New Albany and Central Ohio Real Estate & Community » Central Ohio Real Estate

A Few Tips to Prepare Your Central Ohio Home to go on the Market – Part II

The Raines Group — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:42:47 +0000

When you’re selling your home, it’s important to consider what the buyer will experience as he or she enters the home for the first time. Here are a few additional things to take note of.

Take a whiff. If your house has an odor, that is a huge turnoff to buyers. Make sure it smells nice and clean. You should also make sure you have a fresh air filter.

Look around for anything that needs to be fixed. Buyers feel that a house is not well cared for if there are items throughiout the home that need to be repaired.

Make sure that all your doors work properly. Repair or replace them, if necessary.
Remove extraneous extension cords and exposed wires.
Clean, repair and paint all gutters and down spouts.
Fix dripping faucets as they may lead buyers to question the plumbing system.
Double check that all light switch and outlet covers are on.
Send your pets to Grandma’s house. A barking dog is unwelcoming. Plus, buyers may be allergic to your pets.

Additionally…

Do a pre-inspection of your home.
Do a pre-appraisal of your home.
Hire a professional stager.
Don’t be afraid to accept the first offer. The first offer is most often your best offer.
Obtain a floor plan of your home, if possible.
Assemble house records for the buyer to review.
Consider only written offers from lender pre-qualified buyers.
Enlist the services of a Realtor with a professional marketing program, such as The Raines Group, to effectively showcase your home using both traditional and digital methods.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

How Do You Know if Your Central Ohio Home is Priced Correctly?

The Raines Group — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 13:50:03 +0000

The Raines Group can help you target the right price for your home.

The Raines Group will do everything we can to sell your home quickly, at the best price, and with minimal hassles. But the one thing we cannot control or change is the market. Even though we know how valuable your home is, its value from a selling standpoint will be determined solely by the buyer. To help you decide whether your home is priced correctly, The Raines Group has generated the following levels of seriousness.

The “Maybe This Seller Isn’t Serious” Level. No showings and no offers. Agents and potential buyers are not even interested in seeing your home. They believe they can get more for their money elsewhere.

The “It’s Okay… But I Think I’ll Keep Looking” Level. Either ten or twelve showings and NO offers, or just a few showings. Maybe the pace of showings has slowed since the first few weeks when the listing was initially placed on the market. Or perhaps the home has been on the market for four to six weeks with no offers. Potential buyers believe they can still get more house for their money, and they are willing to keep looking.

The “This Is It!” Level. Showings, second showings, and offers in the first four to six weeks. This means you have placed your house on the market at the right price. At this level, we should be able to hold within just a few percentage points of where your home is listed. Potential purchasers believe that your home is one of the nicest homes and best values on the market. Your price supports their belief that your house might be their next home. They are ready to buy it from you.

Remember, even if your home is priced correctly today, that may change tomorrow as the market fluctuates. We will monitor your asking price to make sure that your home is neither overpriced nor underpriced. Throughout the time your home is listed, we will keep you informed about market conditions so you can make decisions that will help you realize your real estate goals as quickly as possible.

Considering You Central Ohio Home’s Value, from a Buyer’s Prospective

The Raines Group — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:47:26 +0000

How much would a buyer pay for your home?

Simply put, the current market value of your home is determined by the selling prices of similar homes in your area. Factors that do n ot affect the value of your home include:

The price you paid for the house. The majority of houses sell for market value, which is constantly changing and may not support your original purchase price at the time you chose to sell.
Your need for money. The current value of your home is dictated by teh market, not by your need to make a profit.
Your desire to recoup the cost of maintenance-related repairs. The purpose of maintenance is to preserve a home’s value, not to create value. The cost of maintenance cannot be added to the market price of your home.
Your desire to recoup the cost of home improvements. Make improvements for your own enjoyment, not with the hope of passing their full cost along to future buyers.
How much it would cost to build your home today. The bottom line is, you cannot sell your home for more than buyers are willing to pay.
How attached you are to your home. Any attachment you feel will not be shared by the buyer. Sentimental value does not correlate with a higher selling price.

The Dangers of Overpricing Your Central Ohio Home

The Raines Group — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:45:46 +0000

What price would you put on your home?

