Listing your house

Are you ready to sell a house in metro Atlanta?  Thinking about selling it on your own?  You’ve got some work to do: There’s lots of inventory out there and in a buyer’s market like this one, getting an offer on a home can be challenging. Having Jeff Barnwell and Remax on your side can significantly reduce the amount of time your home sits on the market.

Consider the following tips to give your home the best chance to get noticed and sold in 2011/2012.

Price It Right from the Start

Many sellers suffer from attachment bias.  They believe their home is worth more than they’d pay for it in another context. While it’s always a bad idea to overprice a home, it’s especially dangerous in times like this because there is so much competing inventory in many local markets.

Give yourself a reality check by having the Barnwell Team print out the latest CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) for your neighborhood.  This free report shows the latest new listings, homes pending, and homes sold.  Along with sales price you will find days on the market and seller concessions.

The longer something sits on the market, the more price reductions you might have to make and the more potential buyers will assume that there’s something wrong with the home.  More often than not, it’s best not to try testing the waters with a higher price.

Don’t be afraid to advertise in the listing and marketing materials that it’s not a foreclosure or short sale.  In markets where distressed sales are plentiful, there are buyers who simply don’t want to deal with the extra hassle and uncertainty of a short sale or bank-owned property.

Get the House Ready

Most sellers know they need to declutter, paint in neutral colors and generally stage the home as best as they can to help buyers visualize themselves in the home.  Trust your listing agent, Jeff Barnwell, when advised to lose the rugs covering Brazilian hardwood flooring.

The closer you can get your home looking like a photo from a Pottery Barn catalog, the better off you will be.  Make sure that your cabinets and refrigerators are cleaned out and decluttered, too. You want to have a minimum of stuff in the house. The less clutter you have, the larger the closets, basement and garage will look.

I also recommend ordering a sales appraisal for most homes across the metro Atlanta market.  Even with 20+ years in the business trying to estimate what today’s appraiser will value a house is spotty at best.  Buyers will have an appraisal contingency attached with their offer requesting you to lower the price if appraised value is not met.  Having this information on the front side of negotiations is money well spent.

Make It Easy to Show

The more available you can make your home for buyers, the better your home will show.  Make it easy for your real-estate agent to access the property and keep the place clean.  You want your home to be easy to show because you don’t know if you will get a second chance.  A late Sunday afternoon showing indicates the buyer has viewed all other properties and is working their way back through the list.  Run, don’t walk when this call come through.  Trust me, the buyer wants to like your house. Keep it in show-ready condition so they aren’t turned off by a first impression.

Be Flexible

Buyers are in the driver’s seat these days, and they know they can make all sorts of unusual requests without risking the deal. Be ready.  Buyer wants to bring 10 family members and an inspector to check out the house for three hours this weekend, turn on all the lights and go to a movie.  Buyer wants you to include the kitchen table and chairs, the painting over the fireplace and your jet ski, all part of the negotiations.

The more flexible you are the better off you will be for buyer interested in purchasing your house.

 

The process of selling real estate in Atlanta Georgia  can be complicated, time consuming, and a little overwhelming. Make it easier by hiring a qualified Atlanta real estate listing agent.

For my sellers, I will:

  • Create the most effective marketing plan for your home, which will include both print and Internet promotional campaigns
  • Get your home seen by millions of home buyers via national website including Realtor.com, Zillow.com, Trulia.com, Remax.com, JSBSells.com, and JeffBarnwell.net.  Through Search Engine Optimization my customers listings show up first on local searches for new home buyers across the country
  • Make recommendations for home repairs and furniture staging that will make your home stand out above the crowd
  • Complete a comparable market analysis and help you determine a fair listing price for your home
  • Schedule and conduct tours of the property, so you don’t have to
  • Negotiate the sale price with buyers, and handle all the paperwork involved in closing
  • Offer advice and expertise for selling your home in today’s ever changing market
  • Install marketing signs with text to realtor for updated information
  • Install an electronic key box for easy agent showings
  • Continue to review your competitive market position
  • Follow up with buyers agents on their customer feed back on your showing
  • Weekly follow up so we can review our position and make strategic and tactical adjustments as necessary
  • Be your ally, friend, and professional consultant during this exciting and challenging time

 

What’s Your Neighborhood Worth?

The RE/MAX Neighborhood Valuation Tool allows you to compare the price of properties that have recently sold in your area.  Simply enter the property address of your choice and as much information about the property as possible.  The Neighborhood Valuation Tools will return, on average, the twenty nearest and most recently sold properties.  Evaluate and select the comparable properties that most closely match your subject property and the RE/MAX Tools will provide you with home sales trends, school information, neighborhood date, and much more!

Log in and receive a 14 page analysis of your neighborhoods homes sold, county demographics, age distribution, simple steps for selling your house, occupation breakdown, home pricing trends, and maps showing location and pricing for home within your neighborhood.  Having used many CMA tools over my last 17 years, RE/MAX has the most complete pricing information available to a homeowner.  The PDF will arrive to your email within 5 minutes, enjoy!!!

Listing homes across metro Atlanta

I am currently listing homes for sale across the north metro area including Duluth, Suwanee, Sugar Hill, Norcross, Buford, Dacula, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Grayson, Snellville, Loganville, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Roswell, Milton, Shake Rag, Midtown, morningside, Atlantic Station, Morningside, Inman Park, Virginia Highland, Old Fourth Ward, College Park, Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Emory, Marietta, East Cobb, Acworth, Kennesaw, Powder Springs, Smyrna, Cumming, Flowery Branch, Lake Lanier, Gainesville, Ellenwood  On the road with my clients I view no less than 30 homes a week giving me a broad overview of what the metro Altanta housing market has to offer.  My buyers are currently looking for homes within these market from $130,000.00 – $1,450,000.00.  For more information on listing your home in East Cobb, Alpharetta listing agent, Suwanee listing agent, Johns Creek listing,  Marietta homes for sale, or Altlanta homes for sale please email JeffBarnwell@remax.net