Making a First Impression When Selling Your Home

So you've decided to take advantage of the flourishing existent estate market and set your house up for sale. As you know, buying a house is the most of import purchase a consumer can make.

So it's understandable that when prospective buyers come up through your house, your home will be scrutinized like it's never been before (well not since you bought it anyway!). Everyone cognizes you never get a second opportunity to do a first impression, so see implementing the following cost-effective suggestions, before you welcome any possible buyers.

Consider the position that people see when they first drive up.

To guarantee that you don't direct any possible buyers running down the driveway before they even see the house, make certain the outside of the home is spotless. Paint or wash as necessary and don't forget to cut down the lawn and spruce up up any out-of-door greenery.

Upon entering your home, what will they see?

If you have got got a room that brands a statement when you walk in, perhaps the walls are painted a very bright coloring material or the style of piece of furniture is eclectic, possible buyers may have a hard clip picturing their ain material in the room. A fresh coat of paint in a neutral coloring material is an cheap but proved technique for increasing the entreaty of any home. A clean, fresh odor do a good impression. Try placing air fresheners in cupboards to eliminate musty smells. The odor of freshly adust breadstuff also travels a long way. Don't travel overboard though - not everyone wishes the strong aromas of assortment or incense. Of course, it travels without saying that clean and bright bes a sale. Scrub, clean, wash windows, walls, floorings and tiles and shampoo soiled carpets - leaving no rock unturned.

Clean under sinks, repair any leaks and clean up any damage.

Use particular cleansing agents to free toilets, bathtubs and sinks of stains. If you have got tons of stuff, it's hard for possible buyers to see around it to see the room. Shop any miscellaneous items, making certain to maintain the garage, basement, attic and any cupboards tidy. This volition do your house expression more broad and clean. Brand repairs as necessary. If the mopboard around the closet is loose, for example, get out the hammer or gum and fasten it securely. Are the manages on the cupboard door wobbly? If so, get out the screwdriver and fasten them. Potential buyers don't desire to have got to look after a clump of small things when they travel in and they may subconsciously be noting all the small repairs.

In the end, they might reject the house because they believe all the minor repairs will amount to a batch of work for them. By implementing these simple tips, you can guarantee that your house will be off the market in no time!

Prepare Your Property Like A Pro And Boost Profits

The housing market is hot, and you've decided to list your home. But what, if any, improvements should you tackle before selling? Should you just leave it all to the new homeowner?

There are two ways to look at pre-sale home improvements. You can either improve the curb appeal or the home’s outward appearance with quick and often low-cost improvements, or you can make some higher-dollar changes with the goal of adding value to the home and increasing your asking price. The reality is that all houses benefit from a little "spiffing up" before being shown to buyers, and smart home sellers will take the time and effort to do so.

If you are selling a home that requires a major repair for recent damages, consider contacting a public adjuster to determine if the loss is covered by insurance. If so, the resulting repairs could significantly boost your home’s resale value at little or no cost to you. Learn more.

View your home with a critical eye

Great curb appeal with immaculate landscaping, fresh paint, tidy closets and cabinets, spotless windows and a clutter-free feeling are essential to make a home really stand out. Impressing potential buyers is often a one-shot deal, so take the time to make some minor improvements that can lead to a faster sale and a higher offer.

Assume the role of a homebuyer. Give your home a critical look for dirt, flaws and cramped spaces. Then imagine the work ahead of you if you were to make this your new home. Think of your house as a commodity to be sold for top dollar, and you’ll soon be eager to make needed improvements.

Drive around and notice well-cared-for homes. Yards are groomed, paint is fresh and entrances are neat and welcoming. Then take an honest look at your home, and roll your sleeves up to tackle the tasks below:

* Pressure-clean rust, mold and mildew off exterior walls, sidewalks, decks, the roof and the driveway.

* Clean smudged windows and unclog gutters.

* Sweep sidewalks and driveways – and keep them clean.

* Edge sidewalks and remove weeds along the house and in the garden.

* Mow the lawn regularly.

* Trim back trees and shrubs that block the street view of your house for a more inviting appearance.

* Rake and remove leaves regularly.

* Trim tree limbs that are near or touching the roof.

* If you lack outdoor lighting, add a front porch light fixture and keep it turned on. Buyers often cruise by after dark to check out homes.

* Keep lights that are visible through front windows on for a warm appearance.

* If it’s in your budget, fresh exterior paint makes a house look like new.

