Articles Tagged "Home Seller Tips"

With home values at historic highs, many homeowners are rushing to put their houses on the market to take advantage of the increase in their equity. But our real estate agents want to caution sellers that hasty decisions can mean necessary repairs can go unidentified and delay closing the sale. A pre-inspection can be a worthwhile investment and reveal issues that can be resolved before listing.

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Our real estate agents know that financing is one of a homebuyer's biggest worries. It continues to be a concern even on your second or third home. In fact, homeowners have unique challenges when it comes to selling their existing home and buying a new one!

When there's a gap between the time you close on a new home and closing day on your existing one, it can introduce real financial peril. In many cases, this can stretch your budget to the breaking point. But even if the timing doesn't line up perfectly, you still have options you can pursue.

One of those is the bridge loan.

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The purpose of showing your home is to hook a buyer. You want the buyers to come through your house and be impressed - so impressed in fact, that they're ready to make an offer! You'll have one chance to make a great first impression on the potential buyers, so make sure to follow these five helpful tips to really make it count!

1. Focus on the outside. Make sure that you don't neglect the outside of your home. Curb appeal can make or break the odds of someone even bothering to get out of the car to come in. If they pull up and see a home with a lawn that obviously needs edging and has an unkempt flower bed, they're going to wonder what else hasn't been cared for properly. You want the outside of your home to be spotless. Clean the siding, the windows, and the doors. Make sure there are no dirt smudges, no cobwebs and that anything that needs painting has been spiffed up. 

1. Take yourself out of the house. That means that you want to take out all the personal stuff. Remove the family photos from the wall or tables. You want the home to look neutral so that the potential buyers can look at your house and picture it as themselves living there. Everything should be as neutral as possible in terms of personal items. 

1. Remove all the extra clutter you see at first glance. If you look around, it'll amaze you at how much stuff you've accumulated over the years. Some of it might very well be important, but that doesn't mean that your potential buyers should see it. When you have a lot of clutter, it shrinks the living space of the house. It makes it look and feel cramped and smaller. Many homeowners get something called house blindness. They've lived in the home for so long with the same clutter that they don't even really see it anymore. But a stranger will always notice. So clean out your house and make the space as big as possible.

1. If you have a pet, no one that walks through your house should be able to notice it exists. That means no cat litter box, no dog to jump on anyone, no food sitting around in a dish. Your home should not have any pet odors. Having a clean house that's odor free is a big selling point. You don't want to lose a possible deal just because they can smell your pet's presence or your pet makes a bad impression.

1. Stage your home! You can hire a professional or you can do it yourself. Stage your living areas in a way that shows off your home. You can rent furniture to make your home furnishings look good if you don't use a stager. Someone who knows how to stage a house knows how to play up the best features of your home and knows what to bring in or get rid of to make the entire house appeal to a buyer. 

First impressions are HUGE when showing you home to potential buyers, but by following the simple tips above you will be well on your way to making a great impression and, hopefully, receiving multiple offers!  (And if you are at all anxious about this important step, just reach out to a trusted real estate agent in your area who can help guide you through this process!)

Closing day is a big deal! It's a culmination of all your hard work: getting your house ready to sell, going through the work of keeping it clean and staged for showings, and negotiating with your buyer. It's normal to be both excited and nervous about closing day, especially if you haven't closed on a property as the seller before.

Fortunately, things rarely go wrong on closing day, especially when you have our real estate agents guiding you through the process. Here is a rundown of everything you need to know about the big day.

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Our real estate agents know that deciding precisely when to sell your house can be a real challenge.

Whether it's a buyer's or seller's market, conditions never stay the same for very long. It's up to sellers to time their transaction for the greatest advantage, then get the right help from a real estate agent. However, there can be a lot of conflicting information to sort through.

With interest rates rising, many sellers have concluded that they "missed the boat."

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A lush lawn can be a real booster when it comes to your home's selling price, as our real estate agents will tell you. That's good news, but attaining a beautiful lawn requires some work and commitment. Here are some tips that will guide you toward creating the lawn of your dreams.

1. Improve the soil
   Lawns need good soil to look healthy. Be sure that your soil's pH (the measure of the acidity or basicity of the soil) is right for the kind of grass you want to grow. Soil test kits can yield the pH, and you can use amendments to fix it. You may need to till the soil if it is exceptionally hard, and perhaps adding some good quality soil.

