Cyber Realty Selling Your Home

Selling Your Home

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Selling your home is likely to be one of the most important financial transactions of your life. It requires careful planning and decision-making to maximize your gain.

Your realtor will play a vital role - providing you valuable information and guidance all through the process. At Jan Kalman Realty, our sales agents and brokers are experts on the local market, on negotiating to your best advantage and on the marketing techniques that reach today's buyers. We can offer our skills and advice so that your home is properly priced and properly presented. We will create a strategy to market your home with your goals foremost in our minds.

Whether you are scalling down or moving on up, choose Jan Kalman Realty to assist you. Contact one of our agents today for a complimentary, no obligation analysis of your home's value. You may also download a copy of the MLS Sellers Guide.

We can offer advice on improving your home to sell or comprehending the tax laws. We promise to provide the excellent service and attention to detail to make your home selling experience the very best it can be.

USE A REALTOR

Although some people choose to fly solo when selling or buying their homes, the services of a qualified real estate professional are invaluable. What appears to be a simple transaction to the uninitiated novice can in reality turn out to be riddled with complications. An experienced Realtor can navigate unfamiliar territory and handle tricky negotiations. A professional real estate agent has invaluable experience in advertising your home, organizing inspections and appraisals, screening prospective buyers, drawing up contracts and negotiating terms.

A skilled agent can be a valuable sounding board when you are taxed emotionally. They know what to expect and can guide you past the potential hazards. An experienced real estate agent will help you evaluate comparable properties to determine the best price for your home. They are familiar with both local issues and regional market conditions, and can recommend properties that represent a good investment. Buying or selling property is a serious undertaking. However tempting it may be to save on the agent's commission, avoid the (penny wise, pound foolish) pitfall. Engaging the services of a Realtor can be tantamount to acquiring peace of mind.

INTERNET HOMEBUYERS ARE ON THE MOVE (REACH TODAYS BUYERS)

The latest marketing study by the National Association of Realtors revealed that 71 percent of all homebuyers used the Internet to search for a home in 2003. It's the first time in real estate history that more homebuyers reported using the Internet than the newspaper. Those who predicted that the Internet would eliminate the Realtor's role were wrong. Ninety percent of the homebuyers who used the Internet to assist their home search also engaged the services of a real estate professional, and 41 percent were first shown the home they bought by a Realtor.

Internet homebuyers take longer to complete their home searches (averaging 8 weeks versus 5 weeks for non-Internet users.) Industry analysts theorize that Internet buyers spend extra time browsing the web for interesting properties before taking action. The typical Internet shopper conducts more extensive research, studying 12 homes before making a decision, compared with an average 7 homes considered by non-Internet buyers. Homebuyers use the Internet to obtain information about potential properties and neighborhoods, to preview photographs of listed homes and to read about property details. Seventy-seven percent of Internet shoppers prefer taking a virtual tour of a property before they call their Realtor, jump in the car and drive by to see the home.

PRICING YOUR HOME

While there are many factors that contribute to the successful sale of a home, the importance of determining the correct price right from the beginning cannot be underestimated. Interest and enthusiasm for your home will be strongest when it first appears on the market. If your property is competitively priced and compares favorably to similar listings, you will attract genuine buyers. An unrealistically high list price will discourage early buyers, who'll wait for you to reduce your price before making an offer.
An experienced real estate agent will work with you to identify the best price possible for your home, ensuring an easier and faster sale, and thereby reducing carrying costs, mortgage payments, ownership expenses and overall stress. Your agent will evaluate comparable homes in the neighborhood to determine the market value of your property. When a home is reasonably priced, buyers will bid aggressively rather than run the risk of losing the property. A fair price at the beginning ensures satisfaction at the end.

HAVING AN "OPEN HOUSE"?

Your home has been on the market for a few weeks, and your Realtor has suggested an "open house". Your agent puts up signs, gives you some pointers about how to prepare your home for showing, and shows up early on Sunday. You may be tempted to stay around, but the best advice is to leave while your home is being shown! When sellers are present at an open house, they can hamper the sales professional's ability to cultivate interested buyers, and can even squelch a sale.
What would your response be, for instance, if someone strolls into your kitchen and says, "What awful wallpaper!" If buyers know that the owners are present, the agent may never even get to hear the concerns of reserved buyers. If your object is to get your home SOLD, the best thing you can do is to let the sales professional do the job.

SCALING DOWN

Your youngest child has just left home! Your present house now seems enormous. Your "empty nest" has prompted thoughts of selling your home and moving to a smaller, more manageable house. Before you make a move, you should consult two important professionals your Realtor and your tax planner. A good Realtor will be able to tell you the value of your current home and the availability of houses in your preferred area.
Buying a smaller home can have important advantages, such as lowering your property taxes, simplifying property maintenance, and generating cash which can be put into income-producing investments. You will also want to consider the tax laws which allow capital gain exclusions whether you "buy up" to a more expensive home or "buy down" to a less expensive one. If you are moving downtown from the suburbs in order to be close to cultural centers, theaters and restaurants, there may be "quality of life" issues, such as noise or parking. Your Realtor and your tax planner can provide valuable information to assist you in making such decisions.

MOVIN' ON UP?

Many people buy their first homes before they have a family or have become established in their careers. A few years later their life situation has changed--they need more space or a larger mortgage to offset their increased income. Changes in lifestyle often create changes in housing needs. Along with a big promotion, you may be expected to do more entertaining. This translates into the need for a more spacious kitchen and additional living space for entertaining.
If you are starting a family, it may be time to trade your sophisticated home in the city for a house which has a big yard and is located in a good school district. If changes in your life have prompted thoughts of moving, we will be happy to discuss all of the possibilities with you. Your agent can determine what your present home is worth and show you homes that will meet your current needs.

DON'T OVER-IMPROVE YOUR HOME

You have received some extra money! You want to remodel! If you are planning a major renovation, take a few sensible precautions before having plans drawn up and signing on the contractor's dotted line. Anytime you do any significant remodeling, you run the risk of over-improving your home. I will be glad to provide you with a market analysis of what your home is worth. I can tell you about neighborhood trends and discuss the recent sales of homes in your area. If your neighborhood is experiencing healthy appreciation, making major changes to your home might make sense. However, if there is not much difference between the prices of remodeled homes and those, which have not been renovated, expensive changes may be hard to recover if you sell your home soon.

HOMEOWNERS CAPITAL GAIN

In 2001, the capital gains rate dropped to 18% for taxable gains on a principal residence that you have occupied for at least five years. This is a result of the 1997 tax bill that eliminated the traditional system of "rollover" deferrals of tax liability on home sale profits. The law allows capital gain exclusions whether you "buy" to a more expensive home or "buy down" to a less expensive one. Prior to this law homeowners if they had a gain above the limit, were taxed at a 28% capital gains rate. When the rules became effective for principal residences sold after May 6, 1997, the rate was lowered to 20%.

If you are a married home-seller filing jointly, you enjoy up to $500,000 in home sale gains tax-free, provided you have occupied the property as your principal residence during two of the last five years. Taxpayers who file singly (even if they are married) get $250,000 capital gains exclusion. Home-sellers are eligible to exclude capital gains on the sale of a home as often as once every two years. Consult your tax advisor for your particular circumstance.