Tips on Staging a House to Sell

A staged, clean and clutter free home can make a huge difference between a quick sale, and a house that stays on the market for months. Here a few tips to help you sell your home quickly.  

De-Clutter: You want a prospective buyer to imagine themselves living  in your space. It is easier to do this when they don't see all your family portraits above the fireplace mantel. Get rid of anything that makes to room less attractive. You want to sell your space as roomy and beautiful. Organize the shoe closet, pantry, etc so when a buyer tours your home they notice the ample storage your home has to offer. 

Clean: The next step to staging your home is to clean, clean, clean. A clean home makes buyers think it is well mantained. The less a buyer has to do the better! This is a huge selling point. 

Stage: The final and last step into staging your home is to.. stage it. After you have de-cluttered the space and cleaned it you will have more room to move stuff around to highlight the selling points. 

3 Tips In Negotiating The Best House Selling Price

MySecretAgent has prepared 3 tips in negotiating your best house selling price when selling For Sale By Owner (FSBO). We are the top flat fee MLS service and have you, the seller's, best interest.

1. Come Prepared: When you have a feeling that a buyer is going to make an offer show them a recent appraisal and home inspection report. This shows the potential buyer what condition your home is in and how much it is worth in the market place. And, to guarantee they don’t face expensive, unexpected repairs down the road. 
2. Savings: When selling your home with a flat fee service you are saving thousands in listing commissions. Some buyers may want to take advantage of this. If the buyer is realistic (as well as the seller) you both will agree to a fair market value. If the buyer is considering a few homes to buy you do have more of an advantage as you are saving in listing commissions and can lower the asking price a bit or pay for some of the buyer's closing costs. 
3. Stand Your Ground: With this approach the buyer will know the best offer is on the table. Make sure to back up your offer with a recent comparative market analysis, appraisal, etc. 

CyberMonday: Buy a House

It may be a great time for buyers who have waited patiently for sale prices to come down. Why continue to rent when you can buy a home for 10 or 20 percent less than you would have paid for a similar home just a few years ago? Our Buyer’s Market slide shows let you see what you can get across the country: for $250,000, for $150,000, for $50,000. Full Article 

Mortgage Rates Hit Another Record Low

Mortgage rates dropped again this week, sending both 15-year and 30-year fixed-rate loans to record lows.

According to mortgage giant Freddie Mac, the average rate on the 30-year fell to 3.34%, 0.06 percentage point lower than last week. The 15 year fell 0.04 percentage point to 2.65%. Full Article

Happy Thanksgiving

Home Sales Climb in October

Existing home sales rose to an annual rate of 4.79 million, seasonally adjusted, the National Association of Realtors reported on Monday. That's up 2.1% from September, when the revised annual rate of existing home sales was 4.69 million. And it's an increase of 11% year-over-year, when the annual rate was 4.32 million. Full Article

MySecretAgent has seen a climb in sales with our personal listings.  This has been our busiest October/ November  in listing and sales. We helped save thousands in listing commissions. 

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Home Inspection Tips For Sellers

A thorough home inspection is a critical step in the home-buying process, which is one reason that it's typically thought of as something the buyer has to do. There are, however, a few things that a seller can do to make the process smoother and ensure that a property gets flying colors during the inspection. Full Article

• Pre Sale Inspection: It is a good idea to pre- inspect your home before it hits the market so you can address any issues before hand. 
• Leave the house: Leave your home while the official inspection is made with the buyers. If the homeowner does hang around, the potential buyer may not feel comfortable asking questions or discussing a property's issues openly and honestly.
• Tidy Up: An important thing to do is to keep all key areas of the house free, clear and accessible so the inspector can get to the furnace, boiler and circuit breaker.

Great Time To List

Inventory in Seattle is the lowest it has been since 2006. With prices on the rise and inventory so low it is a great time to list. Full Article 

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10 Weekend Home Projects

You don't have to shell out big bucks to get a better price for your home. These easy, inexpensive fixes will add value to your home without breaking the bank. Full Article

1. De-Clutter:  De-cluttering should be the first job sellers cross off their list before starting any other project, agents and real-estate investors say.
2. Make over your cabinets: You don't need to get your cabinets refaced or replaced to make them look presentable. If they're scratched or look dated, just spring for a couple of cans of paint and put a new finish on them.
3. Patch and Paint: A fresh coat of paint in the living room, kitchen and master bathroom will pay big dividends. 
4. Spiff up your home's curb appeal: One quick way to entice more buyers into your house is to spruce up what they see from the street. Spend a weekend cleaning or replacing your mailbox, putting up new street numbers that match the style of your house, cleaning your storm door and windows and touching up chipped paint on your frontdoor. 
5.  Fix your lighting: Get rid of that Hollywood dressing-room-style lighting that frames your bathroom mirror, or at the very least, replace all of the bulbs.
6. Get fabulously clean floors: Settle for a floor that looks spic and span. If you have very dirty carpet, rent a steam machine and get out the stains. If you have hardwoods, buff and polish them.
7. 'Dress' your house: Once your house has been cleaned, patched and painted, it's time to think about the best way to show it off. Home stagers and flippers say it pays to spend a little time on new "clothes" for your house.
8. Create an impression of extra rooms: Most people are willing to pay a premium for a little more breathing room. But no one is going to add on just to sell his or her home. One way you can give buyers more livable area is to spruce up your garage or basement.
9. Tackle the small stuff all at once: Make a list and invest a not-so-fun 48 hours in fixing those broken drawer slides, replacing moldy caulking around the bathtub and fixing that cracked tile or broken step leading down to the basement. 
10. The finishing touches: Replace old, yellowing or brass switch-plate covers with new ones made of brushed metal.