Friday, February 19, 2016

How To Downsize In 5 Easy Steps

Everyone knows that downsizing can be difficult and that it may be more involved that the simple “keep, sell or toss” approach. 



Whether you are moving or just trying to get a handle on your stuff, deciding on what to keep, sell or donate can be filled with difficult choices.

Here are 5 simple steps that will make the process a lot easier.

1 Keep What You Love


Decide on the pieces that you absolutely love and make a list. These are the keepers, If:

They fit in your new place – not just in terms of decorating style – do they physically fit in your new place.

You use them – don’t be guilted in to keeping something just because it is a gift or heirloom.  You should have a use for the piece, whether that is functional or even just a display piece with positive emotional feeling.

They are in good condition – even if you love it, if it has seen its best days gone by, it may be a good time to consider a new item – especially if it is something very large or heavy to move.

It is less expensive to move them than to buy new – sometimes the cost of moving (depending on wieght and/or distance) a large item such as a sofa may be comparable to the cost of a new one.

2 Get Help


Don’t try to go through this process alone if you can avoid it. Sometimes it is much easier to make a decision when there is someone else in the room.

Enlist family or friends – sometimes just having company will keep you motivated enough to continue the process of decluttering. Whether they are there for moral support or to help with any heavy lifting, the more the merrier!

Hire an appraiser – If you are worried about tossing something that you think may end up on the Antiques Roadshow as the find of the century, hire an appraiser. These people can be found on Google or through local estate sellers or antique shops.

TIP: Their fee is usually quite high – ranging from $100 to $150 per hour. However this may be well worth it for the peace of mind before getting rid of anything you think may have monetary value.

  • Find out how they like to work: Will they tour your house, or would they prefer pictures first to see if it is worth the trip?
  • Be organized: Have everything you would like appraised out in the open and in easy reach. Have any receipts or previous appraisals at hand.
  • Make a list from highest to lowest priority. Depending on how long the process takes, you may not want to invest in additional hours of the appraiser’s time.


If you don’t want to invest in the services of an appraiser, at least do some research of your own. Look on Craig’s List to see what similar items are selling for, or look on eBay. Just remember: the “asking” price isn’t necessarily what the item is worth. Try and find the actual sale price.

3 Family First


If you had plans to give items to family members as mementos or are passing down heirlooms, this should happen before any sale. Don’t force items on your loved ones, but do give them first choice of anything you are getting rid of.

4 Sell it


Once your family has selected cherished pieces, it is time to come up with a plan for a sale.

Classifieds: If you don’t have a set date for your move, classifieds may make you the most money and are the least disruptive to your household. List your items in local news papers or on online classifieds like Craig’s List – or whatever is popular in your area. You can continue using them until someone comes and takes it.

Garage Sale: If you have a fixed moving date ahead, this DIY general sale can be a great way to go. You ultimately decide on what the price will be to get the item off your property. It is more work than putting items on classifieds since you usually collect the items and display them outside of your house, but any money is all yours.

Estate Sale: If either of the aforementioned methods is too time consuming or complicated for your needs, then an estate sale would be the way to go. Estate Sales are normally done after the house has been vacated – meaning that you have moved out with all the things you want to keep. The sale organizers set up the items for sale in a pleasing way and supervise the sale, which can typically be one to three days depending on the volume of sale items.

Note: The fee for such a sale can vary from a minimum FLAT fee (typically $400-500) or a percentage of the profits from the sale (usually 20% - 25%) If you have a short deadline to move, this may be the best option to remove some of the pressure from you.

5 Donate


You will probably decide to donate some things right at the beginning of the process. There are charities that welcome donations and may even have a pick-up service.

If you are planning a sale, it is a good idea to coordinate a charity pick-up within a day or two of the end of your sale. In that way it may be possible for you to leave the unsold items outside your house for pick-up after your sale (depending on the climate in your area).



Contact your favorite charity as soon as possible to see what amount of lead time they require for a pick-up.




If you are putting your home on the market, winter can be a very stressful time. Most people are not focused on buying a house at this time of year. This may extend the time it takes to sell your property.
If selling during the winter isn't something you wish to consider right now, we can help.

If you have come to the realization that it is time to move right now to have a better life, but your house isn’t ready for the traditional market, we can help. 

If you are juggling too many responsibilities to sell your house yourself this winter, then there are people who specialize in the sale of properties "as is" - usually within a week to resolve the situation quickly. We have a team of professionals able to assist you immediately.

Contact us for details.





So thanks for reading my post. I'm so glad you're here! 

And I really look forward to getting into more great stuff in future posts -- so that you can 

Turn Your House To $OLD!



Feel free to ask me any questions through the contact info below. I would be very happy to help.


