DRIVE-BY SHOOTINGS

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:  The first 45 seconds determines whether your house will be selected for a showing.  Videos and good still pictures will get the attention of Buyers and Realtors, but the first thing in the selling process will be a drive-by. The house must look as good as possible from the street or it will get a big X and never be looked at.  Required: My sellers must find a  way to cosmetically improve the curb appeal of the house.  I can help them do that.

Sellers also need to find inexpensive ways to make the interior of the house look more appealing.  Talk with me about what I think needs to be done to your house before you put it up for sale, how to do it and how much that  will cost, and how it will affect the amount of time it takes to sell it and the price you can get for it.

EMPTY  If possible, the house should be empty.  Trying to make appointments to show a house with folks living in it with all their stuff (often too cluttered) reduces the probability of selling the house dramatically.  Real Estate agents can get occupied listings to advertise that will get their phone to ring; but if the house is occupied, the buyer will have many more things to judge-and find it much easier to eliminate the house from their list.  Store or sell things so your house will be properly “Staged”. Move out.  I can help.

HOME INSPECTIONS Prepare to respond to the Buyer’s home inspection, they will all get one.  Our Florida “As Is” contract still gives the Buyer the ability to get a home inspection and then cancel the contract and request their deposit back.  There are ways to avoid this from happening.  Talk To Ted!

SELL TO A CASH BUYER  If a Buyer makes the purchase contingent on getting a mortgage…ouch!  You need to make sure they are qualified according to the new Guidelines.  Pre-Approval letters are worthless and Mortgage Confirmation letters are obsolete.  I know how to do the research necessary and add the clauses to the contract that will help insure the buyer is very likely to get the mortgage approved.

BUILD OR BUY? The gap in price between purchasing a resale and building a new home has widened.  While the market for resales is still plagued by foreclosures, the cost of materials for building a new home has risen dramatically.  This forced many builders out of the market.  

Although the new construction business has picked up nicely here in Palm Coast, most builders are not building model homes or spec houses.  But larger companies, like Seagate, Adams and Maronda are building spec homes again.  

I track the permits and I watch who is building, where and how many.  I know how to compare what a buyer can by new vs your resale.  And buyers need to know if the builder they are considering is financially sound. I was working out of Florida Green Homes model in Palm Coast Plantation and sold one of his houses.  They made two installment payments on my commission but have defaulted on the last payment.  

Talk To Ted before you build, buy or sell your home.

H. Ted Lesher 

Broker Associate, Sunburst Realty Group

Call or Text:  386-503-1101         email:  tedleshersr@gmail.com