Terri Favata, Broker, Kent & Sussex County Delaware

Here are a few keys that could help you sell your faster!!! There are plenty of things that we as Realtors should be doing, but there are also things that need to be done on your end as well. These are just a few of the things that could help you sell your house a bit faster!

Price. Price is the key to all hearts. Have your Realtor do a CMA, and see what has sold, what has been removed from the market, and what is listed actively on the market right now. You don't want to put your house on the market at $269,000 when the last 4 homes that have sold that are very similar to yours have sold for $225,000. Likewise if a house like yours has been sitting on the market for over 150 days at $265,00. Competitevly price your home to sell.

Clean & Declutter. Put dirty clothes away, out of sight. Put dishes in dishwasher. Make your beds. Take down personal photos, and if you have a lot of nick-nacks, start packing them up! You are trying to sell your house anyway, so why not start the packing a little early! Make the beds, fix the pillows on the couch. Be ready to show your house at any given moment.

Tidy up the outside. You know what they say "don't judge a book by its cover" but by all means, most people do anyway. They look at the outside of a home, with no landscaping, a shutter hanging by a thread, and a screen with a big hole in it, & the grass hasn't been cut in over 2 weeks, & they think "well.... if they can't keep up with the outside, then there is no way they are keeping up with the inside". So keep your grass cut, maybe add a little touch of landscaping (don't over do it), and make sure all of the shutters, siding, window screens, etc are in working order. & don't forget to spray the weed killer! Make your home desirable and people will desire it.

You have to understand that sometimes it is the little things like these that could help sell your home. If potential buyers can picture themselves living in your home, can picture their furniture, and their belongings in your home... then they can see themselves buying that home. If buyers can drive up to your home and say wow, this home is taken care of on the outside, and go inside and see the same thing, then they are going to feel at ease & know that this home was loved and cared for. This is going to make your home stand out to other sellers who have not taken the time to do these such things, which is going to make these buyers remember your house!

Let’s face it; if your house is on the market, you WANT it to sell. You don’t want it to sit there for months and months without any showings, any offers, or no one showing any interest. You can’t always blame this on your Realtor, because it may not be their fault.

What I want to talk about today is the dos and don’ts of today’s market. Just a few tips that may help you sell your home just a little bit quicker.

DO price your home accordingly. We all know what you would “like” to get out of your home, but in today’s market that may be unreasonable. Have your Realtor do a CMA so you are educated on what homes are going for in your area!

DON’T overprice your home thinking that everyone will be interested in it, because it is that much better than everyone else’s home. Sure you have a great home, but if it is overpriced from the door, people may not even stop to look at it. This will not be your Realtors fault if they can not get anyone grabbing at it. Overpricing your home is not going to sell it.

DO make sure that the outside appeal is just as nice as the inside appeal. A lot of people look at homes on the internet or just go out driving to look for homes before they ever come in contact with a Realtor to actually schedule showing to see your home. Make sure you are grabbing the consumer’s attention from the first picture or that first drive by.

DON’T leave unused cars, trash, work equipment, etc. at your house if you do not have to have it there. The nicer your home looks on the outside the more chances you have to reel in a consumer. As much as we say “don’t judge a book by its cover” most people do, remember that!

DO keep your house ready to show at any given moment. That means beds made, dirty clothes in hiding, dishes put away. It’s tough, but people want to look at a clean house. If they see you live like a slob, are they going to think you take care of your home? No. Even if it isn’t that dirty, there is a certain standard that consumers expect to see when they are looking at homes.

DON’T keep personal items out on display. People walk into your home imagining if they could live there. Seeing your pictures or personal affects takes away from there dream.

DO listen to your Realtor when they talk to you. Believe it or not, we do know a bit about the Real Estate Market. We are not trying to steer you, or push you in a direction you don’t want to go. We just want you to be educated, and expectant of what may come in the future. Don’t take it personally; we are just doing our job. More importantly, we WANT to sell your home!

DON’T listen to your aunt, cousin, sister, neighbor, etc about what you should do with YOUR home (unless they are in the Real Estate business too). A lot of people form their opinions from things that either happened to them, the news, or what other people have told them. They are not the professionals, we are. We want to help you, so let us!

** There are more details that I could give you, but I don’t want to flood everyone’s brain on a Monday morning! If you would like anymore tips, please feel free to contact me today!!!! **

Today I had the chance to visit a pretty intriguing place, called The Victorian Lady, which is located in the historic district of Milford Delaware. The Victorian Lady is a Tea House, as well as a gift & antique shop.