Linda  623-335-2662







_____________
Article Sources:

Lynda Bathory

Friday, February 5, 2016

How To Sell Your House in Days – Not Months!

Some people will tell you that it’s just not possible to sell your house in days -- and that it really takes months!



Nothing can be further from the truth!


So how do you do it?

Well, first, let’s take a quick look at how NOT to do it!


The two most common ways to sell a house:


Listing With A Real Estate Agent


It may sound silly, but an “agent” works for an agency! An agency lists dozens, if not hundreds of properties on the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS every month.

Things have changed in the real estate industry – and YES, it’s just another business. With so many agents out there, what they now focus on is getting listings. That means they want to get your house under contract-- so no one else can sell it! It’s like getting a lottery ticket out of someone else’s hands with the hope that you will be the big winner. The more tickets, the better chance for a pay-off!


Most people think that agents get 6% of the house’s sale price as a commission. But what a lot of people don’t know is that fee is split four ways! The seller is paying the fee of the listing agent, and buyer’s agent! In addition, those agents usually have to pay their brokerages half the fee. That’s a lot of work for about one and a half percent! For the agent you use, this works out as $1500 for a $100,000 house!

But the commission isn’t the only cost to you. Chances are your agent will tell you that the house needs to be fixed up before it goes on the market. And then you will need to constantly be ready for visits and open houses having to leave at a moment’s notice whether it is convenient or not! During inspection, you may find that you need to pay for additional work!

In addition, the National Association of Realtors keeps information indicating that it takes about 3 months to sell the house and up to 2 extra months to get through closing process – assuming the deal doesn’t fall through due to financing issues or inspection troubles. Now that $1500 the agent keeps is over a 5 month period – that’s a lot of work, expenses and waiting to get $300 a month! That's not a great incentive to help you!

So if agents are working for their agency, and get minimal compensation when it is all over, why would you think they have YOUR best interests at heart?


Selling By Yourself


For these very reasons, some owners try to sell their houses by themselves. This is known as For Sale By Owner, or the abbreviation FSBO.

This method sounds like it will be efficient: the seller, the buyer ---and no middle men (or women).



Technology has really changed the exposure that FSBOs get. With online services such as Craigslist, and Zillow now in the mix, owners don’t have to rely just on word of mouth, signs in the yard, or newspaper ads anymore!

The disadvantage of these advertizing methods is that the seller will be competing with buyers who have been conditioned to look on the MLS, where the majority of FSBOs just can’t arrange to show.

What sellers may not realize is that they must still clean and fix up the property. In addition, they have to show their house to complete strangers, hoping that one will like it enough to make an offer. Even with the offer, a seller must be cautious in case the buyer’s financing falls through, or the buyer changes their mind during inspection. Owners selling this way are responsible for reviewing all offers and negotiating the sale, and all the contracts and documents to finish the transaction. Selling this way takes a lot of patience and work.

Both these methods require weeks or months to have a sale and need money for repairs and renovations. Usually after a few months of trying to sell, the seller will agree to ANY offer that comes their way and usually for a lot less than they were expecting.

What if there was a better way?


There is!


You can sell your house right now, as is, to a willing buyer with available funds! There are numerous benefits to you:

  • No long contract periods or expensive commissions with indifferent agents! We can pay cash!
  • No spending thousands of your dollars on repairs or renovations that buyers will not even appreciate. We buy properties in any condition!
  • No spending nights and weekends – or missing work -- to show your house to curious strangers, hoping for offers and waiting to see if they qualify for a mortgage. When we show up, we are ready to make a deal!
  • You can get out of your mortgage payments quickly and in a few simple steps and start your new life! We are prepared to close whenever you want!


So what’s the catch?


We can’t help you unless you contact us!
  
  
If you are putting your home on the market, winter can be a very stressful time. Most people are not focused on buying a house at this time of year. This may extend the time it takes to sell your property.
If selling during the winter isn't something you wish to consider right now, we can help.

If you have come to the realization that it is time to move right now to have a better life, but your house isn’t ready for the traditional market, we can help. 

If you are juggling too many responsibilities to sell your house yourself this winter, then there are people who specialize in the sale of properties "as is" - usually within a week to resolve the situation quickly. We have a team of professionals able to assist you immediately.

Contact us for details.


So thanks for reading my post. I'm so glad you're here! 

And I really look forward to getting into more great stuff in future posts -- so that you can 

Turn Your House To $OLD!



Feel free to ask me any questions through the contact info below. I would be very happy to help.


Linda  623-335-2662







_____________
Article Sources:

Lynda Bathory

Some photos provided by Léa Dubedout, Richard Thomas and Joe Belanger