Las Cruces Real Estate Homes and Properties

Seller Tips

Professionally Represented by Chris Harrison

Excellence in Buyer and Seller Representation. I am a marketing professional and spend thousands of dollars a month advertising my clients homes. Proper and Professional Representation is about marketing and marketing costs alot of money. Please see a sample of what I can do to market your home at www.4230wildcatcanyon.com . I put all my listings in the Mall in print and on 2 plasma tvs scrolling all day long. The mall says there are 8 Million people a year passing through and your listings get maximum exposure by using me to List you home. See the picture below and the seller's mistakes page under the free reports tab for excellent information.

Choosing your real estate professional is, perhaps, the most important decision you will make when selling property. I believe the more you look around, the more you will see the value of working with me. I work hard, am available to you and potential buyers 7 days a week and understand there is nothing more important than completing the task of selling your house for the highest price possible, in the least amount of time with the fewest problems.

Selling a house can be a roller coaster ride for any homeowner, but, with the right preparation, it can be a very rewarding – and profitable - experience. This special report lists five common mistakes sellers often make. Avoid these pitfalls, and you’ll be ahead of the game.

Choosing the wrong Realtor
This is the time for you to shop around. You’ll spend a lot of time with the real estate agent you choose, so make sure he or she is someone you enjoy being around and can trust.

Ask lots of questions. Are your communication styles similar? Do your schedules mesh? Is there an easy way to contact the agent? Is he someone others have recommended? Does he know the local area and the housing market? What are the agent’s marketing strategies?

Free check List of Questions to ask a potential Listing Agent:

1. How will you market my home? Will you pay for a Virtual Tour and CD's and DVDs to market. Will this Virtual tour be posted online. Where? See #1b. Will you pay for my home to have its own website? Go to www.4221VenetianLoop.com to see what a site should look like.

1a. Do you have a Site in the Mall that will feature my home to 8 Million shoppers every year. I pay to market homes in ways others can not. I maintain a position at our Kiosk in the Mall and market your home during all hours the mall is open on 2 large Plasma TV's and in Print. Stop by the area between the Dillards stores to see what a marketing expert can do.

1b. What is your personal website to market my home. Over 80% of buyers start on the internet. If they dont have their own website, ie. one that is not a group or company website, look for someone else. Go online and get on Google. Type in Las Cruces homes or Las Cruces property, if you cant find their site neither can anyone else. A site with no search engine is like an unlisted phone number. No one can find it.

1c. Ask how many homes they have sold this year, last year . You need a Realtor with recent experience. Years with a license is not necessarily a indication of future results. Top Producers will sell over 50 homes a year not 50 in 10 years. I can't tell you how many agents are pleased to tell you they have been licensed for 15 years and have lots of experience only to find they have participated in fewer transactions than top producers do in one year. There is a reason we are called Top Producers, we produce.

1d. Open the phone book and see how they advertise. No ad, no buyers from the phone book.

1e. Open the Real Estate Press Magazine, No ad, no buyers from the magazine.

1f. Check the newspaper on Sunday, No ad, bad one or small one... you get the picture.

1g. Ask about their education. Are they a college graduate? What type of license do they have. Qualifying Brokers hold the highest Broker designation in New Mexico, associate brokers are the entry level designation. What other designations do they have, ABR-Accredited Buyers Representative, remember many listings are sold by buyers agents which is why you need an ABR working for you. e-PRO- Electronic professionals understand internet marketing and are specifically trained to excell in marketing your home. GRI- Graduate Realtors Institute, graduates have passed all the tests and have taken extensive course loads to be the best trained agents in all areas of Real Estate and Representation.

Take your time and find a realtor you enjoy and trust. Not all licensees are Realtors and not all Realtors are the same. Choosing a person to market your home based on the rate of their commission is a huge mistake. New agents or ones that think little of their service will often let you talk them into any reduced rate. Low service, Low experience and low price on the offers, if any offers come at all. This is one of the most important things to remember, your home not only competes with other similar homes in the area on whats inside, it competes with the other commissions.

If you choose a budget service Realtor that will List your home for 4% or 5% they will offer to split the commission with Buyer's Agents who bring a buyer. Now, do you think a Realtor will bring a buyer for a 2% split when there are Savy sellers paying 3% or more? Low commissions could mean fewer buyers because agents are less motivated to bring buyers by. Think your Listing agent can sell your home themselves? Don't count on it, most listings are sold by agents other than the listing agent. There are over 600 Realtors in Las Cruces you need to help sell your home and they may not be able to help if the commission is low. Paying the extra commission to sell your home faster is better than a low commission where it takes longer to sell your home and you have to reduce the price anyway. This is the truth, and the truth is hard to come by. Call me, you will be glad you did. If you want to list your home with a discount broker I can refer you to someone else.

2. Rushing on the price
Take your time when you’re setting the asking price of your home. This is a crucial step that shouldn’t be rushed. It’s a tricky thing, and pricing too high is just as dangerous as pricing too low. Pricing a home too high to start with is bad. There is a flurry of activity normally associated with a new listing and you don't want to miss potential buyers because your home is overpriced. You can lower the price later but the home is now seasoned and not new on the market. It is likely this new price will not be noticed by buyers. They already saw it, decided it was over priced and have moved on. Price it right the first time.

