In this economy and depressed housing market, one of the biggest questions people are asking is, why isn’t my home selling?  The home could have been on the market for months and no purchase offers have been made.

Maybe it is time to examine your selling strategy to see if you can make some changes to get that house moving in the direction — toward a sell and closing.

Keep abreast of the homes that have sold in your neighborhood. If 90% of the homes in your market aren’t selling, then your home has to outshine that 90% to get into the top 10%. Don’t depend on facts or figures about completed sales beacuse the data may be wrong.Pending sales figures give you the most up-to-date information. These are the homes you want to copy.

Is your home comparable to the pending sales?  Take a critical look at your home.  Does it need repairs? Upgrades?Do the top 10% of homes that are selling have new carpet? Replace yours if you don’t.  Paint the walls a neutral color. 

Photography

Do you have good photos of your home? Do you have more than one photo?Hire a professional photographer to photograph your home to its best advantage.  If you find a photographer that is experienced in real estate, they can help you get each shot set up.  If your photographer is not very experienced then have him shoot wide angle photos with plenty of light showcasing your home’s best feature.

Unless your bedrooms are really different from each other, only photograph the master bedroom.  Make certain you or your photographer doesn’t get into the picture in mirror or glass door reflections.Don’t photograph your hallway if it is narrow and dark.  Take many pictures of the kitchen from different angels.  Set the dining room table with a neutral table cloth and your best china before photographing it.  Make your living room look more spacious by moving out some furniture.  Take a picture of the entryway, flower gardens, and the backyard.  Add a good caption to each photo.

Another method for attracting buyers is going to http://www.findbuyers.com for a unique approach in buyer and selling matching that works like a dating site.  Findbuyers.com uses a 30 point matching system to ensure you find the house you want, in the area you want.  We have clients in the Washington DC Metro area and most major cities in the Mid-Atlantic region.  Signing up is free, so go to http://www.findbuyers.com and register, today.

When it comes time to sell your house, you will have the option of selling your house with the help of a real estate agent or broker, or on your own. Your particular situation will determine which option for selling your house is ideal for you however there are pros and cons to both options.

Before you consider selling your own home you need to understand all that is involved in making the decision. If you want to be successful in selling your home a great deal of work is necessary. Gather all the information you can on the local market and selling customs before deciding to do it yourself.

Not having to pay a Realtor for the sale is one of the biggest advantages of selling your home yourself. Rather than pay out $5,000 to $7,000 commission on a $100,000 home sale you can keep that money yourself. Is the work involved worth the savings. That is a question only you can answer.

If you sell your house on your own, you will receive all the proceeds and profits from the sale rather than paying the real estate agent. In addition, you are in control of the sale transaction, not the agent or real estate firm.

Another advantage in selling your home yourself is that you are responsible for making everything go smoothly in the transaction. You have no one to blame or point the finger at because you made the decisions, if there are any mistakes. This control is desirable for many and the savings is worth the effort and responsibility.

Making the decision you must be willing to take the responsibility of selling your home. Especially if you are not experienced or have never sold a home, you must trust your judgment and be comfortable with your decisions.

Keep in mind you will incur the advertising and marketing costs when selling a home yourself. Not advertising your home in enough places you may find you do not get the interest a real-estate agent might bring. If you want to sell your home quickly you can skimp marketing.

Selling a house on your own can be quite beneficial, or the worst decision you can make, depending all on you. If you choose to proceed without an agent, you can either leave a lot of money on the table due to poor negotiation skills, or you could make a killing on the sale of your house by eliminating the commission fees.

It is important to consider both the advantages and the pitfalls of selling your own home. Before you decide whether you are willing to take on the job of selling a home or pay a Realtor to do it for you. Think through the process.

More about this topic and free advise at www.betterwith.com

When you’re getting ready to sell a property or other investment, there are a lot of things you can do to create curb appeal so everything works in your favor. Within 10 seconds of a potential buyer first seeing the outside of a house is when statistics show they decide whether or not they want to see the inside. This is one of the single most important things you can do to attract buyers initially. Not only so you can get more for your property, but also sell it faster than you might otherwise.

Here are some cost effective things you can do quickly to make your real estate investment more profitable. You may not be using some these concepts to your advantage even though you may be familiar with them. A lot of these principles also apply for creative real estate investing strategies like foreclosures, flipping, wholesaling, lease options, property assignments and rehabs.

Aside from standard cleaning, here are some of the most important things you can do to have the most impact with minimal cost:

-Mow the grass first and then clean the flower beds and trim the trees and shrubs

-Many investment properties can be made to look like new by simply pressure washing exterior walls

-The use of touch up paint will help where you can avoid repainting the entire room

-When you need to paint, use neutral or lighter color paint that will appeal to more buyers.

-Eliminate or replace “dated” features like wall paper, old fixtures and knobs

-Remove the garbage and clutter in the house especially in the closets and pantry

-Replace the carpet in areas that absolutely need it and have the rest of the carpets cleaned

-When color and definition are needed paint the front door.

-Clean and sweep the front porch and the pathway leading up to it

-Clean the debris from the gutters and downspouts

-Remove oils stains in the driveway

-Leaks, cracks and stains must be repaired

-Remove old, dirty welcome mats and replace them with new ones

-A bench or some seating on the porch or even in the entry way is well worth the investment and add a lot if room permits.

-Add flowers in pots to the porch and then add some color to the entry way

-New brighter light fixtures will add a lot of appeal to your house so replace the old dim ones

-Clean or re-grout tile including showers and bathrooms

-Old and dirty drapes, shower curtains and blinds need to be cleaned or replaced. -Minimal window converings let a lot of natural light into the room so get rid of old drapes

-Clean light switches, door handles and handrails

Wash mirrors and windoows

-Air out the house and use natural air fresheners. -There are many people who have allergic reactions to chemical based air fresheners so don’t use them.

Remember, you don’t have to break the bank with excessive remodeling; many of the things we’ve talked about will not cost very much but can make a big difference. Don’t do expensive renovations when small details will acutally do more for you. This can even be advantageous for low risk, quick cash strategies such as a system to flip houses and similar effective fast cash investment strategies!