Selling A Home Archives • Page 4 of 5 • Your Real Estate Whisperer

Why Photos Are SO Important When Listing Your Ascension Parish Home.

March 20, 2017

Not too long ago, we as real estate agents would tell our sellers that curb appeal was the most important thing when putting your Ascension Parish home on the market. When the sign went up, we wanted the people who drove by to be sufficiently enticed to want to see inside. Now, photos are the new curb appeal! If you have photos taken with a cell phone camera that are blurry and too small for the MLS, they immediately turn off potential buyers.

Photos are the single most effective way to feature your Ascension Parish home in the best light to buyers, but you will need to work with your Ascension Parish listing agent to prepare your home for the photo shoot so you can capitalize on its features.

(As nice as picture two may be, with a clear sky, Picture one takes away all the shadows and show the home in the correct way for listing your home in Ascension Parish)

NEVER List Your Home Without Professional Photographs.

I don’t care how good the market is right now; I don’t care what your home’s value is; there is no excuse for poor, sloppy photographs of your Ascension Parish home or piece of land. In today’s world of text messaging, email and social media, your Ascension Parish home or Land can be shared very quickly, and the photographs make your home appeal to buyers. Bad photos will not be shared except between people telling each other how bad the pictures look!

I know the market is extremely HOT right now but in order to sell your home quickly and for the best price, your Ascension Parish Realtor® MUST take professional photographs!

Prepare Your Home Prior to The Shoot.

The simplest way to make your photographs turn out their best is to declutter by removing all extra items from the countertops in bathrooms and kitchens, and making sure to put away your coffee pot and toiletries. These items in photographs can make your spaces appear to be smaller than they actually are. As a rule of thumb, if you don’t really need it, pack it away. A clean field of vision for your photographer makes for better pictures, which will stimulate your future buyer’s imagination of making it their next home.

The Number Of Photos Counts.

Statistics have proven that the more photos you have, the more likely your Ascension Parish home will sell faster. Don’t think a good picture of the front and back of your home is enough. You should have an ample number of pictures starting at the front of your home, then going into the foyer and through the entire home, ending in the backyard making buyers get a good feel of how the home flows. I believe a minimum of 8 photos should be used for a home and a minimum of 4 photos for a piece of land. As a side note, the MLS allows for many more than 8 photos, so please take as many pictures as necessary to capture all the features of your home.

There is no excuse for not hiring a professional photographer for your Ascension Parish home, and the cost to have them done should not be paid by you, the seller. This should be a part of selling your home and paid for by the agent or broker. If your Ascension Parish realtor refuses to hire a professional photographer, then I personally would find that unacceptable. It is not a rule or a law but just something that is not difficult to have done, and the expense should never be a factor. This is YOUR home and you want it sold fast, and for the MOST money.

If you would like to see some homes with professional photographs that I have listed in the past, please feel free to call me at 225-246-1812.

“Because YOU Matter”

Sincerely,

Kristina Smallhorn (Your Real Estate Whisperer)

Cell 225-246-1812

Office 225-744-2610

Fax 225-744-2910

Info@YourRealEstateWhisperer.com

yourrealestatewhisperer.com

Villar & Company Real Estate,37283 Swamp Rd.,Suite 102 Prairieville LA, 70769

Kristina Smallhorn is a licensed REALTOR with the state of Louisiana, USA.

Has The Housing Market Changed In Ascension Parish Since The Great Flood?

March 10, 2017

The very short answer is yes and no! From a volume of sales, we are only speaking of the difference of 12 homes if we look at the same time period of January 1, to March 4th. In 2016, 258 residential homes sold. This year from January 1st, 2017 to March 4th, 2017, 246 homes sold. The difference is so small enough it would not indicate any change in the market. Our market can’t be determined by numbers alone. The market is still being driven by all the intangibles offered by Ascension Parish; schools, location, and lifestyle.

So what’s the activity currently? The market is great, but it seems to be leaning towards a seller’s market because inventory is very low and demand is higher due to the lack of homes available due to the Great Flood of 2016.

