Home Selling 101--Did the Color Look Better on the Paint Chip?

About a decade ago now, some close friends built a new home in an Oakdale development. Our own home was just on the other side of Silver Lake in North St. Paul so we drove through the development several times during the construction. We monitored the new community as the first dozen or so homes were constructed in the new neighborhood. This development didn’t have extremely restrictive covenants regarding the exterior of the home. The resulting neighborhood was very eclectic with assorted styles of homes. The sidings were of differing colors and materials so each home was truly unique. One night we passed by a home that really was starting to take shape and we noticed the very bright PURPLE front door! The siding on the house itself was a totally different color palette as it was slate blue, but the door was a striking shade of purple. The PURPLE door had to be a mistake!

As it turned out, we discovered we had a friend in common with the homeowner of the house with the purple door. So I asked if that was the color they wanted or was it a mistake. Turns out, it was no mistake, the owners LOVE purple! Okay we live in Minnesota--Home to Prince and the  Purple and Gold Vikings...so the people like purple. But from that day on, whenever we drove by the house, we remarked, “It must have looked better on the paint chip”.

And over the years, this saying has become code between my husband and I when we see someone with a love for flamboyant or unusual colors in their decorating.

As a REALTOR® I have to view many homes. Every once in awhile I come across a “better on the paint chip” room, door or house. When marketing your home, it is essential to make certain your own personality does not prevent the buyer from seeing the details of your home. If a bright orange kitchen counter, hot pink bathroom or lime green playroom is the way you have made your home your own, I do think that is an awesome way to personalize your space. But, you are going to be moving and if your favorite colors choices are too wild, it could hamper your sale. Bold colors in internet photos could knock your home out of the running with many potential buyers. And in this slowly recovering real estate market, you don’t want to lose any potential buyers over something as inexpensive to update as paint.

Stage your home with neutrals to bring out the details and style of your home. You want the buyers to feel your home is welcoming and warm. That can be difficult as people are quickly often turned off a home by colors they view as a mistake.

Copyright 2012 www.terieckholm.com

The Real Estate Market is Changing—HOMES SOLD in DAYS in Minneapolis/St. Paul!

Homes sold in Days in Mpls/St Paul

All this past week, KSTP, one of our local television stations promoted a feature on how to get your home sold quickly. They looked at homes that sold in “days” across the Minneapolis/St Paul area and the segment promised to give sellers “tips” on get to get their home sold quickly. As a REALTOR®, I knew I wanted to see this feature.

The segment ran Sunday evening but was a bit disappointing. There was some good information and tips, yes, but they only looked at THREE houses. Not enough of a sample to show a ground-breaking trend. Each of the three agents of the sold homes offered a few reasons as to why the homes didn’t languish on the market as many others have, but there were no specific trends…all the reasons given were different.

It seem to me that the basic reason all the homes that sold quickly, is they were starter homes in lower price points for the neighborhoods they were located in. Each home was properly prepared for sale and made available for showings. The homes were all offered by traditional sellers; not foreclosures or short sales requiring mediation from a bank. The homeowners painted, repaired, inspected and staged their homes. At the end of the piece, the anchor did acknowledge that the sellers PRICED their home properly. Bottom line, that is the essential KEY to seeing a SOLD sign hung quickly!.

So what if, anything, did potential Twin Cities home sellers learn from this hyped-up, “homes-are-selling-in-just-days” feature? Not enough in my book, but the reporter made a good effort in this 2+ minute feature. And I have to give kudos to them for starting the conversation. HOMES are SELLING in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and can sell in days!

As a REALTOR® who had helped several traditional sellers in the north and east Twin Cities metro find homebuyers in a matter of days recently, I wanted to offer a few more ideas and tips:

• PRICE the Home Properly—An overpriced home will not sell, plain and simple.
• REPAIR Everything!—Buyers inflate the cost of repairs by thousands if they are left to make them.
• PAINT—Neutral colors are always preferred.
• DECLUTTER—People cannot see the home if there is too much junk.
• CLEAN Carpets—Replace if necessary.
• MARKET the Home—Find a REALTOR® that has a plan to sell your home not just list on the MLS!

These are just a few quick ideas but I do have more specifics on how to get a home sold in the Minneapolis/St Paul north and east metro area as quickly as possible. For the details, feel free to call me to learn more.

Copyright 2012 www.terieckholm.com

Home Seller Tips--Why Would a Seller Pay a Home Buyer’s Closing Costs?

