How to Sell Your House in 2022

February 8, 2022/0 Comments/in Home Selling Tips/by nxtmove

So, you’ve evaluated your finances, thought about your lifestyle and made the big decision to sell your home. Maybe you’ve decided to downsize, or you’re moving out of the big city because you can work remotely, or perhaps you just want to relocate somewhere warmer like Palm Springs, CA or Miami, FL. Whatever the reason, you’re ready to sell. With so many things to consider, from home inspections to staging, selling a house can be an overwhelming process. Luckily, for you, we put together a comprehensive guide on how to sell your house in 2022.

What to expect from the housing market in 2022

While 2021 was a record-breaking year for the U.S. housing market, remains a seller’s market the entire year, don’t expect a quick shift to a buyer’s market in 2022. While the new year may bring a more balanced market, expect to see an increase in listings, people relocating to affordable cities, a greater emphasis on climate risks, and a rush to buy houses at the beginning of the year as mortgage rates rise. As 2022 begins, Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather gives us her insights on what to look out for.

“Historically, the homebuying season starts in late spring, but in 2022, we expect the homebuying season to begin by late January. That’s because buyers will want to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates before they begin to rise. So if you are thinking about selling this year, you should get your home ready now. Buyers want move-in ready homes because they don’t want to worry about getting work done while there are materials and labor shortages.”

Regardless of whether you’re a first-time or seasoned home seller, this step-by-step guide will help you navigate how to sell your house this year.

1) Hire a home inspector

You’re probably thinking, wait, isn’t that the buyer’s responsibility? You’re not wrong. When you’ve accepted an offer, the buyer will most likely request a home inspection of their own. So, why would you need one? First, if a home inspector finds something that’s in need of repair, wouldn’t you prefer to resolve it before entering into negotiations?

In fact, if you discover repairs that take weeks to fix, you may lose that buyer altogether. Performing a home inspection is a proactive approach to getting your home ready to sell. Known as a pre-listing home inspection, you can find out the exact condition of your property, what issues and repairs need to be addressed beforehand, be able to fix them, and then focus on the next task to sell your home fast.

Also, being aware of the condition of your property will further assist you during the negotiation phase with potential buyers. As you may already know, buyers often use their home inspection as a way of getting concessions from sellers, such as asking you to drop your list price. If you’ve already addressed these repairs, it is less likely that anything new will arise and impact your negotiation.

Consider scheduling a consultation with us here!

2) Make repairs and small upgrades to your house

After you receive a comprehensive list of recommended repairs, it’s time to start either making the repairs yourself or contracting out the right person. This may also be a great time to make small upgrades that can increase home value.

Understand what today’s homebuyers are looking for

With the shift to remote work, certain home features have become essential for homeowners, such as a home office. Even if your home doesn’t have a designated office space, a smaller bedroom or extra area beneath the stairway can easily be staged as a space for this. Staging the space with tasteful decorations like plants and a bookshelf can serve as the perfect backdrop for potential buyers to envision themselves in the room.

In addition, recessed lighting, a new kitchen, and a quartz countertop have become three of the top 4 most valuable home trends among buyers. This is no surprise as many people picked up cooking or baking as a new hobby in 2021 and desire space in their new home to support their pastime. With this in mind, quick upgrades such as new appliances and upgraded countertops can go a long way to making your home more appealing to buyers.

Enhance your outdoor space

When you are selling your house, you want to find ways to make it stand out and what better way than having the most beautiful entrance and lawn on the block? You don’t necessarily have to paint the exterior of your house to impress homebuyers. Simple landscaping renovations like trimming your hedges and a freshly mowed lawn will go a long way. Even newly laid beauty bark and colorful planted flowers can make your yard pop. If these improvements seem like too much to handle while you’re trying to prepare your home to sell, look into hiring a landscaper to assist.