(the picture above is not an actual housing number graph)

The energy is high but very optimistic. Most of the others I’ve spoken to about our market say that they don’t feel like housing prices will spike up like they did after Hurricane Katrina. Most lenders, investors, appraisers feel that kind of spike won’t happen. The majority od people affected are wanting to stay in their current home instead of getting out of town to find a new place to live. While this makes a potentially stronger market for sellers, it doesn’t mean they are getting $10,000 over asking price cash like had happened before. Buyers are much savvier, and they would rather wait for the correct price home to come along. While multiple offers are happening, I haven’t seen or heard of any buyer willing to pay thousands of dollars cash for a home that isn’t worth it. This is good news because it makes for a more healthy market.

We have been blessed here in Ascension Parish that our market, even in the housing crash, never fell out completely with loads of foreclosed homes. We have a lot to offer here other than a nice neighborhood, as we are sandwiched between two major cities making it convenient for people working in either; our home prices are not outrageous and we, of course, have amazing schools.

*** To see Ascension Parish top rated schools visit this link https://youtu.be/-OsYQG4v9ME ***

This is an exciting time in our housing market. If you are thinking of selling and are trying to time the market to make the most money this might be the best time to get your house on the market. With summer right around the corner and school about to let out, I predict that this will be the busiest our Ascension Housing market has seen in many years, but again, I don’t think you are going to be getting a HUGE increase in price from last year, but your home will sell faster at the price that is fair for your neighborhood. If you’d like to discuss with me about the value of your home today please feel free to comment below or you can fill out the contact form and I’ll reach out to you within a few hours

( Link to contact me https://yourrealestatewhisperer.com/personally-contact-me/).

“Because YOU Matter”

Your Real Estate Whisperer

Kristina Smallhorn

What Happens During An Ascension Parish Home Closing?

March 6, 2017

When waiting for your home to close, it can be a crazy time. The list of things “to-do” is lengthy. Packing, deciding what items to sell, changing your utilities, switching children’s schools, finding local shopping and last but not least, where the heck is the post office? These activities can often make you lose focus on the details of your closing.

Luckily, you have hired an Ascension Parish local realtor to handle the hiring of a closing attorney to help with the Ascension Parish title process; review the closing documents and calculate the amount of money you may have to bring to closing. Your loan officer will also be there to explain what some of those closing costs will add up to. A few days before closing (as many as 5 days) your Ascension Parish Realtor® will do a final walk-through of your new home to go over the items on the repair list to make sure they have been completed and the home is in the same if not better condition as at the time of the initial sales contract. (to read more about what buyer need to know click here ( https://yourrealestatewhisperer.com/2017/02/20/what-prairieville-home-buyers-need-to-know-before-closing-day/ )

So What Does A Closing Look Like in Ascension Parish?

The closing is defined as a performance of all agreements made by you, the lender and the seller, a means to an end of the purchase of a home. If you are buying your home with all cash, you will not have lender requirements, but if you are financing your home with a loan, the financial arrangements will close at the same time.

A closing involves the simultaneous exchange of document and monies required to complete the transaction. You, as a buyer, pay the purchase price of the home to the seller and in exchange, the seller gives you the title and transferred documents to the home; simple as that.

(Both buyer and seller pay their respective fees and costs to the various parties who contributed funds, services, or documents to the closing.)

****A side note: Closings can take as little as a few minutes if buying cash, or take over an hour or more for financed homes, so don’t make firm plans and allow plenty of time for your closing.****

So Where Do You Go For Your Closing Of Your Ascension Parish Home?

Your closing of your home doesn’t have to be in the Parish you are buying in, although it definitely makes it more convenient, but sometimes it could be a few Parish’s away! You can request a preferred title company from your lender unless the seller is paying closing costs, then the sellers make that choice. This can be part of your negotiations if you are adamant on a particular closing attorney.

Not all closings are the same, that’s a given. Some closings do not require a closing attorney for signatures and may only require a notary. The difference between the two is that notaries can only provide legal advice or services on very specific types of matters. Another difference between attorneys and notaries is that attorneys generally must obtain two university degrees in order to be certified to practice law; an undergraduate degree plus a law degree.