If you want to go to a place that makes you feel like you are in another era, to sit and relax with your friends for a calm afternoon, then this is a good place to start! With a large dining room & a small meeting room, The Victorian Lady can service everyone.

In the afternoon they offer The Queen's Tea, which is a 4 course meal including tea sandwiches, soup, scones, & tea. In the early evening they offer The Victorian Tea, which is a 3 course meal including tea sandwiches, scones, & tea.

They also have a full service menu, or smaller items like the Cream Tea or the Luncheon Tea. They do small meetings, church groups, baby shower, bridal showers, Red Hat Meetings & classes on the health benefits of tea. In the past they have had events like Phantom of the Opera night where people dressed the theme, played music from The Phantom of the Opera, they served The Queen's Tea, & in the end they gave a surprise that made everyone want to stay for more! They have had Princess Tea (for the little girls), Valentine's tea, and chocolate lover's tea (mmmmm, that sounds like the one for me!)

In the gift shop they offer 65 different loose leaf teas that are available in 2 & 4 ounce tins. They also offer pillows, linens, music, tea cups, tea pots, & lots more!

This wonderful place has been open for 4 yrs, but the building dates back to the early 1800's. It is on the historic registry, and the beauty that has been preserved within this building is magical. All of the scones are homemade by one of the owners & have been quite a hit with the guests at The Victorian Lady!

Really, go see for yourself! If you EVER have a chance to stop in to Milford Delaware, I highly suggest you stop at The Victorian Lady! Located at 112 NW Front Street, Milford De 19963! If you would like more information you can visit them personally on the web at The Victorian Lady!

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did!

Are you currently thinking about buying a home in the Kent or Sussex County Milford Delaware area?

• Do you need more information on the area, or want to view houses in those areas and have no idea how to get what you need?

I am a dedicated, knowledgeable Realtor who is ready to work for YOU! If you are interested in buying a home in Milford, Harrington, Lincoln, or Houston area, or any other area throughout Kent or Sussex County then please feel free to contact me at anytime.

• I have Buyer's packages ready and available for all of my customers so please don't hesitate to ask!

I also have previously posted some blogs about information pretaining to Kent & Sussex County, as well as Milford Delaware that may be beneficial to you.

If there is anything else I can do for you, please contact me today!

Terri Favata

Realtor

ERA Harrington Realty-Milford

(302) 422-2424 Office

(302) 242-1782 Cell

http://www.terriandmickeyhomes.com

Have you ever felt like you were on a wild goose chase looking for a home?

I have heard countless stories within my company, from other agents, from friends and families, where people get so discouraged at looking at all the wrong houses that they just want to give up looking all together! Well thats no way to find your dreanm home or sell a home!!!!

• What can we as Realtors do to make this process easier for us, as well as easier for the buyers?

Its about quality not quantity. Whether you are a buyer yourself or a Realtor, look at houses that you or your clients are going to be interested in. Just because it is in the right price range, area, or neighborhood does not automatically make it the home for you. It may only have 2 bedrooms and you need 3, or one bathroom and you need 2. Make sure you look into the home before you go and look at it.

Find out what you want. If you are a buyer, make a list of things that you have to have, things you want, and things you could go without. That way you can give them to your Realtor and they will know what to look for when they are searching for houses for you. This will narrow down the search for them, and will also make things easier for you!

Give yourself time. A lot of Realtors are willing to give their clients the time they need to look at the homes in their area, but they feel like their clients want to see as much as they can within a short amount of time. Seeing so many houses is going to get your head all rattled and you are going to feel overwhelmed by the big decision you are going to have to make.

Write it down. I tell a lot of my buyers to right down what they liked and didnt like about each house they go to see. Once we are done looking, I have them sit down and weigh the pros and cons. Seeing it, instead of just hearing it, makes it easier to make an informed decision!

Don't settle for Less. Now this could be taken a few different ways, but this is what I mean by this. Dont settle for a home you only semi-like just because you don't want to look for anymore. Most people stay in their homes for quite a long time and you dont want to get into something you don't really want.

Don't get caught up on the small details. I hear so many people say "I love this home, but I just can not stand the wallpaper, the paint, or the carpet. Those are small details. Maybe you wont be able to change the colors right away, but down the road you will be able to do that. Recarpeting is much easier to do than buying a home where you have to rebuild a garage because it only had one, but the room colors were right.

Hopefully this helps everyone! I know what its like to be caught up showing your clients a million homes and they dont like ANY of them. Know your clients, and what exactly they are looking for.

Thanks,

Terri Favata