Showing Tips for Sellers

There are certain topics you should avoid talking about with a potential buyer. Here are four of the most important ones to steer clear of.

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Selling a home isn’t easy. You might have to show it a dozen or more times in order to find the right buyer. We think it’s a good idea if you aren’t home during any showings, but that’s not always possible

If you do happen to be present at a showing, avoid these four topics at all cost. In fact, try to keep the talking to a minimum.

Don’t be present during showings in the first place

1. How much you spent on “Blank.” As soon as you start talking about what you spent on something, the buyer will get nervous about the premium you are going to ask in your sale price for it. Just leave it alone.

2. How perfect your house is. Nobody’s home is truly perfect. In all my years, I have only seen one perfect inspection. Every other home has had flaws.

3. Repairs you’ve been “meaning to get to.” What you’re really saying is that there are flaws in the home that you don’t like. Avoid pointing out any flaws to buyers. Let them find them on their own.

4. Anything related to price. Just don’t mention it. Let’s wait and see if they are interested before we start discussing any particulars.

Try to get out of the home during showings if you can. If you can’t, just make sure you avoid these four topics and you should be fine. If you have any questions for me in the meantime, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you soon.

Can You Sell Your Home on Your Own?

If you're thinking about selling your house on your own, it's not a question of whether you can pull it off. It's a question of whether you will get the most out of your sale by going solo.

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When looking to sell a house "For Sale by Owner," it's not a matter of whether people will or won’t list without an agent. People always consider selling their own houses to save some money. The real question is whether they'll get the best price for their house or even get themselves in financial or legal trouble along the way.

We know from statistics that over 95% of home sellers use a real estate agent, and there's a reason for it. In addition to getting a higher price and avoiding legal trouble, there's exposure. Most people who are qualified and ready to buy a home go to where all the homes are—actual listings via the real estate agent they're working with. 

Over 95% of home sellers use a real estate agent, and there's a reason for it.

As a seller, if you're thinking of selling your own home, you have to ask yourself the right questions. I can buy hair dye and color my hair on my own, but I can't so it even close to as well as my hairdresser can. I can do my own taxes, but it would be very painful and I probably wouldn't get all the deductions I would by working with an accountant. 

I believe you should let the professionals with experience handle these complicated transactions. It's especially true when it comes to your home, your biggest financial asset. It's not that you can't sell your home on your own, but you probably can't expect to get the best outcome.

If you're thinking about selling your house, we'd love to tell you more about how we can help you get the most out of it. Just give us a call or send us an email, we'd love to hear from you!

Don’t Get Caught With an Open Permit on Your House

Open permits can cause a lot of inconvenience for homeowners. Here’s why you should always check if the house you’re buying or selling has any open permits.

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Looking to sell in Vero Beach? Get a Free Home Price Evaluation

Today I want to talk about open permits and how inconvenient they can make things as far as your home is concerned.  

One of the things our team routinely does when listing properties and working with buyers is check our houses for open permits. Any kind of replacement work done on a property typically requires a permit with the county and an additional final permit. 

The reason homes have open permits is once the owner(s) of that home paid the contractor for the work they did, that contractor never went back to the county to finalize the required permits. If you’ve had work done on your home, it’s very important that you check that your house doesn’t have any open permits, as having them can cause trouble down the road. I know from experience. 

If your home has an open permit, that leaves you with an open problem.

Recently, we were having some work done on our house and we assumed that the contractor we hired went through the proper channels to acquire the proper permit. Unfortunately, we were wrong. As the work was being done, the county showed up and issued a Stop Work Order. Our contractor then had to stand outside on our front lawn and wait for an inspector to arrive before he could continue working. I was actually glad this happened in a way because it saved me from having to worry about open permits down the road. 

If you’re having work done on your house and using licensed, insured contractors, make sure you’re using people who’ve actually pulled the proper permits. Also, never write that final check until you’ve been provided with evidence that those permits have been closed out. 

If you’re looking to buy or sell a home or need help finding out if you have any open permits on your home, feel free to give us a call. We’d be happy to help, and we look forward to seeing you next time!

How Can You Price Your Home for the Market?

If you want to sell your home for top dollar, you need to price your home correctly. Here are three common pricing pitfalls to avoid.

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Looking to sell in Vero Beach? Get a Free Home Price Evaluation

It’s natural for home sellers to want the highest price in the shortest amount of time. However, there are three issues that you need to avoid in order to make that happen. 

First of all, don’t rush your home onto the market. Take the time to properly prepare. Take care of any repairs, painting, or maintenance items that you might have overlooked in the time you’ve lived there. When the time comes to launch your home onto the market, you want to put your best foot forward. 