Brighten your home

When it comes to first impressions, a poorly lit home is at an automatic disadvantage. Darkness can make a home feel uninviting, dirty, and cramped even when it isn’t. So, before putting your home on the market, you’ll want to find simple ways to brighten your home. These can include painting your ceilings white and choosing a wall color that is brighter and more neutral, adding mirrors, replacing light bulbs, and adding additional light sources like recessed lighting.

3) Declutter and prep your house to sell

When determining how to sell your house, be sure to make decluttering and prepping your home a priority. Renting storage units is becoming an increasingly popular method of decluttering one’s house before selling it. The idea is to limit the amount of stuff in your space so that potential future owners can envision themselves (and their stuff) in it. Even removing personal photos is a great way to allow potential buyers to think about what they would hang on those walls. If you’re looking for a quick turnaround, bring in a professional organizer, or schedule a virtual consultation. They can help get your house in order, while also preparing you for a stress-free move.

4) Find a real estate agent

Finding a real estate agent is easy, finding a great real estate agent can be more of a challenge. Getting referrals and reading online reviews is a great way to start narrowing down your options. You’ll want to understand what you’re looking for when hiring a real estate agent to represent your best interests. Here are some questions to consider asking any potential candidate:

How many clients have you served this year?
Has a client ever filed a complaint against you?
What is your fee?
What services do you offer beyond negotiations and escrow?
What tools and resources are available to you?

After you decide on a real estate agent, you and your agent should come up with a plan of action for how to sell your house. It should include a timeline, from the pricing of your house and getting it listed on MLS to personal showings. You and your agent should be on the same page at all times and a plan of action will help ensure that.

5) How to price your house to sell

Now is the time to find out what price you should list your home for. You can start by using online tools to help you get an idea of what your home is worth. However, you should never set your sights on a single number and expect it to happen. Market conditions change all the time and so does buyer behavior.

Another option is to conduct an appraisal. Home appraisers are licensed professionals that will assess the value of your house based on the state of your property and overall housing market conditions. They will look at the size of your property, the interior and exterior conditions of your house, any upgrades, additions, or home improvements you’ve done, and then calculate your home’s worth based on the local market conditions.

Looking at comparables, often called comps, of recently sold homes in your area will also help you settle on a price. These homes should be similar in size, location, and sold within the last few months. Furthermore, you want to be strategic about your pricing. Instead of lumping the price of your house in with other comps in the area, strategize your pricing based on your home’s selling features. In other words, if there are three houses for sale in your area and they are priced at $350,000, you might be able to justify $360,000 or more because you have a larger lot size or maybe you’re located in a popular neighborhood. Work with your real estate agent to ensure your home is priced accordingly.

6) Stage your home to sell

If you don’t deem yourself a design-minded individual, consider hiring a professional home stager to help. Many stagers offer different alternatives that can suit your needs from in-person consultations to virtual consultations. Regardless of whether you work with a professional or handle the staging on your own, here is a list of things to consider that will really help you make your house shine:

Clear the clutter: You may have already transferred most of your belongings to a storage unit by this point. Now is the time to focus on cleaning up the clutter on countertops and tables. Put away newspapers, mail, or magazines, or if you have children, help them pick up their toys.
Deep clean your house: Nothing turns off buyers more than an unclean bathroom. That is also true for the rest of your house. Now more than ever is the time to wash your windows, dust your window sills, and scrub your grimy glass shower doors.
Add simple accent pieces: Accents such as flowers or white towels in the bathroom create a sense of welcome cleanliness. A small plant and a healthy bowl of fruit in the kitchen will help bring the space together, without adding clutter.
Arrange furniture: You don’t have to necessarily rent furniture to stage your home. You can most likely use what you have – just make sure the furniture is in good condition. The key is to limit the number of furniture pieces in any one room. Then arrange them in a way that’s inviting to people as they enter the room.
Bring in light: Think about removing your curtains or keeping them drawn back to allow as much natural light into your house as possible. If you have rather large elaborate curtains, consider storing them away until you get to your next home. Open your blinds to let the light in during showings.
Highlight your floors: Floors are key features homebuyers are looking at, especially if you have wood floors. Show them off by removing any rugs or unneeded furniture so more of your flooring can be seen. If you have wood floors, think about polishing them to really make them pop.
Organize all closets and drawers: Homebuyers touring your home will most likely look in your closets to determine space and, frankly, to see if their stuff will fit in there. They will also likely open kitchen drawers and cabinets as well, so if you are not able to remove your items, make sure everything is nice and tidy.
Dust: Concentrate on all the areas that you’ve most likely have turned a blind eye to for some time, like ceiling fans, baseboards, on top of doorways, appliances, etc.

