Off and Running Real Estate

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If you are considering selling your home in 2010, the time to start planning is now.
Getting from For Sale to Sold is more complicated than simply putting the sign in the yard. Working with an experienced professional will provide you with the resources to price your home right and present it to the buying public efficiently and effectively. We only offer full service marketing of your home through traditional and cutting edge marketing strategies for maximum exposure of you home.

• We know the Eugene real estate market. Our market is truly one-of-a-kind. We stay up to the minute on Eugene real estate by constantly previewing properties, continuing education on real estate topics and being involved in several community organizations. For us, this is a full time job and we commit to it completely on a daily basis.
• What’s next? Price and preparation. The next steps are the most important in defining our course of action. We can help you to price your home for the maximum proceeds and minimum market time and prepare your home to show better than the competition and entice a buyer. From there, we can coordinate escrows, locate and purchase your next property and manage the related details, contacts and timeframes.
• Even the simplest real estate transactions are complex. Our experience with contracts, documents and best practices, coupled with our collaborative relationships with local service professionals, help to make your selling experience clean and efficient.
• Let us do the heavy lifting. Selling a home is an emotional experience. Let us act as an emotional firewall between you and the buyer, find the answers to difficult questions, manage the mountain of paperwork and do the (metaphorical) heavy lifting. You will have plenty to do with packing, sorting and making plans for life after the sale. By the way, if you need help with the actual heavy lifting, let us know…we know people.

Tips for Sellers

Making your house the one that sells requires a combination of pricing, presence and presentation. We do the research to help you arrive at price and make sure that your home is present and easy to find on the MLS, in print and on an ever-increasing number of the most popular websites devoted to real estate. Presenting your home to buyers in a way that makes it attractive and puts it on their list for consideration involves some staging and forethought. Please consider the following:

You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression

From the curb or driveway to the front door, the potential buyer will begin evaluating your home. Make it easy for them to like what they see.

• Stow away trash cans and recycling bins
• Keep the walk, porch and doorway and window ledges clear of cobwebs, dust and clutter
• Keep front lawn trimmed and watered
• Freshen up flower beds and keep shrubs in check with pruning and watering
• Be sure that locks, door knockers and address numbers are clean and in good repair
• Consider a fresh coat of paint on the front door

Light and Bright

Don’t let the buyer think that you live in the dark. Before showings, open the drapes, curtains and blinds. If the view out a particular window is less than perfect, consider a window covering that lets the light in, but obscures the view of your neighbor’s utility shed.

Turn on the lights, all of the lights. Also be sure that each fixture is fitted with the correct maximum wattage light bulbs.

Shoe Shuffle

If your home is to be a ‘no shoes during showings’ listing, let’s make it easy for buyers and brokers by providing a basket of ‘booties’ and a bench or a couple of chairs.

Keep it Comfortable

Many homes today have programmable thermostats to turn down the heating or cooling while you are away. Make it comfortable during showing by maintaining your home’s temperature as you would if you were home. The money you spend on utilities is a small price to pay to help a buyer fully appreciate your home.

The Nose Knows

Strong smells of any kind can lead a buyer to cross your home off their list. Odors that you may be accustomed to could be offensive to buyers. You would be wise to do the following:

• Let the house breath - open windows and air out unused rooms
• Limit the use of strong scented candles, cleaners and air fresheners
• Avoid strong smelling meals (garlic, fish, strong herbs and spices)
• Remove cat litter boxes
• Do not allow smoking in the home

A drop of vanilla on a burner, freshly baked cookies or mild (very mild) air fresheners, candles (unlit) or scent diffusers can make the home feel warm and inviting.

If there is a genuine offensive odor issue, do not mask it. You are wise to make the necessary repairs now and disclose it on the Sellers Disclosure Form.

Your Adorable Pet

Although you adore your furry friend or friends, prospective buyers and their agents may not. Pets on the loose can intimidate and interfere with a thorough showing of your home. You would not want someone to miss the spectacular deck or water feature out back because they are not a dog person and having rooms off limits to showing so that the cat won’t escape, leaves buyers in the dark. We’ll plan together how to make your home as accessible as possible while caring for your pets.

• Be upfront about the pet in the MLS showing instructions
• Post notes about pets at doors and gates as necessary
• Whenever possible, remove pets from the property prior to showing.
• Contain the pet, if possible, in a laundry room, a crate, or garage
• Please have you pet properly tagged in the event of and escape

Fix It List-Just Do It

Small details about your home, that you have learned to live with, can turn a buyer off and have them looking elsewhere. Take the time to take care of the squeaky doors, sticky drawers and other routine maintenance items. In short, if is tricky to operate, broken, missing, worn-out or otherwise defective, remedy the problem now. Many of these items are do-it-yourself projects, but if you need a handyman or a professional, let us know.

Less is More

Less stuff on the counters, walls and book cases makes the home more appealing. Fewer of your photos, knick-knacks and collectibles make it more likely that the buyer can imagine themselves living there. Less stuff in the attic, garage, cupboards, cabinets and closets make the storage space seem larger and the home more move-in ready.

This can be a lengthy process. Pre-listing is the perfect time to purge some of your unnecessary belongings. Give aways and garage sales are a start. What you cannot part with and don’t need daily should be packed into tubs or boxes and neatly stacked in the garage or a storage unit. Less personal and less stuff = more space and a more appealing home to someone who is trying it on for size.

Stow the Valuables

Your home will be visited by the public during open houses and showings by your listing agent of a buyer’s agent. Both will be careful to supervise the visitors while they are in your home, but during a busy open house or a crowded tour, it would be best if you have take the precaution of removing or locking up the following items:

• Jewelry and heirlooms
• Fragile items
• Prescription drugs and medications
• Guns and weapons
• Small, expensive electronics (cell phones, laptop computers, video games, gps units, etc.)

Take it or Leave it

Review the term ‘fixture’ with your listing broker. If you plan on taking a special light fixture or shrub with you when you move, consider removing it now and exchanging it with a suitable replacement. What a buyer sees when they visit you home, they may ask for in the offer. You may exclude items from the sale and should make those decisions beforehand.

Lean and Clean

Now that the home is tidy and depersonalized, it’s time for a final sweep, mop and wipe.

Kitchens and bathroom should be free of dirty dishes, towels and clutter of daily life. Consider freshening them up with new shower curtains, bath mats and hand towels.

Bedrooms should have beds made, laundry put away, and a tidy appearance.

Run the vacuum, mop, dust and wipe down surfaces as needed while on the market.

Showing Etiquette

The optimal showing for a potential buyer is one where they feel at ease in the home with their agent, who knows them best, or with your listing agent. Whenever possible, the seller should vacate the home to allow the buyer to explore and ask questions without fear of offending the seller. They need to take their time and move at a pace that is comfortable.

If you do meet a potential buyer before, after or during a showing, exchange pleasantries then give them space and let the agent guide the showing as needed and answer questions.

Follow Up

Believe it or not, sometimes a home does not sell in the first week or month. Your agent should follow up with you about showings, open houses, market activity and your home’s competition. Listen to that advice and keep the lines of communication open. Getting your house sold requires that you and your agent work together.