Selling For Top Dollar
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Youre About To Learn Marketing Secrets That Not One In A Hundred Home Sellers Knows And Its Going To Give You A Big Advantage Over Your Competition!
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Selling For Top Dollar
- 1. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Compliments of Marcus Bruno, Bruno Real Estate Group, LLC 301-531-4290
- 2. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Heres All The Information You Need To Sell Your House For Top Dollar Fast! ! Dear Friend, ! Youve made a smart decision to request this information, because with it, youll probably be able to sell your house for more money in less time than you ever thought possible. ! What youre about to learn could literally be the difference between thousands of dollars in your pocket or thousands of dollars in your buyers pocket. ! This report is part one of a complete home selling system that Ive developed over years of testing and experimenting to find the absolute best home selling strategies. ! After youve read this booklet, Id like you to call me for your free over-the-phone evaluation and Ill explain part of this special system to get you on your way to top dollar fast! ! Yours for a speedy and profitable sale, ! Marcus Bruno Bruno Real Estate Group, LLC
- 3. ! !Youre About To Learn Marketing Secrets That Not One In A Hundred Home Sellers Knows And Its Going To Give You A Big Advantage Over Your Competition! ! Why Buyers Love Model Homes And HowTo Make Your House Show Like One Page 4 ! Heres How A 25-Cent Upgrade Could Earn You An Extra $500 to $1,000 More When You Sell Page 10 ! How To Avoid The Five Most Expensive Mistakes People Make When They Sell a Home Page 11 ! ! ! ! ! How To Find Out What Houses In ANY Neighborhood Are Really Selling For And How Long It Takes Page 12 ! Heres How To Get A Free Market Report On Any Neighborhood Page 13 ! Why Most Real Estate Advertising Will Never Sell Your House And What To Do About It Page 14 ! How To Sell Your House In As Little As 24 Hours Without Ever Putting It On The Market! Page 16 ! Find Out How Much Your House Is Worth Over The Phone For Free Page 18
- 4. Why Buyers Love Model Homes And How To Make Your House Show Like One ! One of the major factors in getting your house to sell quickly is simply put: Make it attractive. Most buyers select their home based on emotion and then justify the decision with facts, so its important to make the house inviting and pleasant. Yours is not only the only property the prospective buyer will see. You are competing with model homes that may have been professionally decorated and homes that have no children, no pets, and Mr. and Mrs. Perfection as owners. ! Start with the outside. ! Are shrubs overgrown? Oil in the driveway? How does the grass look? Do the flower beds need weeding and mulching? Try very hard to see your grounds through an independent observers eyes. Trim the shrubs or plant new ones if theyre lacking. Houses with no landscaping in the front lose thousands of dollars of value in the mind of the buyer. Adding a few well-placed blooming flowers also add appeal. ! If the grass in the front yard is particularly non-existent, consider sodding. Do some price shopping on this; sod is not cheap but there are some good prices available. Lets say it costs $600 to sod the front yard, but your house payment is $800 per month. If you save one month of selling time, you are $200 ahead. (By the way, you can probably get away without sodding the backyard.) ! Kitty litter in the driveway will absorb the oil and grease stains. (Then remove the kitty litter.)
- 5. Next, go around and clean up the yard. Remove any toys, tools and/or building supplies. Heres the acid test: If you dont see it in a model home yard, dont have it in yours. That goes for the bag of charcoal by the grill, too; however, the (non-rusty) grill can stay. If your grill has rusted, remove the rust spots by scrubbing with a wire brush or with coarse steel wool dipped in kerosene. After the rust is removed, clean the entire piece with mineral spirits. When the grill is completely dry, paint with a brush or spray paint. ! Now look at the exterior. ! Is the paint fading or chipping? Is the color outdated or too personal? Is mildew growing? ! If the house needs painting, choose a neutral color. White, cream (not yellow) and light gray are good colors for appealing to most people. If you want some ideas for paint combinations, look at three or four model home communities that cost $20,000 to $50,000 more than your neighborhood and copy one of them. ! One last note on painting: Always give the front door and door trim a fresh coat of paint or stain even if you paint nothing else. Buyers stand at the front door waiting to get in; give them a good first impression. ! Now lets go inside. ! Go through room by room and pack up 30% of the accessories. If you doubt the wisdom of this, go back to those model homes and compare their countertops with yours, their coffee tables and end tables with yours. See what I mean? The cardinal rule is this: The way you live in a home and the way you sell a home are two different things. I know this will take some time and may seem like a nuisance, but remember