7) Get professional photos taken of your home

Nothing sells a house faster than professional photos. This is especially true now, as many prospective buyers start their home buying journey online. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. They are searching online, looking at every home that comes up for sale within their filtered interests the moment it’s listed. If your house is represented online by poorly shot photography, your listing will likely see very little traffic. Not to mention, it’s widely observed that houses with professionally shot photos, on average, sell for more money than other listings.

When planning how to sell your house, you should also strongly consider having your home digitally scanned for an online 3D tour. These 3D walkthroughs, where you point and click through a home from your computer, are more than 5 times as popular now as they were before the pandemic. And with more buyers buying from out-of-town, a 3D walkthrough can help out-of-town buyers decide whether to make an offer on your home before they have a chance to see it in person.

Lastly, aerial photography that shows a bird’s eye view of one’s home and its surrounding area has become increasingly popular with buyers looking online. Many agencies include some or all of these services as a component of their overall services to you as a seller. Just remember, the better you represent your house online, the faster it will sell.

8) List your home to sell

Your real estate agent will list your home online on MLS (Multiple Listing Service), in order for it to start showing up on real estate websites for potential buyers. Also, don’t limit the marketing of your house to your real estate agent and online search. Market your house yourself. Spread the word through your family and friends. Share your listing on social media and send out emails asking people to share your listing with others. Also, be sure to make sure you know when it’s the best time to sell a house.

9) Have a plan in case your home doesn’t sell quick enough

You and your real estate agent should have already gone over this beforehand, but not every house sells quickly. There are many factors at play and depending on the condition of the housing market for your area, your real estate agent may have to use some other strategies in their arsenal to get your house sold. If it’s lowering the price of your home or holding more tours, you’ll want to discuss this with your agent, and agree on what the next steps should be in case your house isn’t seeing any offers.

10) Negotiate the sale price of your home

One thing to consider is that the buyer is trying to get the absolute best price they can, while you’re doing the exact same. There will be multiple factors to consider, as each home sold and purchased is different. For example, if it’s a buyer’s market, that means the buyer has the upper hand because there are multiple listings with fewer offers being made. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to make huge concessions in order to sell your house.

This is where your agent really steps up. They will help you navigate the negotiation process, and will offer their advice on how to proceed when offers are being made. Luckily, you interviewed and hired the right agent, so you know they have your best interests in mind.

11) Sign and close

You and your agent have been working towards this moment. You’ve agreed on a price with the buyers, all inspections and appraisals of your home have been completed, and you are now ready to sign the papers and close. Some states also allow completely electronic closings, called eClosings. eClosings can be hugely beneficial as they take less time, are environmentally friendly, comply with social distancing guidelines, and can be done from anywhere you have access to the internet. Once you’ve signed all of the paperwork – congratulations, you’ve sold your house!

Originally published on Redfin.com

Sell Your House Fast: 7 People You Need on Your Team

January 21, 2021/1 Comment/in Home Selling Tips/by nxtmove

So, you’ve decided to sell your home. Congratulations! Before you start playing with a mortgage calculator to see how much you can afford on your next home, you’ll want to know how to sell your current home fast. Ideally, you’re looking to list your home, generate interest quickly from potential buyers, and in a perfect world, a bidding war will ensue and you will get more than the asking price for your house. But before all of this can happen, you’re going to want to spend some time gathering a team of people who can help you along the way.