* An attractive front door, perhaps with leaded glass inserts, creates a great first impression. But if you can’t afford a new door, replace worn handles and locks and apply a fresh coat of paint or stain.

* Clean carpets to remove odors and stains

Indoor re-dos

1. Every room, even the garage, should be spotless. Hiring a cleaning service is worth the minor investment if you are unable to give your home the once-over yourself. Clean major appliances, inside closets and do not forget to polish bathrooms.

2. Eliminate offensive odors – cigarette smoke and pet odor are permanent turnoffs and kill a sale. Send smokers outdoors, keep pets groomed and their bedding clean and out of the way and vacuum daily.

3. Make inexpensive repairs that greatly improve aesthetic appeal, such as repairing cracked grout, screwing in a loose shelf and replacing a cracked bath tile.

4. Remove clutter. Potential homebuyers can’t envision themselves and their belongings in your home if they can’t see past all your stuff. A rule of thumb is to eliminate at least one-third of your belongings from each room. If needed, invest in a storage space for your extraneous belongings while showing your home. Other clutter cutters: Store small kitchen appliances and other items off countertops and tables; Remove photographs and knick knacks from tables; and organize closets, pantry and cabinets.

Tips for vacant homes

Your home should be welcoming to buyers even if it is vacant. Keep your empty home inviting with the following tips:

* Vacant homes accumulate stale or mildew-laden air. Leave the heat or air conditioning running (depending on the season) to cut down odors. Set up a few softly fragranced air fresheners.

* Keep the lawn and landscaping groomed, even if you have to hire a service.

* Put a few lights on a timer switch to come on throughout the day.

Improvements that are worth your time

While you don't want to take on a major renovation project that could cost thousands right before you sell creating chaos and delaying your listing date, you should examine the list of improvements you might have done if you weren’t selling. Weigh whether it is worth your while – and the potential boost to your selling price – to go ahead with the improvements. Here are some tips to add value to your home:

* Complete half-finished projects. No one will pay full price for a home that has half-painted rooms or a partially re-tiled bathroom. Now that you’re selling, it’s time to complete those projects you thought you could knock out yourself but never seem to have time to complete.

* Focus on the kitchen. Kitchens, centrally located in many homes, are critical to most buyers. An outdated kitchen can lower the value of your home, and something as simple as repainting cabinets and changing hardware can provide a modern update that can increase your home’s value. Add new cabinets and replace countertops and you could add thousands to your asking price.

* Paint the interior. Whether you have just a few too many smudges and dings, or your color scheme is too “1980s,” it can be well worth the dollar to transform interior walls with a few coats of neutral color. Get bids for the best deal and you’ll be surprised by how much better your home looks.

* Update or repair light fixtures. You can be sure that during a walk-through all lights will be switched on and questions will arise if a switch yields nothing but darkness.

* Repair appliances. Repair any appliances listed with the home or you can expect to not get your full list price.

Don’t bother

You might think adding a pool would increase your return on value but the truth is, most buyers aren’t willing to give you the full price you paid for installation. Other major projects, such as adding a new story to your home, adding a master suite or installing carpeting may not give you the return at the sale that you were hoping for. Skip the project and let the buyer perform the projects he or she wants to do. If you need a new roof, you might consider splitting the cost with the buyer. Many buyers are willing to meet you half way on major repair projects, since they will be benefiting from the repairs for years to come.

Ready, set, go!

Whether you choose to make lower-cost improvements or higher-dollar renovations that can raise your home’s asking price, it’s a proven fact that real estate listings in great shape typically sell for more than those that are in only passable condition. Time and again, sellers who prep their homes for sale in advance reap the benefits with a faster sale and a higher sale price.

17 Sure Fire Tips for a Successful Open House

The Lord'S Day unfastened house is a longstanding rite in the existent estate market, and many a home have been sold on a lazy Lord'S Day afternoon. When used properly, the Lord'S Day unfastened house can be a great marketing tool.

The following stairway will assist you get the most out of your unfastened house and addition your opportunities of merchandising your home for the terms you want.

Be certain to ran into with your agent in advance of the unfastened house. Discourse all the assorted inside information about what is involved in an unfastened house. While many home Sellers are comfy with an unfastened house, others are not. If you take not to host an unfastened house, there are other ways to sell your home.

