REMOVE ROAD BLOCKS TO SELL YOUR HOME

Every seller has a common goal in mind: sell the home quickly and for the most money. Yet when it comes time to sell the home not every seller will be prepared.

Many forget or don't know how to remove road blocks that can stall the sales process or kill it completely. If you're getting ready to list your home for sale, pay close attention. What you do before you list it can help or hurt the process.

Remove or limit the areas where your home is lacking. Study your neighborhood and the homes that are for sale. If your home is consistently coming up short in comparison, maybe it's not landscaped enough or it hasn't had any upgrades in 20 years, and it's overdue for some renovations or, at the very least, repairs to clean it up.

Get your home "show-ready" so that it isn't lacking or appearing deficient compared to other homes in your neighborhood. Placing a home on the market that isn't ready (needs repairs) can cause the home to receive very little foot traffic and it can end up being on the market for a long time.

If, for instance, you have vinyl flooring that's peeling, consider replacing it with a flooring that matches the style of your home and is comparable to the neighborhood so that it is consistent with the quality of floors in other homes in the area.

Remove YOU from the home. Yes, it's tricky to remove your personality from the home, especially when you're still living it. But it's very necessary. This doesn't just mean taking down personal photos and putting away private items like medicines. This means that if you've turned a room into a particular "you" room - your style, your personality, and your unique use of the room - consider re-doing the room to make it more neutral, versatile, and appealing to buyers.

For instance, if one of the bedrooms in a two-bedroom house was converted into a meditation room, it's wise, when listing the home for sale, to show it with both rooms as bedrooms rather than one bedroom and one room that is uniquely decorated for a specific use other than sleeping. Buyers can sometimes imagine how else they'd use a room but if it looks like too much work to make changes, they'll keep hunting for a house that is better suited to their needs.

If you've converted the garage into a den, office, or kids play area to fit your particular lifestyle, consider making it a garage again. Find a way to show your home with the garage as clean, useful, and as an extended-living space but also with the option to park cars in it. Not everyone wants to park on the street just to have a few extra hundred square feet of living space. An appraiser can actually knock thousands of dollars off your appraisal if the garage can't be used to park cars in because it's considered a loss of covered parking.

Remove strong odors from your home. Of course, I'm talking about foul smelling odors but sometimes too much of a good thing can also be a turn off. Gather up pet toys, pet beds, pet food, and make sure the house is pristine. If you're using fragrances in your home from sprays, candles, potpourri or even real flowers, make sure that the odor isn't overwhelming. Subtle is good... overbearing can make people think you're trying to cover up something bad in the home.

Ultimately, the goal is to make the home have mass appeal with as few road blocks as possible to sell it. Think like a buyer and see your home the way you'll be looking at your own next home purchase. Then maybe you'll understand the importance of making some changes before you list your home for sale.

WHAT IS THE HOME SELLER'S STAGING HIDING FROM YOU?

When sellers stage their homes, they're simply trying to make their homes as attractive as possible to buyers. Staging can include cleaning, decluttering, depersonalizing and decorating the home. It can be done by the seller, or by a professional who goes so far as to completely overhaul a home with glamorous rented furniture and accessories.

At its best, staging helps buyers see the possibilities so they can easily visualize themselves owning and living in the home. It can also distract buyers' attention from real problems a home may have or that may be expensive for the buyer to handle.

There's nothing wrong with a seller presenting a home for sale at its best - sparkling clean and ready for viewing. But before you let yourself be enchanted by the romantic table set for two, the aroma of cookies coming from the oven, and the spa robe and slippers laid out by the bathtub, ask yourself if those are the things that you should be noticing.

Instead, concentrate on the things that will impact your daily life -- how the home flows and functions, whether the home needs expensive repairs or updates, or buy all new furniture to make it work.

When you view homes for sale that are staged, ask yourself the following questions:

Does the home look too "decorated?" A sure sign a home has been professionally staged if everything in the home has a generic furniture store look all from the same manufacturer or era. If you see no signs of wear, or stickers under vases and glassware, then the home has been dressed to impress. That kind of perfection isn't achievable for most people, so don't look at the décor, look at the bones of the home.

Does the staging make sense? Would you really put your own furniture as close to the fireplace or as far from the window? An attractive but odd arrangement is a tipoff that the room is either not well designed or that a problem is being minimized. For example, a heavy chair may be used to discourage buyers from lifting the area rug.

Is the staging hiding a repair that needs to be made? Bathrooms and kitchens are the most expensive rooms to repair and update. Move the bottle of bubble bath and look behind the shower curtain. Is the caulk fresh? Is the porcelain tub or sink stained? Is the finish worn off of the fixtures? Look under the sink for water stains.

Is the staging overdone? Candles burning in every room or tons of air freshener may be masking pet odors. Heavy drapes may cover ugly views. Go ahead and open them up and look outside.

Is the furniture proportionate to the rooms? Small-scale furnishings can disguise rooms that are too small, so go ahead and sit down. If your knees are under your chin, the room may be too small for your purposes. Furniture that's massive can mean a room is going to be difficult or very expensive to decorate.