Price your home correctly right from the start.

Statistics show time and time again that when homes are priced correctly from the start, they will sell for the most money. The reason is that testing the marketplace with an inflated price diminishes buyer interest. Instead of the buyers and agents saying, “Wow, what a great house!” they say, “That’s a nice house, but it’s not priced correctly. It’s a little expensive for the market.” 

Finally, if you have been on the market for awhile and you’re not getting a reasonable number of showings (three to five a week), then it may be time to adjust the price of your home. Your home should be priced based on what has come on the market or what has recently sold. If buyers are choosing other similar homes over yours, then your home is not priced correctly. 

Once you realize that your home is overpriced, it’s incredibly important to have that conversation with your agent and reduce the price of your home. If you have any other questions, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

3 Indicators That Your Home Is Priced Right

How do you know if your home is priced right in our market? Here are my top three indicators.

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Looking to sell in Vero Beach? Get a Free Home Price Evaluation

When putting their homes on the market, most sellers want to know two things: how long it will take to sell and the price that they are going to get for it.

It’s fairly easy to determine what a home will sell for when we look at recent comparable home sales in the area. At the same time, as a seller it’s very easy for you to tell whether your home will sell within a reasonable amount of time because how you price it affects the length of time it will take to sell. For this reason, I’d like to share three indicators with you to help you determine the answer to those two burning questions.

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Pricing has a major impact on how quickly you’ll sell your home.

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Your home is priced right if:

1. You receive a contract within the first seven days of listing your home. In our market right now, most homes have been on the market for more than 130 days. When we crunch the numbers on this, we see that only about 20% of homes are selling. Pricing is the most important issue here, so an early offer is a really good sign.
2. You’ve had a lot of interest on your home from agents and buyers. If buyers and agents have asked you for information about the home or have scheduled showings, you’re probably in a good price range.
3. You’re getting second showings and receiving good feedback from buyers. If buyers are coming back and telling you that they’re considering your home among others, you are probably reaching your target buyers.

Keep an eye out for these three indicators to let you know if your home is priced where it needs to be and you’ll sell it much quicker. If you have any other questions about pricing your home or anything else related to Vero Beach real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you!

How a ‘Kestimate’ Can Help You Find Your Home Value

There are a few reasons why Zillow’s Zestimates are often incorrect. The best way to find your true home value is to order a ‘Kestimate!’ 

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Looking to sell in Vero Beach? Get a Free Home Price Evaluation

What’s up with the Zillow Zestimate? Many people come up to me and say, “I looked at my home on Zillow and it said that the price was such-and-such amount. Is that right?”

The other day, I was on Anna Valencia’s radio show and we actually talked about a few reasons why the Zestimate is usually not on point.

One reason is that Zillow’s numbers come from the county tax records. If your tax record is incorrect, then Zillow won’t come up with your actual home value. What if your tax record doesn’t include the right number of rooms in your house? What if you added a detached garage? What if you put a brand new $50,000 roof on your house last month or did an $80,000 kitchen remodel? Zillow won’t take any of this into account.

Ultimately, Zillow is a computer algorithm that doesn’t know what you’ve done to improve your home. The Zestimate basically looks at your square footage, the number of rooms in your home (as recorded back when your house was first built), and any comparable sales that might have taken place in your area. If there were any distressed sales or hardship sales in your area, these comparable sales could drag your Zestimate down.

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The best way to find your true home value is to get a ‘Kestimate!’

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We had a good time joking around in the studio the other day about the Zestimate. In the end, we decided that the best way to find your true home value is to get a “Kestimate!” That is a Kelly estimate!

Basically, you need your local real estate professional to come up with your home value. Work with someone who is familiar with the market and is in tune with what’s going on. As real estate professionals, we will come over and give you a personal evaluation of your home. Don’t leave it up to a computer algorithm that knows nothing about your local area or even your specific home.

If you would like a “Kestimate,” give us a call or send us an email. If you have any other real estate questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We would be happy to help you!

Home Staging Is Key to Selling for Top Dollar

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Looking to sell in Vero Beach? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

Today I want to talk to you about something that is important whether you are buying or selling in Vero Beach. We are here today at one of our newest listings, and I wanted to use this great space to tie in with our topic today, home staging. 

Prior to us listing the home seen in the video above, it was a vacant home that was listed by another broker. The home sat on the market with this broker for a long time, and on the inside everything was pretty vanilla. The home was basically naked, as it didn’t have one piece of furniture or decoration that would elicit an emotional response. So, I started doing some research as far as what we could do to help the seller better showcase their home so it would sell for a higher price. 