Be certain to see unusual ways to market your unfastened house. For instance,if you belong to any particular groupings or organizations, be certain to market the approaching unfastened house to the members. For instance, the local garden baseball club may be very interested in attending an unfastened house that includes a beautiful out-of-door garden.

The twenty-four hours before the unfastened house, be certain to travel through the full home with the existent estate agent. Take careful short letters and follow all of his or her recommendations.

Try not to go emotionally involved when evaluating the status of your home prior to the unfastened house. Remember that your existent estate agent is trying to do your home more appealing to possible buyers, not criticizing your decorating style or pick of accessories.

Any needed home repairs should be completed before the unfastened house begins. This includes things similar peeling paint, loose stairs, bannisters in need of repair and the like. It is of import that invitees see a home that is in immaculate condition.

Ask the existent estate agent to make a professional looking mark in sheet for all visitors. It is of import to get the name and phone number of all attendees to the unfastened house.

Always discourse the terms of the home prior to the unfastened house. This volition allow the agent to negociate the terms on the topographic point if a good prospect attends the unfastened house.

The proprietor of the property should maintain as low a profile as possible during the unfastened house. If using an agent, it is of import to allow him or her return care of the unfastened house.

It is a good thought to supply cookies, brownies or other bites for invitees at the unfastened house. A poke bowl is also an attractive addition.

Pets should be kept away from unfastened house visitors. It may be a good thought to have got a friend or household member takes care of your pets until the unfastened house is over.

Don’t take any opportunities when it come ups to medical specialties and money. Be certain to lock up all medications, both prescription and non-prescription. Also be certain to lock up any cash or valuables in the home prior to the unfastened house.

Never underestimate the importance of making a good first impression. Many visitants do a determination about the home in the first few seconds. Be certain the entryway to the home is immaculate, and that the stairway leading up to the home are well swept and free of debris.

Make certain that the home is spotless and free of unpleasant olfactory properties prior to the unfastened house. You may desire to bake a fresh batch of cookies an hr or two before the unfastened house begins. Not only will the olfactory property mask any unpleasant smells, but it will make a warm and inviting atmosphere as well.

Be certain the temperature in the home is pleasant. A home that is too hot or too cold tin do visitants uncomfortable, and lead them to inquire about the quality of the warming and air conditioning system.

Play soft music in the background during the unfastened house. Background music assists put a good temper for your visitors.
Always unfastened the curtains and the drapes prior to the unfastened house. This volition allow fresh air and sunlight in and assist give the feeling of a larger space.

If your home makes not have got plants, you may desire to purchase a few before the unfastened house. Plants can supply a warm feel and assist do invitees at the unfastened house feel more at home.

If you follow the stairway outlined above, opportunities are your unfastened house will be a large success. Even if the home is not sold at the unfastened house the contacts gained and the word of oral cavity exposure may well ensue in a sale.

Selling Your Home - 11 Tips for Proper Preparation

Selling a home an be a intimidating experience, especially if it's your first time. But with the right preparation, you can easily increase the likeliness of a sale -- and possibly increase your nett return as well.

Here then are 11 low-cost tactics that volition heighten your home, inside and out.

1. Brand the entranceway inviting.
A home’s entranceway carries important meaning, both symbolically and structurally. It’s where the homeowner go forths the outside human race behind and comes in the comfortableness and sanctuary of home. Dainty it accordingly.

2. Remove clutter.
Clutter (too many contraptions in the kitchen, too many images and novelties on the tables, etc.) do a home look smaller than it is. It can also set too much of a personal touching on the house. Clear away everything but a few, well-placed designing elements.

3. Clean, make clean and clean some more.
As a general rule, you can never clean too much before showing your house. This travels manus in manus with the jumble conception above -- the cleansing agent a house, the easier it is for buyers to see themselves in it. It do the house mentally "transferable" from proprietor to buyer. And it just apparent expressions nice!

4. Freshen up the rooms.
Sunlight, fresh paint and a well-placed vase of flowers can make wonderments for any room -- and for minimum cost.

5. Arrange for space.
Arrange piece of furniture in a manner that maximizes space and makes a smooth traffic flow. It might take some trial-and-error, but the capaciousness you make will be deserving it.

6. Perform minor repairs as needed.
No how matter how fiddling it may look to you, an point needing repair will direct a mental message to buyers. "Gosh, if they didn’t even care to repair that before showing the house, what else have got they allow go?"

7. Replace obsolete fixtures (lights, knobs, etc.).
This waterfall into the "easy holes with major impact" department. New lighting and fixtures can do an full room look new, even if it’s not.