- 6. you are in competition with other properties. He who wins the Good Housekeeping Award probably sells his house firstand for the highest dollar. Also, look at it this wayyoure going to be moving anyway, so just consider this advance packing. By the way, label the moving boxes and stack them neatly in the garage floor to ceiling. ! Specifically, pack any collections and family photos you have displayed. Too much of your personality in evidence does not allow for the potential buyer to mentally move in. ! Pack everything from the cabinets and all closets that you dont need on a routine basis. You want to create the perception of roominess. In the linen closet, remove everything but a weeks worth of linens. Fold them neatly and color-coordinate them. Im not kidding; this is the stuff sales are made of. ! In the clothes closets, remove out-of-season clothes. Pack them away and put them in the garage. Arrange your shoes neatly. Hang your clothes by category: all blouses together, all shirts together, and so on. ! Now take another walk around the house. Are there rooms that are cluttered with too much furniture? Remove extra chairs, side tables and maybe even the 100 (2.5m) sofa which is really too big for the room. (Notice how decorators use small pieces of furniture.) ! Minor redecorating is recommended. If your carpet and vinyl are outdated colors or style, change them. Off-white carpet and vinyl are best; this makes the rooms look larger and cleaner. If the existing carpet padding is 5/8 thick or more and is not worn down, reuse it (unless the pets have
- 7. !done a number on it). If replacing the pad, select a very thick one then install just a modest grade of carpeting. The feel will be plush and expensive, but its not. ! If carpeting is in good condition and neutral in color, have it cleaned. If your vinyl flooring is worn or outdated, replace it with off-white vinyl. If the vinyl is in good condition and light colored, scrub it thoroughly, paying special attention to buildup of dirt and wax around the baseboards and in corners. ! Off-white painted walls are best. ! If painting is required, use flat latex except in kitchens and baths where youll use semi- gloss latex. If walls are dirty, experiment to see if scrubbing them is easier than painting. ! If you have wallpaper, make sure its clean and up-to-date. If not, strip it. (Hint: Some wallpaper is easy to strip if first sprayed with window cleaner.) After stripping it, either paint or re-wallpaper, depending on the condition of the walls. Sponge painting is also an easy, attractive alternative. ! Repair badly cracked plaster, loose door knobs and crooked light fixtures. Correct faulty plumbing. Leaky faucets can discolor porcelain and call attention to plumbing defects. To remove mineral stains from such leaks, pour hydrogen peroxide on the stain, and then sprinkle with cream of tarter. Leave this for 30 minutes before scrubbing. Bad stains may require two or three applications. ! Next, make your house sparkle. ! If you dont have time or the inclination, hire someone to thoroughly clean the house. Clean windows inside and out.
- 8. ! Clean with white vinegar using newspapers. Clean mini-blinds, curtains and drapes. ! In the kitchen, clean appliances inside and out. Remove grease and grime by scrubbing with undiluted vinegar. Scrub the inside of the refrigerator with baking soda; not only does it not scratch, but it removes odors. Get rid of kitchen odors by pouring hot salt water down the drain twice a week. Grind citrus peelings or apple cores in the garbage disposal. Leave a small uncovered container of vinegar in the corner of your kitchen counter. ! Have bathrooms scrubbed to pass a white glove inspection. If tubs are rusting, have them re-glazed. Clean grouting of the tub with Tilex. Re-caulk the tub and shower. Clean fixtures with white vinegar. If youre at home, light a small candle for atmosphere and pleasant (not overpowering) aroma. Hang a set of designer bath towels on the most prominent rack complete with verbal instructions to your family not to use them! (Remember, youre in show biz now.) ! Pets should be out of sight and out of smell. ! If you have pets, you need to get rid of pet odors, and its recommended that the pets themselves be kept out of the way and out of the house during showings, if possible. Some people get uneasy around animals and this may detract from the prospects attention. Getting pets out of the way is, unfortunately, much easier than getting pet odors out of the way. ! If flooring has been repeatedly stained with animal urine, youll probably have to replace it to get rid of the smell. And that means the carpet, the pad, the carpet strips and the baseboard trim; the sub flooring will need to be treated to kill the odor. Put a small uncovered dish of vinegar in the room
- 9. where your pet sleeps; this will remove doggy smells. Of course, put the dish off the floor so the dog doesnt drink the vinegar! To absorb odors in the cat litter box, add a cup of baking soda to the litter. ! Food smells can work for you or against you. Baking bread, cookies and pies all smell good. Spaghetti sauce is a delicious smell. Frying fish or liver and onions is objectionable. And of course nowadays, the smell of cigarette smoke is offensive to many. If your house has an unpleasant smell, use scented candles or fragrant fresh flowers. ! Finally, tackle the thing called the garage. ! This area is the catch-all where everything goes that has no other place to go, so its usually a mess. Therefore, if your storage area isnt neat, no one would surmise that you must take really good care of the whole house. Youre going to say Im going to extremes but believe me, this works every time. Empty everything out of the garage. Hose down the floor, and if there are stains remaining, paint it porch gray. Paint the garage walls off-white using a flat latex paint. ! Now after the paint is dry put everything back in the garage piece by piece. Throw out what you wont be taking with you. Pack what you can add to the stack of neatly labeled boxes. Then organize whats left. If you have a storage shed, organize it the same way and if it needs a coat of paint or stain, do it. An open bag of charcoal will absorb moisture in the storage shed. ! If you have too much stuff for the shed, rent a small storage unit. Uncluttering can make all the difference in the world.