Whether you’re a first time or experienced seller, having a talented team of professionals on your side can mean the difference between a quick and stress-free selling experience and one that isn’t. So before you put your house on the market, here are seven key people you’ll want on your team to help sell your house fast.

Real Estate Agent

Selling a house can be a complex process. That’s why the first person you’ll want by your side is a real estate agent. The job of a listing agent is to guide you through the entire home selling process. This can include necessary house preparations and repairs, pricing the home correctly, setting up the staging, executing a strategy to promote your home, negotiating with the buyer, and closing on the home.

But to do all of this you don’t want just any agent – you need the right agent for you. So, how do you choose a real estate agent? Well, you’ll want to find someone who will super-serve you, sell your house fast, and for the most money. So it’s important that you do your research and read reviews to make sure you’re choosing the best person for this important role.

Home Inspector

It’s true that buyers are typically going to have a home inspection conducted before they agree to purchase the property, but what if you were to beat them to it? Hiring a home inspector to do a pre-listing home inspection is a proactive approach to getting your house ready to sell and it offers some advantages to sellers that you may not be aware of. With the pre-listing inspection, you can find out the exact condition of your property, what issues and repairs need to be addressed beforehand, fix them, and then focus on the next task of selling your home fast.

Also, knowing the condition of your home can be an asset during the negotiation phase. As you may already know, buyers often use their home inspection as a way of getting concessions from sellers, such as asking you to drop your list price. If you’ve already addressed these repairs, it is less likely that anything new will come up and impact your negotiation.

House Cleaner

Having a home that is fresh, clean, and inviting for potential buyers is crucial when selling. If buyers are interested in your home, they’ll open closets, explore cabinets, and they might move furniture around. The difference between inspecting a sparkling clean house and a place that hasn’t been thoroughly cleaned can make or break a deal. That’s why your home needs to be spotless from top to bottom. Although you can clean your house by yourself, hiring a professional cleaning service might prove helpful during what is likely to be a very busy time for you. Also, professionals have experience with the thorough cleaning needed to sell a house. They will use high-quality products and equipment to deep clean your entire home – even the nooks and crannies that you didn’t know existed.

It’s also important to consider the timing of cleaning your home. You don’t want to wait to hire a professional cleaner after your home has been listed. It is something you should invest in before your home is on the market, so the listing photos can reflect your clean and decluttered home. You should also consider having your home cleaned regularly while it’s on the market. It could take some time to sell, and if you’re living in it during that time it may be extremely difficult to keep it in pristine condition.

Home Stager

Staging is one of the most important parts of the selling process. Contrary to what many may think, home staging is about more than just preparing a house for sale. There is an art and a science to staging a home that goes above and beyond simply cleaning and decluttering a space. Staging is about making the home look larger, brighter, cleaner, and more welcoming. It is about selling a lifestyle that buyers will experience if they own the home. In fact, research shows that 83% percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.

Professional stagers know exactly how to showcase a space using furnishings, color, artwork, and accessories. They are able to offer prospective buyers a glimpse into how each room can be utilized. When all is said and done, a home stager will be key in helping you transform your space to appeal to the greatest number of buyers, which can help sell your house fast.

Real Estate Photographer

The key to successfully listing and selling your home quickly is the photos. Today, more than ever before, online browsing is a critical part of the home buying process. Buyers can tour your entire home without ever leaving their couch and if they aren’t sold on the images that they see online, they will move on. That’s why having professional real estate photos of your home is so important. You may think you can take some of these photos yourself, but research shows hiring a professional photographer can help homes sell faster and for more money. Just remember, the better you represent your house online, the faster it will sell.