It may be tempting to set a high price for your home and attempt to beat the market. However, the soundest strategy is to price your home correctly from the start. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Buyers are always looking for the newest listings. The most activity – and the highest and best offers – typically come in the first 21 days a home is on the market. So if you overprice your home and then reduce the price, you lose precious time as well as the excitement that a new listing generates.

2. A house takes on a reputation fast. Even after you lower the price, prospective buyers may be wary, wondering why your home has been on the market so long. You have lost a strong negotiating position and, in the end, may even have to settle for less than market value. That’s why it is so important to make the most of your entry into the market.

3. The higher your home is priced, the fewer qualified prospects you will attract. Buyers compare houses. They are looking for the home with the most amenities at the best price. But instead of making an offer on your home, these buyers are out viewing other that they perceive to fall within their price range. by overpricing, you are actually helping to sell other, more competitively priced homes. You are highlighting their value at your own expense.

4. A disparity between your asking price and your home’s appraisal value can quickly become a deal-breaker. We must be able to defend your price to the appraiser, and the lender must be able to justify it to the market. If your home’s appraisal value is lower than your asking rice, your buyer could back out at the last minute.

Pricing your home correctly is essential to your home selling success. Contact us today for a free evaluation of your home and today’s market.

Ohio Awarded $570-million to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure

The Raines Group — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 11:42:03 +0000

The Ohio Finance Agency (OHFA) administers Restoring Stability: A Save the Dream Ohio Initiative to help an estimated 53,000 Ohioans who are at high risk of default or foreclosure.

OHFA worked with Save the Dream Ohio partners to develop a comprehensive, statewide strategy to distribute federal funds and help as many Ohioans as possible. Through Restoring Stability: A Save the Dream Ohio Initiative, the State of Ohio designed four programs to help homeowners who have a temporary or permanent reduction in income.

Ohio has been awarede $570 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Hardest-Hit Fund to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. The programs include:

Rescue Payment Assistance Program: Provides a payment to the mortgage lender to help delinquent borrowers become current on their first mortgage.
Partial Mortgage Payment Assistance Program: Provides up to 15 months of assistance for unemployed homeowners while they search for a job or participate in job training.
Modification Assistance with Principal Reduction Program: Provides an incentive payment matched by an investor to reduce the mortgage principal balance so a loan modification may be possible.
Transition Assistance Program: Provides an incentive payment ot the mortgage lender and homewoners to assist with short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure to help homeowners exit homes gracefully.

The Concord Mortgage Group can offer further information on these programs, as well as information on mortgages and refinancing options. Call Jodi McCoy Vermillion for information at 614-212-6929.

Five Factors to Consider When Selling your Central Ohio Home

The Raines Group — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:10:18 +0000

As the top selling real estate team in Ohio, there’s no doubt that The Raines Group knows how to sell homes. You may

The Raines Group put this home in contract after just 4 days on the market!

wonder how the team has become so accomplished. Part of their success is to keep focus on the basics. Let’s review the five basic factors to consider when selling a home.

1. Price. The single most important factor to consider is how to price your home. How much is it worth? If you overprice your home, you will quickly lose the “freshness” of the home’s appeal on the market. After 3 weeks, demand and interest typically decline. If you do not have an offer after 8-10 showings or 30 days, the market has rejected your price. Overpricing can delay or even prevent a successful sale. Pricing the home competitively or even below market value can and has led to multiple bid situations that drive the price above the asking price. Click here for an analysis of your home’s worth.

2. Location and Condition. The location of the home obviously cannot be changed. However, you have control over the condition of the home, and a professional stager can help your home appeal to a broader base of buyers. Buyers are looking to get the most home for their money, and many times are looking at new homes as well as resale homes. Homes sell faster when they are in pristine condition.

3. Competition. Buyers decide which homes to buy and how much they are worth through the time-honored method of comparison shopping. The pool of available homes constantly changes. If there are many homes in your area similar to yours, it is even more important to keep your home in top condition and well-priced so that your home rises above the competition.

4. Timing. Sometimes it’s a buyer’s market, and sometimes it’s a seller’s market. The market conditions when you’re ready to sell can make a big difference in how quickly the process goes.

5. Marketing Campaign. A comprehensive marketing campaign gives your home the maximum exposure utilizing a variety of resources, which is essential for a timely sale. But if the other factors mentioned above are out of balance, even the best marketing campaign will fail.

The Raines Group can help you with the above factors, and have several agents who will give you a detailed analysis of the current market, and how your home fits into the market. This will help determine a competitive price in the market today. Once you decide to list your home, our marketing campaign will give your home the exposure it needs.

