Is Your Price on Target?

When listing a property, we consider price to be the most important factor! Yes, home staging is helpful, and updating certain items is helpful. Curb appeal is king! "Location, location, location." You've heard about all of these things I am certain. However, when we price a home we take all of that into consideration. Of course, we advise our clients on the items and improvements they can make that will increase their value or cause their home to sell more quickly, but all of that aside, we should all be chanting: "price, price, price".

If you are looking for the insider secret on how to sell a home, you have come to the right place. We here at Spoon Real Estate know the secret: price it right! Here is a simple break down of what happens when you price your home at different levels:

• 12+% overpriced: Not showing!
• 6-12% overpriced: Shows some, no offers!
• 4-6% overpriced: showing some, low offers.
• Right on Target: Showing a lot, good and oftentimes multiple offers!

Many people feel like they have to overprice their home to leave room for negotiating. We absolutely don't believe that at all. If you price your home on target, you will ultimately net more than if you overpriced your home waiting for someone looking for a bargain. If you overprice it long enough, they will get a bargain because you will become desparate to sell your house!!!

In many parts of the country right now, the real estate market is suffering. There is an oversupply of homes and a high foreclosure rate. Our market in Columbus, Indiana is pretty balanced. If you stage your home nicely and PRICE IT RIGHT, you should be able to sell your home in a reasonable period of time.

When you take a well-priced home and market it efficiently, a sale in a reasonable period of time is the result most of the time. Add a seasoned professional to make sure you have indeed priced it right, and you are in great shape.

So, how do you know if your Realtor has done a good job coming up with a price for your home? They should be using homes that have sold in your geographic area or neighborhood within the last year (six months is best), that most resemble the qualities and amenities of your home. Simply averaging the sales prices won't work. There are adjustments that need made to ensure that the homes have been compared properly. Pools, sun rooms and screened porches, extra bedrooms, finished basements, fences, fireplaces, garage size, and quality of construction are just a few of the items worth taking into consideration.

The final determination of price is usually a comparison of other active properties. In other words: what is your competition? Stay on top of what other homes around you are selling for and what they are listed for. The buyers in your market will certainly be checking out the other options!

For how, happy house selling!

Robyn Spoon

Home Inspections...do or die!

Since I began selling real estate nearly a decade ago, the home inspection industry has completely changed! Buyers used to have a friend or a trusted carpenter come along and let them know if they had any serious concerns before they bought. These friends and trusted advisers weren't licensed or fully trained. Some were better than others...many weren't insured. Today, the home inspection industry is a huge and amazing industry. It is a huge improvement over my early days in real estate, but more confusing than ever.

What is the purpose of a home inspection? What types of inspections can you have done? Who should perform the inspections? Once an inspection has been completed, what should you do with the information? These are all questions that my buyers have been asking.

First, you should always reserve the right to inspect a property. In some cases, like bank repo's, and other "as-is" properties, you can inspect, but it doesn't mean that the owner will make repairs. In some rare cases, it doesn't even mean you can get out of the deal if you find something you don't like. SCARY! However, most of the time, in Indiana anyway, major items found on an inspection can be cause to terminate the transaction with your earnest money in tact. I say "most of the time" because it depends on how your contract is written. Be sure to have a clause that allows for this if you want to be fully protected.

Second, you must be certain that your contract allows for the types of inspections you wish to have done. Here are a few: whole house inspection, radon inspection, termite or other wood destroying organism inspection, lead paint inspection, mold inspection, and so on and so on and so on.

Third, do your homework before you choose an inspector or a type of inspection. What are you hoping to find? What will you do with the results? Who will perform the inspections.

I would make sure to get referrals from a real estate professional on the "who" of the above list. Your Realtor should also be able to answer simple questions or refer you to your answers in some way.

In Indiana, a whole house inspector now has to be licensed. This is another huge change from my early days in real estate.

My final words of advice: attend the inspection. Not only will you want first hand knowledge of any problems that are found, but you will learn the ins and outs of maintaining your new home.

Good luck and happy house hunting.
Robyn

**The information here is the opinion of Robyn Spoon. I do not warrant or guarantee the information above.