If you’d like to know more about the closing of a home in Ascension Parish, I will be doing a YouTube Video with a Title Attorney from Commerce Title on my weekly show, “Ascension Parish Coffee Time.” ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH0LUzFvtwb5B8EfVCF5uwg )

If you have any questions you would like for me to ask for the attorney, please post them in the comments below and I will put them in the video. I look forward to your questions!

“Because YOU Matter”

Your Real Estate Whisperer

Kristina Smallhorn

So…The Sellers Of An Ascension Parish Home, Not That Into You?

March 1, 2017

It happens from time to time. Buyers here in Ascension Parish find the home of their dreams, put in an offer they believe is fair and the sellers won’t budge. It doesn’t seem fair to you
and your Ascension Parish Realtor® have gone over comps and studied the area thoroughly. It happens, so what are you to do when the house of your dreams seems to be slipping from your fingers?

Try your MAX!

Discuss this with your Ascension Parish Realtor® and see if they agree with your plan to go to the maximum offer. It can’t hurt to try this tactic if it looks like the comps can support the offer. You don’t want to be in a predicament where you make an offer, but it doesn’t appraise. If a seller isn’t that into you, they could just put the house back on the market and not negotiate the appraised price. Maybe it’s simply time to move on!

This could be tough if you are absolutely in love with a home but some relationships do need to be broken at times, even with a dream home. To stand back pouting, crying and wasting energy on a house that’s wasn’t meant to be could make you miss out some great properties that come on the market, especially in our current market when houses go FAST! You just never know, sellers at times do come to their senses and revisit old offers. Yours might be one of them.

Don’t Try To Figure Out A Sellers Motives.

This just a waste of your energy and can drive you crazy adding unneeded stress. Only the seller knows why they turned down your offer. You can ask your Ascension Parish Realtor® for more insight into the matter, but if the seller is unwilling to cooperate, don’t get too emotionally annoyed.

A Learning Lesson.

Take your experience from this seller as a learning experience when negotiating on your next home using it as a litmus test of the current market. Your knowledge can make your next offer stronger and less likely for a stubborn seller to walk away. Ask yourself some questions before you go into your next deal.

Analyze what you could have done differently. Could you have gone your maximum at the beginning? Did you take too long to respond to a counter? Did you ask for too much in extras like closing costs or furnishings? Just take your time, sit back and think what you would have done differently.

Losing a home of your dreams, to put it mildly, really sucks but I promise there are other houses out there that are just as nice if not better. I have seen it time and time again when a buyer loses a home only to find one that was much better at a later date making them feel like they dodged a bullet from a bad home buying experience with stubborn sellers. I tell you all of this “Because YOU Matter”

Your Real Estate Whisperer

Kristina Smallhorn

How Social Media Can Help Sell Your Prairieville Home.

February 6, 2017

How Social Media can help sell your Prairieville home.

You are hard pressed to meet anyone who isn’t on some kind of social media platform. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, GooglePlus, Flicker and Pinterest are just a few that are being used daily by millions of users. This is a great opportunity to get your home in front of those millions of users, in turn selling your home quicker than traditional methods. Traditional methods do work but have shown to take much longer to sell.

Why Traditional methods take longer?

Not too long ago a Realtor® would list a home, put a sign in the yard, take several pictures with a regular camera, put it on the MLS and host an open house by advertising in a local paper, Hoping to God that someone saw the Sunday mornings paper, If the listing didn’t sell after a while, they would market in local home magazines found at the grocery store or in bins outside of restaurants. Did this work? YES! Here in Prairieville this had been the recipe for success for many, many years.

So whats changed about marketing my Prairieville home?

Before I answer that question, I want to pose a question for you. When was the last time you bought a Sunday news paper? Better yet, Do you have a newspaper delivered to your home anymore? Many of us do not, I haven’t ordered a news paper in 8 years. News happens so quickly now that by the time it has been printed its already old news.

With social media become progressively the way most people look for news, it is also the best way to present your home to prospective buyers. I’m not talking about taking a picture with your cell phone and throwing it on Facebook wishing for the best. What I’m talking about is a Realtor® who knows how to get to as many users as possible and have your home in front a thousands of potential buyers. A tech savvy Realtor® understands how to do this. They understand how social media works and know that it takes more than a photo with a cell phone to do the trick.