In addition to traditional real estate photography, consider adding in aerial photography – which can show off your entire property, a scenic view, and the surrounding area. Maybe you’re selling a home with a large plot of land in Dallas, TX. An aerial shot can easily put into perspective the full scope your home has to offer.

Painter

Painting your home before you sell it may sound like a hassle, but homebuyers may be turned off by your turquoise bathroom, or your teenager’s darkly colored bedroom. Hiring a professional painter to give the inside and/or the outside of your home a fresh look with neutral, bright colors will be more appealing to a wide range of homebuyers, both in-person and online. It may also help sell your house fast when your property is one of the nicer looking available homes on the market.

Handyman

There will be few things more off-putting to a prospective homebuyer than touring a property with chips taken out of the walls, broken fixtures, or loose floorboards. So before listing your home, you’ll want to make sure you’ve made the necessary repairs and renovations. Sure, there will be projects you can easily complete yourself, but what if you don’t have the time with everything else going on or a repair project is over your head? That’s where a handyman comes in. A handyman, or handyman service, is a skilled jack-of-all-trades who can help you handle a wide range of repairs in your home.

Additionally, before you can sell your home, it will likely need to go through a home inspection. A professional home inspector will give you a home inspection report, which is usually a list of any issues needing attention. Handyman services can be extremely helpful for addressing problems on that list and making sure any repairs are done up to code.

Selling a home and navigating the housing market can be a stressful experience. But having the right people on your team during this journey – all working together to help sell your house fast – can make all the difference. So before you list your home, consider bringing these seven people onto your team as their advice, expertise, and guidance can help be invaluable during the selling process.

Originally published by Redfin

How to Sell Your House in 2021

January 13, 2021/0 Comments/in Home Buying Tips, Home Selling Tips/by nxtmove

So, you’ve evaluated your finances, thought about your lifestyle, and made the big decision to sell your home. Maybe you’ve decided to downsize, or you’re moving out of the big city because you can now work remotely, or maybe you just want to live somewhere warmer and bought a house in Phoenix or a condo in San Diego. Whatever your reason, you’re ready to sell. With so many things to consider, selling a house can be an overwhelming process, and this is especially true during a pandemic. Luckily, for you, we put together a comprehensive guide on how to sell your house in 2021.

What to expect from the housing market in 2021

The coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on our lives – from how we work to how we socialize and travel. It has also affected how we buy and sell homes. So, if you’re planning on selling your house in 2021, it’s important to understand what to expect from the housing market this year and how to best prepare. Luckily, Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather gives us her keen insights into what to look out for in 2021.

“Typically, the home-buying season starts in late spring, but this year, we expect the home-buying season to begin by late January. That’s because buyers will want to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates before they begin to rise. So if you are thinking about selling this year, you should get your home ready now. Buyers want move-in ready homes because they don’t want to worry about having contractors in and out of their new home during a pandemic. It won’t hurt to list your home early.”

Regardless of if you’re a first-time or seasoned home seller, this step-by-step guide will help you navigate how to sell your house this year.

1) Hire a home inspector

You’re probably thinking, wait, isn’t that the buyer’s responsibility? You’re not wrong. When you’ve accepted an offer, the buyer will most likely request a home inspection of their own. So, why would you have one? First, if a home inspection turns up something that needs repair, wouldn’t you prefer to resolve it before entering into negotiations?

In fact, if you end up needing to make repairs that take weeks to fix, you may lose that buyer altogether. Having a home inspection is a proactive approach to getting your home ready to sell. Known as a pre-listing home inspection, you can find out the exact condition of your property, what issues and repairs need to be addressed beforehand, fix them, and then focus on the next task to sell your home fast.

Also, knowing the condition of your property will further assist you during the negotiation phase with potential buyers. As you may already be aware, buyers often use their home inspection as a way of getting concessions from sellers, such as asking you to drop your list price. If you’ve already addressed these repairs, it is less likely that anything new will come up and impact your negotiation. Before hiring an inspector, be sure to inquire about what measures they are taking to protect their customers from COVID-19.

