Buckfield Maine Area Homes For Sale 04220

Archive for the ‘Seller Tips’ Category

Pets and selling your home

When preparing your home to sell, it might be a good idea to examine it from a pet’s perspective. My advice is to remove as many excess pet items as possible, in particular toys and food. Make sure you have cleaned up well after your pet, in particular where they are fed, outside dog runs and the location in which you store the litter box.  Look for stray fur-balls floating around the floors, and use a lint brush if necessary on your upholstered furnishings and draperies.  It might also be wise to repair any damage done by your loveable but perhaps destructive puppies or kittens:  Touch up scratched paint or polyurethane, fill in any holes dug by dogs outside in your yard, remove any torn furnishings or carpets, and remove all pet stains.  Also, disinfect or deodorize if there are pet smells in the home — a sure turn-off for a prospective buyer, especially one that does not like pets. Hire a professional carpet cleaning company to sanitize and thoroughly clean your carpets before your first showing. Once this is done, you may want to limit the areas in which you allow your pets.

via Pets and selling your home | Lewiston Maine Homes For Sale.

Moving can be stressful for everyone in the family, but don’t forget to talk about it in advance with your children. Make sure to answer all their questions as honestly as possible. One way to help them in advance is to show them their new room, and help them decide where their furniture and belongings will go. For young children, read books such as “The Berenstain Bears: Moving Day” or “Who Will be My Friends?” by Syd Hoff. Help them sort, pack and label their belongings, and celebrate afterwards with a fun meal. Put together a Moving Day Kit, with essential items they might need. If you are moving to a new town or school district, make sure to help them say goodbye to their friends, and help them stay in touch if possible.

via Tips For Helping Children Move | Turner Maine Homes.

Does the laundry room need an upgrade?

One of the worst chores for either moms or dads is laundry! If you are thinking of selling your home, and the laundry room is outdated, you may make your home more marketable if you consider a laundry room make-over. Here are a few tips:

Make it stylish and give it a little personality.  Potential buyers will appreciate the appeal.

Don’t cheap out on the quality of the washer and dryer. Quality appliances will be a selling point. Energy-saving models will offer even more value!

Add some modern conveniences, some of which might include storage drawer bases on the appliances, soap dispensers, smooth folding tables or countertops, built-in storage shelves with doors, open spaces to store laundry baskets and hampers, expandable drying racks or hooks, and a built-in ironing board with an outlet nearby.

As I recently wrote about, when you sell a house, the buyers will more than likely have a home inspection completed before they sign the contract. The inspector may turn up something that needs attention or repair, and after the inspection, the buyers may produce a list of items they want repaired as a condition for moving forward on the sale.

When you get the buyers’ list, remember that some…

more via Auburn Maine Homes For Sale And Maine MLS Listings.

In general, I find there is a chain of events that takes place when an offer comes in on your home. The buyer typically brings in a home inspector who may find…

more… Maine Real Estate Tips – Do Needed Repairs Early | Turner Maine Homes.

Negotiations for the sale of your home can be affected by emotional factors. For example, it is easy to be offended by someone who is making an offer on your property. Even if the buyers love your house, they are trying to negotiate the best possible price and terms. They probably will not let you know how much they want your home until they have negotiated a purchase agreement. Read On.

more… Maine Home Buyers & Sellers ~ Negotiating Factors | Maine Waterfront Real Estate.

I’ve been in the Maine real estate business since 1987. While a lot has changed in the Lewiston-Auburn real estate market, one issue has not: Sellers continue to think their homes are worth more than their real estate professional recommends, and buyers continue to think these same homes are worth less.

To successfully market a home in the Lewiston-Auburn area, the price must be set carefully — or it will languish on the market. Considerations that an agent from Meservier and Associates will review with you include:

• How many homes are for sale in your neighborhood? The more homes on the market, the more important it is to list at the lower end of the scale. I want buyers to notice and ask why this house is priced so competitively. I want them to make an offer.

• Take short sales and foreclosures into consideration when pricing. If competing properties are in lousy condition, they are much less of a threat. But if they are well taken care of, yet priced 25 percent below market, they can be a serious factor. I’ll help you figure this out.

• Negotiate decisively. Because buyers are no longer interested in back-and-forth negotiations, we want to make serious offers when buying, and accept serious offers when selling. Buyers are less emotional and more disciplined than they used to be, and they will walk away. Let me go to bat for you in the negotiation process.

• Cut the price when you have to. If no one shows up for an open house, if no one calls and if there are no offers, then unfortunately, your price is too high. That means it’s time to make a meaningful price cut, and I’ll help you overcome this obstacle.

Call me at 784-2525 to discuss your selling or buying situation. I look forward to helping you!