I pulled out a report I want to share with you, the 2015 profile of home staging. A lot of the things in here are very intuitive for me after being in the business for over 20 years, but I found this one statistic very interesting. The National Association of Realtors polled their members in the last few months to determine their views and their buyers’ views on staging homes. What they found was that 49% of agents believed home staging was an important component for buyers to have desire to look at a property. 

Another very telling statistic we came across was that 81% of agents said their buyers were more likely to buy a home that was staged over a home that wasn’t, which is even more impressive. If 81% of buyers will look at this one factor as a major point of interest in a home, it’s definitely something you should consider.

Vacant homes aren’t the only ones that need to be staged, however. We all live in our homes and will inevitably miss a few things when it comes to preparing the home to sell. It’s nice to have a third party in there to lend an eye and help you put your best foot forward. The average seller spends between $600 and $800 on home staging, but the return is definitely worth the price, as you can see in the video above.

If the look of the home doesn’t convince you, maybe this will. Home staging, on average, can get you 5-10% more money on your property than you would get if it wasn’t staged. It’s really a no-brainer!

If you have any questions for us, or are thinking of selling your Vero Beach home, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you!

Are You Doing What It Takes to Get Top Dollar for Your Vero Beach Home?

Looking to buy in Vero Beach? Get a full home search 
Looking to sell in Vero Beach? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

Are you planning to sell your home in the near future? If so, we have a few tips you don't want to miss.

If you want to maximize the results of your home sale, you need to make sure your home is ready to show. Professional photography and staging are a must if you want your home to stand out from the competition. 

Often, homes sit on the market for longer than necessary because small maintenance issues aren't addressed. Having a contractor come by to do some painting and make small fixes is usually a safe investment, as they will take care of all the little things that may turn a buyer off.

If you plan on selling soon and would like some quick tips and tricks to help maximize the dollar value of your home, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to help you accomplish your selling goals!

4 Reasons why now Is a Great Time to Think About Selling

  There are many great Vero Beach area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (772) 321-6905 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

 We're excited about the state of the current market for many reasons, but today we want to talk about the many opportunities available to sellers. Most people who currently have their homes for sale are thinking about taking their home off the market for the next few months. Today, we want to share 4 reasons why this is not a good idea:

1. Low inventory: Here in the Treasure Coast and Vero Beach, we're currently seeing the lowest level of homes for sale we've seen in quite a while. At our current pace, we'll sell homes for sale in less than 6 months - which is scary for agents, but great for sellers. Now is a great time to get top dollar for your home.
2. Serious buyers: Who's buying homes now while everyone else is getting ready for Thanksgiving, out shopping for Christmas, or traveling? There will be fewer buyers coming through your home during this time of year, no doubt, but the buyers who do come through will be serious and prepared. They're the kind of buyers who have either sold their home and need a new one, or are relocating for work and need to find a new home before the new year. 
3. Great agents: Only the most successful, busiest agents are working during this time of year. The majority of agents have quit until the new year. The ones who remain are the best negotiators, the ones who will make your real estate experience as smooth as possible. These are the agents you want to work with anyway, and they're available to serve you.
4. Get ahead when buying your next home: If you're buying another home after selling your current one, you will have a leg up when the new year rolls around. When inventory skyrockets after January 1st, your home will already be sold and you will be ready to purchase your next one. With no contingencies to worry about, you'll be in a great position to get a great deal on your next home.

In short, don't worry about the holidays! We'll walk you through the selling process and help you take advantage of today's hot market. If you have any questions about your options, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

Why You Shouldn't Rush Your Home to Market

There are many great Vero Beach area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (772) 321-6905 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

It's quite common for homeowners to put their home on the market prematurely. The Kelly Fischer Team has embraced the idea of delaying putting homes on the market until they are absolutely ready to sell. Sometimes sellers are anxious to get their home on the market, but it's not always wise to list it hastily.

Our goal is to really help sellers maximize their potential sales price and sometimes it may take weeks to make that happen. We recommend hiring a professional painter to neutralize the home and we work with a great one that we would be happy to put you in contact with. We've seen homes sit on the market for over 6 months simply because their walls were painted funky colors. You may love it, but buyers will be more interested in neutral colors.

We love helping sellers identify any obstacles that may cause a home to sit on the market for a long time. Fixing those problems before listing your home will be incredibly beneficial to your bottom line; investing a little money now will pay off big time down the road.

