Five Areas That Can Hurt Your Home's Appraisal

When you're listing your home for sale, one of the things that is very vital is the appraisal. Yet, this is an area that can be significantly positively or negatively influenced by what you do or don't do to your home before it is appraised.

Knowing which areas to pay particular attention to can help you increase your home's value. Here are five areas that can hurt your appraisal.

Unkept exterior/interior

Having a messy home from the outside in, not only can cause potential buyers to turn away from your home but it can also cause an appraiser to shave a little off your appraisal. If the exterior has lots of overgrown and unkept bushes and the house is dilapidated, this could cause the appraiser to take "as much as 3 percent off", according to CNNMoney.

Curb appeal doesn't just help entice buyers to come in and see more of your home, it can actually increase your appraisal value. Also, If neighboring homes are meticulously kept up and yours isn't, this could cause your appraisal to be even more severely downgraded. A carefully maintained yard is a sign that the home is also likely kept up.

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Buying or Selling a Home in Fairfield County?  Contact us!

If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in  Fairfield County, and are in need of representation, I invite you to contact me. I know the market like the back of my hand, know marketing inside and out, am a skilled negotiator- and I'd love to be on your side :) - Judy

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Would You Rather Have an Agent Lie to You or Tell You the Truth?

The truth, right?

I hope your first reaction to this question is  for your agent to tell you the truth.  Do not let your emotions about getting the highest price for your property get in the way of listening to reason, especially when there is evidence to support it.

Telling the truth to homeowners who are interviewing a few agents to list their home for sale sometimes costs me business- because it's not exactly what these homeowners want to hear.

There are, however,  plenty of agents who would rather lie to you,  give you false hope on a suggested list price that is over and above what the market will bear. It's an awful sales tactic- so be on the  lookout.

And why do real estate agents  lie to you about how much your home is worth?

Certainly one reason is lack of market knowledge, or the inability to price homes correctly, and that may not even be an overt lie on their part.

The second reason is that this is a sales tactic that is purely intentional. The agent gives you a price above what they know is appropriate, so that you think that they really love your home and can sell it at that high price.

These agents intentionally give you an inflated price  just to get you to  sign the listing contract- and once you are signed up, they will get you to reduce the price- sometimes even within the first week to ten days. This type of agent induced  "analysis paralysis" causes the homeowner to  dismiss an appropriate price and choose the highest price an agent gives them, even though the analysis says differently.

You should never start any type of relationship on a lie, let alone a business transaction. What will happen  next? What will the next lie be about? This is just a nasty,  shamelessly unprofessional and selfish business tactic, and unlawful in my opinion as well.  

Insist on a detailed Market Analysis- that's called a True Market Analysis.

A  market analysis is just that. Take the time to review it. Are the comparables on the other side of town or are they close by? Are the comparables of similar square footage? How many comparable properties are included in your analysis? Is the price obvious to you by looking at what's in front of you? It should be.

Without any exceptions, the analysis should be detailed enough that it should suggest a price to you, and sometimes you may not like that price. It is important to control your emotions enough to look at what's in front of you, and  as much as you may not like it, understand that analyses don't lie. Agents do.

Trust your gut when you meet an agent. Ask for testimonials. Hopefully, you should be able to spot  the less than truthful agent and remember that when you  get to the pricing part of the presentation.

Consistently telling my clients the truth allows me to sleep peacefully  at night, and I wouldn't have it any other way. If you need a price opinion on your home, and are ready to sell, call me, or email me. I'd love to hear from you- and that's the truth, too :)

And a note From Judy: If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in Fairfield County, and are in need of an Realtor to represent you, I invite you to contact me, and if you have an idea for a topic that you would like to see on The CT Realty Blog, please include it in the "Post a Comment" section link below this post. We appreciate the feedback and look forward to providing you with the best real estate content, advice and service in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Don't Fall into the Trap of Listing Your Home For the Highest Price

It's time! You have decided to put your home on the market, and of course you want to get the highest price possible. Agents want to get you the highest price possible, too.

BUT....

You must look at the comparables, and past sales history for your town and your style of home, along with a square footage analysis.  A detailed analysis will most certainly point to the correct number for the market, but  you may not like what the numbers point to,  and there are many agents who will tell you what you want to hear, rather than tell you the truth.

They do that to ensure that they will get the listing, and control the sale. The only problem is that if you list with the "highest bidder", your home will not sell, because it will be overpriced for the market.  This is a trap that way too many home sellers fall into.  That is, listening to the agent and hiring the agent who cannot back up their claim to be able to get you the highest price for your home.

The appraiser that comes out on behalf of the buyer's chosen bank will only look at comparable sales within the last six months. If you or your agent are comparing your home with a sale that happened outside of that six month window, remember, the appraisers will not even consider that. So on the off chance that you do get a buyer for your home at a price that is higher than the market would generally bear,  a low appraisal would negate that sale. You have heard of appraisals that come in low?  Either the transaction falls apart, or you will have to reduce your price. It becomes a big mess.

When you interview  an agent to price your home, remember  these facts. the highest price that am agent tells you  is not always the correct figure,  or most honest one.

If you would like an honest market evaluation, contact me. You  can most certainly make future plans with confidence with me.