8. Rich Person the carpets professionally cleaned.
It’s quick, it doesn’t cost much, and it can give much-needed life to carpet. Even if you believe your carpet is fine, give it a try. You’ll see the difference afterward!

9. Empty cupboards and attics to show window their space.
Remember, prospective buyers are trying to see themselves in each house they look at. It’s A cardinal determinant on whether they do an offer or abrasion the house of their list.

Tip: Put one-half your clothing in a storage unit of measurement or in a friend’s house (temporarily). Your cupboards will look larger with some emptiness to them.

10. Tidy up the landscaping.
Trim the bushes. Mow and H2O the lawn. Sweep the driveway and walkway. Plant fresh flowers. Most of these things cost you nil but time, yet they’ll significantly heighten your overall "curb appeal."

11. "Neutralize" your paint scheme.
Colors and colour penchant are subjective things. One person’s favourite colour can do another individual gasp. To avoid putting off buyers with dominant colors, drama it safe with beige, taupe and other neutrals. Remember, the end is to assist people see themselves in the home.

Don't overdo it!
It’s of import not to take on too much at once. You don’t desire so many undertakings that they prorogue your ability to demo your house. Start small. Develop a checklist of the undertakings you desire to do, and prioritize them by degree of importance. That way, if you run out of clip or money, you’ll astatine least have got the biggest undertakings out of the manner first.

Learn More
Privation more tips and strategies for merchandising your home? You'll happen 20 pages of them in the author's "Home Selling Workshop." See below for website address.

Selling a House is Easy

The idea of merchandising a house work stoppages fear into most people. The contracts, the legalese, the extortionate costs — they all cabal to do the experience unpleasant at best, and a incubus at worst. It doesn't have got to be that way, though.

Let's return a expression at three different scenarios for merchandising the same house. We'll presume an average house in an average town in America, whose market value have been established at $150,000.

Scenario 1: A Traditional Home Sell

If the value of the home is $150,000, a real estate broker will often suggest a listing terms of $149,900 — and rightfully so. Although you lose $100 before the house ever travels on the market, surveys demo that buyers actually see a difference in the two terms much greater than $100, so the ultimate benefit outweighs the initial loss.

Statistics show that the average home sells for 90 to 95% of the request price, so let's say you accept an offer of 93% — Oregon $139,400. That's not bad, but it's not what you actually walk away from shutting with. There are respective other costs that figure in.

The realtor, on average, will take a 6% commission. That reduces your terms by $8,360 to $131,040. The average marketer part to the buyer's shutting costs is 3%, sol your concluding amount is reduced by another $4,182 to $126,858. Add in $1,000 or so in realtor-recommended upgrades to do the house show better, and your ultimate return is down to $125,858.

The other factor is how long it takes to sell the home. After determination and interviewing realtors, going through the listing appointment and getting the home into the Multiple List Service (MLS), your first offer usually will not come up in until more than than 30 years from the point at which you decided to sell. And from the point that the offer is accepted, it then often takes 60 old age or more than than for the sale to close.

So an average home in an average American town will take more than 90 years to sell, and the homeowner will walk away from shutting with just 84% of the home's existent value.

Scenario 2: Using a Discount Realtor

A home merchandising method increasing in prominence across the U.S. over the past few years have been the usage of a price reduction realtor. These services take a much smaller commission, allowing you to pocket anywhere from 2 to 5% More of your initial request terms — as much as $7,500 for the average house in our example.

The downside of price reduction real estate brokers is that they often supply services much more than limited than a full-service realtor, and while your home makes get listed in the MLS, it's frequently not shown by other real estate brokers specifically because it was listed through a price reduction realtor. In fact, the Wall Street Diary reported in May 2005, that U.S. antimonopoly regulators are preparing to register lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors for patterns they believe are intended to smother Internet-based competings and discounters.

So until those patterns cease, merchandising a house through a price reduction realtor, while cost-effective, may lead to a time-to-sell much longer than the 90 years under a traditional existent estate broker — still a good path if you don't need to sell right away.

Scenario 3: Selling to a Professional Home Buyer

Another home selling method that is growing in popularity is selling the home to a professional home buyer or real estate investor. These people will purchase a home for 80 to 90% of its market value and can usually fold in 10 years or less. It's free to get an offer from a home buyer, and there's no obligation.

