Is There a Time Not to List Your Home???

It is that time of year when I hear the following from our clients: • Time to take my home off of the market. • Don’t want my home on the market during the holidays. • Nobody looks at homes this time of year. • I will wait until spring to relist the home. I decided to run some statistics from my home county, Dawson county. I took the two slowest back to back months and compared them to the two busiest back to back months Nov-Dec July-Aug Homes for sale Avg 267 Avg 339 Homes sold Avg 20 Avg 35 Percentage of sale/vs sold Avg 7.5% Avg 10.32% In other words a mere 3% was the difference between the busiest back to back months and the slowest back to back months. During the busiest time 3% LESS in sales would have resulted in 1.05 less homes being sold During the slowest time 3% MORE in sales would have resulted in .6 more homes being sold So what I want to convey to my clients is this: The difference between the slowest time of the year and the busiest time of the year is very small in terms of statistics. And: IF YOUR HOME IS NOT LISTED YOU HAVE A 0% CHANCE OF SELLING! If you are in the North Atlanta, Lake Lanier, North Georgia area look us up. www.randywellsteam.com

North Georgia Events for November and December

Some great local events in North Georgia. Come up and see us! www.randywellsteam.com

Keller Williams Community Partners, Forsyth County, #1 in Sales

Know your Pipes!

How well do you know your pipes? If you know them as well as I do then you need a professional to help. Yesterday a representative from BPG Home Inspections spoke at our KW Team Meeting. He did a quick overview, with pictures, on some plumbing issues that they encounter. His emphasis was the new, and old, types of non-copper pipe that are being used in the home. PBE or Polybutylene “blue pipe”- This pipe was used in the US for a majority of homes built prior to 2000. Because of problems with the pipe it is no longer used in the US for home building. Numerous lawsuits took place because of the failures of the pipe. This appeared to be caused by a chemical reaction between the pipe and chlorine in the water. PEX or Cross-linked polyethylene- Used as an alternative to copper pipe, this pipe is flexible and cheaper. It continues to grow in popularity because it can be used easily in home construction. PVC or Polyvinylchloride-Also used an alternative to copper pipe, this pipe is less expensive to install. A good home inspector should educate you on the type of piping in your home and the potential benefits/pitfalls associated with it. The moral of the story: Do not hire a home inspector based on the cheapest price. I have seen this many times before and the results were not good. Call the inspector; ask for their qualifications and experience. Ask for references. Make this one of the most important factors in purchasing a home. If you find yourselves in the North Atlanta, North Georgia, Lake Lanier area, give us a call. www.randywellsteam.com

Yes Redesigns Still Work!

Yes the market was a lot busier than we have seen in the past few years. The downside is that I see sellers thinking their house will sell because of the market, regardless of how it looks. The Wells Team disagrees with this premise. We disagree based on experience. In the last few months my partner Barb, and marketing specialist Sue, went into two homes and did an extensive redesign on each. They have providing this service to our clients for over 8 years and has brought a lot of successful sales. House number 1 had been for sale for over 3 years! A nice cozy ranch that just needed furniture moved and other items rearranged to give it a "larger" feel. A simple process that resulted in a sale in two months! House number 2 had been for sale over 6 months! We attacked this home the same way moving furniture, rugs from under beds, and moving other smaller items. The idea was to take this 3000 square foot home and open up the living space. Result? Yes we sold this one in a few months also. Buyers are busy these days, as a result, do not have the imagination to see the actual home. Having the home redesigned, or staged, gives these picky buyers a better visual presentation. Better visual presentation means quicker sale. If you need your home staged, or marketed in the North Atlanta area let The Wells Team know! www.randywellsteam.com

Selling your home, AS-IS, and Requesting Repairs

Yes a strange title for a blog but follow my thought process. Your seller negotiates his or hers bottom price for the sale of their home. They feel like they are "giving their home away" and will not go a penny lower. Then the buyer has the home inspected. A few days later the seller receives a list of items the buyer wants repair. Repairs that can run into the thousands of dollars. The seller becomes frustrated and is ready to kill the deal. As an agent representing the seller what do you do??? After seeing this happen, quite frequently, I am inclined to look at some different strategies when it comes to marketing/selling a home: •Market the home AS-IS from the beginning-Personally I do not believe this is a good strategy. From my experience buyer's see a home AS-IS and smell blood. They sense desperation from the seller and are inclined to put in a much lower offer for the home. The buyer bids lower in anticipation of putting money back into the home for repairs. •When negotiations are in progress, good communication needs to take place. In other words the sellers need to convey to the buyers that this is my bottom price and I will not do any repairs on the property. I think this is a better strategy but I believe you will lose a buyer who has no leverage in asking for repairs. So to my fellow agents: Be very clear with your seller. In other words make them aware that a buyer will ask for repairs on their property. Taking away that right, through AS-IS marketing, will cause buyers to look at your home differently. In the end I would advise my seller to anticipate paying for some repairs. Come see us if you are in the North Atlanta, Lake Lanier, North Georgia area! www.randywellsteam.com

Before You List Your Home Have a Plan!

Another recent incident that cost The Wells Team a good sale. We had listed one of our client's home. They were starting a new home that would be done next spring. They did not have to sell their home in order to complete the new home. Received a good offer on the home in early September with a closing at the end of October. Everything looked good then........ The sellers did not have a plan. They decided they wanted to rent a home close to the site of their future home. However... They wanted an unfurnished home with a specific floor plan available in one month! They wanted a home in an area that is rural and predominantly seasonal mountain homes. Those homes are empty in the winter but are furnished. Two days later they could not find the home they wanted to rent. Contract gone. Home withdrawn two days later. Before you list your home you need a plan! Where are you moving? Have you started looking in this area? Are you willing to rent if needed? Are you willing to put some items in storage while you are renting? Do you have any idea on the cost to move? to store your furniture? If necessary what is your plan regarding schools? Before you list your home, let your agent know your plan. Without a plan you might have to turn down a sale! If you are in the north metro Atlanta area, Lake Lanier, or North Georgia, give us a call! www.randywellsteam.com