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A
Selling Timeline |
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Learning the Lingo |
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Be
Prepared |
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I am pleased to present
you with the latest issue of Life@Home. Delivered to home buyers,
sellers and owners on a monthly basis, this electronic newsletter is
designed to give you the real estate information that is important
to you. In each issue, you will find practical tips and articles
related to buying, selling or owning a home, as well as the latest
news on real estate trends. I hope that you enjoy this issue of
Life@Home. Please feel free to share it with your neighbors, friends
or family. If I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to
contact me. |
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Visit Century21.com and
view more than 250,000 property listings!
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A Selling
Timeline
 When it comes to
selling your home, there are six essential
steps.
1. Take a Look Around - Review the
market conditions in your area and determine if it is a good
time to sell your home. Is there a demand for homes in
your
neighborhood? Are others in your community receiving
their asking price
or even higher? These are good
indications that the timing might be right for you to list
your property.
2. Choose a Professional -
Interview several listing agents and hire
a professional
with education, experience and a successful sales record. Use
his or her expertise when setting an asking price for the
home.
3. For Sale
Prepare the home for sale by making the changes
recommended by your listing agent. Ask him or her to help you
determine what updates will boost the appeal of the home.
Possible steps include reducing clutter, painting rooms and
repairing broken items. Once these changes have been made,
your agent can begin marketing the home. Possible marketing
techniques include newspaper ads, inclusion in the local MLS
(Multiple Listing Service), Internet listings, virtual tours
and open houses.
4. Put on Your
Buyer's Hat
If you haven't done so already, swap your role of seller for
that of buyer. Work with a buyer representative to find a new
home that meets your needs. To ensure that you have enough
time to find the right home for you and your family, begin
looking as soon as you make the decision to sell your current
property.
5. Give and
Take Once an interested buyer makes an offer on your
home, begin negotiations. This process could involve home
inspections, making concessions on price or moving dates, and
determining sale contingencies.
6. On
the Move Start preparing for moving day early. You
may need
to interview and hire a professional moving
company. In addition, you will need sufficient time to
organize and pack all of your
belongings. | |
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Learning the
Lingo
Read through the
For Sale ads in the real estate section of your newspaper
and you are more than likely to come across some unfamiliar
terms, like HWF, dk and FDR. To translate, those abbreviations
stand for hardwood floors, deck and formal dining room,
respectively. Real estate agents and sellers use these abbreviations
to save space in their listing ads since most newspapers
charge by the length. Fewer letters mean the ad will cost
less, but the seller or his or her agent will still want to
emphasize the best features in the home, which is why
abbreviations and acronyms are necessary. Here is a brief
overview of some of the short forms you may encounter as you
search the listings.
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Fireplace may be refererenced as frplc, fplc, or
FP
. Master bedroom is usually
MBR
. A Colonial home is often just
Col
. EIK stands for eat-in kitchen
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Central air conditioning appears as c/a or CAC
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An in-ground pool may be listed as ingr pool or I/G
pool
. The description "one of a kind" may
be shortened to "1+ac"
Chances are you
will be able to decipher any acronyms with a little creative
thinking. But if you are really stumped, call your buyer
representative or the listing agent.
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Be Prepared
 With the cold winter
months upon us, it is time to make sure your car has a
fully stocked emergency kit. Essentials include a
flashlight, cell phone, reflective sign, jumper cables,
first aid kit, ice scraper and brush,
boots/hat/gloves/warm blanket, water, snacks and
windshield wiper
fluid. | |
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