We would love to share some of our ideas of what will make your home more marketable. Give us a call or shoot us an email, so we can sit down and take a look at what we can do to help you maximize your home sale. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Make Sure You Know the Facts Before Renting Your Vero Beach Home

There are many great Vero Beach area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (772) 321-6905 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

In today's market, many people are having trouble getting the price they want for their home. This leads them to consider renting their home to earn the money they expected from the home sale. Renting is great for some people, but is a bad idea for others; it just depends on your specific situation. Here are 6 things you should consider before making the decision to rent:

1. You will need to budget for your fixed expenses. Most importantly, your mortgage payment - which includes principal interest, taxes, and insurance.
2. You need to take monthly fees into consideration as well. This includes lawn and pool care, as well as homeowners association dues.
3. Budgeting for vacancy rates is also necessary. For whatever reason, a tenant may not be able to fulfill the agreement and  you need to be sure you can afford to pay for the property without a month or two of rent a year.
4. Miscellaneous repairs will need to be taken into account as well. You are still responsible for the inevitable day-to-day problems every homeowner is familiar with.
5. Tenants may damage the home, so you need to be prepared to fix any problems caused by any former tenants.
6. You need to consider the opportunity costs of foregoing the money you could have received during a home sale. Is there a better investment, with fewer risks, you could make?

Renting is difficult because you really don't have any control over the property. You need to carefully analyze the situation before turning one of your most valuable assets over to a tenant. If you would like more advice on the subject or are interested in buying or selling a home in the Vero Beach area, I would be happy to talk with you.

Keep Your Vero Beach Home Protected While on Vacation this Summer

There are many great Vero Beach area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (772) 321-6905 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

With summer in full swing, many of us are getting away from home and going on vacation with our loved ones. This is a time to relax, so you shouldn't have to worry about the safety of your home while you're away. Here are 7 ways you can feel comfortable while out of town this summer:

1. Have a friend stop by the house: If you have plants that need watered or pets that need to be fed, having a friend come by can be very helpful. They can also make sure nothing out of the ordinary happens to your home.
2. Be careful on social media: Don't alert the world about your vacation. There are better ways to communicate your excitement than online. Either wait until you return or find more private ways to talk about your trip, so as to avoid tipping off online criminals.
3. Make sure you have timers for your lights: It's not wise to leave a few lights on while you are away. There's nothing more suspicious that leaving a light on in the same room for days at a time. Timers can make sure lights are turned on in different rooms at different times to make it look like someone is home.
4. Stop your mail or have your neighbor get it: There is no better giveaway that no one is home than an overflowing mailbox. Have the post office hold your mail until you return, or have a neighbor grab it for you.
5. Make sure all appliances are unplugged: This will help to prevent accidental fires or power surges, as well as save you some money on your electric bill.
6. Turn off the water: This will help prevent leaks, which could cause a lot of damage if you're not there to catch the problem when it starts.
7. Remove your hideaway key: If a burglar knows you're away, there's no sense in making it any easier to get into your home. There's a lot more time to search for your spare key when no one is home. Either give it to a friend or put it somewhere inside.

Following the above tips will help you rest assured knowing your home is safe while you're away. As always, if you have any real estate needs, give us a call or shoot us an email. And, of course, have a happy and safe vacation!

How to know if your property has been on the market for too long

There are many great Vero Beach area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (772) 321-6905 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

We all know that when your home sits on the market in Indian River County for too long, a couple of things happen. For one, buyers get skeptical of the property, wondering why it hasn't sold and why nobody is buying it. The second thing that happens is that those buyers that like the home and feel that it's a good fit will offer less on the property than they would have if it was initially priced more competitively to other homes in Indian River County. Here are three things we do for our clients when they realize that they need to make a price adjustment to their home.

1. We call all the agents who have previously shown the home
We do this to make sure that all the agents who have shown the home are aware that the price has changed so that they can let their buyers know.

2. We send out e-mail blasts to agents
Sending a mass email out to all the agents in the marketplace who could potentially have a buyer ensures that even if they have not payed attention to the property as of now, they are aware that the price on the home has changed.

3. We send out an e-mail blasts to buyers
We also send a mass email out to all the buyers who have already seen the home in person or saved it as a search on various different online real estate databases so those who were interested in your home previously are in the loop as well.

While you may think that making a price change doesn't matter much, the truth is it has a huge impact on the sale of your home. You can tell if your home is overpriced simply by whether or not you have been receiving offers and having a steady stream of showings. Those are very indicative as to whether you are competitive and where you need to be in the market today.

If you have any questions about what's going on in the Indian River County market or if you are thinking of selling your home, please give us a call or visit us on our brand new website, kellysoldmyhome.com.