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At Laffey Real Estate, our real estate agents work hard to get you to closing quickly and easily. If you're getting ready to sell your home, one of the most important parts of that process is also one of the earliest: Setting an asking price. What does it really mean if a home is "priced to sell?" It means you are getting the best deal possible aligned with your local market – and thus, attracting highly qualified buyers.

Ideally, a home is on the market for 30 days or less. Warning lights flash as it climbs toward 60 days. Pricing a property correctly is essential to that timeframe. It protects you against leaving money on the table but also against the wasted time and aggravation of a listing that lingers. If a home cannot be sold in 90 days, it often has to be relisted later. This spells disaster for sellers!

It's fair to ask: How does a real estate agent price a home?

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Sometimes yesterday's design trends just don't seem to fit with today's lifestyles. If you're selling your home, you'll want to appeal to as many buyers as possible, and that may seem difficult if there are spaces that might go unused or just aren't very functional. The good news is you don't have to keep the space for its intended use.

Staging your Long Island home for sale is a good idea, and it can help you use that tricky space as a plus that will add a little extra appeal for buyers.  One space you might want to look at changing is a formal dining room. If there is eating space in the kitchen, why not showcase the dining room as extra space buyers will use every day. Of course, you'll want to consider your space and the types of buyers you'll see, but our real estate agents recommend considering one of these spaces that will catch their attention.

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If you've got a home inspection coming up, it's completely normal to feel a bit nervous. After all, nobody enjoys having strangers poke and prod around their home, looking for problems. Even if you think you know your home inside and out, you never know what they might find. 

Our real estate agents talk to nervous sellers about this all the time. The best advice they give is to remain calm and make sure you're prepared. This will give you the best chance of having a successful inspection. Here are a few things you'll want to consider doing.

1. Decide How to Deal with Known Issues
   If you're aware of your home's problems, you cannot conceal them from the potential buyer. You'll need to decide whether you want to fix them before your inspection or disclose them. Your real estate agent can help you weigh the pros and cons and make a decision. It's also a good idea to have a game plan for how you'll handle any additional issues that may come up during your inspection.

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While it's true that two offers are better than none, that doesn't make it any easier to make the right decision. There are many factors to consider, and you will want to weigh each offer carefully as you decide which one to accept. Our real estate agents understand the challenges in front of you and recommend the following to help guide you to the right choice.

Price Vs Terms

This is only part of the equation you need to consider. If it's an all-cash offer that comes in at or above your asking price, it's an easy decision to make. In fact, most sellers will accept this offer without a second thought. While a generous offer is certain to catch your attention, the bottom line is that you should always pay close attention to the offer's terms and conditions. For example, suppose a high bid is contingent on the buyer selling another property or securing financing. In that case, it can be riskier than accepting a lower offer with no strings attached from a buyer with secured financing.

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Of all the home design trends that can shape your effort to buy or sell a home, house size is one of the most inflexible. You can remove crown molding or install a kitchen island, but adding or removing square footage is a serious undertaking. However, if you have a larger home, our real estate agents would like to talk with you, as after the tiny home trend, big homes are back in a big way. 

Home trends can lean toward greater square footage for a number of reasons, including suburban areas increasing in popularity and technological advances making large homes easier to maintain. But in 2020, the lockdowns and quarantines have left some homebuyers feeling cramped in homes that now must be ready to accommodate multiple functions. Millennials have expressed significant interest in larger homes and are moving out of apartments and starter homes for something ready to accommodate their next steps. Help potential homebuyers see their future in your home by staging and showing the best uses for the space you have.

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When that "For Sale" sign goes up in your back yard, you may be ready to say farewell to your house. You may have already begun packing. So it may seem a little odd to consider remodeling at such a time. Why go through the process of hiring contractors and paying for repairs that you may never enjoy? But when you sell your home, you aren't just saying goodbye to your house. You're hoping to convince someone else to call it home for the first time. Here are the remodeling projects our real estate agents recommend considering when preparing your home for sale:

• Fix It, Don't Forget It 
  Materials in poor condition should be at the top of your list for repairs or replacements. If surfaces are chipped, peeling, or cracked, it doesn't matter if they're in a style that's currently en vogue. Surfaces that show signs of water or mold damage, even if the underlying cause has been addressed, will prompt buyers to be wary of problems beneath. If you have a material that is rare or old, have an expert examine it to determine the best course of action. Some original materials might need to be preserved or restored by specialists.

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Warmer weather is here, and we're entering the height of landscaping season. We're also in the midst of the biggest real estate season of the year, and our REALTORS® have learned that those two things go hand in hand. 

