Estate Agent Local - A Directory Of UK Estate Agents

House for Sale

Tips to make your home more priceless when you sale:

Chances are, your home may just sell faster for the best price with a little extra effort on your part. These tips have proved results for several sellers and happy buyers.

First impressions are lasting. The front door greets the prospect so make sure it is fresh, clean, and scrubbed-looking. Keep the lawn trimmed and edged and the yard free of refuse. Be sure snow and ice are removed from walks and steps.

Decorate to sell. Faded walls and worn woodwork reduce appeal and if you want top dollar, give the potential buyers the top dollar approach. Why try to tell a prospect how your home could look when you can show him by redecorating? Neutral colors are best.

Let the sunshine in. Open draperies and curtains and let the prospect see how cheerful your home can be.

Fix plumbing leaks in faucets baths, showers and toilets. Dripping water discolors sinks and flooring and can imply faulty plumbing.

Repairs can make a big difference. Loose door knobs, sticking doors and windows, warped cabinet drawers and other minor flaws lowers the value of the home in the buyer's eyes. Have any item of structure, mechanical and hardware repaired. (When prospects see things that need attention, they begin to worry about things they can't see.)

Show from top to bottom. Display the full value of your attic, basement and other utility space by removing all unnecessary articles. A tip to clean dull basements is by painting or washing walls.

Safety first. Keep stairways clear. Avoid a cluttered appearance and possible injuries.

Make closets look bigger. Neat, well-ordered closets show that the space is ample.

Believe it or Not...Bathrooms help sell homes! Check and repair caulking in bathtubs and showers. The Bathroom(s) sparkle is a terrible thing to waist.

Arrange bedrooms neatly. Remove excess furniture and use attractive/clean bedspreads and freshly laundered curtains.
Let the Sun Shine In. Light is a welcome sign. The potential buyer will feel glowing warmth when you turn on all your lights for an evening inspection.

Avoid having too many people present during viewings of the home. Note - If you request your agent to be present at these viewings, they have to be present. If there is too much of a crowd, the potential buyer will feel like an intruder and will hurry through the house.

Turn off the blaring radios or television. Let the Realtor and buyers talk, free of disturbances.

Pets underfoot? Keep them out of the way-take them for a ride or put them outside. If this is a difficult task for you and your pet, then hire a Realtor who is pet friendly that can work with your pet prior to the prospective buyers arriving.

Silence is golden. Be courteous but don't force conversation with the potential buyer. He/She wants to view your house for a potential purchase-not pay a social call.

Never apologize for the appearance of your home. After all, it has been lived in. A Realtor is trained to answer any objections-this is their job.

Stay in the background. The Realtor knows the buyer's requirements and can better emphasize the features of your home when you don't tag along. You will be called if needed.

Trying to dispose of furniture and furnishings prior to potential buyers view your home, makes a room appear like an "empty nest". Remember your three types of buyers; The Starting out Buyers, the Starting over Buyers, The Moving Forward Buyers.

A word to the wise. If you hire a Real Estate Professional, let your Real Estate Professional discuss price, terms, possession and other factors with the customer and/or their agent. An experienced full time Realtor is eminently qualified to bring negotiations to a favorable conclusion.

If you are a For Sale by Owner, hire an attorney to negotiate price and terms for you.

Buying a Home

When purchasing a property at the UK, whether it is your primary residence, second home, or investment property, the process can either be extremely stressful or a pleasant experience depending on how you handle the situation and who you are working with. When buying a property and this may help you on your journey to owning real estate at the UK.

Meeting the Customer: Getting to Know Your Specific Needs

Once contacted by a potential customer who is interested in purchasing a property, Ask a few questions to find out how much this customer knows about this area. Get informed on several scenarios. Do they currently own a property and are they looking to upgrade? Have they been coming down to the UK for years with friends and relatives and know the area well? Have they only been here once or twice and fell in love with our “Paradise” and want to be a part of a great community? Or have they read about the potential investment properties with appreciation that make investing at the UK a great opportunity? Every scenario has a different approach as to how to educate the customer and make the process go smoothly.

Starting the Loan Process: Pre-Qualification

After establishing my customer’s agenda, Encourage a “Pre-Qualification”. This process introduces my customer to a lending agent, or they may have an agent they feel comfortable with. This lending institution will take pertinent information from the customer and within the banking rules and regulations, give my customer an estimated monetary amount that they will be able to afford when purchasing a property. This process saves a lot of time when you start to evaluate your customer’s wants and needs. Without the knowledge of my customers buying power, May waste your time and theirs showing properties that are not feasible to purchase, which will lead to frustration and stress. The time spent establishing a comfortable price range also shows sellers that the customer is serious about purchasing a property, and there will be less chance of problems once the contracts are signed.

Creating a Customer Profile

While customer get pre-qualified, Continue to ask questions to find out what kind of property they are interested in. Do they want to be close to the ocean, or do they have a boat and want to be on the bay. Are they looking for new construction? Do they need many rooms, or would they prefer a condominium. Establish the customer’s wants and needs and then we sort them out according to what my customer can afford. This allows me to create a profile for my customer and narrow a search for their dream property.

