seller

Helping prepare a 40 year-old home to sell

A significant number of the homes in Northern Virginia were built in the 1950’s, 1960’s, and 1970’s. Yes, a lot has been built since then, but the building booms in those times constructed significantly smaller homes and much faster.The total number of homes built in the 1970’s alone outpaces the most recent boom time.

Best of all, they were pinker, yellower and bluer too.

We have all seen the color scheme and it typically raises the eyebrows of first time home buyers. In fact, most of the sellers probably intended to remodel those baths too when they bought the house years ago. But these bathrooms were built to last, and they still work so they won’t be getting a HGTV overhaul in our game plan because there won’t be a significant ROI.  So, they stay.

Home buyers will overlook the pinks, blues or yellows if the location is right

But often these homes have oak hardwood floors hiding under wall-to-wall carpet, and there have been a series of good updates (and not so good updates) that buyers will appreciate like central heating or AC systems, roofs and gutters, or window and door replacements. Deep down, most of these homes have good bones and are now in great locations.

So sellers need to start thinking like buyers, and who those buyers of their home might be? Today’s home buyers are unique and been trained by HGTV programs like House Hunters or Property Virgins. Open the Washington Post and see if those shows are on tonight and take a peek… it may be an eye opener listening to the comments of the on-camera home buyers.

The hardest concept for home sellers to grasp: It isn’t your house anymore!

A home seller’s starter checklist:

• Paint walls with a modern color with a “flat enamel” finish… it looks richer and conceals imperfections
• Trim should be ultra white for the best, cleanest contrast
• Paint your ceilings “ceiling white”… it will make those lower ceilings look higher
• Light fixtures will need replacing all over the house… think brighter!
• Some carpets may be in good condition or almost new, so have them professionally cleaned
• Expose those hardwood floors hiding under the living room floor… brighten them with a mop or refinish
• Update old kitchen appliances… the Sunday paper may have a “package” deal
• Set a date with a charity or trash removal company to get rid of some of your old stuff
• Clean everything including your windows… a local maid service may do the trick!
• Remove 50% of the clothes, coats, or supplies in your closets…
• Consider renting a storage unit or contacting a “POD” storage service
• In Northern Virginia, there are professionals to do almost any job… so hire them to do the lifting!

No home is perfect, and your goal as a home seller is to help create a series of “wow moments” when a buyer sees your home online, pulls up at the curb, and then walks in your front door.

seller

Stillfield Place in Centreville, Virginia | just bought!

This fantastic four bedroom colonial in the Virginia Run community in Centreville, VA that backs to true parkland, has an oversize screened-in porch and was a really good house to buy for my buyer clients. Turn key and not a short-sale. Doug was the “buyer’s agent” in this transaction.

The home was built in 1993 and featured the expanded floor plan.

Shameless Home Buyer Agent Plug

As my client’s “ buyer agent”, I was able to keep this transaction together even though my clients were in California. Understanding their limited time on the ground here in Northern Virginia, I discovered what they wanted and showed them their options on a few of their cross country house hunting trips. When we discussed mortgages, I was able to uncover a unique solution to dealing with stringent new mortgage lender requirements. And when they decided on this home, put together a strategic offer that beat out a competitive offer.

After all that, there was not an extra fee charged by my company, the Sellers paid the real estate commissions, and my clients bought a great house that they are thrilled with!

If you want to consult with me, then shoot me an e-mail right now…

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seller

Home Buyers on Google overload?

If you are looking to buy or sell a home, I’m sure you have used  Google to do most of your research. In a recent conversation with a REALTOR colleague in Falls Church, Virginia, she shared how home buyers walking into her Sunday open-house already knowing the tax assessment, local school scores, neighborhood comparables and much more. They were well versed in the subject matter (buying a home in that neighborhood) and had brought their A-game. Agents love buyers who are willing to make decisions quickly because our real estate market remains one of the most active in the country.

Home sellers have always reviewed recent comps…

now home buyers are getting well prepped

This change is good and going to get better. But there is something all the Google-ing can’t answer, and that is where a talented agent is going to shine. Knowing the Walkability Score, the school test scores, the Zestimate or the impact the power lines may have will not help understand the true motivations of the decision makers.

Here are some of my musings as I drive through the Wendover Community in Vienna, VA along Lawyers Road between Vienna and Reston.

Please contact me if you are interested in confidentially discussing your home buying options. Many of my clients are senior level technology people, established professionals, and transferees from around the country.

My e-mail address is doug@dougfrancis.com

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seller

The Real Estate Consumer has changed…

Okay consumers… did you know that people buy homes differently today than ten years ago?

Today’s real estate consumer has so much information available that is specific, in depth and literally on demand that it has transformed the role of the real estate agent… for the better. The way consumers get mortgage information is better too as home buyers come prepared often before they look at their first house.

Ten years ago I was one of the first agents to jump at adding Northern Virginia home-search capability to my web site. It was up to date and provided by the people at the MLS, but the photos were few and there were none of the mapping features common today. When I would share with my colleagues that my clients had showed up with five listings that they had already picked and wanted to see, well they would be amazed. Because for years, really, it was the agents who selected that short-list.

And ten years ago when a client told me that they had been pre-qualified online by “Quicken” or BestRate.com it seemed pretty darn exciting. Wow, a pre-approval letter already in hand! Of course we all learned a lesson when those loans occasionally did not arrive on-time or close for a host of reasons (and much finger pointing).

So buying a home should be easier today in 2010 than then, no?

Yes consumers do have more knowledge but with that comes real world application. Because you need to remember that we are still dealing with people, and those people make decisions to act one way or another.

Getting a home ready to sell in the HGTV episode looked pretty easy… de-clutter, some fresh paint, new wall-to-wall carpet, flowering plants, vanilla oil, de-clutter again, clean the windows, and maybe a small kitchen update like granite counter tops.  Yup, all in a neat little half-hour episode.

The funny thing is that the buyers have seen that HGTV episode too and are far too savvy to fall for that superficial hype. Although I agree, any house does look considerably better (but it will take a little more time to finish the staging plan).

You are both using the same home sales “intel”

It’s true. Those home buyers are looking up your home on Google, checking satellite maps, making sure your neighborhood school has good test numbers, calculating how much a high efficiency furnace or new windows may cost, and of course looking at the “Zestimate” or “Walkability Score” of any property of interest.

So what does all this mean? Any active real estate agent will tell you that these consumers are facing house information overload and that the steady hand of a professional real estate agent as the human interface is more essential than ever to get the deal done. It’s just a skill your Google can’t Google.

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