Best Tips on Selling an Anoka County Home-Why Pay Buyer Closing Costs

A seller's estimate of proceeds or net sheet is an essential part of the listing contract.  It lists the  estimated closing costs associated with the sale of the home. One of the items on the list sheet is a blank for the “Seller's contribution to a Buyer’s Closing Costs.” In this current market, I always include several thousand dollars as an estimate to prepare my clients that this could come up at negotiations. So many FHA buyers, and even some conventional ones, will require assistance with their closing costs. 

But every now and again, I hear will hear a seller loudly scoff at paying a buyer's closing costs. The conversation usually goes something to the effect of, “I don’t want to pay my own closing costs. Why would I want to contribute to the BUYERS?”
 
This is an excellent question and the answer is very simple: You contribute to a buyer's closing costs so they can BUY your house!
 
Today most buyers are required to put down a minimum of 3.5% of the purchase price of the home as a down payment. In the case of a conventional loan, this can be 20%. The closing costs for a buyer include title insurance, home owner’s insurance, appraisals, loan origination fees, name search fees, filing fees and more. As a REALTOR® working throughout  communities in Anoka County and the north metro Minneapolis/St Paul area, I see these closing costs will run anywhere from $4000-$8000 for a first time buyer. Add this amount with a required down payment and few buyers will have sufficient funds to purchase a home.

Understanding Closing Cost Assistance Buyers have the option of waiting and saving additional money to cover the down payment and closing costs or asking for seller assistance. In many cases a financial institution will allow a seller to assist a buyer by paying either points to reduce the interest rates and/or closing costs.

How does this work? Let’s say that a home is on the market for $200,000. The buyer writes their offer for $195,000 and their financial institution allows up to 3% seller’s assistance with fees and closing costs. They decide to ask the seller in their purchase agreement document for $5000, thus the net offer to the seller for the home is $190,000. 

If a seller does not want to pay the closing costs, the buyer in many cases will not be able to purchase the home. 

If the offer is accepted, the seller’s proceeds at closing would then be reduced by the $5000. Sellers do not have to come up with the funds in cash if there is sufficient equity in the home to cover both the buyer's and the seller's costs.

When an offer comes in on a home, it is sometimes confusing to sellers what the sale price versus net number is. In the case above, the $195,000 would be the sale’s price on the purchase agreement but by paying the $5000 in closing costs, the seller’s net number is really $190,000 less the seller's own closing costs including all fees and commission. And the home must appraise for the sales price of the home, in this example it would have to appraise for  $195,000.

If as a seller you decide to counter on the original offer, you can counter on the sales price of the home or the amount of closing costs paid. When counter offers are involved, a seller needs to make certain that they understand what the net proceeds will be in each offer and counter offer.

This is where the assistance of a professional REALTOR® comes into play. As a real estate agent, I provide my clients with a seller's net sheet that outlines all costs and fees that has been updated after receiving each offer and counter offer. When counter offers start going back and forth, I reiterate at each step what my seller's net number will be  to help eliminate the confusion.

Assisting a buyer with closing costs can be the ticket to getting your home SOLD in this challenging real estate market. With so many short sales and foreclosures, often it is the more traditional seller who has the ability to negotiate with a buyer and assist in their financing a deal. As long as a seller is happy with the NET number received, it doesn't matter whether some of the proceeds went to pay closing costs or not. Understanding the process is simple with the assistance of a knowledgeable real estate agent!

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Copyright 2012 www.terieckholm.com

Selling a GEM in a pack of Diamonds in the Rough—PRICE isn’t the ONLY way to Sell an Anoka County Home!

Selling an Anoka County Home

You have a beautiful Anoka County home you need to sell. It is not a short sale but you know you will be competing with them, as lender mediated and bank owned properties are scattered from Blaine to East Bethel and back again. Selling an Anoka County Home shouldn't be difficult but it can seem like very real estate website you visit, the agent is a short sale expert. But you want a REALTOR® that can market your home to stand out from the pack because YOUR home is not a diamond in the rough…It is a shimmering gem that should attract buyers who are buying the dream, not the price.

Such is the dilemma of the traditional seller in today’s market; How do you find a REALTOR® to make your home stand out from the pack?

That’s my job.

See when my colleagues were learning about selling homes short and negotiating with banks, I took the classes too. But also realized the regular guy, who didn’t have a hardship that will qualify him to sell at a discounted rate or didn’t need to jeopardize his stellar credit score, might NEED to move. Relocation; Marriage; New Baby; Retirement and other life changing events bring traditional sellers into the real estate market. These sellers need to move but in order for the home to sell it needs MARKETING.