2) Make repairs and small upgrades to your house

After you receive a comprehensive list of repairs you should make, it’s time to get started either making the repairs yourself or contracting out the right person. This may also be a great time to make small upgrades to your home.

Understand what today’s homebuyers are looking for

Due to the pandemic and so much time spent at home, certain features are becoming a necessity for homeowners. For example, homebuyers want a home office. If you don’t have a designated office space, stage a spare bedroom or extra space as a home office. Add a desk, a plant, and a bookshelf to give it a look that will stand out on Zoom calls. Homebuyers are also looking for deluxe kitchens. This is no surprise as so many picked up cooking or baking as a new hobby in 2020. Consider upgrading your kitchen with new appliances and quartz or granite countertops. (Granite countertops are actually one of the top 10 home trends with the highest sale-to-list ratio in the U.S.)

Enhance your outdoor space

When you are selling your house, you want to find ways to make it stand out and what better way than having the most beautiful entrance and lawn on the block. You don’t necessarily have to paint the exterior of your house to impress homebuyers. Simple things like trimming your hedges and a freshly mowed lawn will go a long way. Even freshly laid beauty bark and newly planted flowers can really make your yard pop. If these improvements seem like too much to handle while you’re trying to prepare your home to sell, look into hiring a landscaper to assist.

Brighten your home

3) Declutter and prep your house to sell

Decluttering and prepping your house are steps you should make a priority when learning how to sell your house. Renting storage units is becoming an increasingly popular method of decluttering one’s house before selling it. The idea is to limit the amount of stuff in your house so that potential future owners can envision themselves (and their stuff) in that space. Even removing photos is a great way to allow potential buyers to think about what they would hang on those walls. If you’re looking for a quick turnaround, bring in a professional organizer, or schedule a virtual consultation. They can help get your house in order, while also preparing you for a stress-free move.

4) Find a real estate agent

How many clients have you served this year?
Has a client ever filed a complaint against you?
What is your fee?
What services do you offer beyond negotiations and escrow?

After you decide on a real estate agent, you and your agent should come up with a plan of action for how to sell your house. It should include a timeline, from the pricing of your house, and getting it listed on MLS to personal showings. You and your agent should be on the same page at all times and a plan of action will help ensure that.

5) How to price your house to sell

Now is the time to find out what price you should list your home. You can start by using online tools to help you get an idea of what your home is worth. However, you should never set your sights on a single number and expect it to happen. Market conditions change all the time and so does buyer behavior.

Looking at comparables of recently sold homes in your area will also help you settle on a price. These homes should be similar in size, location, and sold within the last few months. Furthermore, you want to be strategic about your pricing. Instead of lumping the price of your house in with others in the area, strategize your pricing based on your home’s selling features. In other words, if there are three houses for sale in your area and they are priced at $350,000, you might be able to justify $360,000 or more because you have a larger lot size or maybe you’re located in a popular neighborhood.

6) Stage your home to sell

If you don’t deem yourself a design-minded individual, consider hiring a professional home stager to help. Given the current climate, however, not everyone necessarily wants a professional stager to enter their house. Luckily, many staging services offer virtual consultations as a popular alternative. Regardless if you work with a professional or handle the staging on your own, here is a list of things to consider that will really help you make your house shine:

