Selling on Your Own

The most difficult tasks mentioned by for sale by owners included getting the price right, preparing or fixing up the home for sale, and selling within the length of time planned.

The trend in homeowners successfully selling their own home has declined from 15% in 1981 to only 8% in 2019.  In the 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, six out of ten sellers knew the buyers who were predominantly a friend, relative or a neighbor. 

The fact that these sellers knew the buyer was mentioned as the main reason to sell as a for sale by owner. In these situations, the time on the market was usually less than a week and sellers reported that they received 101 percent of the asking price.  76% of the sellers who knew the buyers did not actively market the home.

The most important reason for selling the home for sale by owner was to keep from paying a commission or fee mentioned by 35% of all sellers.  Interestingly, only 14% of sellers who knew the buyer was trying to save the commission while 63% of sellers who did not know the buyer were trying to save the commission.

For sale by owners tend to sell for a lower sales price than homes listed through real estate professionals. The median sales price was $275,000 for all sellers; $200,000 for all for sale by owners and $280,000 for all agent-assisted homes.  Exhibit 8-6

The most difficult tasks mentioned by for sale by owners included getting the price right, preparing or fixing up the home for sale, and selling within the length of time planned.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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By: PatZaby.com

89% homeowners sold with agent

Even with all the Internet marketing, more homeowners are using real estate professionals than in the past.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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By: PatZaby.com

Open Houses

Besides looking for a home, if you're looking for an agent, you get a chance to meet the agent to decide if you can worth with them.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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By: PatZaby.com

Moving is a Big Job

Moving is a big job and having help to guide you through the process is valuable.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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By: PatZaby.com

63% of Sellers...

Repeat and referral business is the cornerstone of a successful real estate professional.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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By: PatZaby.com

Questions To Ask Your Listing Agent

 

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

Get Orlando Daily News delivered to your inbox! Subscribe here!

 

By: PatZaby.com

Earnest money needed

 

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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By: PatZaby.com

Ten Things to Expect When Selling Your Home in Orlando, FL

You’re ready to sell your home, and you have dreams of the first family coming to see your home, walk in the front door, fall in love, make an offer for more than you’d hope for, and the sale finalized in thirty days. Sellers don’t always know what to expect after they put their home on the market, and these ten tips can help you in the process. 

 

• - Be prepared to do some painting and patching, at the very least.  If you want the best sale price, you must do your best to get that price. 
• - It’s a practical idea to have the house inspected for pests and have that report ready if/when a potential buyer asks about it. 
• - Major issues with your house should be repaired before the For-Sale sign goes in the front yard, and if it’s not possible, you’ll need to offer a credit to the buyer for repairs. 

• - Detach your emotions about the house while you’re in sell mode.  Think of it as a financial transaction, or from the excited and expectant house hunter’s view.  
• - Be clear on what does or does not stay with your home:  any kitchen appliances, washer and dryer, chandeliers, and even window treatments.   
• - If you or your agent have decided to hire a staging firm, don’t take offense if they ask to put your belongings in storage.  It’s not personal--it’s about making your home attractive to the general public and getting the best sale price for you! 
• - Be prepared for inconvenience.  You will not be getting a weekly showing schedule every Monday that’s set-in stone.  If you want to sell your house, flexibility is key when allowing potential buyers in to see it. 
• - Talk with your agent about what incentives you can offer to make your home more attractive to a buyer. 

• - Be available to your agent, whether it be via phone calls, texting or email.  They are your link to the buyer, and it’s important that you be accessible to them. 
• - As the seller, you have to be at the closing, so be prepared the day of:  zillow.com gives you the low-down on what to bring, and what you’ll be signing. 

 

Once you’re finished with the cleaning, decluttering, and replacing that one doorknob that doesn’t work, it’s time to get your home sold.  Selling it at the best price means that you have to be prepared, flexible, and practical. If you’re not sure what you need to do, ask your Realtor.  They are there for you in every step of the home-selling process. 

 

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Photo credit: The Nest

A Home for Tomorrow

As people near or enter retirement, one of the decisions that typically comes up is whether to sell their "big" home and buy a smaller one. If you know anyone who has been faced with that situation, selling one home and buying a smaller one may not save enough money to make it worthwhile.