How I can help you.

I use several social media platforms to sell your home, I can discuss with you my plan on how I use social media to make your home go “viral” putting it in front of as many users in your area as possible. I do use some traditional methods as well. The combination of the two is a great marriage of the old way and the new way, appealing too many different kinds of buyers. The end result, your home sells faster.

“Because YOU Matter”

Your Real Estate Whisperer

Kristina Smallhorn

3 things to know when your home is listed.

January 20, 2017

There is nothing SHORT about a Short-Sale.

January 2, 2017

The verbiage alone makes it sound simple and easy. I assure you that they are labor intensive transactions. Many people ask, when searching for a home and come across the listing that say’s “Short-Sale” what exactly it is. In the simplest terms in just means the sellers are going to sell the home for less than they owe to the lender. This sounds like a great buy for the presumed buyers of these homes, but here some things you should know about them from my personal experience as well as questions that should be answered before you dive into purchasing a short-sale home.

Has the short-sale been approved?

In our area of Ascension Parish we don’t see too many short-sales any longer since the housing bubble fizzled a bit in 2008-2009. Many agents who are not experienced with a short sale get a surprising education pretty quickly. If your sellers have to “short-sale” their home the sellers agent must fill out the proper paperwork with the sellers approval to speak with the lender about short selling the home. Comparable homes in the area must show the home is worth less than what is owed and the lender must “approve” the asking price for the home in its current condition. This can take weeks, even months.

If you find a “short-sale” make sure to ask if the home was “approved” for the asking price on the MLS.

You got an accepted offer from the sellers? Not a time to relax, not just yet….

Even though you have negotiated a price with the sellers, it still needs to be accepted by the lender. The seller’s agent has to put together a settlement statement to the lender that is then “approved” or “declined” by the bank. (I have even seen a lender turn down a full asking price short-sale). This approval can take weeks even months to come through. The agents working on this call, fax, email, and use sites to upload documents to make the sale go through.

Got acceptance from the sellers and lender, what now?

This is the time you want to do your inspections, and I STRONGLY suggest you hire a professional inspector. You are going to want to keep a running total of cost of repairs. In many cases the sellers are not in the position to make costly repairs or even minor ones so this is on you, the buyer. You really need to weigh out how much these things will cost you to do. Is the amount more than the reduction you got on the home? Then you may want to find another home.

Hurry up and wait!

You have sent everything 4 times to your agent that’s been required. The sellers have too but 10 times. What could possibly be taking so long? Nobody really knows why these take so long to get approved. The theory is that only one person at each lending institute is doing these short-sale approvals, and they get a 3 hour lunch and several paid days off. (sarcasm). Kidding aside, this can take several months to get the rubber stamp that its cleared to close.

The patient will prevail.

The process can be long and exhausting but you can really get a great home for way less than the comparable’s in the neighborhood. If you have patience you can win out. It’s important you have an agent that is informed of the process and can explain the up and downs as they come along during purchasing a short-sale. There are many other things that can happen during the waiting period for approvals. I just touched on a few of the big ones. I’d love to be the one to help you with your short-sale purchase, Why?

“Because YOU Matter”

Your Real Estate Whisperer

Curb appeal for selling your home in the fall season.

November 4, 2016

Curb appeal for selling your home in the fall season.

When selling a home during the fall months in South Louisiana it is still important to keep your yard looking its best (even though the grass has now turned brown and the green luster not to come back until the spring). I’ve listed some things below that could help your prospective buyers still be in awe of your yard, ignoring those brown blades of hay-looking grass.

1. Rake your yard from falling leaves. This alone can make a yard look fresh in comparison to other homes that are for sale.

autumn-242628_1920

2. Plant fall flowers, and put a lot in. I say it to my clients almost as a joke, but I’m slightly serious as well. If you see an empty spot in your flower beds, add as many fall flowers as you can. Nothing makes a house feel more like home than bright flowers to greet you before you enter.
3. Add color to your front door. If it needs painting, now is the perfect time to do it. A nice fall colored wreath can add a nice dress-up to the entry making the first impression inviting.

wreath-587464_1920

4. Outdoor lighting. As the days become shorter, now is a good time to invest in some great outdoor lighting, A well-lit home from the outside always adds great curb appeal.
5. Pot Some Plants- If your home doesn’t have many flowerbeds that you can add to, you can spruce up your outside by getting large flower pots and adding flowers with color in those. That always looks charming around a home.