Now is the time to get your landscaping in shape, especially if you're selling your house. When you're getting ready to sell, you need every advantage you can get, and preparing your landscape is just as important as staging the inside of your home. For anyone out there who's listing their Long Island home this season, use these tips to edge your landscaping like a pro!

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Our real estate agents are here to help sellers in New York adapt to a challenging and uncertain time. The real estate market is just one of countless things changing fast as a result of COVID-19—but that doesn't mean you need to put off your sale.

Many buyers are still moving forward with their plans. Online open houses, digital home tours, and easier closings are just a few of the methods keeping sellers and buyers safer. That said, the amenities that buyers are looking for now have changed almost overnight.

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Deciding to place your home on the market is a major decision. Many people downsize once children leave home. Others look for a larger home to accommodate growing families. In today's high-tech world, setting your home up for a virtual tour increases the potential number of buyers.  

When you get your home ready for a virtual tour, enticing the buyer is the primary goal. You want to show the potential new homeowner the possibilities of owning your home. If you need help, our real estate agents can provide suggestions. Here are general areas to consider when preparing your home for a virtual tour.

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Online listings have long been a crucial element in selling a home since most buyers start their search for a property online, and your listing is the first chance to make them fall in love. With so many communities sheltering in place due to the COVID-19 outbreak, online listings have taken on even greater importance. Buyers are forced to shop from a distance, but that hasn't stopped them from wanting to find the right home! As our real estate agents can tell you, there are many reasons why your online house listing is even more important than ever before.

• More Buyers Than Ever Start Their Search Online
  Even before COVID-19, buyers from nearly every age and demographic flocked to online listings when trying to find their dream home. Whether shopping from across town or across the country, online listings provide an easy way to form a solid first impression of a home ... and maybe even fall in love. Buyers can easily filter search results to hone in on exactly the type of home they want, making it even more likely that your home catches their eye if it matches their needs. If you want to maximize the market for your home and reach the largest number of potential buyers, then an online listing is a must.

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With homebuyers placing a high premium on space and flexibility, a bonus room can be a definite advantage if you're selling your home. But rather than leaving them virtually empty or using them for storage, sellers should stage bonus rooms to show them off to their maximum advantage.

Our real estate agents suggest the following ways to help prospective buyers feel inspired when they see your bonus room:

• Consider your likely buyer
  Tailor your bonus room to the type of buyer who is likely to be interested in your home. If it's likely to appeal to a family with young children, consider making your bonus room into a nursery, playroom, or extra bedroom. But if your neighborhood attracts a lot of young professionals, your bonus room may be more appealing if it's transformed into a home office.

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Springtime is almost here and that means prime real estate season is right around the corner. If you're thinking about selling your home, you're in good company. Our real estate agents are already working with many sellers who are preparing to list their homes in the coming months.

Want to make sure your house stands out from the crowd? You'll need to put in a bit of extra effort. Start with these six tips. 

1. Update Your Curb Appeal
   After a long, hard winter the outside of your home is sure to need a bit of TLC. Make sure you put your best foot forward by sprucing up your landscaping and adding some extra touches to make your outdoor space more appealing. This includes:

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Will an open house sell my home? This question is one of the most common that our real estate agents field from clients. As with many questions, the answer isn't always "yes" or "no." Often, the value of an open house depends on market conditions and location. Thus, it is essential to work closely with your real estate agent to determine the best way to leverage an open house to achieve the sale you desire.

Open Houses Generate Interest (& Potentially Higher Profit)

The primary benefit of an open house is that it generates interest in your home. Like a beacon in the night, it attracts prospective buyers and real estate agents. It is a quick way to grow the pool of interested buyers and spread the word that your home is available for sale. While it may not seem beneficial on the surface, the fact is that real estate agents who attend open houses are doing so in the search for the perfect property for their clients. For each real estate agent who visits your home, they may recommend your home to 5, 10, or 20 clients eager to make an offer on your property.

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Preparing your home for an open house can be overwhelming, but with a little planning and a lot of elbow grease, it's not so bad. Our real estate agents have helped many clients successfully stage their homes for viewing. Here they share some tips about prepping some often overlooked spaces that will wow buyers with the right look.

• Laundry Room
  It's easy to forget about one of the most utilitarian rooms in the house. After all, who loves spending time doing laundry? Believe it or not, lots of people. A clean, organized laundry room with space to stash products and fold clothing is a major draw for buyers. Putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls, giving it a thorough cleaning, and placing detergent and clothes on shelves and in bins will make your laundry room shine.

