“I’m sorry. I know I have a Ooltewah home for sale, but I’m not available for questions and you can’t see it. Please leave a message after the beep.”

No More Precious Commodities

Houses are no longer the precious commodities they once were. A Ooltewah home for sale is no longer a rare occurrence. This is the biggest reason for the splurge of hints from real estate agents: update your curb appeal, stage the house, etc. Something seems to have been forgotten along the way: availability.

Where Were You When…?

Very rarely will anyone ever buy a house unseen. So the real question is have you (and/or your agent) been available for potential homebuyers, or have the potential buyers had to guess at what the inside of your home looks like?

Buyer agents are starting to complain: “I had this tour all lined up to show houses, called the seller agents and couldn’t get through. By the time it was all said and done, my list of fifteen homes to show became five.”

If you’re trying to sell a house, you have to make it available for buyers to view. Too many sellers think that buyers will look over the home when they (the sellers) are available. “Hey, it’s great that you have potential buyers who want to look at my house right now, but I have stuff to do. Rearrange your housing tour, set it back a few hours and I’ll meet you there at six.”

What if the potential buyer doesn’t have until six to look at your house? For that matter, what if I (as the buyer agent) can’t put your house in the last slot on the tour? Why would the buyer meet you at an inconvenient time for them when there are plenty of other homes available?

Conclusion

A lot of sellers have their houses listed as “by appointment only,” but this only works if you answer your phone to make the appointment. Others have seller agents who hold the keys, but buyer agents can’t get the keys without being able to reach the seller agent.

If you really are a motivated seller with a Ooltewah home for sale, remember that you have lots of competition who may be more available. Answer your phone, tweak your schedule so it’s wide open and show that you really are a “motivated seller” – make your home available.

Keyword/Tag:  Ooltewah home for sale

Links:

Stage the house

http://www.homestaging.com/

Seller agents

http://www.abanet.org/publiced/practical/homebrokers_seller.html

Buyer agents

http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/real-estate/house-buying11.htm

Potential first time homebuyers are racing the clock to find the perfect Ooltewah homes for sale. Who’s going to reach the finish line first?  And… why are they racing?

Many of you have probably heard of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) by now. For those looking for Ooltewah homes for sale that haven’t heard of the ARRA, first time homebuyers can receive up to $8,000 back in tax credits from the U.S. government. Singles and those married but filing jointly, have an $8,000 threshold, while married individuals filing separately have a $4,000 threshold.

Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? With the tax credit, your taxes are matched dollar-for dollar. This means, if you owe $9,000 in taxes for 2009 and get the full $8,000 tax credit, you’ll only owe $1,000 in taxes. That’s quite a bit of money to save, especially now. Better yet, if you don’t owe anything, that tax credit may become a tax refund – $8,000 of refund, to be exact.

With all the homes available, why are first time buyers racing? Aren’t there enough homes to go around? Of course there are – in fact, millions of homes in the U.S. are waiting for a buyer. However, first timers want to take advantage of the tax credit, and it only goes until April 2010

You may think that’s still plenty of time, but it’s not, really. To qualify for the tax credit, you have to have the keys to your new house in hand and the sale finished by the ARRA ending date.

Should you be racing, too? Well, that depends. If you want to buy one of the Ooltewah homes for sale, can realistically afford it and have been waiting for the best time, that time is here and almost past. However, if you want to buy a home, but can’t afford it yet, don’t let the tax credit push you into a tight monetary situation you can’t get out of. Take the time to build up equity and savings until you can buy a home you can afford!

If you’re a first time buyer wanting to take advantage of the tax credits, I can help. Call me now at 423-488-1882 or email me at tclose@realtycenter.com .

Keyword/Tag:  Ooltewah homes for sale

Links:

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204335,00.html

Waiting for a buyer

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=an17jgiccivM

Home you can afford

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/houseafford/houseafford.html

Sometimes, just sometimes, it seems that people don’t really want to sell their home.  They put the “Ooltewah Home for Sale” sign up in the yard and then steadily push potential buyers away.  If you don’t want to sell your home, here are a few ways to get rid of the nosy buyers:

1. Open houses – Especially if you’re using a real estate agent, your home will be open to the public (i.e. buyers).  The best way to discourage these buyers is by making sure you’re there to point out all the flaws and issues you’ve had while living there.  They’ll eat it up and walk away.

1. Curb appeal – Weeds can cover up a beautiful lawn like nobody’s business.  Putting away the lawnmower, garden sheers and weed eater is an excellent way to ditch potential buyers.

1. Painting the house – Every article written by a real estate guru on “how to market your Ooltewah home for sale” will tell you to paint your house in neutral colors if it needs to be repainted.  Therefore, it stands to reason that if you’re playing “ditch the buyer,” the best thing to do is pick a color that screams, “Here I am!”  No worries.  Once you know for sure your house won’t sell, you can always repaint.

1. Clearing the house – It’s a known fact that buyers like to be able to see themselves living in the house.  Your job is to go around and put up as many knick-knacks and pictures as possible to let them know it’s YOUR house.

Of course, if you’ve put up your Ooltewah home for sale, chances are you do want to sell it.  Pay attention to the above and make sure you aren’t pushing clients away.  If need be, ask your real estate agent to go over the house with you and provide suggestions on how you can improve your home’s buyer appeal.

If you’re trying to sell your home and want it to be marketable, I can help.  Call me at 423-488-1882 or email me at travis@travisclosehomes.com for more information.

Keyword:  Ooltewah home for sale

Links:

1.  Open houses

http://homebuying.about.com/od/sellingahouse/qt/OpenHouse.htm

2.  Curb appeal

http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/exteriors/curb-appeal/ways-to-add-curb-appeal/

3.  Neutral colors

http://www.ideas-for-home-decorating.com/neutral-colors.html