Dave Reierson REALTOR®

REIERSON REAL ESTATE ADVISORS Serving Home Sellers and Buyers Greater Grand Rapids Michigan Real Estate Market

Selling Your Home? My goal is to bring your home to SOLD for top dollar and in a timely manner. High end homes and estate properties are my listing specialties. Sellers sizing down, moving up or adding waterfront or investment properties to portfolios, now is the time to sell and buy. Creative online and offline marketing programs will give you the edge you need to sell your home. Contact Dave now for a complimentary market update specific to your property. FREE photo shoot for your home on all new listings. Over 20 years experience will guide you along the successful path to closing. Top quality UV coated color brochure provided at no additional charge.

Buying a Home in Greater Grand Rapids? Let my direct access to all the currently available listings help you locate your dream home in the most efficient way possible. Click HERE to search Homes in West Michigan through the Multiple Listing Service and all MLS Grand Rapids MI listings. Need history on a specific property? Send an email request and I will respond upon receipt.

Your complete satisfaction is my number one priority.

GRAND RAPIDS HOME SELLING TIP

Selling your home for top dollar $$$

Thinking about selling your home this spring? Buyer activity is likely to be quite strong with interest rates at their lowest levels and thirty year fixed mortgage rates under 4%. For sellers wondering whether to list or not, the ultimate decision comes down to equity in your home and if your home value has declined in the recent recession.  If you have owned your home for seven to ten years, you should be able to net positively on a sale, especially if you began with more than 5% down.  If ownership time has been shorter, then many of you are bringing money to close in order to move, while tapping savings in order to close on a home sale.  Many experts believe that the bottom of the market is here now, wonderful for buyers who have the means to purchase, but as a seller, you have to think about how soon values may increase and if home pricing may be further affected by foreclosure and short sales.  Values may not increase much, if at all, in the next five years.  So, waiting to sell may not provide any additional advantages.

Prepare your home for sale by planning what needs to be done. Walk through each room in your home armed with a pen and paper, listing all the items where a buyer might object.  Use a critical eye, pretend you are a buyer when you look at your home.

Start with the interior now and work on the outside when the weather warms.

1. Clean carpets, evaluate flooring for replacement.  Spotted or outdated carpet, linoleum and vinyl flooring should be replaced. New laminate flooring is appropriate in lower price ranges, hard wood and tile in upper ranges. Carpet in the dining area or kitchen? Buyers prefer solid surfaces in these areas. Replace with flooring in line with property value, do not over or under improve.  New flooring could make the difference between selling or not selling your home.  Remember the buyers don't have the time or money or inclination to make lots of updates and when they look at ten to twenty homes for sale, they will choose to buy the most updated home for the lowest price possible. Sellers and buyers inherently have opposing goals. But it is important not to take this lightly as a seller competing to sell in this Grand Rapids market.

2. Kitchen counter tops, evaluate for replacement with solid surface or granite to compete with other sellers. How do the appliances look? A twenty year old washer and dryer in a $250,000 home may bring down the sold value, buyers are subtracting subconsciously, please be aware of this.

3. Check light fixtures for outdatedness.  Light fixtures are easily replaced with new ones, use a licensed electrician to install, but choose and purchase neutral selections which are excellent at Lowe's, Menard's and Home Depot.

3. Freshly paint neutral colors, buyers do not like wall paper or strong colors, they are looking for a neutral palette.  Do you have a red, blue or green wall?  Paint with neutrality, accessorize with color.

3. Evaluate furniture placements (staging).  Over crowding living spaces with furniture is a common mistake. Remove extra pieces of furniture to storage.

4. Declutter storage areas: the garage, closets and basement.  Prioritize: Closets first, then basement, then garage.

About the author: Dave Reierson is broker and owner of Reierson Real Estate Advisors. For over 20 years, providing full service real estate representation. Serving residential home sellers and buyers in Grand Rapids and West Michigan.