- 10. ! Lighting plays an important part. ! During the day, have all your curtains and blinds open. If the day is cloudy, turn on all lamps as well. ! At dusk, put the blinds down, but leave them open. Leave the drapes open. Turn on all lamps and overhead lights. ! At night, use the same lighting formula as above, but close all the blinds, curtains and drapes. Adding candlelight is very effective. ! Turn off the television during all showings of your house as its distracting. Put on soft background music. One youve set the stage, leave the house for the agent to show it. Prospects can more easily look at the house with no distractions. Theyll also feel freer to ask questions of the agent. Finally, buyers can mentally move in better without the current owners around. ! Heres How A 25-Cent Upgrade Could Earn You $500 to $1,000 More When You Sell ! If you have 60-watt bulbs or low-watt bulbs in your house, it can make the house seem smaller and less appealing, especially in the kitchen and family rooms. ! Upgrade all your light bulbs to 100 watts and your house will appear bigger, more inviting and may just earn you an extra $500 to $1,000.
- 11. How To Avoid The Five Most Expensive Mistakes Smart People Make When They Sell A Home ! Mistake #1: Basing their asking price on needs or emotion rather than market value. ! Many times, people make their pricing decisions based on how much they paid for or invested into their home. This can be an expensive mistake. Overpriced homes take longer to sell and eventually net the seller less money. Consult with a professional real estate agent. They can assist you in pricing your home correctly from the beginning. ! Mistake #2: Failing to showcase their home. ! First impressions are the most important. Experience shows that for every $100 in repairs that your home needs, a buyer will deduct $300 to $500 from their offer. Thoroughly clean and prepare your home before you put it on the market if you want top dollar. ! Mistake #3: Trying to SELL their house when buyers come to see it. ! One of the biggest mistakes enthusiastic home sellers make is to follow buyers around and try to SELL them on the property. This can have a negative affect on the buyers. The best thing is to stay out of the way and let people look at their own pace. Theyll get a better feel for the property and whether the house is for them.
- 12. Mistake #4: Choosing the wrong agent or choosing them for the wrong reasons. ! Many homeowners list their home with the agent who tells them the highest price. Or they list with the agent who works for the biggest company. You need to choose the agent with the best marketing plan and track record to sell your home. ! Mistake #5: Not knowing all of their legal rights and obligations. ! Real estate law is complex. The contract you sign when selling your home is legally binding. Small items that are neglected in a contract can wind up costing you thousands of dollars. You need to consult a knowledgeable professional who understands the ins and outs of a real estate transaction. ! How To Find Out What Houses In ANY Neighborhood Are Really Selling For And How Long It Takes ! Have you ever talked with someone who tells you that they sold their house and got what they wanted? ! You remember that they were asking $329,000 so that must be what they sold for or so youd think. ! Or someone tells you that all the houses in your neighborhood have been selling for full price because the market is so hot right now, or the buyers are out there like never before. ! One thing you can be sure of when youre getting ready to price your house for sale is that most of the information you hear on the street is not whats happening in reality.
- 13. Buyers and sellers tend to over- or understate the prices they sold for or bought for, but the reality is that you can get information on what houses are actually selling for. ! Heres How To Get A Free Market Report On Any Neighborhood ! Before you consider buying a home in any neighborhood, you need to get the real information on whats happening in the market. ! You can find out what houses are really selling for and how long it takes them to sell by calling my office to tell me what area youre considering and together, well review the complete market analysis information before you buy, so you wont pay too much. ! Having the right information can literally save you thousands of dollars especially when youre buying a home so dont end up overpaying for a house because you dont know the market. ! Call me today and get the inside information you need to make an informed decision.
