Step 1: Your Home’s Present Value
Step 2: Listing with a Real Estate Professional
Step 3: Gathering the Facts
Step 4: Understanding Which Home Improvements Pay You Back
Step 5: Showcase Your House

Step 1: Your Home’s Present Value
If you’re a homeowner considering making a move, the first step is usually putting your current home on the market for sale. The professionals at Silver Rock Properties want to provide the information to help you make smart, informed home-related decisions, whether it’s helping you prepare your home for sale, or securing the purchase of your next home.

Before you set an asking price for your home, you and your real estate sales professional will complete a Home Market Analysis. The Home Market Analysis presents an opportunity to review and evaluate the facts before you make a very important decision — the price you will ask for your home. The analysis also helps your real estate professional look at your home from a buyer’s perspective — the perspective that counts when you’re pricing your home to sell. Using this process, your real estate professional will establish a realistic listing price and increase the percentage of qualified buyers who look at your property.
The Home Market Analysis will show:

• What’s happening in the local real estate market right now.
• What buyers are willing to pay for homes similar to yours.
• What they won’t pay.
• Which homes will be competing with yours for buyers attention for a free Home Market Analysis contact the professionals at Silver Rock Properties.com

Step 2: Listing with a Real Estate Professional
A listing agreement is a contract in which you hire a real estate firm a ready, willing and able buyer for your home in exchange for a set fee.

The two most frequently used listing agreements are:

1. With an exclusive right-to-sell agreement, you pay a fee regardless of who produces the buyer. This fee covers many important services that the sales professional performs above and beyond finding a qualified buyer.
   
2. In an exclusive-agency listing, if you find a buyer, he or she is not obligated to pay the fee. If the sale professional finds a buyer, than the fee is paid to the real estate company.

For more information on theis process please contact the professionals at Silver Rock Properties.com

Step 3: Gathering the Facts
Buyers want to know details; having the answers is a powerful sales tool. Your real estate sales professional will use the information you provide to answer questions, create advantageous listing and devise an exciting marketing campaign that attracts the right kind of buyer for your home. Help your sales professional by collecting or providing the following information:

• The legal description of the property
• The number of rooms and their sizes
• A list of things not attached to the house that you’re offering for sale, such as window treatments, carpet, fixtures, swing sets, etc.
• Past utility bills, property taxes and insurance.
• Information your mortgage, including the type, terms and assumability
• Any liens against the property.
• If you live in a condominium or a townhouse, include a copy of the association’s declaration, bylaws, and financial statement, monthly fee’s and special assessments.
• Special items or improvements the house. Point out things that may not be apparent on walk-through.
• The positive points your neighborhood, such as demographic information and proximity to services, shopping, schools and other areas.
• Any defects that are not apparent. You should disclose any and all defects.

Step 4: Understanding Which Home Improvements Pay You Back
Investing in your home is no different than any other investment you may choose. If you’re thinking making some improvements before you sell, you’ll want to make investments that pay your back with tangible returns

Kitchens
When you consider convenience, efficiency or resale value, remodeling your kitchen usually has all three. Kitchen upgrades can be as grand as new cabinets, appliances and countertops or as simple as cabinet re-facing and floor covering. When it comes to resale value, kitchens typically can help you recapture most if not all of your investment.

Bathrooms
Like the kitchen, most bathroom renovations can be recouped in the sale price of your home. Most homes today have 2.5 or 3 bathrooms. If your home only has 1 or 1.5 baths, it may be a sound investment to add another. If you choose to upgrade with new cabinets or other modifications, consider conveniences and efficiencies like new lighting, easy to clean surfaces and plenty of storage.

Decks and Patios
Decks and patios provide your home with extra flexibility, by giving you a wonderful gathering place. Make sure your new deck or patio fits aesthetically with your home’s exterior, and consider some extra landscaping to provide the finishing touch.

Room Additions
You can add a room because your growing family warrants the additional space, but you will probably want to research the property values in your neighborhood first. Room additions are a great investment, but you may be better off looking for a larger home that meets your requirements.

Energy Conservation Improvements
One home investment that can pay you back most noticeable is improving your home’s energy efficiency. New appliances, new windows, heating/cooling systems, and other fuel efficiency improvements will show up through savings on your monthly utility bills.

Step 5: Showcase Your House:
A minimal investment of time and money can go a long way when it comes to selling your home quickly. Before the first prospective buyer visits, think what you would look for in a new house, and spruce up your current home to match. Here are a few suggestions:

Clean, clean, clean. Start by washing the inside and outside of all glass surfaces. Move on to mirrors, countertops, drapes, curtains, and rugs. Don’t forget the kitchen and bathrooms. They should be spotless and accessible. Open the curtains, pull back the blinds and do whatever else you can to let in the daylight.

Create a spacious appearance. Your decor can affect the perceived size of a room, no matter what the square footage. Remove that beat-up recliner or unnecessary furniture, and remove clutter from tables, corners and hallways. Pack and store your nonessential items. The closet should be organized and look roomy, as well.

Have a good drive-by view. The outside of your home should look inviting. Trim the bushes, mow the lawn, plant flowers (if season permits) and put out a welcome mat. If the house needs a coat of paint inside or out, consider it a worthwhile investment. Keep the decorations minimal. Buyers need to visualize the home as their own. You don’t need to make the walls bare, just take down a few pictures.

Complete minor repairs. Now is definitely the time to fix the squeaky door and dripping faucet, to repair any holes in the walls and anything else that might be distracting to a buyer.

You never know what might be the deciding factor for a home buyer. But the more you can “showcase”, the better your chances of impressing a potential buyer.