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6. Don’t forget to clean out those gutters and pickup any toys and lawn hoses.
Clean and paint your mailbox.

mailbox-1233433__340

This is a rarely thought about item in your yard but used almost daily. A fresh coat of paint on a tired mailbox can make your home stand out as being well kept.This time of year it is typical for the market does slow down a bit. This year we are in a more unique market due to the flood of 2016, making it a little more aggressive than in years past. Don’t take for granted how your outside decor can attract buyers. Sometimes the yard alone is what sells the house.

“Because YOU matter”
#yourrealestatewhisperer

The 6 main reasons your Ascension Parish home isn't selling.

October 24, 2016

The 6 main reasons your Ascension Parish home isn’t selling.

We all have seen homes that have had a “For Sale” sign sitting in the lawn for way longer than it should. It makes you wonder what has happened to make this home sit on the market so much longer than other homes in the same neighborhood. Our minds swim with the idea that there may be something wrong with the home. We can sometimes even create some kind of scandalous scenario as to why the home listing gets as stale as last month’s news.

1. Price-

Most of the time when a home has been properly marketed, the main sticking point is the price. Sellers are often unwilling to come down to the price that market dictates. Everyone wants the best price for their home, but if the market rejects that price it can be hard for some sellers to drop the price. Some agents may say “I can get you top dollar,” but “top dollar” is only the top that the market and buyers are willing to pay for your home. If you only have a few showings and no offers, its simple math -you are priced too high.

2. Your home is taste specific-

I’ll give you a perfect example. You and your neighbor have the exact same floor plan. Your neighbor and you list your homes for the exact same price with the identical listing broker. Two weeks pass and your neighbor gets two offers, and you haven’t got a single one. It’s time to re-evaluate what was the difference. The neighbor’s house has neutral paint color throughout the home that compliments many peoples’ tastes. Your home has dark colors making it feel cold and uninviting. Your neighbor’s counter tops are light simple patterned granite. You chose the darker more interesting granite with loud gold flecks. The neighbor’s carpet is in fairly good shape that is in a neutral shag style. You also have carpet that is slightly worn, but you choose the less expensive carpet showing a worn treaded path and stains. You thought having a big storage unit in the back yard would be a good selling point, but it doesn’t match the home’s exterior and takes up half the yard. All of these things you love about your home, but buyers’ like what the masses like – decluttered, neutral and clean.

3. Deferred Maintenance-

This is my favorite verbiage to use when telling someone that they need to fix everything in the house that has been put off for years. For instance, gutters that are overfilled with leaves and debris, chipped paint in and outside the home, broken and fogged windows. This one is the most common one I see here. (Never pressure wash your double pane windows. It breaks the seal and causes moisture to fill the space making that foggy look). A good rule to follow before you put your home on the market is “If you can see it, they can see it.” You can save yourself a laundry list of repair request from buyers if you just get all those repairs done prior to putting your home on the market.

4. The area-

Your house is in pristine shape. You have taken meticulous care to ensure that when you go to sell your home, everything is in tip top shape. Your lawn is always the greenest. You always maintain the outside just as much as the inside; but your neighbors…… not so much. Before any buyer even sees your home, everything comes in to play prior to the showing. If your home is in an area that has been decreasing in value, it can make the most beautiful of home seem less desirable. Nothing is worse than having a neighborhood that has given up on caring for their homes. There really isn’t much you as a seller can do, but this could be a reason why your home isn’t selling.

5. Marketing-

This one is a touchy subject. Some agents love to throw stones at how the last agent marketed your home, but sometimes it’s the sellers that crush the marketing plan from the beginning. If you will not allow your home to be put out in every media outlet available, you are limiting its chance of exposure. I know some people have special cases and reasons for this, but you have to weigh the pros and cons of limiting your agent.
On the other hand if your agent only puts your home on the MLS for 6 months never to be heard from until your listing is about to expire, you should think about interviewing a new agent. The MLS alone doesn’t sell a home.