Lovely new listings featured on YouTube

The Raines Group — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 04:36:56 +0000

The Raines Group recently listed the following homes – enjoy these videos of them. For a personal showing, call 614-855-8700.

2939 Breezewood Lane, Galena, Ohio

7336 Berkley Square, New Albany, Ohio

585 Clifden Court, Sunbury, Ohio

If you are interested in the latest videos from The Raines Group, please subscribe to our channel on YouTube. Click here to view our channel and subscribe.

Staging Your Home

The Raines Group — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:12:26 +0000

Staging is not hard or costly, but in reality many homeowners find it difficult because it is hard to see objectively when you love something. Staging does pay off however, as Sue Fitzgerald of New Albany, a recent successful seller with The Raines Group, can attest.

A few rules to live by when staging your home.

#1 Clean

To achieve the level of clean your potential buyers expect may require hiring a cleaning crew, consider this an investment. Get your windows cleaned inside and out as well.

#2 Fix

Anything you have put off getting fixed? You cannot put that off any longer. Cracked tile? Leaky faucets? Get them fixed.

#3 Kill the Clutter

Eliminate the clutter in your home by at least half. This is very difficult but cannot be underestimated, people buy homes they can see themselves in not the owners before them. Expensive stores have a very tidy and clean layout while cheap stores have stuff everywhere, keep that in mind.

This is a place where a professional stager can come in very handy.

#4 Blank Canvas

Neutral colors allow buyers to envision themselves as the owners easier. Again, you are selling them their house, not yours.

#5 De-personalize

Remove personal items that buyers won’t be able to identify with. For example, political and religious items may turn off whole groups of buyers because they cannot imagine your home as their home.

A few extra pointers:

The Entrance

Make your entryway as light and as bright as possible. You don’t get a second chance at a first impression.

The Kitchen

Kitchens sell homes. The importance of making your kitchen appealing cannot be underestimated. Clean and de-clutter! If your cabinets are old consider resurfacing them. Facelifts can do wonders to a kitchen.

The Bathroom

Your bathroom should look like it is out of a catalog. Do not display any personal items. Get a set of new fluffy neutral towels and display them.

Real Living Adds 30 Companies to its Network

The Raines Group — Mon, 02 May 2011 01:58:34 +0000

Real Living, one of the nation’s most innovative national real estate franchisers, announced that 30 additional companies — along with their hundreds of real estate professionals and dozens of offices — have already selected Real Living this year, as the company’s national expansion continues.

“This year has started with a lot of momentum and we are excited to have these 30 firms join the ever-expanding Real Living national network of real estate offices,” said Real Living President Harley E. Rouda, Jr. “We are seeing companies from coast to coast embracing the Real Living brand as we continue to grow our network of offices.”

Rouda said the growth isn’t over. ”As we continue our expansion in 2011, we anticipate additional firms joining Real Living from markets of all sizes, including those we partner with through Area Development Alliances. Through our Area Development Alliances, we are bringing an innovative approach to the industry by sharing franchise fees with alliance partners. This is truly an exciting growth vehicle for us, and a fabulous revenue opportunity for franchisees.”

In 2010, Real Living maintained an industry-leading customer satisfaction rating of 96 percent based upon research by an independent research firm. For more information, visit http://www.realliving.com.

Navigating Today’s Mortgage Landscape

The Raines Group — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:00:48 +0000

The past 4 years have done a number to the process of getting a home loan.

From the buyer’s perspective, the process should go something like this: you give your loan company your financial information, they package it and send it to the underwriter who approves it and sends it back to the loan company who ties up all of the loose ends and closes the loan.

Scott Miller, Mortgage Consultant for MetLife Home Loans gives insight into some of the current hoops one can expect to jump through in the process of getting a loan.

Dealing with the underwriter: today’s average loan gets kicked back to the underwriter 3.8 times.
Giving information you do not feel is pertinent to the process: for example you may be asked for the address of your credit bureau.
Writing letters to explain something within your file: i.e. credit, income, or deposits.
Not meeting the closing date: last year 26% of all real estate transactions did not meet their closing date.

In short, due to the in flux nature of securities like Fannie Mae one has to expect the unexpected.

Buying a house is a pretty big deal. Like being born, the end justifies the painful means.