Under this scenario, you could easily walk away from shutting with more than than you would under a traditional scenario and make it in less than two weeks. Additionally, you put the timetable for closing. If you need to sell the house in two calendar months instead of two weeks, the home buyer plant on your schedule, instead of the other manner around.

The downside of going through a home buyer is the hazard of working with person unscrupulous who doesn't mind taking advantage of you. There are any number of ways to get ripped off and be left with no home and no cash — or, worse yet, no home, no cash, and a mountain of debt. To forestall that, be certain to read "We Buy Houses" Scams — How to Descry Them and How to Avoid Them.

So going through a home buyer, the average home in our illustration could sell for just as much as through traditional methods, but sell in just 10 years instead of 90 years or more.

Conclusion

These scenarios all presume an average house in an average American town, so your existent experience could change significantly. Homeowners in red-hot existent estate markets like countries of California and Florida, for example, frequently have offers matching, or even exceeding, their request price.

So it's imperative to reexamine all your options before you sell. Non-traditional methods are gaining in prominence because they're a very viable, and often better, option to going through a traditional realtor. They rate a good expression the adjacent clip you make up one's mind to sell a house.

Why Good Houses Don't Sell?

When a house doesn't sell as quickly as expected, it's easy (for the proprietor anyway) to put the incrimination on a soft existent estate market, or a icky merchandising season. After all, neither of those things are the seller’s faults, nor under the seller's control. The fact is, though, that 90% of the clip when a house doesn't sell quickly, it's due to problems that are within the control of the home's owner. And that's good news. It intends that they're fixable - and once they're fixed, the house should sell quickly.

If your house have been on the market and isn't getting the attention and offers that you expected, it may be clip to reevaluate a few things. Here are respective potentiality grounds that good houses typically don't sell well. Go through the listing and see if your home suits into 1 of them.

Priced Above Market

The number one ground that a house doesn't sell quickly is that it's priced above its true market value. I don't care what your existent estate assessment says, or how much you need to get for the house, or how much you invested in improvements - the lone existent measurement of your house's true market value is what people are willing to pay for it.

The best manner to calculate that out is to happen out how much people have got been willing to pay for similar houses in your neighborhood. Once you cognize that, you can logically cipher a terms for your ain house based on the market terms for similar houses. Keep in mind, though, that any clip you terms your home more than 5% above the typical terms in your neighborhood, you're taking a very existent hazard of pricing yourself out of the market.

Poor Photo

If you're not getting phone calls at all from people interested in seeing the house you're selling, it may be the fault of the exposure of your home in the Master of Library Science booklet or web site. While some real estate brokers will encourage prospective buyers to take a expression because 'the image doesn't make it justice', most buyers won't even name about a house that doesn't look good in the brochure.

Invest in a professional photographer to get the best possible image of your house. If there's a clip of twenty-four hours that it looks its best, arrange to take the image then, and be certain to harvest the photograph to demo the house at its most flattering. That photograph is very likely to be the first expression that prospective buyers get at your house. You desire it to do a great first impression.

Terrible Control Appeal

You may be losing sales before possible buyers even put ft in the door. Take a walking across the street and expression at your house from the curb. That's the first position that people get of your house as they near it from the street. If the lawn is bushy and overgrown, or the house is badly in need of a coat of paint, buyers will be wondering what else hasn't been taken care of over the years.

Make certain that your house looks good from the curb. Brand certain that shutters are firmly attached, paint is fresh and the lawn and shrubs are well-trimmed. The better your house looks on the outside, the more than likely you are to get prospective buyers to step inside.

Dirty House

If the house is dirty, littered or smells of old baccy fume and pet odors, it will be hard to happen a buyer. Very few people desire to purchase a soiled house. Like a house that appears neglected from the outside, a house that isn't taken care of inside volition do buyers inquire what they're getting themselves into. No 1 desires to pass their first hebdomad in a new house cleansing up after the old owners.

Clean up your enactment before you begin showing the house. Get quit of personal belonging or stow them out of sight. De-clutter counters, tabletops and walls. The freshman and cleansing agent your house is, the better prospective buyers will experience about purchasing it.

Unbearable Odors

Odors are one of the most insidious deal killers. If you dwell with pet odors, coffin nail fume and mold smells all the time, you may not detect them - but possible buyers will. Even if it’s not consciously noted, a house that doesn't odor good have got a elusive psychological consequence that tin killing a sale before it gets started.Odors have to be attacked at the source. Take down drapes and wash them with a fresh-smelling cloth softener before re-hanging. Get quit of musty smelling carpets, and halt smoke inside your house.