6. Timing-

Spring time is the best time to put your home on the market, traditionally. This is true of the Ascension Parish area as well. If you list your home starting in Mid-October through the month of May, your home will take a little longer to sell.

Some listings can be more difficult than others for reasons listed above and for various others. If your agent is truly working with you, you will be aware of how the market is working as your home is for sale. Your REALTOR® should be available for you to ask questions and get updates of showings along with feedback of those showings.
***BONUS**** A little known fact to sellers is “Open houses don’t sell your home.” We have all seen on TV that the agent gets a listing, has one open house where numerous couples walk through the home, and by the end of the day they have 3 offers. But that is Hollywood’s smoke and mirrors. In our area an open house does get potential buyers to preview your home freely on a Sunday afternoon, but in my experience, rarely at the end of the day do you end up with an offer in hand.

If you are having trouble with your listing and like would some expert advice please feel free to call me, I’d love to be a service to you and selling your home.

“Because YOU matter”
#yourrealestatewhiperer

Home Inspection in Ascension Parish- What you need to know.

October 21, 2016

Home Inspection in Ascension Parish- What you need to know.

Anytime you purchase a home in Ascension Parish you have the right to get a home inspection. There is no “Pass or Fail” to a home inspection. It just helps the buyers make a clear, knowledgeable decision to what problems, if any, may be wrong with the home. Some sellers have a pre-inspection done on the home so they can know of any unseen problems and make the repairs prior to listing. I’d still strongly advise getting your own inspector to look over the home when you have your inspection time. I’m listing some things you should know about the inspection period of a signed purchase agreement.

Time Frame-

Most purchase offers state a ten day inspection period, but that time frame can be negotiated. During this time the buyers have the right to have the home inspected at their expense. This means they can hire or not hire anyone to go over the home to detect problems that may not be known to the seller.

Who gets to inspect the home?-

Like I said before, anyone can inspect the home for the buyers. A licensed inspector holds more weight than let’s say your cousin who does home improvements for a living. The buyer can also have a structural engineer inspect the foundation, have another inspector check for mold, and another to take soil samples for various reasons. They can hire whomever they want during this ten day period to look over the home. These inspections are always approved by the sellers to allow the buyers to do this prior to the appointment. They can’t just show up during this time unannounced.

Does the seller have to do all the items the inspectors find?

The best answer for this is NO! Inspectors can find major problems and not so major problems. An A/C not working properly is an issue for concern. Chipped paint from a weed whacker along the hardy board on the side of the house – not so major.

How long do the sellers and buyers have to respond to the request?

In the state of Louisiana they have 72 hours after receipt of inspection request to respond to the repair request. This time frame is for the sellers to make calls and get quotes for costs to them for the requested repairs. In turn the buyers’ get 72 hours to respond to the sellers’ response to the report. This means that if the seller chooses to only make half of the repairs requested, then the buyer has the same amount of time to get quotes and make decisions to the items that were declined from repair.

Do I still have to buy the home if the seller doesn’t want to make repairs?

Unless stated in the agreement prior, the buyer does not have to buy the home if the seller is unwilling or incapable of making repairs as long as the inspections were done within the time frame allotted for inspection.

Can the sellers negotiate the price if repairs aren’t going to be made?

Yes, the buyer can request, instead of the seller, to make the repairs so that either the sales price can be reduced or the buyer can receive closing costs. This part is something you can negotiate after you have determined the costs of the requested repairs.
Many things can and will happen during the inspection period. At a more recent inspection, I was in the kitchen as the inspector was checking the bathroom plumbing. As I sat, I began to feel water dripping on my head. I looked up, and the A/C drip pan was leaking from the ceiling. The inspection ended right there. The sellers had no idea that there was a problem, but the buyers didn’t want the home when they saw this. They thought the sellers were trying to dump their problems on an unsuspecting buyer. This wasn’t the case, but you can see how the buyers would feel like this.

It’s important for buyers to hire a professional inspector, since this example was more obvious than other problems that could come up. If you are concerned about issues with your home prior to listing you may want to consider a pre-inspection. I tell you all of this “Because YOU matter”

#yourrealestatewhisperer