Castle Rock Homes for Sell; Careful Steps to Take When Selling Your Home
Posted by Jamie | Posted in Real Estate | Posted on 04-01-2010-05-2008
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So you’re ready to sell your house in Colorado. Now what? If it has been years since you’ve sold a house — or you’ve never done so — here are some questions and answers about how the process works.
Q: How do I find a good Castle Rock, Colorado real estate agent to sell my house?
A: “Choose a real estate professional with as much care as you would a lawyer or doctor,” the Denver MLS recommends on its website. The best way to find a good agent is through referrals from friends, neighbors and co-workers who have recently sold a house or are in the process of selling one.
Be sure to find an agent who is familiar with your area, even your neighborhood, because different towns and the neighborhoods within them often have vastly different market conditions. An agent who doesn’t know property values in your area can be a liability.
The book “House Selling for Dummies: The inside secrets to selling in any market — with tips on using the Web and understanding revised tax laws” ($19.99, Wiley, 352 pages) by Eric Tyson and Ray Brown has an extensive section on interviewing agents. They suggest asking each agent after your interview to provide the names of every buyer and seller they’ve represented over the past year, along with the original asking price and selling price of their homes. Choose a few people on the list and call them and ask about their experience. “Any agent who refuses to give you an activity list is trying to hide either a lack of sales or unhappy clients,” according to the authors.
Q: Shouldn’t I just choose the Castle Rock real estate agent who will list my house at the highest price?
A: No. The most important factor to consider when selling a house is the price, but the price must be based on the market in your neighborhood, not what you think your house is worth. “You don’t want to overprice the house, because you will lose the freshness of the home’s appeal after the first two to three weeks of showings,” says Elizabeth Weintraub, who writes about home selling and buying at www.homebuying.about.com. “On the other hand, don’t worry about pricing it too low because homes priced below market value often will receive multiple offers, which will then drive up the price to market.”
Some agents promise unrealistically high prices in order to get a listing. Overpriced houses typically linger on the market; price cuts have to be made; and sellers lose money in the end because they have to pay more in mortgage payments until the house sells.
Good Castle Rock real estate agents present sellers with a list of selling prices of comparable properties in their area before suggesting a selling price. The seller makes the ultimate decision.
Q: What is the difference between a real estate agent and a broker?
A: A broker supervises real estate agents, because, by law, agents cannot work on their own. To become a broker, a real estate salesperson must have a number of years of full-time real estate experience and meet special educational requirements. Brokers also can sell real estate.
Q: Are agents’ commissions negotiable?
A: Yes. By law all commissions are negotiable. According to Weintraub, “Some agents will agree to a fee reduction right off the bat. Others will discuss it. But nobody will feel upset that you asked. It’s expected.”
The commission for a full-service agent typically ranges from 4 percent to 7 percent of the sale price of a house, and is paid by the seller. If your house sells for $250,000, with a 6 percent commission you’ll pay the agent $15,000. If the commission is 5 percent, you’ll pay $12,500. That’s quite a savings.
Q: What should I get for that commission?
A: A professional who will manage the sale of your home from listing to closing. A good agent will advise you on what repairs and improvements to make to improve your home’s marketability; help you price your house based on the selling prices of current similar houses in your area; market your home by advertising in newspapers and on the Web; schedule appointments for potential buyers to view your house; handle negotiations with buyers on the offers you receive; schedule the buyers’ home inspection; and make sure you understand and sign required state and federal forms.
It is important to hire a Web-savvy agent, as 90 percent of buyers today start their search for a house on the Internet, according to a 2009 survey by the National Association of Realtors. Your agent should post attractive photographs of the interior and exterior of your house on the Web.
“Listings without a photo or with only an exterior shot are often passed over and ignored,” according to Weintraub, who recommends posting photographs of every room in the house. (She also suggests putting floral arrangements in kitchens and dining rooms for photographs.)
Weintraub also recommends virtual tours. “Virtual tours aren’t just to showcase million-dollar homes anymore. Every home should have a virtual tour, even if it’s only two spins,” she writes. “Buyers love, love, love virtual tours.”
Q: Should I have my agent hold an open house?
A: Yes and no. Many people who attend Sunday open houses are not legitimate buyers. “You get lookie lous trying to pick up some decorating hints and curious neighbors who always wanted to know how your house looks on the inside,” Tyson and Brown write.
On the other hand, they add: “You also get real buyers who were attracted by your open house sign.”
Realtor Duke Fyffe, owner of Duke Fyfee Real Estate Group in Castle Rock, said: “The more exposure you get the house, the better chance you have of getting the right buyer to the door.” He said about half of his clients hold open houses.
Q: What if I want to save paying a commission and sell my house myself?
A: You will have to do all of the above on your own. This means you will have to be available weekdays, nights and weekends to show your home to potential buyers. This is a time-intensive process, but might be worth it if your home is particularly marketable.
About 20 percent of the houses sold in the U.S. each year are sales made directly by property owners without using a real estate agent, according to Tyson and Brown, who write in their book: “The Internet offers for-sale-by-owner [FSBO] house sellers a potentially powerful marketing medium. Don’t think, however, that just throwing your house on the Web is enough to sell it for top dollar …. We know some people who’ve successfully sold their houses by themselves and others who’ve made a major mess of their transactions.” Experts recommend that you hire a good real estate attorney if you decide to go it alone.
For more information on Castle Rock real estate visit www.dukefyffe.com/