If you're not certain what it is about your house that's keeping it from buying, inquire your real estate broker to get feedback from those who come up to see it. Keep path of their remarks to assist you set your finger on just what you need to do to make your house more appealing.

How to Decide on Upgrades to Make Before You Sell Your Home

Making determinations about improvements to your home is pretty simple if those improvements are meant to better the quality of life for yourself and your family. You simply put your money in those things that volition mean value the most to you. However, deciding which home improvements will be most appealing to possible buyers is another matters altogether.

Making the most of the money you set into fixing up your home is very important. Choosing your ascents wisely, based on market research of which improvements pay for themselves, will assist you get the most out of your home when you sell.

Determining which ascents and improvements will heighten the value of your home and pay for themselves is often difficult. For one thing, it necessitates you to put yourself in a buyer's shoes, and see the home the manner an foreigner would. This is often difficult, particularly if you are emotionally invested in the home. It is tough to look on your ain home as an outsider.

Therefore, it is a good thought to seek the advice of person who can be fair and supply that all of import foreigner position of home improvements and upgrades. A good topographic point to begin is with your existent estate agent. Ask your agent which improvements or ascents he or she experiences would add the top value. It is of import to concentrate on those improvements that volition more than wage for themselves through enhanced home value.

You may also desire to look at similar homes in your area. Wage careful attention to the comforts offered in similarly priced homes, and do your ascent listing accordingly. Naturally, it is of import to take cost into consideration when making those ascent plans, and do certain you can retrieve the cost when you sell your home.

While it is of import to analyze your ain country to determine the best improvements to increase value, there are a number of home improvements that are known to pay fine-looking dividends when it come ups to increasing home values. These tested and true repairs include:

Adding an further bathroom is also a great manner to better the value of a home. This is particularly true if the existent home have only one bathroom. Many potentiality buyers will not see a home with lone a single bathroom.

Remodeling the kitchen and/or bathroom have been shown in many studies to increase the value of a home and supply an first-class tax return on investment

A new flooring can also be a good, cost effectual ascent to a home. This is particularly true if you are able to put in the flooring yourself, since a large part of the cost of installing a hardwood or parquet flooring floor is the labour needed to put in it. Those who are able to put in a new flooring on their ain tin often capture more than than the cost of the flooring in increased home value.

Basic home repairs like fixing old troughs certainly add some kerb appeal, but they generally make small to truly heighten the resale value of the home.

Painting is one exclusion to this rule. A fresh coat of paint in the countries that need is an excellent, low cost manner to better the entreaty of the home. A fresh paint occupation costs only a small spot of money, but it can greatly better the entreaty of any home.

A swimming pool is generally a icky home improvement in terms of adding value. Homeowners rarely retrieve the installing costs of a pool when they sell their home, and in some cases a pool can actually turn buyers away.

When making ascents or improvements to your home, it is important to maintain good records which item all money being spent. This volition be a large aid when computer science the capital addition on the sale of the home, and when calculating the tax tax return on investing of each ascent or improvement.

Being able to make your ain home repairs, improvements and ascents obviously will increase the return on investing of any project. The less you have got to pay carpenters, carpet installers and other professionals, the greater your tax return will be. Some home improvement projects, however, necessitate the usage of a qualified professional. Unless you are an expert, improvements or ascents involving plumbing, electrical wiring, warming or air conditioning systems should be left to the professionals.

Other home improvement projects, such as as laying down a new hardwood or laminate floor, may well be within the accomplishments of the average homeowner. Many home improvement storage warehouses throw seminars where homeowners can learn how to make these projects. If you can happen such as a free seminar, by all agency take advantage of it. It will salvage you money on home ascents and give you valuable accomplishments for the future.

Five Top Tips When Selling Your Home

No I’m not going to tell you to have coffee boiling away and bread a-baking in that homely oven, and soothing music drifting through the house. House buyers are not fooled by such things, they have come to carefully inspect your home, and if there are coffee fumes floating about or soothing music in their ears it isn’t going to make a hoot of difference. But some things might, things like these:

Firstly, pets must go! And I don’t just mean on the day of the viewing, I mean period, and the longer before the viewings begin the better. Dogs smell, cats smell, almost all pets smell, and just because you as the owner don’t notice it, you can take it from me the buyer will. The agent will too, and if they are worth their money they will tell you about it. Nothing puts off eager buyers more than the rancid smell of dead dog. This is a huge turnoff. So get ’em out.

