As we head into Arizona’s peak real estate season, if you are planning to sell your home this year, now is the time to get it ready to list.
To help with the selling process, I am writing a series of articles, which began with the January article, focusing on what upgrades sell your home. Next month’s article is on home staging. You can read all these articles on my website at Homes2SellAZ.com, under the Blog section.
What’s My Home Worth?
You may want to jump on Zillow or other Real Estate sites, but I urge you to hold off and get a market analysis from a local Realtor. While Zillow will give you a value quickly, their values are often way off, as they can only look at statistics. They usually use a larger area from which to pull those statistics, and the data can be outdated.
Our neighborhoods are very different here in East Mesa, and the values are skewed when the data is pulled from other neighborhoods. There are many other factors affecting your home’s value, which the computer cannot calculate, such as the upgrades you have. These upgrades include a pool, location, views, golf course lots, single-story versus two-story homes and many more. All these make a big difference in your home’s value.
If you do want to go online to get a quick value, you can go to InstantHomeValueAZ.com, which takes you to my website, and I personally will run the report for you. However, the only way to get the true market value of your home is to schedule an appointment to get a free home valuation.
How to Choose the Right Realtor
Like every industry, there are a lot of Realtors from which you can choose, and it may seem overwhelming when trying to decide which Realtor to pick. So, here are some helpful tips to keep in mind. Remember, you don’t want to just list your home. You want to sell it.
Marketing—More than 96 percent of homebuyers will use the Internet to search for homes. So, online marketing is a key. Your Realtor needs to have a strong online marketing presence, which includes all the top sights, such as Zillow, Realtor.com, etc., and on social media, such as YouTube and Facebook.
Choose a Local Agent—It is always amazing to me when I see an agent from Scottsdale or other areas listing a home in Mesa. Although online marketing is so important, you still want an agent who knows your area well, can tell potential buyers all about living in Mesa and what it has to offer, as well as what makes your home stand out above the rest. They also need to be close enough to be able to show your home to potential buyers and be close at hand throughout the selling process
Additional Marketing—Determine what other marketing the Realtor offers, such as professional photography, virtual tours, showcasing your listing, flyers, newspaper ads, etc. The more marketing and higher quality of marketing really can enhance your listing and give it the added exposure to get it sold in the shortest time for the highest price.
Understanding the Market—Your Realtor should have a good understanding of the current market, as well as your particular neighborhood. Not all neighborhoods are the same. A single-story home gets a premium price in one neighborhood. Yet a two-story home may get a premium price in another. Are we in a buyer’s or seller’s market? This makes a huge difference on marketing and pricing your home.
Negotiating Skills—Your Realtor needs to have strong negotiating skills. Receiving an offer is just the beginning. Now, you start the negotiations, and your Realtor needs to know how to negotiate on your behalf to get you the best possible price and terms. Once the contract has been agreed to, the buyer will have inspections. This often can become an issue, and, in some cases, the contract is cancelled during the inspection period because the parties cannot agree. Your Realtor needs to know how to negotiate and even think outside the box sometimes to keep the transaction moving and all parties happy.
Communication—This is a key in a successful closing. There needs to be good and constant communication between you and your Realtor, as well as your Realtor and all other parties, such as the title company, the buyer’s agent and buyer’s lender.
Check out your Realtor on the Internet—Make sure the Realtor has a good website and Internet presence, and check them out on sites, such as Zillow.com, and read the reviews from past clients.
Please contact me if you would like a free home valuation to determine the current market value of your home or for any additional information.
Lorraine Ryall has been a Multi-Million Dollar producer for the past nine years. You can reach Lorraine at (602) 571-6799. You also can send her an email at Lorraine@Homes2SellAZ.com, or visit her website at Homes2SellAZ.com.