Selling your home in La Quinta
Call me and I will answer your questions about selling your home: (760) 774-6063.
Email: Nancy Javitch
The process is different if you are selling a home as compared to buying a home. Here is the La Quinta Real Estate selling process.
Sellers
1. At our initial listing appointment, I will listen to your needs. It is very important for me to understand why you are selling, everything about your home, including the most outstanding features, why you chose to purchase this home, any upgrades that you did while living there, all about your development, things that may need repair and if so, can we have it done in preparation to sell.
2. Then, we can discuss your desired timeframe to sell, proper pricing, where you want to relocate and how that will work if buying in the Valley again and the best strategy to highlight the most important features of your home and downplay any negatives. I will advise you whether to bring in a staging company, proven statistics to how well it helps sell your home. In this market, price is crucial. We are now in a buyers market. We had approximately 1500 homes for sale in 2004 and now we have over 9000! Quite a change. So, how do we make YOUR home stand out? How do we get traffic to YOUR home in this type of market? THAT is where my team of professionals come in to play. We will get the most visibility possible through our marketing strategies.
3. I will show you a complete Comparable Market Analysis, so you will understand where the market is at that time. I try to educate my buyers and sellers as much as possible as to where the market is at the time you are selling your home. Most buyers these days are very savvy and are doing most of their research before they contact a Real Estate Professional. That is where the proper exposure of your home is critical. Educating the seller on proper pricing is critical, as well. You and I work TOGETHER to make your home priced appropriately.
4. I will outline my marketing strategies utilizing the optimum Internet exposure to your property possible, the best local and out of the area newspapers and magazines to advertise in. The Internet is the most important aspect of marketing. People are researching themselves and knowing how to put your web site on top to get the most exposure is the name of the game. That is where I can help you!
5. An offer comes in. We negotiate the best price. In this market, I always suggest to my clients that we do not turn away any offer. This is not about hurting your feelings. I know how we all love our own homes, we have personalized it, made it ours and it is a sensitive area when someone else is judging it and criticizing it. But, we must remain unattached. This is a business transaction. The buyer is only trying to get the best value for their new home as possible. This will be exactly what you will do on your next purchase. So, even though it is very difficult, we must remain focused on the fact that you have made the decision to sell. My goal is for this transaction to be a win/win for all. I want this to be a positive experience, not stressful.
6. We open escrow. Once the offer is accepted, we open escrow. Most buyers and sellers think that my job is done once the house is in escrow. Quite the contrary, that is where many deals fall apart. The buyer wants the moon, the seller will not fix anything. That is where my team steps in and makes sure that we are all on the same page. We all understand our goals. We all work together so that there are no surprises, no misunderstandings. Some Real Estate Agents become very adversarial during this process. I am quick to remind them that we are all on the same team. Working together to bring our buyer and seller together to complete this transaction. I follow up daily with escrow, making sure buyer gave a deposit (big mistake by listing agents), keeping tabs on the ability of the buyer to have funds to close, inspections, appraisal, disclosures, etc.
7. Escrow closes. You move on to your next dream home.
8. Enjoy your big check.
9.My follow up with you: Whether it is a mover you need or any service required for you next home, I am there for you. Even if you move to another town, another state, I have the ability to find services in other areas, as well.
TOP 5 mistakes sellers make over and over again.
THE REAL ESTATE MARKET is slowing, but that does not mean you can't sell your home. It just means you need to be savvy and not make any of the mistakes that home sellers often make. Sounds easy right? So what are the 5 common mistakes that lead to NO SALE? Here they are in order of importance:
1. Asking way too much for your property
This is the single biggest mistake sellers make. Of course you want to get as much as you can - but you also need to know what the market is doing and what homes are selling for in your neighborhood - not just fix to a price and if you do not get it, NO DEAL. In a softening market homeowners need to price conservatively or they risk turning off potential buyers, says Michael Corbett, author of Ready, Set, Sold.
How should you set the price? Gone are the days when you can expect to sell your home for more than your neighbor did last year. Single family home prices have fallen for three consecutive quarters and are now down 6.5% from their peak in 2006. This data according to the National Association of Realtors. So rather than looking at how much homes in your area sold for six to 12 months ago, compare prices for similar properties currently on the market and what they sold for last week. If you see a listing for a house that's just sitting unsold for a few months, chances are the owners are asking too much and you'll want to set your price a bit lower, says Corbett. Common sense approach to selling is the key when it comes to pricing your home.
2. Questioning the First Offer
Too many sellers say no to their first offer, even if it's close to or at full asking price. Holding out for more money is a strategy that rarely works, especially at a time when interest rates on mortgages are in flux and a potential buyer's purchasing power could decrease. Instead of rejecting any offers out right you need to put in a counter offer and see what happens. Keep the negotiating process open. The reality is that in any market a home's first offer is often its best, says Elaine Clayman, a real estate broker with Brown Harris Stevens. She says that's because educated buyers will pounce on a property they like with a competitive bid as soon as it comes onto the market. And don't forget that the longer a home sits unsold, the greater chance a seller will have to reduce his price to sell. So if your intention is to sell then sell it to your first offer.
3. Not Responding to All Offers
What if you get an offer that's simply too low? Many homeowners will reject it outright. But it's a mistake not to respond to all offers. Here's why. First, you can't blame someone for testing the market, after all, in today's market many buyers are confident that they have the upper hand. Second, just entering into negotiations with one party gives you leverage with other potential buyers, says Corbett. Most importantly, it allows you to tell brokers that your property is in play and sends a message that if someone is interested he had better act quickly and present a very competitive bid. "Chances are the second offer will be close to your asking," he says.
4. Using a Home Stager
Unless you're trying to sell a multimillion-dollar dwelling, you don't need to pay a professional to stage your home. There are a number of free or cheap things you can do on your own to get your house into show condition. Most importantly, paint the walls. Nothing does more to brighten up a place, says Peter Comitini, a real estate broker with Corcoran Group. Next, he recommends getting rid of all the clutter, excess furniture and family knickknacks. Finally, make all the necessary repairs before your first open house. If a buyer sees a small problem, say, a leaky faucet, he's likely to wonder about larger issues like the furnace or roof. Showcase your home in perfect, or as near to as perfect, as possible. Remember your house will have to pass mustard with a professional inspector (likely condition for all sales) so might as well get someone in to inspect your house before you put it on the market.
5. Picking the Wrong Buyer
Now more than ever, sellers need to select their buyers carefully. Thanks to all the defaults in the subprime market, lenders are tightening their lending practices, making it more difficult for consumers to qualify for mortgages. So it's critical to find a buyer who's prequalified for a loan. Next, watch out for buyers who need to add contingencies to the contract, including a clause stating that the deal won't close until they sell their own home. A better bet is to look for cash-flush first-time home buyers or someone who has already unloaded his existing house. In a slowing market it's difficult to estimate how long it could take your buyer to find someone to purchase his dwelling, warns Brown Harris Stevens' Clayman. And if that property doesn't go for as much as he expected, that person may no longer be able to afford your agreed-upon price.
Contact details: Nancy Javitch, La Quinta Real Estate Specialist, cell: (760) 774-6063
Office: (760) 777-8870,Southern Hills Real Estate,
78-150 Calle Tampico Suite 101, La Quinta, CA 92253.
License # 01398196.
Email: Nancy Javitch, web: Beyond La Quinta Real Estate
