The Panama City Real Estate BlogRecently posted or modified blog posts in the category - Selling Your Homehttps://www.panamacityhomesonline.com/blog/Copyright PanamaCityHomesOnline.com2020-10-12T11:11:43-07:00tag:panamacityhomesonline.com,2012-09-20:15535Four Things Sellers Should Do Before the Sign Goes in the YardFour Things Sellers Should Do Before the Sign Goes in the Yard
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Just like buyers should be pre-approved before they begin to look at houses, Sellers should have their home pre-approved. The reasons are similar: appeal to the "right" buyers, discover issues with the home early, improve marketability, increase negotiations position and close quicker.
For the seller, there are few things that need to be done before the sign goes in the yard and definitely before prospective buyers see the home. The first is to understand that once you decide to sell the home that it needs to appeal to the broadest base of buyers and that means depersonalizing your home.
Once the home is sold, you will need to pack your things for the new home. Think of this as starting the process early. Get moving boxes and make decisions on what you intend to give away or discard in each room and closet. Identify and pack those items before the home goes on the market. This will be the first wave of making your home more marketable.
When your home hits the market, it needs to be a neutral commodity and not "your" home. A good rule of thumb is to remove items that involve religion, hunting and sports. That means removing personal items like family photos or collections displayed in the room.
Next, in round two, go through every room to remove the items that make too large of a statement or take up too much room. Pool tables may be appropriate in a game room, but they are not in a dining room or a living room.
Personal collections may have taken you years to accumulate and you're proud of them but the people who come to see your home will either not appreciate them or they will become distracted by looking at them instead of the home. The livability of your home needs to be the focal point. The buyers need to visualize themselves living in the property that will become "their" home.
The four most important rooms to address are the primary bedroom, kitchen, living room and dining room. These rooms have a major influence on buyers when determining whether "it is the right home." Bright colors, possibly used as accent walls, should be neutralized.
After you have depersonalized the home and removed non-essential items that could make the rooms or closets look small, you might want to consider another technique referred to as staging. Rearranging furniture so the room shows to its best advantage is simple and doesn't cost a thing. You might decide that a coffee table or statement piece would be nice and your REALTOR® or stager can suggest a place to rent it rather than buying it.
Once the home is depersonalized and staged, you are ready to have a professional photographer take the pictures that visually describe your home to potential buyers long before they ever look at the home physically. These will be used on websites, portal sites, MLS, and social media. Anyone with a point and shoot camera thinks they are a photographer but a pro with the correct wide angle lens, who understands lighting and has an "eye" for what makes a great picture is worth every dime you'll spend.
One more consideration should be to have the home inspected before it goes on the market. It won't replace the buyer's inspections but it will discover any items that need repair and they should be done before the home goes on the market. This will probably save you money because it might cost less to repair them than they'll want in second round of negotiations when their inspector finds it.
Another benefit is that if their inspector identifies a problem area that your inspector did not, you have a basis for legitimate disagreement that could just be personal opinion instead of a "fact."
While the process of depersonalizing should take part before you put the home on the market, you'll want you have the benefit of your real estate agent's experience to help you with the process. At age 18, a person can expect to move nine more times but by age 45, they may only expect to move another 2.7 times. Your REALTOR®'s experience can be valuable not only in saving your time and money but actually, make the difference in a successful sale.
If you're ready to put your house on the market or simply have any questions about the listing process contact Miller&Associates Realty today! 850-249-66552020-10-12T10:56:00-07:002020-10-12T11:11:43-07:00Miller Admintag:panamacityhomesonline.com,2012-09-20:15287Smart Sprinkler ControllerSmart Sprinkler Controller
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It seems like most homes have sprinkler systems and if they do, they have some form of controller to automatically turn the water on and off for the time and days you feel necessary. It seems like basic functionality and if it isn't broken, you may not feel the need to replace it.
Today, there are so many smart home devices that are not only convenient, but they'll end up saving you enough money to pay for the upgrade. There are different manufacturers, but you should at least consider the Rachio if for no other reason than the easy installation procedure.
The process is simple. Unplug the old controller and disconnect the wires being sure to label which wires went to which stations. Using the Rachio template, mark three spots on the wall, drill holes in the drywall, insert the anchors into the holes and screw the new controller to the wall.
This model has convenient wire connectors that do not require crimping a wire around a screw. It is quick and easy to put the numbered wires in the corresponding slot. The directions are simple and easy to follow. When complete, connect the power source and plug it into a wall socket.
Now, install the Rachio app to your phone and continue following the instructions to connect the controller to the Wi-Fi. In minutes, you'll be sitting in a lawn chair making adjustments and seeing what it will do.
Some of the features you'll find very convenient are the multiple schedules that can be created and easily switched from one to another. As you set up each zone, you can take a picture of the area and be able to identify with a glance which area you want when individually selecting one.
Another thing you might like is that when you're trying to track down a broken head or just need to adjust it, you can turn on a zone from your phone while looking at the yard. When you identify which head is the culprit, turn the water off from your phone, make the adjustment or repair and turn the water back on to test it without having to go back and forth to wherever your controller is located.
<a href="https://rachio.com/rachio-3/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://rachio.com/rachio-3/&source=gmail&ust=1600794463600000&usg=AFQjCNFcQJ5zAXyUIkUZX342VceutaVHoA">Rachio</a> will even monitor the weather to skip a scheduled cycle in case of rain, high wind or freezing temperatures. You could literally be anywhere in the world where you have an Internet connection and you'll be able to adjust your watering cycle. This device really does save time and money while being fun to operate.
2020-09-21T11:05:00-07:002020-09-21T11:06:21-07:00Miller Admintag:panamacityhomesonline.com,2012-09-20:1708Selling in the Winter Attracts Serious Buyers<img width="750" height="410" title="Selling in the Winter Attracts Serious Buyers" class="img_box_center" alt="Selling in the Winter Attracts Serious Buyers" src="https://assets.site-static.com/userfiles/623/image/selling-in-the-winter-attracts-serious-buyers.jpg" />
A recent <a href="https://www.redfin.com/blog/2016/11/home-sellers-spring-is-great-but-listing-in-winter-pays-off-too.html">study</a> of more than 7 million home sales over the past four years revealed that the season in which a home is listed may be able to shed some light on the likelihood that the home will sell for more than asking price, as well as how quickly the sale will close.
It’s no surprise that listing a home for sale during the spring saw the largest return, as the spring is traditionally the busiest month for real estate. What is surprising, though, is that listing during the winter came in second!
“Among spring listings, 18.7 percent of homes fetched above asking, with winter listings not far behind at 17.5 percent. While 48.0 percent of homes listed in spring sold within 30 days, 46.2 percent of homes in winter did the same.”
The study goes on to say that:
“Buyers [in the winter] often need to move, so they’re much less likely to make a lowball offer and they’ll often want to close quickly — two things that can make the sale much smoother.”
Bottom Line
If you are debating listing your home for sale within the next 6 months, keep in mind that the spring is when most other homeowners will decide to list their homes as well. Listing your home this winter will ensure that you have the best exposure to the serious buyers who are out looking now!
The study used the astronomical seasons to determine which season the listing date fell into (Winter: Dec. 21 – Mar. 20; Spring: Mar. 21 – June 20; Summer: June 21 – Sept 21; Autumn: Sept 21 – Dec. 20).
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