When I was in college studying for my business administration degree in marketing, the 4 P’s of the marketing mix were drilled into my head: Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. These aspects work together as a part of a successful marketing plan. However many short sale and foreclosure focused agents have started to care only about PRICE. Their PRODUCT is distressed and frankly, PLACE is location so there is little that can be changed about that for any part of the real estate sale. So in order for the traditional seller’s home listing to stand out and get sold, you must find an agent who can focus on PROMOTION.

That’s where I come in…I have been in sales and marketing for nearly 30 years and successfully selling homes for over a decade. In this changed real estate market, I continue to get homes sold for traditional sellers and help them move on to their next stage in life. Sure we still need to PRICE the home correctly, but I do not ignore the marketing dimension.

And you don’t have to just take my word for it, take the word of my sellers. Here is just a sample of the thank you notes and testimonials I have received from happy clients.

 

“After a period of internet research, I was impressed by the type of feedback you were giving everyone on selling their home.

You were straightforward, honest, down to earth and extremely hard-working. The fact that you were able to sell our townhome in the worst market in decades speaks volumes about the way it was marketed.

Teri, we couldn’t have chosen a better person to work with us. We were very pleased with the attention and effort you put into selling our townhome. Thank you. Thank you. Thank You!” Brian and Dawn O. of Chaska, MN

“Thanks again for your excellent work to sell our lake home despite the difficult economic situation!” Maggy and Robert Z. of Tarpon Springs, FL

“Teri—We really appreciate all you have done to make our dream a reality! We will give all of your friends & family our highest recommendation to use you in the future!” Sherry and Adam M. of Oak Grove, MN

"Teri had previously sold one of our homes and was our first choice when we were looking to find a new home.Teri was able to help us navigate the current unstable real estate market and went out of her way to help us.” Cheri and Denny L. of Apple Valley MN

If you need to sell your home in this changed real estate market, consider working with a REALTOR® that understands all aspects of the marketing plan. I will work hard to get your home SOLD so you can move on to your next step in life.

Copyright 2012 www.terieckholm.com

REALTOR Operating on Cruise Control? Not in a Minnesota Winter!

Okay, I’ll admit, this Minnesota girl found out just recently a year or so ago that cruise control was a no-no when the snow is flying. It is surprising even to me that I didn’t know this as I learned to drive in the winter but the cars I learned on didn’t have the cruise option. Now I do have it and I just never gave a thought to how dangerous it would be to hit ice with the cruise on….until it happened to me. No accident, thankfully…just a wake-up call. I know better now and when I am white-knuckle driving in snowy weather, I manually adjust the speed while I keep focused on driving.

I wonder how many REALTORS® felt a bit like they hit ice when the housing market took a nose-dive a few years ago? Bet they were cruising along doing the same-old, same-old when it came to their listings: Put in the MLS with a few good pictures and stick a sign in the yard and wait for the buyers to arrive. Operating on cruise worked pretty well when buyers were plentiful. Unfortunately, I realize some agents still are on auto-pilot and when a listing crashes and burns; it is the homeowner that pays the price.But like driving in a Minnesota blizzard, a good REALTOR® will shut off the cruise control and create a unique plan to aggressively market your home in this changed real estate landscape. Here are just a few of the things I have changed during the last few years when I shut of my cruise control to get my clients listings SOLD.

Blogging about the Home—Writing up a blog with features to excite potential buyers about the property. It also helps internet searchers find information on the home by the address.
Virtual Tours—People love to view the interior and exterior of homes on a virtual tour of the home…even if it is just a slideshow of photos.
Dozens of interior and exterior photos—It takes time in this market for homes to sell. Photos should be reshot when the seasons change.
Staging Recommendations—A good agent is going to want you to put your home in it’s best light before the first potential buyer walks through the door.
Pricing Advice—Traditional sellers need to understand how their home will compete against area foreclosures and lender-mediated homes. Finding the right listing price is essential to getting a sold sign on the door.

I create a unique marketing plan for each of my listings taking into account its location, price and unique features. If you are thinking of listing your Anoka or Washington County home and want an agent that is not on auto-pilot, give me a call.

Copyright 2011 www.terieckholm.com

Real Estate 101—Eyecatching Advertising if You Do Cows!

