YourChicagoHomeTeam.com - Tips for Home Sellers

7 Things You Must Do Prior To Selling Your Home

Understand your options:

A fixed-rate mortgage, your monthly payments remain the same during the entire length of the mortgage.
An Adjustable-rate mortgage, you will often receive a lower initial interest rate, but your monthly payment amount can rise and fall as interest rates fluctuate.
A Balloon or reset mortgage, you once again may be offered a low interest rate, but it will hold for a limited time.

Become a rate watcher:

Check out www.guaranteedrate.com to compare rates in our market place.
Your daily newspaper tracks these rates, so stay current by watching whether rates are rising, falling or remaining stable.

Get Pre-approved:

Getting pre-approved for a mortgage loan gives the homebuyer additional bargaining leverage when competing with other buyers for a home.
A home seller will be more likely to accept an offer from a pre-approved borrower.
Sellers sometimes sign a contract to sell their house before they know if they qualify to buy another. Financial circumstances sometimes change since the last purchase, and they could no longer qualify for a loan or they weren't able to sell at a price that allowed them to buy a type of replacement house they want.

Check your mortgage payoff:

Consider making a higher down payment:

Making a higher down payment will reduce your mortgage.
Putting a higher down payment can often get you lower-cost financing.

Select your lender carefully:

Try to get a referral from your people you trust or call Burt
Never trust a mortgage offer that arrives via email, as it is likely originated from a spammer.

Determine how much your house is worth

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Preparing your property for sale

Make necessary repairs
Make all needed repairs unless you want your house to be regarded as a fixer-upper. Fix anything that is not operating properly that the potential buyer will notice and use to get a lower price.
Get your house ready to show
Great curb appeal, fresh paint, organized closets and cabinets, clean windows and appliances and a clutter-free look are essential if you want to appeal to buyers. See Burt to review the checklist which applies to you.

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5 ways to speed up the sale of your house

Price it right. Set a price at the lower end of your property's realistic price range.
Get your house "market ready" before you begin to show it. Have everything perfect before the first showing appointment.
Be flexible about showings. It's often disruptive to have a house ready to show on the spur of the moment, but the more often someone can see your home, the sooner you'll find a buyer.
Be ready for the offers. Decide in advance what price and terms you will accept.
Don't refuse to adjust the price. If your home has been on the market for more than 30 days without an offer, be prepared to lower the asking price.

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How do you prepare a house to sell?

Doing whatever you can to put your house's best face forward is very important if you want to get close to your asking price or sell as quickly as possible. Short of spending a lot of money, here are several ideas for making your home show better.
Sweeping the sidewalk, mow the lawn, prune the bushes, weed the garden and clean debris from the yard. Keep your property litter-free.
Clean the windows and make sure the paint is not clipped or flaking. And speaking of paint, if your home was built before 1978, new federal law gives a buyer the right to request a lead inspection. If you think you might have some problems, do the inspection yourself beforehand and make any fixes you can.
Make sure your doorbell works. Spruce up the front entrance -first impressions are key.
Clean and spruce up all rooms, furnishings, floors, walls and ceilings. It's especially important that the bathroom and kitchen are spotless.
Make sure all appliances and fixtures work. Get rid of old worn + non-functioning fixtures.
Make sure the house smells fresh. Hide any kitty litter.
Put vases of fresh flowers through out the house.
Having pleasant background music playing will also help set your stage.
Remember buyers are using ALL of their senses as they are walking through your property. Make their visual, auditory, olfactory experiences as exciting + positive as possible.

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Make your home more appealing with these low cost tips

Trim the bushes so they aren't blocking any windows or cutting down on light.
Buy a new door mat.
Put a pot of bright flowers by the front door.
Put new door knobs on the front door.
Be sure all toys are put away.
Buy a new mail box.
Upgrade out door lighting.
Clean your gutters.
Buy new towels + bedding if necessary

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How can I sell your home faster and for more money than any other agent?

1. 24/ 7 Call Capture

I will do things that most other Real Estate Agents don't. In fact, I use new, state of the art, 24/7 Call Capture Technology, that will allow me to generate 300% to 400% more buyers for your property, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Using this technology, I have the ability to track and follow up on every incoming lead, whether the caller leaves a message or not. The point is, I will never miss an opportunity to show your home and with this revolutionary technology I will sell your home faster and for more money than any other agent. Let me show you how and give you a demonstration of this new technology.

2. Lead Router

An online visitor can send an email inquiry which gets converted to an instant call on my cell phone which provides with their contact information + any questions that they have. All of this occurs within a few minutes of their email inquiry. I can then respond + try to schedule an appointment for them to see your property. That's fast + efficient service!

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How Landscaping Will Improve The Value Of Your Home

Landscaping isn't just about good looks -- it can increase the value of your home, make it sell more quickly, and even reduce your energy bill. The right landscape can increase the value of your home by 15 percent, allowing you to recoup 100 to 200 percent of your investment, according to the Association of Landscape Contractors of America. And if you're selling your house, or know you will be in the near future, a good-looking landscape is a contributing factor to good curb appeal because it is one of the first things a prospective buyer will notice. A 1998 study conducted by the University of Florida reveals that attractive landscaping makes a home sell faster. That's not all. The U.S. Department of Energy says landscaping is the best long-term investment for reducing heating and cooling costs. And according to the American Public Power Association, landscaping can reduce air conditioning costs by up to 50 percent. American Forests has developed a way of measuring energy conservation benefits from tress, and reports that trees can reduce temperatures by as much as nine degrees Fahrenheit. A single urban tree can provide up to $273 in savings a year in air conditioning costs. Remember that quality, not quantity, will enhance your landscape. With a little careful planning and effort, it's relatively inexpensive and easy to reap the rewards of landscaping your home.