Tips & Tricks For Any Situation

Today's real estate market is booming. With the huge rise in home decorating shows, home building shows, and home carpentry as a hobby, more and more Americans are enthused about the idea of having a property they can call their own. With that in mind, sometimes selling a house in today's market can be trickier than you would think.

Of course, if you live in a highly desirable area, you will probably get lucky. Houses in certain suburbs of Los Angeles and other large cities or popular states will often sell no matter what the condition, and sell quickly too, because people aren't paying for the house- they're paying for location, location, location.

So what do you do if your house isn't about location? If you're feeling a little overwhelmed, and like your little bungalow is just one of millions out there on the ever-expanding market, don't despair. There are some easy tricks that can give your home the extra edge it needs to make a sale quickly and painlessly.

The number one trick is to check your market. This is hardly even a trick, but amazingly, some homeowners skip this one, especially if they are selling independently and not dealing with an experienced realtor, who knows this one like the back of her hand. Check out comparable houses in comparable neighborhoods, and price yours accordingly. The fact that your parents built this house themselves forty years ago isn't going to matter to a potential buyer. The fact that it costs a little more than the one around the corner, but has a newer roof, is what will get you the sale.

Assuming your house is priced correctly and is in fair condition, what can you do to draw in the buyers and get the place sold at or around your asking price? For starters, let go of your house emotionally as much as possible, and take a good objective look at it from an outsider's point of view. The cracked driveway might not matter to you, but perhaps it will to a potential buyer whose spouse uses a cane. Your daughter's rose-pink bedroom might be just fine, but what if your potential buyers have three sons? Prepare yourself to invest a little time and money into giving your house some general appeal. If it's possible to fix a problem partially for a small investment, then go for it. Twenty dollars for a gallon of paint, or two hundred dollars for some used appliances that are newer than the ones currently in the house, can make a huge difference when it comes to asking price.

Of course, real estate is sold on an 'as is' basis- provided the buyer is fully aware of whatever conditions may preexist- and some repairs or alterations might simply be too costly. These are things that will all come into play when it comes time to negotiate the actual price of the house with a potential buyer. But the trick is to catch the relatively small things- before the buyers start looking- and use them to your advantage.  

www.pinellas247.com

www.suncoastrenttoown.com