more information on this or about the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns or if you are considering selling your home, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (www.lisacurlett.com, 781-267-2844 or lisa.curlett@compass.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.

* This list was artfully written by Pinnacle Residential Properties, and I’ve added a few edifications… 

Holiday Home Selling – Yea or Nay?

To sell or not to sell my home during the holidays? That is the question…. Sellers ask this time and again as we approach the holiday season, which traditionally begins in the real estate business at Thanksgiving and continues into the New Year. Specifically the question is, “Should I keep my home on the market during the holidays?” And the answer varies depending on the scenario.

But before all that, a few quick perspectives…. First, as I like to say, home buying and selling happens every day throughout the year. That being said, late November and December are typically the slowest months in real estate. And what I mean by slowest is that activity is at its nadir. There are fewer showings and fewer new and pending listings not to mention that the inventory is at its lowest. And this reduction in supply and demand happens on both sides of the table – for the sellers and for the buyers. And it usually goes like this…. The holidays begin to kick into gear, and the general public, i.e., buyers, gets focused on holiday parties, shopping, gift giving, cookie exchanges, school concerts, interior and exterior decorations, holiday cards and on and on. In other words, potential buyers aren’t focused on the real estate market and buying a house. Given this and given their own time and energy dedicated to holiday tasks and happenings, sellers generally decide to rest their homes from the market. This usually results in peace of mind for them as they don’t have to worry about preparing the house for showings when guests are staying with them, for example, and when holiday decorating is in high gear and causing some chaos to the look of the house. In essence during the holidays, buyers are just plain not as focused on buying, and sellers are not as focused on selling.

Of course even during the holidays, there are still some buyers buying and some sellers selling, and they serve as the exceptions to the above “rules.” On the buy side, the buyers who are looking at this time usually need to buy ASAP. Often they are relocating to the area and trying to buy a home and get their children into school for the New Year. There also may be some local buyers who feel that they may be able to get a better deal at this time of the year, especially from those sellers whose homes are still on the market and need to sell immediately. And there are also buyers who have just received year-end bonuses helping finance their home purchases.

On the sell side, there are two instances when keeping your home on the market is beneficial – one is financial and the other is a matter of convenience. First, if you have bought another house and are living elsewhere (so you are carrying two homes), you might not have a choice about whether to rest your home from the market. You need to sell it as soon as humanly possible to end your financially compromised situation. The other sellers, who may decide to keep their homes on the market during the holidays, are those who live elsewhere, and thus showings are not a nuisance given all of the holiday occurrences. For these sellers, why not keep your house on the market? Showings are not an inconvenience, and it just might happen that the perfect buyer is looking in mid-late December – perhaps one who just received his/her year-end bonus?!

The downside to keeping your house on the market as a seller is the continued accrual of days on the market. Is this something you want to do when the market and buyer activity is at its quietest? Furthermore the longer your house remains on the market, the less “fresh” and more “stale” it becomes. My recommendation for sellers is that if you can financially afford to rest your house for some time during the holidays, it’s a positive thing to do.

What are your thoughts? Have you had to make this decision before? And if so, what did you decide to do and why? I can’t wait to hear….

For more information on this or about the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns or if you are considering selling your home, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (www.lisacurlett.com, 781-267-2844 or lisa.curlett@compass.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.