Secondly, de-clutter. You have probably heard this one a thousands times, but so many sellers don’t pay any heed to this sensible advice. Take a mantelpiece over the fireplace for example. Many sellers have the shelf weighed down with countless artefacts and ornaments of every kind, so much so that the viewer can’t see the wood for the trees. Get rid of them all, except perhaps your three best pieces and arrange them tastefully so they are shown off to their finest. The viewer can then see them and appreciate them, and indeed imagine their own fine things in that exact same space.

Three: ask a realistic price. If an identical or even better home is on the market up the road for 200,000, then why waste everyone’s time by trying to sell yours for 225,000? Yet many people do, and then harass the agent when they don’t make a quick sale. Could you sell Ford cars for 10% more than Ford does? Probably not, so why are the poor old Real Estate guys and gals expected to do precisely that? If you really want to sell your property, you have to compete, and that includes competing on price.

Fourth, sort out the yard or garden, the outside of your property. You will be amazed at how many people spend fortunes on the inside of their homes but hopelessly neglect the outside. Spend a few hundred on it if you have to, but smarten it up. Do some painting, cut the grass, buy some tubs and shrubs, make it look inviting, it will cost you so little to do, yet this outside improvement produces results time and time again. It really does. Trust me. The viewers will notice and you might well hook them. First impressions count for a heck of a lot.

Fifth and last, and this one might surprise you. Don’t be there! What? You heard me, don’t be there when the prospective buyer comes round. Why? Because the buyer can have a good mooch around accompanied by the Real Estate guys of course, but they will feel more relaxed if an over zealous owner isn’t there peering over their shoulder at every turn. The buyer will spend much longer in the property if you are not there, believe me, and they are more likely to ask the agent for more information, which is a very good sign that they are really interested.

When you go and look at property yourself, don’t you feel better if you can scout around without the owners there? Of course you do, and so does everyone else. Lock your best things away if you have any doubts about security, remove them from the house if need be, but get out of there on viewing day. Make the estate agent earn their fees, you pay them enough moolah after all, so have them earn their keep by conducting accompanied viewings themselves. And there is another reason to not be there too. What might that be? If you are in attendance, the buyer can ask you difficult questions face to face. Putting you on the spot, tricky ones too, such as, are the neighbours noisy? If they are, and you say "no", in front of a witness, and they buy the house, and the neighbours really are noisy, (it could even be the main reason for you wanting to move out!), the new buyers could have a legal case against you for misrepresentation.

But if you are honest and say "yes", the chances are that the prospective buyer will grin politely, and once outside walk away at a rate of knots, you won’t see them for dust. There are many other tricky questions the potential buyer might ask you too, but they can’t do that if you are not there. Selling a house can be a complicated business and the lawyers and agents should be handling these tricky questions, not inexperienced house sellers such as you might be. So take my advice, and get out of there on viewings day, and you will certainly improve your chances of selling your house faster.

Best of luck to you anyway in your quest to find that buyer, and remember, as my friend Michael is fond of saying, “there is a butt for every seat”, and if you act on these suggestions you will improve the chances of finding your perfect buyer, and perhaps sooner than you might think.

Tips for Credit Card Surfers

Moving money from credit card to credit card to take advantage of interest free
balance transfers and effectively borrowing money for free. It's even possible to make
money by borrowing money, transferring the debt to an interest free card and
investing the cash in a high interest savings account until the interest free period
expires.

However, if you plan on being a serial card surfer, there are a number of things you
need to do.

Firstly. Make sure you read the terms and conditions of the card to which you're
transferring your balance and are aware of exactly what you're signing up for. Some
cards, for example insist that you spend a certain amount per month on the card in
order to qualify for the interest free balance transfer.

Secondly. Never, never, never spend any money on the card to which you transfer a
balance. This is because, your monthly payment is always put towards paying off the
transferred balance. This means that you will pay interest on everything you spend,
even if you pay off as much as you spend every month.

Finally, make sure you know and write down the date that the balance transfer period
ends. Better still, set an alarm on your mobile phone or PDA for seven working days
before the expiry date. That will give you enough time to pay off the balance before the
interest free period ends.

Follow these simple guidelines and you can surf from credit card to credit card and
never pay any interest on transferred balances.