If you like the home well enough for another viewing and to make an offer, ask the seller to leave off the air freshener and to move that heavy chair aside. Take measurements and make sure your things will fit. Get the home inspected, so you know what you're really buying.

WHY SELLERS OVERPRICE THEIR HOMES

There's one piece of advice that every real estate agent on earth will tell you - "If you overprice your home, it will take longer to sell and sell for less money."

Yet, sellers ignore them, and overprice their homes anyway, hoping their home will be the one to defy market physics. Why do they do it? Lots of reasons:

They feel entitled to make a profit

They don't want to bring money to closing

They feel their home is superior to other similar homes

They want a return on improvements and repairs

They want to buy a bigger, more expensive home

They want to pay off credit card and student loan debts

They want to pay for college, retirement or some other financial goal

They think buyers want to negotiate

They think real estate agents can get it sold for more if they just work harder

Did you notice that not a single one of those reasons has anything to do with the current market value of the home?

According to an older study from real estate community Zillow.com, sellers often base their asking prices on their original purchase price. In other words, they want to live in the home for a number of years, and then sell it for more than they paid for it so they can meet personal financial goals, such as buying a bigger home or putting more toward retirement.

That's understandable, considering that typically, homes beat inflation by one or two points, but the market doesn't always cooperate. Buyers may not like the improvements you made to your home. Your home may have been in a trendy neighborhood when you purchased it, but now buyers are flocking somewhere else.

If you overprice, your home is going to stagnate on the market. The right buyer for your home might not know your home exists if they use price perimeters to search for a home. That means a typical search between $375,000 and $400,000 won't include your home priced at $405,000.

Setting a high price with wiggle room to reduce the price later is not a successful strategy. You might get some showings, but you won't get offers. Your home could sit without an offer for a month or two before you take action to reduce the price. Once you reduce the price, buyers tend to think there's something wrong with the house, sending potential offers even lower.

Instead, price your home just under break points. $349,000 instead of $355,000. Since you're already expecting to negotiate, a lower price point might get you a full-price offer from a buyer who recognizes that your home is a good buy.

Real Estate, Realtor, Realtors, Realtor license, Realtor 

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Lessburg, Ashburn, Loudoun, Brambleton, Dulles, Sterling, 

Herndon,Reston,Centreville, Chantilly, Bull Run, Virginia, 

Northern Virginia, Northern VA, NOVA, Virginia Fauquier 

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BUYER'S ADVICE: DON'T WAIT FOR A BETTER DEAL

Despite a hot economy, mortgage interest rates are near historic lows. Prices are still below where they were nearly 10 years ago. Home values have risen for over five years allowing homeowners to build equity. Unemployment is down to where it was before the recession.

Prices are higher, inventory is tight, and buyers are being shut out of homes in many areas. Rents are higher than mortgage payments across the country. So buying a home is tougher than it's been in years. Some homebuyers may be wondering if they should wait for a better deal.

There are valid arguments to waiting and to jumping in the market. Either choice has its risks. If you don't buy, prices can go up even more. You'll pay more in rent and when you decide to buy, homes that you could have afforded now will be more expensive, possibly out of your range.

If you do buy a home, prices could go down, which will put you underwater longer, and possibly leaving you with an expensive asset that's harder to sell.

But consider this - what if you buy and prices go up? You'll accumulate instant equity, a savings account of a kind, all while receiving considerable tax breaks and other incentives. Would you feel just as weighed down by owning a home if it were appreciating in value instead of losing value?

There are no guarantees that home prices will turn in your favor. Local markets rise or fall based on their own micro-economies, but there is one truth that never changes -- you'll never know if you could have had a better deal unless you commit to making one.

In January 2015, Kiplinger's predicted a 3.5 percent increase in national home prices. By June, prices were already up 3.2 percent, according to the National Association of REALTORS.

At the least, you should run the numbers. Document what you spend in rent VS what you can afford as a house payment. On the conservative side, you should spend no more than 28 percent of your income on your mortgage payment, taxes and hazard insurance. Your other debts should be no more than seven to 14 percent of your income.

Factor in other costs, such as moving, commutes, schools, and, of course, your down payment.

Buying a home isn't just about the money. It's about lifestyle, safety, comfort, and easy access to the people and amenities you want to be close to.

You have to do what's comfortable for you and your family, whether that's remaining on the sidelines or buying a home. But here's a tip -- if you buy the home that best meets the needs of your household and budget, chances are that you'll be pleased with your decision for years to come.

Real Estate, Realtor, Realtors, Realtor license, Realtor 

fees, Buy, Sell, Warrenton, Haymarket, Bristow, Manassas, 

Lessburg, Ashburn, Loudoun, Brambleton, Dulles, Sterling, 

Herndon,Reston,Centreville, Chantilly, Bull Run, Virginia, 

Northern Virginia, Northern VA, NOVA, Virginia Fauquier 

county real estate, Prince William County, Fauquier County, 

Loudoun County, Real Estate, Realtor, Realtors, Forsale, For sale