 

There are sales expenses on the property being sold and acquisition costs on the replacement home. Generally speaking, homeowners may not mind a home with less square footage, but they usually don't want to give up amenities or locations that they've become accustomed.

 

After a little number crunching, the move may not make enough difference in savings and they end up staying in their current home even if it doesn't fit their needs anymore.

 

What if while this couple were still in their peak earning years, they acquired a home in an area where they would consider retiring and rent it during the interim. They could put it on a 15-year mortgage and possibly, even accelerate the principal payments to have it paid off by their anticipated move.

 

In the meantime, they could continue living in the "big" home until it is time to make the transition. Sell the "big" home that may be paid for by then and avoid up to $500,000 of capital gain. Take part of the proceeds and remodel the rental/transitional home and invest the proceeds for retirement income.

 

Ideally, the former rental would be mortgage free by this point, so the retirees would not have a house payment. Even if at this point, they changed their mind about retiring to this particular home, they still have a property that acted as a hedge against rising prices and have sufficient equity to purchase something else without using the proceeds from the "big" home.

 

It is difficult to know what the situation will be years from now when a person retires. It is clearly advantageous to have a plan that allows for options and choices. To find out more about purchasing your retirement home today, give me a call at (407) 467-5155.

 

By: PatZaby.com

 

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Ten Home-Showing Tips for Orlando, FL

Your house sells itself.  That said, there are things you can do to move the process along more smoothly.  You’ve spruced up the kitchen cabinets with paint and new hardware, moved all your family photos and personal knick-knacks to a storage unit, and replaced your heavy drapes with sheers to show off the natural light in your home. Now it’s time for your Realtor to bring in potential buyers, and you should keep these recommendations in mind: 

 

• - Make sure the house is spotless.  Your Realtor will let you know when they’re showing your home to someone, so once you’ve done the initial cleaning and purging, keeping it clean should only take a half hour or so before it’s shown. 
• - If the showing is at a time when you would normally be home, leave.  Plan to do your grocery shopping, playdate at the park, or coffee with a friend for this time slot. 
• - Take your pets with you, and put Kitty’s litter box in the garage.  If that isn’t possible, find a trusted pet sitter to take them for the hour or so that your Realtor needs. 

• - Don’t cook a meal the night before that would have a lingering unpleasant odor.  Lemon, orange or cinnamon scents appeal to the masses, so use these sparingly just before you leave the house; less is more in the case of home aroma. 
• - Your stack of bills, any medicines, as well as your valuables, should be locked away.  Potential buyers truly look at everything, and you wouldn’t want your privacy compromised. 
• - If you give the kitchen and bathrooms a quick once-over with cleaning solutions before the showing, stay away from strong cleaners like bleach and ammonia.  The smell could be too much, as well as being allergens for some. A lightly scented multi-purpose cleaner would be best. 
• - In carpeted rooms, run your vacuum over the floors in one direction, if possible, working from the farthest point of the room to the door, and don’t walk on it after you’re finished. 
• - Turn on the lights and open the blinds in any of the darker rooms or areas of your home.  This not only keeps your Realtor from having to do it, but it shows the buyers each space in its best light. 

• - Make sure the temperature in the house is comfortable.  Your family may like a cool home, but 70° is perfect for most people. 
• - Have a basket or decorative bin at the ready for paperwork, pet toys, kids’ toys and other everyday items that need to be picked up on short notice, and store it on a shelf or another out-of-sight spot.  One seller took the basket with her when she left for the showing! 

 

If you’re just walking out of the front door as the potential homeowners are arriving with your Realtor, greet them with a smile and a hello, and be on your way.  You’ve hired your Realtor for a reason, and if there are any questions buyers may have, your agent can handle these, or contact you if there’s something they can’t answer.  Remember to be flexible during this time of your life.  You want to sell your home, so be its best advocate, no matter what it takes! 

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.
Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.
You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.
Get Orlando Daily News delivered to your inbox! Subscribe here!

Photo credit: Hendrix Properties