Archives for August 2015

Why you need a Real Estate Professional to Sell your Home

If you’re planning to sell your home, it’s probably crossed your mind to try to sell it yourself and save the sales commission. But, there are some very good reasons why that would be a mistake.

According to housing industry experts at HomeGain.com and Realtor.org, more homes listed by real estate agents are sold than homes marketed by owners, and they sell more quickly and for more money.

Homes listed by real estate professionals get more exposure and their sellers get more support. Real estate professionals offer many advantages:

• They’re trained and licensed professionals.
• They have experience in your neighborhood and your market.
• They have oversight from brokers and state licensing officials.
• Their job is to advise you the best way to reach your goals.
• Their continuing education keeps them up-to date on housing issues.
• They know how to present your home and deal with buyers.
• They know how and where to market properties.
• They know how to overcome typical snags that occur in all real estate transactions and closings.
• They understand state-required disclosures and look out for your best interests.
• They understand personal safety and security for your belongings during showings.
• They know the best resources to make transactions go more smoothly, from bankers to home-staggers to contractors.
• They have the most accurate data sources – the MLS, the only data repository that has the most up to-date listing and sales information.
• They know how to negotiate.
• Their job is making real estate transactions successful.

When you market your own home, you have to make the time to do all the jobs a real estate professional would do and most lack the marketing skills or experience to get the job done. And you’ll be competing against other sellers who have real estate professionals by their sides. either.

If you can’t leave work to show your home, or you feel it requires more knowledge and experience than you have, you can’t go wrong by hiring a well-respected real estate professional.

We would love the opportunity to discuss selling your home and for you to learn about the Q-Advantage.

Buying New Construction Home is Finally an Option!!

Buying A New Build Home

In the years past it just did not make sense to purchase a new build home due to the additional costs associated. However, with resale home prices on the rise the market is finally getting to a point that buying a new construction is an option. Many of the new construction home builders, Pulte Homes, Toll Brothers Luxury Home Builders and Lennar Homes, have begun to offer incentives to help make the purchase even more affordable.

If you have been holding out wanting to buy a brand new home, make it your way, it may be the time for us to discuss your options. Or fill complete your contact information and one of our Professional Agents will contact you! Remember, the builder does not represent your interests when purchasing, don’t make a move without a trusted Real Estate Professional.

It is often the little details that help sell your home quickly!

Want Your Anthem House to Sell More Quickly?

When you want your house in Anthem to sell quickly, you must do three things:

1. Price the house correctly.

2. Avoid “Buyer turn-offs”

3. Hire A Real Estate Professional

What are buyer turn-offs?

The ones most often mentioned by buyers are all easy to avoid.

Odors – whether it’s a kitty litter box, cooking odors, or scented plug-ins, buyers will react negatively. They don’t want to smell anything but fresh clean air when they view a home.

Front Door Opens – Might sound like a little item, but when an agent shows your home the last thing you want to happen is the door not to open easily and hold them up gaining access.

Dirt and clutter – Unless they’re shopping for a low-priced fixer, buyers are apt to reject a house if it’s dirty – anywhere. And it doesn’t have to be dirty all over. A sink full of dirty dishes or a muddy back door can be the turn off.

Clutter, such as unmade beds, piles of laundry, and newspapers or magazines scattered about the living room can be just as big a turn off as a filthy carpet – even if the house is otherwise spotlessly clean.

Several small malfunctions – Buyers almost unconsciously flip light switches, pull out drawers to see if they slide smoothly, and open and close doors to see if they close securely. They might even open and close windows and window coverings.

They might discount one malfunction. After all, that light bulb may have burned out this morning. But if they find several things that just don’t quite work up to par, their natural reaction will be to believe the house has other, unseen, deferred maintenance.

Before you put your Anthem house on the market, go through it as if you were a buyer. When you find anything that doesn’t work perfectly, take the time to fix it.

Then, before you leave the house prior to each showing, check for clutter, dirt, and odors. If necessary, open some windows and get a cross-draft going to clear out any cooking odors that may be lingering.

And whatever you do – don’t light scented candles or use perfumed spray to cover the odor. It’s a sure give-away that you’re masking something. Additionally, some of those buyers could be allergic to perfume, so won’t even come in the door.

For more tips on getting your house ready to sell quickly, call me. I’ll be glad to share what I’ve learned from watching and listening to Anthem, Arizona home-buyers. I’ll also be glad to prepare a comparative analysis and provide you with staging tips to let you know your home’s value in today’s market.

Don’t Let Assumptions about Homes for Sale in Anthem Rob You of the Perfect Home

Let’s Don’t Assumptions about Homes For Sale

Many buyers, when searching for real estate in Anthem, Arizona and the surrounding areas, assume that a house that’s been listed for sale and on the market longer than the average time has something wrong with it.

Though that could be true, but in many cases, the long days on the market have nothing to do with the house itself. Instead, it has everything to do with the price, the marketing, or the presentation. Remember the old adage, Price, Location and Condition.

Let’s start with the price. Often owners of homes that are over-priced are more than willing to consider considerably lower offers, but won’t let their agent change the offered price. So take a look, and if you like it, we can offer a price for the home that is closer to what market value is. You might get a pleasant surprise. When we work with our clients we will prepare a Market Analysis on the property of interest to help you better understand the value of the home, compared to others.

The next factor is marketing. Some agents enter only one fuzzy photo and only the barest descriptions in MLS, which causes the majority of buyers to skip right on by. The house could be suffering from nothing more than a lazy agent. When you main feature sound right, sometimes it is best for us to just get out there and look at the home.

And then there’s presentation. Some beautiful homes are occupied by people who either unreasonably restrict the times the house can be shown, or fail to keep it in showing condition. You just might find a bargain if you’re willing to view the house at the seller’s convenience – or overlook unmade beds and dirty dishes in the sink.

So take a chance on spending a little time to take a look at those Anthem and Scottsdale homes for sale that have been on the market twice as long as normal. You just might find the gem you’ve been searching for.

Call me any time – I’ll be glad to go exploring with you.

Buying a Home, Condo or Town-home in Anthem, Arizona? Consider this…

What you Need to Know About HOA’s

When you’re contemplating the purchase of a home, condo or a townhome in Anthem, Arizona or the surrounding areas you’ll naturally look at the location, the floor plan, the condition, and what the benefits that are offered you.

There’s many things to consider and one that we advise our clients about is often over looked and something you should Need to Know About HOA’s.

The HOA – Home Owners Association

When you buy a home or condo you are essentially buying into a business of sorts – the homeowner’s association. An HOA is the organization that makes and enforces rules for the properties in its jurisdiction. HOAs also collect monthly, semi-annual or annual dues to pay for upkeep of common areas, elevators, building structures and swimming pools. The HOA is essentially responsible to maintain all the common areas of the complex.

So look at ALL the financials of the association. Make sure the association is solvent. Find out if the association has a habit of increasing membership fees. Learn something about the leadership and how the organization operates. You can always chat with current residents to see if there are complaints over deferred maintenance or rules that are enforced only for some. And speaking of rules – be sure to read them in their entirety. When you “buy in” you’re agreeing to those rules, and some of them may not please you.

When you’re ready to begin your search, get in touch with us. We will be excited to show you the available units here in Anthem, Arizona and the surrounding areas, and to help you gather all the information you need to make an informed decision.