Clear the clutter: You may have already transferred most of your belongings to a storage unit by this point. Now is the time to focus on cleaning up the clutter on countertops and tables. Put away newspapers, mail, or magazines, or if you have children, help them pick up their toys.
Deep clean your house: Nothing turns off buyers more than an unclean bathroom. That is also true for the rest of your house. Now more than ever is the time to wash your windows, windowsills, and scrub your grimy glass shower doors.
Add white accents: White accents such as flowers or towels in the bathroom create a sense of welcome cleanliness.
Arrange furniture: You don’t have to n
ecessarily rent furniture to stage your home. You can most likely use what you have. The key is to limit the number of furniture pieces in any one room. Then arrange them in a way that’s inviting to people as they enter the room.
Bring in light: Think about removing your curtains or keeping them drawn back to allow as much light into your house as possible. If you have rather large elaborate curtains, consider storing them away until you get to your next home.
Highlight your floors: Floors are key features homebuyers are looking at, especially if you have wood floors. Show them off by removing any rugs or unneeded furniture so more of your flooring can be seen. If you have wood floors, think about polishing them to really make them pop.
Organize all closets and drawers: Homebuyers touring your home will most likely look in your closets to determine space and, frankly, to see if their stuff will fit in there. They will also likely open kitchen drawers and cabinets as well, so make sure everything is nice and tidy.
Dust: Concentrate on all the areas that you’ve most likely have turned a blind eye to for some time, like ceiling fans, baseboards, on top of doorways, appliances, etc.

7) Get professional photos taken of your home

Nothing sells a house faster than professional photos. This is especially true now, as many prospective buyers are conducting their home search completely online due to the coronavirus. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. They are searching online, looking at every home that comes up for sale within their filtered interests the moment it’s listed. If your house is represented online by poorly shot photography, your listing will see very little traffic. Not to mention, it’s widely observed that houses with professionally shot photos, on average, sell for more money than other listings.

8) List your home to sell

Your real estate agent will list your home online on MLS (Multiple Listing Service), for it to start showing up on real estate websites for potential buyers. Also, don’t limit the marketing of your house to your real estate agent and online search. Market your house yourself. Spread the word through your family and friends. Share your listing on social media and send out emails asking people to share your listing with others.

9) Have a plan in case your home doesn’t sell quick enough

You and your real estate agent should have already gone over this beforehand, but not every house sells quickly. There are many factors at play and depending on the condition of the housing market for your area, your real estate agent may have to use some other strategies in their arsenal to get your house sold. If it’s lowering the price of your home or holding more tours, you’ll want to agree on what the next steps should be in case your house isn’t seeing any offers.

10) Negotiate the sale price of your home

One thing to consider is that the buyer is trying to get the absolute best price they can, while you’re doing the same. There will be multiple factors to consider, as each home sold and purchased is different. For example, if it’s a buyer’s market, that means the buyer has the upper hand because there are multiple listings with fewer offers being made. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to make huge concessions to sell your house.

This is where your agent really steps up. They will help you navigate the negotiation process, and will give you their advice on how to proceed when offers are being made. Luckily, you interviewed and hired the right agent, so you know they have your best interests in mind.

11) Sign and close

You and your agent have been working towards this moment. You’ve agreed on a price with the buyers, all inspections and appraisals of your home have been completed, and you are now ready to sign the papers and close. To comply with social distancing guidelines, some states are now allowing completely electronic closings, called eClosings. Once you’ve signed all of the paperwork – congratulations, you’ve sold your house!

Want to schedule that pre-listing inspection? Click here!

Check out our sample reports. Click here!

Originally published by Redfin

Safe Real Estate with Covid-19

June 8, 2020/0 Comments/in Home Buying Tips, Home Owner Tips, Home Selling Tips/by nxtmove

Keeping Safe in Real Estate with Covid-19 Pandemic

Many people will be surprised to hear that in light of most states (including Florida) issuing a shelter in place order to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, the real estate industry is considered essential and you may still proceed with buying or selling your home. Why is this? Well I think there are two important points that can be made when combined supports why real estate can and should continue to operate at least for the time being.

Real Estate may be the most critical industry to the economy and completely shutting it down could send the economy into a tailspin.
Real Estate activities are essentially low risk for spreading the virus and can even be made lower risk if proper administrative controls are followed.

