Get Your House Ready to Sell

When you buy a house the first time, you think of it as your future home. A home is where you live in, build your dreams, raise your children, and make memories with family and friends. But when you find the need to sell your home, the first thing that you should do is disconnect your emotions. Why? You need to make buyers think that is their future home and not yours. You may not realize it but in real estate business, your home can be anybody’s house so treat is as a saleable property.

Oftentimes, the first step is the hardest. As soon as you get through it, it will be easier to de-personalize your house. Note that I already used the term ‘house.’ Since your goal is to make your house somebody else’s home, remove your personal items such as photos, trophies, personal memento, and other collectible items. When buyers see personal items during showings, they break their daydreams of being in your house themselves. Do not store them in the garage or attic but place them somewhere else. Removing them from your house will help you too. It will give you the sense of certainty; that you are finally letting the house go.

Now, it’s time to put your house up for sale. How are you going to do it? Will you sell it on your own? Are you going to hire a broker? Will you try selling it at an auction? Your choice should be based on whether you have the time and experience to sell it on your own, how much are you willing to spend, and how fast do you need it to sell.

If you want a quick sale without spending another dollar than necessary, sell your house to Lucas Properties. Sell your house for cash in as short as seven days.

How Much Is Your House Worth?

If you are planning to sell your house, you should know its worth. Setting the right price is one major aspect of your marketing plan regardless of whether you do the selling yourself or you hire an agent. The agent can easily run a market analysis but you don’t want to be blindsided by the agent’s recommendation alone.

Location

A house’s location plays an important part in its value. A property owner can’t get away with this one. If your house happens to be in a desirable location, you can always get a higher price than you can for the same house in less desirable neighborhood. Houses near to schools, shopping malls, restaurants and coffee shops, and transportation areas are expected to be more expensive.

House Condition

A well-maintained house has a better chance of selling for more than a run-down house in the same location. No one wants to buy an expensive house with less than perfect heating system, with leaking roofs, with broken windows, or with poor interior. Keeping your house in top condition will give you a good return of investment should you decide to sell.

Features

The number of bedrooms and bathrooms, presence of a swimming pool or indoor gym, square footage of the house, modern kitchens and bathrooms can also increase your house’s value. Obviously, a six-bedroom house costs more than a two-bedroom house.

Comparable and Market Condition

Comparable houses can also be used as basis for your house’s value. Check the recent sold houses in your area and take note of the houses’ price which is similar to yours. Your asking price should be within the same range, otherwise, your price will be considered as too high.

As soon as you have decided on your asking price, you can focus on your marketing strategy to find potential buyers.

Lucas Properties LLC buys houses anytime. They offer cash for distressed houses, houses that need repair, unwanted houses, inherited houses, and the like. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of FSBO

FSBO also known as For Sale By Owner has definite advantages in certain situations. What made it popular to home owners is the cost they save on realtors’ or brokers’ fees. At most, home owners save up to 6% of the asking price when they opt for FSBO. At times, this amount can be tempting enough to forego the realtor’s services. But before you make a decision, let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of going the FSBO route.

Marketing

Realtors have marketing leverage. They can list your home in MLS plus they have contact with other agents through their network which gives you the advantage because you are sure to reach wider prospects. On the other hand, since realtors handle multiple clients at once, you cannot expect them to devote their time on your property alone. It is true that realtors can list your home in MLS but it will only become as one of their many listings.

Property Showing

When you hire a realtor, he will take care of showing your property to prospective buyers. He will help you prepare or stage your house before the showings. He will answer questions from buyers, set up open houses and handle financing and closing issues. With FSBO, you will be doing all these work by yourself.

Money

With FSBO, you can save up to 6% of the asking price. Let’s examine this further by taking a look at these situations:

• You will be paying your own advertising – online listing, local papers, making of signage, flyers, posters, and print ads.
•  You will be paying for an attorney who will be handling the legal issues and drawing up of contracts.
•   If you don’t know how, you will be paying for a consultant who will do the comparative analysis of your home.

Do you think you can still make the most money after examining these costs? Do not forget that when you choose FSBO, you will also invest time and effort in the selling process.

Are you still decided to go with FSBO? You can skip the marketing and property showing and still save on the realtor’s fee by selling your house to private cash investors.

Sell your house for cash to Lucas Properties LLC. Unlike realtors, they do not ask for commission. They take away the strain by taking care of the closing documents making every transaction hassle free.

When You Are Facing Foreclosure

Contrary to popular belief not everyone who is facing foreclosure is in the situation because of a liar’s loan or poor money management. Job loss, divorce and even unexpected medical issues can put otherwise responsible homeowners at risk of foreclosure. Even more common today, you will find homeowners whose home values have been negatively affected by a high number of foreclosures in their area and combined with rising fuel costs and increased job loss, holding onto their home just seems impossible. So what do you do when you are facing foreclosure?
Step one is to take a deep breath and call your lender. Let the crazy thoughts of walking away from your home fade to the last resort pile. Or at least before you make this your plan, take the time to re-evaluate your budget and determine if you can afford to keep it. Clear your mind and get a picture of how long your financial problems will last. You will need this information to negotiate with your lender anyway, so take some time to get a clear picture of your financial future in your head before you make any calls.
It can’t be stressed how important it is to talk to you lender about options first when you are facing foreclosure. Ignoring the mail and not answering calls is definitely not the best approach. Lender have been very willing to work with homeowners during these trying times, but the first step to making a change is to make yourself available.
There are still situations that can’t be remedied. It is at these times that you need to execute some serious damage control and do your best to protect your credit and your future. If your lender is unwilling to negotiate or you are unable to come up with a new payment that fits your budget, you are going to need to come up with alternative options for selling your home to cut your losses.
The best way to get out of your house and still have some cash in your pocket is to seek out a distressed property solution that will buy your house fast and for cash. This solution usually comes in the form of a network of real estate investors who purchase homes in any condition for cash. Although you generally won’t get full market value for the home you may be able to recover what you owe on the mortgage or close to it. The best part of dealing with real estate investors to sell your house is that the process is fast. Because there are no realtors, no commissions and far less paperwork, the process of closing the deal goes quickly and generally without incidence.
Don’t let foreclosure ruin your financial future. Know what to do when you are facing foreclosure and find the best solution for your situation.