- 14. Why Most Real Estate Advertising Will Never Sell Your House And What To Do About It ! Most real estate advertising will never sell your house because its speaking to the wrong people at the wrong time. ! When people are looking through the real estate section and calling on ads, theyre looking for a house right now, and less than 3% of the time do people actually buy an advertised house that they call about. ! Its also a fact that most buyers end up spending up to 15% more than the price of the home they called about, as bargains rarely turn out to be what they thought they were. ! Most sales take place because a person has built a relationship with a Realtor who will work with them to find out what theyre looking for in a home, what they qualify to buy, and then show them the houses on the market that meet their needs and wants in a home. ! The truth is, most of the time, Realtors use property advertising as a six-day marketing plan theyre hoping to advertise the house on Monday, have someone call on Wednesday, and come out and buy the house on Saturday. ! The sad thing is that it happens just enough to keep them addicted to doing it kind of like playing the slots in Las Vegas. (The odds are better of hitting it big in Vegas than finding a buyer by advertising your house.)
- 15. So whats the answer? ! Well, the key lies in understanding that for every one buyer thats looking in the real estate section and calling on an ad today there are 10 buyers who are just starting to consider buying a house and will buy in the next six months ! The key lies in tapping into the buyers who are just starting to explore the market and most Realtors dont use anything but traditional advertising so theyre missing out on this market completely. ! These people arent calling on properties yet, but theyre looking to educate themselves about what they can get in their price range, and may be saving for their down payment or waiting for their lease to expire. ! How do you attract these buyers? ! You have to offer them something thats of value to them at the point they are now. That means offering them free reports and guides like this that are designed to give people an education that will help them get to the point where theyre able to buy a home. ! The truth is I started looking for the buyer for your house 180 days ago using something called direct response advertisinglike the ad you called on to get this report youre reading now. ! Making contact with buyers at this stage gives me an opportunity to build a relationship with them by educating them and providing them with world-class service until theyre ready to buy a home. ! There are several other strategies that can be used to find the buyer for your house instead of relying on traditional advertising exclusively its using these strategies that can
- 16. stack the odds in your favor of selling your house quickly and for top dollar! ! One of the things I do to create this situation is profiling your house in my MarketWatch database before you even put it on the market. ! As I mentioned earlier, I started looking for the buyer for your house about 180 days ago, and I keep in touch with these buyers through an exclusive bi-weekly report that I send them to keep them up to date on all the new houses that come on the market and new houses that will come on the market soon that they would have no other way of finding out about. !!! ! ! ! ! ! How To Sell Your House In As Little As 24 Hours Without Ever Putting It On The Market! ! There is a principle in psychology called scarcity its the desire thats in all of us to want something that we cant have. ! There are some strategic ways this principle can be applied to a real estate situation.
- 17. Thats right, I said applied you can actually control it. Often, the illusion of scarcity can be orchestrated and appear in real estate situations without people even knowing that its there. ! Have you ever heard of a situation where a home was on the market and more than one person was interested in it? ! In most cases like this, the house will sell for more than the owners are even asking for the house and the buyers feel great about it because they won. Someone else wanted the house, but they got it. ! Situations like this are called the auction effect. To create this powerful situation requires creating an environment where as many buyers as possible are made aware of the property at the same time and under the right circumstances. ! As you know now, most of the time, when a property is advertised in a traditional way, its almost impossible to create this kind of environment because your property is just another property on the market. ! You need to be able to reach buyers in a way that your home is presented as new information ! One of the things I do to create this situation is profiling your house in my MarketWatch database before you even put it on the market. ! As I mentioned earlier, I started looking for the buyer for your house about 180 days ago, and I keep in touch with these buyers through an exclusive bi-weekly report that I send them to keep them up to date on all the new houses that come on the
- 18. ! ! ! market and new houses that will come on the market soon that they would have no other way of finding out about. ! We may be able to find the buyer for your house without ever having to put it on the market! ! By the way, scarcity is just one of the six weapons of influence that can be skillfully applied to the marketing of your home. ! ! ! Find Out How Much Your House Is Worth Over The Phone For Free ! Before you decide to sell your house, the next step is to get an idea of the current market value of your property based on the current market activity in your neighborhood as well as the total market. ! This can be done over the phone in just a few minutes. ! When you call our office, well ask you some questions about your property that will allow us to prepare a market analysis for you that we can go over with you on the phone.
- 19. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Heres some of the information well need: ! Your name and address. The approximate square footage of your home. Your lot size. The number of bedrooms, bathrooms and some basic floor plan information. Any upgrades you may have done to the home since youve owned it. Tax evaluation (assessment). ! Once we have all this information, well prepare a complete market evaluation and call you back to go over it in detail. ! Marcus Bruno (301) 531-4290