And a note From Judy: If you have a question about buying or selling a home in Fairfield County, and are in need of an Realtor to represent you, I invite you to contact me, and if you have an idea for a topic that you would like to see on The CT Realty Blog, please include it in the "Post a Comment" section link below this post. We appreciate the feedback and look forward to providing you with the best real estate content, advice and service in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Know the difference - Market Time vs. Market History vs. Listing History.

Once you know the difference between the three, and that there is a very relevant difference between the three,  the most commonly used term that you have heard over and over again (Market Time ) becomes incomplete information and nearly irrelevant as it pertains to pricing your home or negotiating for your purchase.

Market Time: This number is measured in days and  is on every listing data sheet. As I have mentioned in previous articles, the number is pretty much hidden in plain site at the top of your MLS listing fact sheet, and it would appear as trivial as MT 122. As a buyer, you may not be aware that MT 122 means that the market time is 122 days on that listing.

Market History: A complete rundown on that particular home's listing history. For example, that MT 122 that I just mentioned is only for the listing that is active NOW. If that home has been on the market before for 200 days and didn't sell, the market time on that house would effectively and cumulatively be 322, and NOT 122. Would that make a difference to you as a buyer in what you might offer?

That particular home could have been listed more than once before. The cumulative market time is the most important figure with just a few things to remember as you look at this data.

Listing History:  A detailed listing of any changes in status of a particular  home's listing(s). If it has been on the market more than once,  you will need the full Market  History before you can obtain the full Listing History.  The Listing history will include the date the home went on the market and the original list price, the date and amount of any price reductions, the date of any deposit, the date the deposit fell through, adn the date that particular listing went off the market

IMPORTANT TIP: Market time is valuable information, but as far as knowing how to best negotiate for a home,  it means nothing unless a the Listing History is obtained.

Here's a Counterpoint -Why do Realtors seem to quote market time  as such an important number in market statistics if in fact, it may not be complete information as you say?

We refer to and quote market time on a townwide basis for averages. At least I do. I cannot speak for other Realtors. A few things to note about averages. There has to be a high and a low, obviously. Most homes will also fall above and below that average, obviously.  It is a generalization, but still an important one to understand the townwide market performance.

Once you understand town performance, you can better pinpoint a property value within that town. Does that make sense? I liken it to learning the alphabet, before one is able to write a word.  You MUST have a very good knowledge of the alphabet before you can write a word and understand what you actually wrote. You MUST know the town well, before you can price an individual  home effectively.

Obtaining Listing History is great for an indiviual property,  but lends little if anything more to the overall town's market performance which is based on averages. So Market Time is best used as a generalization for the town, and to recap, Listing History should be used specifically to price a home as effectively and appropriately as possible after reviewing market history. Bottom Line:When it comes to pricing a home, never forget the market time as an average, but  the Market History and Listing History are both KEY.

Contact me to price your home. And to sell it. Or negotiate the best deal for you.

Remember, the right agent is KEY, too :)

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Is your home EVER going to sell? How long does it take?

If sellers only knew  what their agent WASN'T doing to sell their home, they would be appalled. Trust me, other agents can spot a lack of professionalism a mile away, and it translates right down to YOUR property, YOUR sales price, and YOUR Bottom line.

In  reviewing some listings in the three million dollar plus range for a client of mine, I ran across some rather elementary attempts at marketing, especially given the styling and features of the homes being presented.  That is certainly not to say that if your home's listing price is $50,000  that you shouldn't get good service, or great marketing. Of course you should!  The feeble attempts at marketing from so-called professionals are positively abominable, in my opinion. No wonder why so many homeowners get discouraged.

You as a homeowner, have the ability to change that.  Look at your marketing materials and your home's presentation as if you were a buyer. Does the short listing description make you want to know more about the house? Does it make you want to see that property? If  you don't see important marketable features of your home highlighted, or just see some fluffy description that really doesn't catch your eye, have your agent change it. OR CHANGE AGENTS. You lose money every day that your home is available for sale and mis-marketed, and the loss compounds over time, even if the market doesn't change.

You would think that maybe, just maybe... the listing agents would put as much information in the listing as they could. Everyone knows that we don't get paid unless the house gets sold.

Well,  think again. Misquoted square footage. misquoted taxes, impressive home features left completely out of the listing, not enough pictures, poorly presented photos, no room measurements, no room descriptions, Poorly worded and grammatically incorrect remarks. It goes on and on.

I can go on here, too. ( I know I am passionate about this- I really was taken aback after looking at these listings earlier.) Have you checked out your home on Realtor.com? Your agent can amend the description here, too. It doesn't take long, and it can make a world of difference. What about your agent's personal website? Is your home featured there? You would think this is Standard Operating Procedure, but guess what?  It may not be for that agent!  Do you happen to know what percentage of  agents haven't updated their personal site in the last six months?  That number is close to 60 percent!

If the agent is NOT taking care of their professional presence on the internet, how can they take care of you?

If you want your home to get the best marketing possible, by an experienced agent, it's time to contact me. It's time to get your home sold by an agent who cares how they market your property.

I am in the business of selling homes, and I'd like to be in business with you. Contact me today to get your home IN the Market, and I WILL get your home sold.

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