Sunday, March 24, 2013

Successfully Selling Your Home and Maximizing the Value


Over 1000 Kindle Downloads Last Week

Over the past few years, I have seen a dramatic gap in the knowledge between home sellers and buyers. Buyers are now very educated, using websites like HAR and Zillow to house hunt from the comfort of their own space. HGTV, to which I will admit my own addiction, has buyers searching for their dream homes online between meals! While this is great publicity for the real estate industry, it does not translate into easy sales. I remember the days when potential homebuyers were limited to the handful of options for information. Now, they can virtually tour millions of houses with a few simple clicks! With the immense amount of time buyers spend online, they are basically earning real estate PhDs. This means sellers have to step up their game. Buyers are extremely educated. Let me repeat that statement-BUYERS ARE EXTREMELY EDUCATED!



Now that the real estate industry caters to buyers, sellers need to match that level of education to maximize the value of their home. A lack of education on behalf of sellers usually costs them 4-5% of their home’s value.  Its big bucks!

Successfully Selling Your Home is like the SparkNotes for home sellers, so they can get educated fast on what today’s buyers are thinking.  By understanding the changes in the real estate market, a seller can learn to use them to their benefit, regaining a lost advantage. Nearly every one of us, sometime in our life, will have to go through the home selling process. Many of us will opt to rely on the know-how of a professional agent. I have learned over 28 years of real estate experience that it is simply not enough to turn over your house keys to an agent and expect a check one week later well above your asking price. Even is today's market where inventory is low, it is not reality. As the real estate industry evolves, so do the techniques for selling a home. Knowledge is Power.

I wrote this book to give sellers a quick education on what is happening in today’s real estate market, so they can maximize their value and work efficiently and effectively with an agent.  It is a partnership that, if treated as such, can add value to any home.

PS - In July 2012, the Texas legislature exempted real estate agents from the deceptive trade act. Because of this, the end result of any misrepresentation made by the real estate agent is now the responsibility of the seller.  Sellers must educate themselves because the price of ignorance just went up!

My book is available on Amazon. Just click below and it will take you to Amazon.