Homes San Antonio Style

HAVE A REAL ESTATE QUESTION?

Ask Margie

EMAIL ME YOUR QUESTION AND YOU'LL GET A PERSONAL RESPONSE.

 WE'LL POST HELPFUL QUESTIONS &  ANSWERS ON OUR BLOG.

sarealtor@stic.net

 

Margie's Pet Tales

 

                                                                     ~ Wally ~

 Love good pet stories?  Stay tuned for stories and adventures of Greta Mae, Wally, Boots, and Jack; Margie's beloved pets.

 ~ Wally ~

HOME SELLING TIPS!

MARGIE'S TIPS FOR SELLING YOUR HOME

• Partner with a real estate professional in your area that has experience, is A full-time agent and understands the market. The individual is much more important than the company logo. If you feel confident in your agent, you've found the right one.
• Be open to letting your agent help you properly price your home. The goal is to price your home as high as possible without overpricing. Your agent will give you all the market information to help you establish the right price.
• Ask your agent to give you a complete marketing plan and an approximate net sheet to include all selling expenses. There should be no surprises.
• Curb appeal is most important. Look at your home as a prospective buyer would. Is the yard neat, trimmed, clean, landscaped well? Is your home in good repair? If you can't get them in the front door, you won't be able to sell the house.
• Is your interior clean, neat, uncluttered? Now is the time to straighten closets, get organized, take down the children's school photos in the hall showing them from Kindergarten to High School.  Clean off your kitchen counters. And always keep a home ready for showing..that means making beds, and no dirty dishes.
• If you have pets, it's best to remove them for showings if possible. Remove litter boxes and pet dishes too.
• Keep your blinds and drapes open. Light and airy is the way to go. Keep a few lamps and lights on throughout the house.
• If you can box up items you don't need to make the home look more spacious, put them stacked neatly in the garage or get a storage unit.
• If decorating and staging is not your cup of tea, ask your agent to help make suggestions or hire a staging person to add "wow" to the house. Even vacant homes should have some staging decor to make it more inviting.
• Showing your home is a family affair. Get your children involved with incentives to help keep your home clean and neat during  home showings.
• Get your honey do list out and make sure all your heating, air conditioning, plumbing, electrical and mechanical items are working properly in your home. Keep a clean air conditioning filter. This will save you time and money prior to closing when inspections are made. And buyers will feel they are purchasing a well maintained home.

Selling Your Home in Today's Market

2009 Is bringing new challenges for buyers and sellers of real estate. Coming off one of the most difficult years in American Economy, consumers face uncertainties in their own financial stability and confidence in making major decisions, including real estate purchases. Like any type of investment, real estate has an ebb and flow based on many factors. Consumer spending, the stock market, employment stability, formation of new jobs, our involvement in World Markets, and the political climate all play a role. In housing, areas of the Country that have traditionally good weather, new Industry, affordable housing and accessible mortgage loans, along with stable employment have offered the best scenario for a stable housing market.  In the Texas region, we've been fortunate with 10 years of housing boom, relatively low interest rates for mortgages and stable job growth. The median pricing of homes has remained lower than most areas of the Country.

Late in 2007 and throughout most of 2008, even Texas housing became affected, with fewer new housing starts, higher unemployment, lack of consumer confidence, tightening of mortgage offerings, and subsequently, housing prices adjusted.  The days of a home coming on the market and being sold for full price within 30 days vanished.

Most Real Estate professionals agree, that this adjustment was due.  Sellers and buyers alike are now becoming more realistic of the challenges in selling or purchasing a home.  For those who can buy now or investors who can enter the market, the time is right.

2009 promises to be a year of further adjustment, but home prices are expected to stabilize and new starts are expected to be still higher than 5 years ago. With renewed consumer confidence, a new President and expected loosening of mortgage financing, it should prove to be a good year.

With an experienced and professional  Realtor as your partner, you can make wise choices when it comes to your real estate investment.

--Margie Morcher-Froboese--