While the public safety is of the upmost importance, we will get through this eventually and if real estate activities can continue in a safe manner then the government needs to ensure there is still an economy at the end of the pandemic. This article hopefully provides some context to how certain activities are or can be made low spread risks and will also talk about how we can take proper pre-cautions to keep safe in real estate with Covid-19.

Before we do a dive into protective measures lets briefly talk about how the virus spreads to give some context to the preventative measures. So how does the virus spread?

Between people who are within 6 feet of each other. Close contract with another person is the easiest way to spread the virus and should be avoided at all times.
The virus might also travel respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
While it is not as common as the first two, it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.

So now that we understand a little more about how the virus is spread, let go over some compensatory measures we can take to ensure we are doing everything we can to ensure real estate activities are low risk to spreading the virus.

Stay home if you are sick and have any of the Coronavirus systems – If you are at all sick, even it you just believe you have cold, you need to stay home and not participate in any activities until you are feeling 100% better. Common Covid-19 symptoms are but are not limited to:
1. Fever
2. Cough
3. Shortness of Breath

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, stay home. If you see someone who has these symptoms at a showing, send them home. Its not worth it. You can resume your buying process when you or your client feels better.

Assume you and everyone else you are with has it – Per the CDC, the virus can take 2-14 days to even show symptoms of the virus. There are also other who are asymptomatic who will have the virus but not have any symptoms. The best way to avoid getting infected or getting others infected is assume everyone has it no matter how healthy they seem.
Do anything virtually that can be – Listen, I would never buy a house prior to seeing it in person first and I don’t think its wise to invest in a property without seeing it at least once first, but limit visits. Have your realtor give you a virtual tour before deciding to see it in person. Also, while it is great that you want to attend the inspection in person, inspectors are more high tech these days and can take video on sight and also video conference you to give a recap at the end. We have also done report reviews over video conference with our clients to ensure they are properly absorbing what is in the report. Unless its absolutely necessary for you to be somewhere stay at home. Virtual tours and inspections is a powerful tool to keep safe in real estate with Covid-19.

Action you can take if you need to be physically present – If you are a realtor, inspector, buyer, title company, there is a strong possibility you will need to attend something in person. Here are some protective measure you can take ensure you don’t get infect or do the same to others.
1. Ensure only the minimum amount of necessary people are present – A good example is at closings. A lot of the times realtor like to be present at closings to support their clients, but during the pandemic it is not appropriate. Figure out who needs to be there and stick to who is essential. You can always video conference the non-essential parties.
2. Limit the time you spend out to bare minimum – For example, if you think it is of the upmost importance for you to attend the inspection, wait to the end of the inspection and come for a recap from the inspector. Inspection can be long increasing risk to exposure if people are present. You can always stay after the inspector leaves to take a better look at things as well if access is allowed.
3. Wear the right protective equipment when out – I think the best thing to limit exposure if you are around people are gloves and facemasks/respirators. This will prevent you from touching contaminated services or inhaling respiratory vapor if someone coughs. If no one else is present you can lose the facemask, but I would recommend keeping the gloves on and throwing them out when you are done.
4. Wash and Sanitize – Wash your hands for 20 seconds under hot water before and after going out. If you are gone a while, make sure you are washing frequently if you are touching anything. If no water is available use hand sanitizer. Bring sanitizing wipes to wipe down surfaces that are commonly touched.
5. Avoid touching your face – Even if you chose to wear gloves, resist the urge to touch your face. If you need to scratch your nose, sanitize your hands first and then go crazy.

These are very interesting times we live in. There is a lot of fear and uncertainty building and that is a natural response as human beings. We need to keep pushing forward though, it will only make the problem worse if we shut down everything all together. With that said, be diligent about your preventative measures. There is a lot of good we can do right now, but if we don’t take the virus seriously that will all be for nothing. I hope you found this article informative and please keep you and your family safe!

For more information on how you can keep safe in real estate with Covid-19 click here.

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