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Home » Family Articles » Three Important House Selling Tips

Three Important House Selling Tips

There are hundreds of good house selling tips that can help you when the time comes to put that sign in the yard. Some are more important than others though. Here are three of the most important points.

1. Understand Value. Your home is not worth more because you like it, and it may not even be worth more after you spend $10,000 making it the way you like it. It is worth what others will pay. One of the worst parts of a real estate agent's job is trying to explain to a nice couple that their $45,000 in kitchen improvements only added $10,000 to the value of the house.

It is easy to see the problem with pricing too low, but making less money is a problem of pricing too high as well. You have costs that you pay while waiting to sell. Also, people are suspicious of homes that have sat unsold for a year, and less likely to make an offer even if you have finally lowered the price. The perfect buyer who would have paid the most, might have looked at the home when it was over-priced and walked away. To get the most money, price it right to begin with.

2. Understand The Market. Who are your potential buyers? A sign in the yard wont help much if you're selling a summer home in the woods and all the buyers are in the city. Once you identify who the likely buyers are, you or your agent can decide which ways to market the property.

Are you in a quiet neighborhood that is attracting retirees? If so, you would want to advertise the fact that your house has one level. "No stairs!" can be an important selling point to older buyers. If the neighborhood is one that is likely to attract young couples, however, it would be a waste of words. Consider your market before you try to sell.

3. Cost-Effective Preparations. Of course you should clean the house and mow the lawn. The other things you do to get ready for the sale should be cost effective though. As a rule, you should first do those things that will give you a three-to-one return on your money.

It isn't important (or possible) to be precise. The point is to do things that raise the value more than they cost. $1,000 to repave the driveway may increase the value of the house by $3,000, but a $50,000 pool might add only $25,000 in value. Start by replacing that dented mailbox, and work on those things that get "the most bang for the buck."

If you have the time and motivation, you can find endless little house selling tips. That may not be a bad idea, but why not start with the important things first?

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

How Homeowner Can Save Their Home From Foreclosure

Drive around and see how many signs you see that says House for Sale. How many lease purchases do you see? How many abandon houses are on your street? Our country is up against the wall with delinquence mortgages. FHA mortgage lenders are filing claims in the millions from HUD. How do I know? I counsel homeowners every month concerning their mortgage and what they need to do to protect their property and communicate with their mortgage lender.

What is the cause of all these delinquence? There could be several reasons: Lost of a job, health issues, divorce, business failure & income reducing. Before the homeowner even tries to save his/her home, they move out or better yet file bankruptcy. If they only knew what options were available to them, they stood a better chance of saving their homes.

Some homeowners try to make an attempt to talk to their mortgage lender for a possible workout but here is the problem. They are taking to the wrong people and they do not have a plan. I know some mortgage lenders can make it very difficult to be reach and consider you for a workout. Some will tell you that all communication will be handle by their attorney. The only thing their attorney wants to know is whether or not you can reinstate the mortgage and if not, it goes to foreclosure.

Some homeowners even got to the right department to discuss a workout only to find out the lender denied their case. I am here to tell you that your home can be save from foreclosure.

There are some facts you need to know before you abandon your home or file bankruptcy.

Fact number one: Stay away from so-called investors. Why are you going to give your equity away when you can save your home yourself? Yes you can do it. Do not quit - claim your home, sale or sign any papers until you talk to your attorney.

Fact number two: If your home is FHA or VA insured, your mortgage lender must consider a workout before they can file a claim. If FHA or VA discovers you were not given the opportunity for a workout, then FHA or VA may deny the mortgage lender claim, they don't want that.

Fact number three: To be considered for a workout, you must have some money. At a minimum you must have the attorney & foreclosure fees payable to the mortgage company before the sale date. Reason: Your mortgage lender cannot put the attorney & foreclosure fees back into the loan. Their insurer will not permit it.

Note: If you don't have any money to pay attorney & foreclosure fees, get the money, have a yard sale, borrow from your 401K, life insurance cash values, mutual funds or stock holding; church and family, try getting an advance from your employer, refinance if you have enough equity.

Start getting busy!

Fact number four: The rules change if your loan is a conventional, because these loans are not FHA or VA insured and they normally do not have a loss mitigation department, you will need haft of the amount of your reinstatement to be considered for a workout.

These are investors type loans and it will take me more time to explain what it all means than I have room for in this article.

Early I mention you are probably talking to the wrong person when you contact your mortgage lender, you need to request the name & number of the representative in the loss mitigation or foreclosure department who is assign to your case. Do not talk to the collection department or you will surely lose your home.

When making the call, be aggressive until you get the right person, if you sound like a whimp and don't know what you are taking about, they will only react slow and put your case at the bottom of the pile. Note: Be tactful.

Request a loan workout package, complete and return the forms as instructed.

Secret: When completing the financial statement after all expenses are subtracted from the net, you must show at lease haft of your mortgage payment as a residual to qualify for a workout.

Secret: When giving your hardship statement, do not tell your mortgage lender that you mismanage your money, that is a sure case you will be deny.

Do not contact your lender's attorney, they work for your lender not you, they can't help you.

Tip: Give your lender all require documents. If any information is missing, it will only delay your case and their response is, why bother, if you don't care, why should I.

You have been given some value information here that will help your save your home from foreclosure. Before you move or file bankruptcy, use these strategies first and you will be surprised that you can save your home. Until your workout is approved, start saving your money.