The first time I saw this billboard as I travelled the four hours stretch of 94 to Fargo from the Twin Cities earlier this year, I almost died laughing. It was kind of a WTF-moment (or “What The Heck” to non-texters who don’t like bad language). When I stopped laughing enough to catch the small print, for wedocows.com, I realized what a perfect marketing campaign this was! A three word tagline that makes everyone laugh (and never forget it) plus it says exactly what the company does…WeDoCows.com is a veterinarian supply company that has products for the care of farm animals, hence they really DO cows!

Now in real estate, some of the marketing used by agents really can leave something to be desired. Some REALTORS® do come up with things that make us laugh…It seems like every other Monday night Jay Leno is sharing a real estate agent’s ad that was poorly written in his Headlines segment of The Tonight Show. Once it was a house for sale in the “hysterical” district of town and another time ad showed a dirt yard with one large boulder as professionally landscaped. Typos and puffery can be funny but it is doubtful that these ads sold the homes

The real estate ads that really bother me are the proclamations to “Sell in 90 Days or We Buy It!” Granted, "I'll buy your house," is an attention getting statement in this sloooooow market. But I caution a potential seller to read the fine print. In most cases, the agent/broker making the claim are headed to the poorhouse with a load of deeds to homes that are un-sellable. No, they are getting people to list their houses but don’t expect too many takers on their buyout offers when all is said and done. They simply don’t have to buy too many houses as few sellers choose to sell to the agent at the outlined terms. (i.e. The homeowner must list the home at what the agent/broker believes to be the market value. If not sold in 90 days, the agent/broker will buy the home for 80-90% of appraised value where the appraisal has been done by an appraiser selected by the agent/broker.) The home is listed at a very competitive price from the start because the guaranteed amount is significantly less than what the home owner would comfortable accepting. It is a rare case where the agent/broker has to actually buy the home. It is a great ploy for getting a listing but not always the best deal for a homeowner.
So what as a home seller what would you prefer… A marketing scheme that gets you to list your home? OR A Good Marketing Plan to get YOUR home SOLD!
Don’t take everything at face value. It is important to ask questions, read the fine print and avoid the gimmicks when deciding who you want to market your most prized possession, your home. Make certain that your home is listed with an agent who has a PLAN to get your property priced correctly and marketed with the expertise necessary to SELL your house in this changed market. Because in reality when it is your home on the market a SOLD sign is the only sign you care about!

Copyright 2010 Teri Eckholm

Staging to Sell--It Looked Better on the Paint Chip!

Years ago, my sister and her husband built a new home in an Oakdale development. We lived in a mile away in North St. Paul at the time so we drove by often and watched as several homes were constructed in the neighborhood. This development didn’t have restrictive covenants so there were various styles of homes with differing colors and types of siding giving the area a very eclectic look. As one home we passed by often was starting to look more like a home than a construction project, we noticed the PURPLE door! The house itself, mind you, was a beautiful slate blue, but the door was a striking shade of purple. We were certain it was a mistake!
As it turned out, we had a mutual friend in common with the homeowner of the house with the purple door. So we asked about the very unusual color choice. We were told that it wasn’t a mistake, the owner LIKES purple…Okay we live in Minnesota and it was the 1980’s, Prince was big at time and then there is the Purple & Gold Viking colors so whatever floats someones boat is okay with me. But from that day on, whenever we drove by the house, we remarked, “It must have looked better on the paint chip”.

And over the years, this saying has become code between my husband and I when we visit a friend’s home who has a love for flamboyant or unusual colors.

As a REALTOR® I have to view many homes and from time to time when I am asked to do a market analysis, I come across a “better on the paint chip” room, door or house. When marketing your home, it is essential to make certain your own personality does not prevent the buyer from seeing the details of your home. If a bright orange kitchen counter, hot pink bathroom or lime green playroom is the way you have made your home your own, I do think that is an awesome way to personalize your space. But, you are going to be moving and your favorite colors choices are too wild, it could hamper your sale. Bold colors in internet photos could knock your home right off many potential buyers’ favorite homes lists. And in this slowly recovering real estate market, you don’t want to lose any potential buyers over something as simple to change as paint.
Stage your home with neutrals to bring out the details and style of your home. You want the buyers to feel welcome in your home. That can be difficult as people are quickly often turned off a home by colors they view as a mistake.

Not sure if your home has a “better on the paint chip” colored room? Let me help you get your home picture-perfect ready for a quick sale. If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet , Homebuyers Success Packet or sign up for Listingbook Twin Cities Home Search. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2010 Teri Eckholm