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Our real estate agents often get asked for their best tips to help sell a home. Staging a home to sell is an important step, and one that will pay off in the end. If you have to stage one room in your home make that your living room. It's normally one of the first things people see when they enter the home, so it's your chance to make a great first impression.

• Get rid of the extra stuff. This should be going on throughout your home. In the living room remove extra, unmatching, or furniture that is the wrong size for the room. Rearrange what's left or replace with something more appropriate. Remove and store collectibles, family photos, and any extreme décor choices. Reducing the amount of stuff in a room immediately looks better, allows more light to shine, and helps buyers imagine how their own stuff will look in the room.
  
  
• Patch and Paint. You should already have been at least thinking about repainting everywhere, but if not, do the living room before you stage it.  Fresh paint will make the room cleaner and brighter, a must for staging success.

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Agents Take Their Role in Helping Senior Community Very Seriously

Oyster Bay, NY   – Marianne Conroy and Regina Ciardullo, North Shore Realtors with the Laffey Real Estate Brookville Office were recognized for their contributions at the 2019 Senior Expo Event held on October 11, 2019 at the Glen Cove YMCA. 

Both Realtors were part of a discussion panel of professionals offering their guidance and expertise on subjects like downsizing, living alternatives, healthy living, and financial planning.  The theme at their booth was Senior Concierge Moving in Today's Real Estate market. 

In the past ten years, the number of New Yorkers ages 65 and over increased by 26 percent, making up a larger share of the state's population than ever before.  There are now more residents aged 65 and older in New York State—3.2 million—than the entire population of 21 states. Today, nearly one in six New Yorkers is 65 and above (16 percent).   These statistics make a solid case for focusing on the needs of the 65+ community as they remain a significant part of the fabric of the North Shore with solid purchasing power and influence on household decisions in today's multi-generational households.

"We found that this expo gave us the opportunity to provide a solid frame of reference for community members to learn more about their own personal moving options," explained Regina Ciardullo.  "We were encouraged when many of the visitors we spoke to were eagerly engaged upon hearing the ways Regina and I are able to easily orchestrate the entire home selling process", offered Marianne Conroy.  "Most visitors wanted to know if we could provide assistance in how to handle minor repairs, prepping for sale, determining their home's market value and alternative living arrangements", added Ciardullo. With more than 200 people in attendance, the opportunity to meet and greet members of the North Shore community was most gratifying for both experienced real estate professionals.

Visitors were treated to good bags filled with coupon books for local deals.  Guest speakers included a who's who of notable public figures including Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, Glen Cove May Timothy Tenke and Assemblyman Charles D. Lavine. 

It's a worst-case scenario for a home seller. You put your home up for sale and then…nothing. It's frustrating to need to sell your home and not get the kind of offers you want. Or worse yet there's no real interest from buyers at all. You don't have to leave things to chance. Our real estate agents have helped lots of sellers and seen a lot. Here are some of the reasons your home might not be selling.

1. The price isn't right. There are several reasons the price might be too high. Your home may be priced similarly to others on your street, but if it is smaller, has fewer amenities or needs some work you won't close the sale for the same price your neighbors did. Unfortunately, some agents will use artificially high prices to entice sellers to list with them.

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Whether you're moving across town or making a cross-country trek, preparing for a move can be overwhelming. One way to cut down on stress and make packing easier is to "clear the clutter" before you even begin the packing process.  Our real estate agents are here with a quick look at ten tips to lighten the load before you move.

1. Start Early
   De-cluttering and packing take a lot of time. Start your clean out at least three months before moving day.
   
   

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When it's time to sell your Long Island home, you know you need to get it shaped up and ready to shine. Your first concern should be curb appeal, or how appealing your home is to a potential buyer driving by. Some experts even say good curb appeal can help you get 10% more in the final price.

You might think of asking a friend to give you an assessment of how your home looks. Make sure you get the honest friend; not the one who tells says you look great after that awful haircut.

Our REALTORS® offer these six tips of where to start to make your curb appeal pop:

1. Mailbox
   Start at the curb and take a good look at your mailbox. Is it scuffed and dinghy, looking as though it is apathetic about holding the mail? Give it a good cleaning, or if it is too far gone, consider replacing it. At least re-paint the post and replace the house numbers with a style that matches your overall house.

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