Seeing Properties of Interest

The showing of properties may occur immediately upon meeting a customer, or it may be after establishing the criteria mentioned above. Get a call from a potential customer who is sitting in front of a property and wants to take a look, or may get E-mailed from a referral that has interest and wants to know what is available. Every situation is different. When showing properties educate your customers along the way. Offer them a brochure on the property with all the important information they may need. It covers everything from the number of bedrooms and baths, to the amenities, and the approximate real estate taxes that will be paid. Since you will most likely be seeing several properties on the first showing, this information will help the customer remember the facts from one property to the other.

Narrowing Down the Options

In normal situations, after showing several properties, one of two things occurs. The customer will either narrow down the property to one or two options, or they will not find one particular property that they really like. Either way, they will usually walk away from the situation so they can think, talk, and come to some conclusion on the day. Never pressure a customer to make a decision on the first showing, unless they have the personality where they know what they want and have the confidence to do so.

Backup Plan: E-mail Notification

If a customer realizes that there was not one particular property that interests them, and then offer to put them on an E-mail notification. An E-mail notification allows the customer to receive information on new properties that go on the market, the day they go on the market. Send them only potential properties that fall within the criteria of what they are looking for. This allows them to see properties, hassle free, with no obligations and when they find something that interests them, they will make contact with me. If the customer wants, you will contact them occasionally if you see something you think is a good deal that fits their needs. Once the customer finds something that looks interesting to them, you offer to show them the property and we go from there. This allows the customer to view properties as they become available in the relaxed setting of their own home or office, without any sales pressure to purchase.

Once you’ve found the Perfect Vacation Home...

A customer who finds a property that interests them will then go to the next step of putting in an offer. The customer, and how much of an offer they want to make, and my experience as an agent knowing what the value of the property is, help determine what the offer will be. We will discuss all options and come up with a price that will make the initial offer to purchase. If your customer is considering a property that is not listed with the agency you are working for, you are a “Buyers Agent”. This means you are working solely for my customer and you only looking out for his best interests. If my customer is looking at a property that is listed in the agency you work for, you then a “Dual Agent”, which means you, have privilege to information on the seller’s side and you have to be working for both parties. By law you must make all customers aware of the possibility of a “Duel Agent” arising.

Putting In An Offer

Submitting an offer to purchase a property is fairly simple. You fill out a standard form for my customer, who includes the address in question, the amount of the offer, and a “Good Faith” deposit, which is fully refundable if an agreement of sale is not met. You also like to include when my customer would like to go to settlement and how he will be financing the purchase if we know this. Adding more information makes the seller aware that you are prepared to act on this property in a timely manner. You present this offer to the seller’s agent and it is then presented to the seller.

Once the offer is submitted, you will normally wait twenty-four hours before you contact the seller’s agent to see how the offer was received. The seller can accept, reject, or counter offer the proposal. If the seller accepts the proposal, you will then create the contracts. If the offer is rejected or a counter offer is made, you will then contact my customer and explain the situation. My customer then has an option of putting in another offer, or walking away from the proposal and starting to look again.

Re-Negotiating An Offer

Going back and forth with the buyer and seller is not unusual in real estate. Once an agreement of sale is acceptable by both parties, contracts are made. The contracts list all the information necessary for the sale. Normally there is a standard contract that is completed, with addendums added for any information that is not included in the standard form. Once the contracts are completed, they are given to the buyer and seller to review. At this time we recommend that both parties take the contracts to their lawyers to review before signing. It is not absolutely necessary to have a lawyer review the contracts, but we highly recommend it. If the lawyers find any errors or changes that need to be made, we notify the other party and make the changes if acceptable.

Signing the Contract and Preparing for Settlement

If everything is acceptable by both parties, the contracts are signed and then both the buyer and seller have a seventy-two hour period in which either party can change their mind and back out of the contract. This is required by law to protect both parties involved.

Now that the contracts are signed and the seventy-two hour period has expired, we start to get ready for settlement. This requires ordering title insurance on the property, securing financing for the buyer, having a termite & fire inspection, securing a date and time for closing, and other small tasks that you as the buyer’s agent must perform. You spend time answering questions from your buyer and reassuring them that everything will run smoothly. A good agent on both sides of a contract will have everything prepared for the closing.

The closing day has arrived and the buyer will now do a final inspection before we go to closing. During this walk through, the buyer will check everything to make sure it works satisfactory as in the contracts. Sometimes a buyer will purchase a property “as is”, which means there may be defects or minor problems that they will have to take care of. If everything in the property is satisfactory, we proceed to closing without hesitation.

The Last Step: Closing

Closing takes approximately one to two hours and involves the signing of papers required by law when a property transaction occurs. Under normal circumstances, this is a very calm, lighthearted occasion with a sigh of relief and a smile at the end. Both parties are happy with the outcome, and my buyers own a new property at the UK.