The average buyer often looks at more than a dozen homes before making a decision. That means buyers have the advantage of comparison shopping. If your house isn’t reasonably priced, you may lose that perfect sale. Work with your agent to set the very best asking price. Most important to pricing is that your homes value has nothing to do with what you bought it for or what you owe on it.

3. Thinking first impressions don’t matter
First impressions count in a big way! If a seller hasn’t taken time to declutter and clean his house, he may lose the sale before a walk-through even begins.

Buyers can’t help but respond to your home emotionally. It the house is messy or there’s a strange smell coming from behind a closed door, they’ll likely make a quick exit and look for another home.

It may take some elbow grease on your part, but any effort you invest into preparing your home will pay off in the long run. These quick and simple steps will help you spruce up in no time.

On the outside:
• Cut and edge your grass
• Remove any clutter from your yard
• Trim hedges
• Weed gardens
• Wash steps, windows, railings, doors, etc
• Paint if needed
• Remove unnecessary clutter from garages

And inside:
• Keep the home clean
• Shampoo carpets
• Clean tubs, toilets and showers and hang fresh towels
• Oil squeaky doors
• Turn on inside and outside lights
• Have soft music playing
• Make sure the house smells good
• Keep pets in separate area
• Open shades and draperies
• Open all doors inside home.

When buyers preview your home, they’re more comfortable and will spend more time when you’re not around. This would be a good time to run those errands or walk the dog.

4. Keeping a low profile
It’s a competitive market out there, and this isn’t the time for you – or your real eastate agent – to become a shrinking violet. You want someone who will shout your home’s praises from the rooftops (figuratively, of course)! Make sure your agent takes full advantage of all the marketing tools he or she can.

The majority of homebuyers start their search on the Internet. Is your agent taking advantage of that technology? Does your agent have a personal website? Can potential buyers easily find your home listed in a search and find feature? Once they do, is it easy to contact your realtor for information? Does your realtor list enough detailed information about your home? Buyers are often impatient and won’t take kindly to waiting for a realtor to call back with information. They want to access facts about your home quickly and easily – or they might move on.

5. Breezing through the contract
Don’t make the mistake of taking the contract lightly. Protect yourself and go over it with a fine-tooth comb. It’s important that all of the costs, terms and responsibilities are included.

Have you disclosed everything about your home? Share all known defects with your buyer in writing. It will protect you if they later becomes dissatisfied.

Seller Tips

Scrub, dust and fix up the works. Buyers will notice details. Get rid of the clutter, repair leaky faucets, wage war on dust and clean until your home shines. Small things can make a potential buyer walk away. When you prepare your house for showing.

Listen to suggestions. As you prepare your home, don't rely solely on your own judgement. It's hard to be objective when you're the owner. I will have helpful, professional tips on how to make your home more marketable. Curb appeal is crutial as many potential buyers won't even get out of the car if the house is unkept.

Take a whiff. Nothing will turn a buyer away faster than an odd smell. Try to eliminate smoking, food and pet odors. And don't leave any clues. If potential buyers see a dog or an ashtray, they'll be on the lookout for smells and stains. Clean up after your pet every day. Imagine a buyer stepping in a mess while trying to decide if they want to live there......

Turn on the lights. Open shades and draperies before a viewing. Open all doors inside home. Turn on inside and outside lights. If you home does not smell particularly fresh light a scented candle as you leave the buyers and their agent to preview your home. Don't leave a candle burning if someone will not be there to watch it. If you have a surround sound system turn on some soft gentle music to set a nice mood.

Let potential buyers "see" themselves in your home. Too many personal items can make viewers feel like they're intruding in someone else's home. Keep things clean and simple. Decorate in neutral colors. Do you have a green toilet from the 70's? A new one will be the best $100 you ever spend.

Get out of the house. When buyers view your home, they'll be more comfortable and spend more time if you're not there. If you must be present, be as unobtrusive as possible. Let ME do the work. This is the most important thing you can say to a potential buyer or the agent with them....NOTHING. Loose lips sink ships and negotiations. Do not say anything other than hello to a potential buyer. Unless you have a degree in Real Estate and a License to practice it, do not talk to buyers. Simply leave the home, go for a walk, get the mail etc. Savy negotiators like myself will be pumping you for information. Why are you selling?, where are you going? are all things a buyers agent may use against you later. Tell a savy negotiator you must move or the house needs to be sold by a particular date and you may have just thrown away thousands of dollars off of an offer. I was once representing a buyer at a home where the seller wanted to stay and talk and the seller actually volunteered that the price could come down $25,000 and they would still be doing good. Wow, I never saw anyone try to give away $25,000 (a new BMW's worth) that fast. We may have offered something slightly less than list but instead armed with that information it was $28,000 below. Remember, Say NOTHING.

Stay unemotional during negotiations. Selling your home can be emotionally charged, but don't let that stand in the way of making a deal. Have a business-like attitude during the process. The market does not care what you bought your home for, how much you owe on it, or what you have in it.

Choose a REALTOR® you like and trust. Choose me, you'll be glad you did. I post all my listings on the following sites and update them everyday. There is a difference when marketing your property.