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No Offers Yet: When Your House is Not Selling

It’s been almost a month since you had your grand open house and yet, you still do not have any offers. You begin to worry (which is but natural), and you wonder if this prolonged silence is normal. Maybe you can wait a few more days (or weeks). If you still do not receive any offers, then by all means, find out why your property seems to be so unattractive in the market.

The usual reason why no one is offering to buy your house is that the price you have asked for it is too high. Maybe in your own estimation, your home deserves that amount, but the market dictates otherwise. If this is the case, adjust your selling price to be within the range of the going rates. If this is the case then adjust your price accordingly and put it out in the market again.

Once the new selling price has been established, begin your marketing campaign again. Be ready to receive a new set of interested buyers, prepare to answer questions and demonstrate how the unique features of your house work. If after you have reduced the selling price and still do not get any buyers, consider changing agents. Maybe what your present agent is doing is either not enough or not appropriate for the results you have in mind. You must always be advised of the marketing activities he is doing and he should regularly present you with feedback regarding your home. If you are dissatisfied with his performance, then, by all means, find someone with whom you can work with.

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Real Estate Forms - Property Disclosure Form

Most US state and real estate laws require that home owners who wish to sell their properties fill up a Property Disclosure Form, which informs potential buyers of material facts about the property that is on sale.

What information should be disclosed to the potential buyer? Personal information about the seller such as his age, sexual preference or health status, and his reason/s for moving are not of prime importance. What must be divulged are information concerning the property’s structural condition and present legal status. Unnatural deaths and the presence of ghosts may or may not be material facts, but it would be better if these are disclosed too.

The contents of Property Disclosure Forms vary depending on the state it originates from, but these would basically require essential facts such as: the age and area of the property, problems with the property (sewer, septic, molds, etc), and property tax paid annually (among others).

The Property Disclosure Form aims to let the Buyer know the exact status of the home he wishes to purchase. However, as a buyer, don’t stop at reading the form, you have to be observant and be free to ask questions. If you notice that some items on the basement are up on boxes and nothing is mentioned in the form about water problems, you should ask if the basement gets (or has gotten) flooded. If the Buyer is unsatisfied with the data on the Property Disclosure Form, he is free to secure the services of home inspectors. It is the duty of the inspector to carefully evaluate the property in question and report his finding to both the buyer and the seller. If he does his work thoroughly, whatever the Seller is trying to hide will come up, sooner or later.

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Renting or Leasing a Property: What Forms are Needed?

There are two ways of earning from your real estate investment: sell it at a higher price, or rent or lease it out.

Finding possible tenants are not that different from finding buyers for your home—you place ads, distribute flyers, arrange appointments (or open houses) so they can view the property, and negotiate for terms.

The obvious advantage of renting out the property is that you earn money while still retaining ownership. But it does have its own share of headaches—like the occasional tenants-from-hell who either skips on monthly payments or damages it during his stay. Of course you could always kick them out, but you’ve already incurred losses: the cost of repairing the property, the earning opportunities lost while finding another tenant, and the devaluation of the property because of the damage.

That’s why it’s very important to screen your tenants through the rental application form. It includes all the information you need to do a background check, evaluate their ability to pay, and even track them down in case he trashes your beloved apartment and skip town before you find out.

Once you’ve found your best candidate, you also need to protect yourself (and him!) with a residential lease. This basically outlines the terms in which he can use the property, his obligations (and yours), and any rules on damage and repair. It also has a description of the property—so you never end up fighting over whether or not the bathroom tiles were cracked before or after he moved in—and your policy on subletting.

In other words, the residential lease prevents the ugly squabbles that often occur between tenants and landlords. What if the dog ruins the carpet? What if the roof leaks or the cabinet door falls off? What if he abandons the property? What if he misses a payment? Better clear it now, than argue about it later on.

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You Have an Offer on Your Home, Now What?

After all the hard work in putting your house up for sale and in attracting/accommodating potential buyers (with the help of a realtor, at the most), an offer or a series of offers finally comes in.

This is the time when your decision making will be put into real test as this portion of the sale process is the most mentally tough on almost all sellers. Unlike the earlier stages wherein it is more physically stressful, deciding on offers will determine the success of a real estate transaction and more importantly, the future of the seller and his/her family.

If you are deciding on multiple offers, it is elementary to compare these offers thoroughly and select the best one. More often than not, the highest bids win, but it is advised to have a backup buyer in case a falling out ensues during the negotiation with the original buyer. Moreover, it is recommended that you use whatever legitimate leverage you have (e.g. sweetening the deal by throwing in furniture and appliances that are already in the house) to entice buyers to agree on a higher price during negotiations.

But even before negotiations, always be sure to check a buyer’s profile first so that you can avoid wasting time on fraudulent or unworthy transactions. Among the buyer information that should be investigated are his/her debt and credit history, cash position, employment status, current income, and other related financial information. Consulting a tax consultant beforehand will also be advantageous because you will be able to identify the tax-related costs attached to the sale of your property, which you can incorporate in your asking price.

During the negotiation and subsequent agreement, it is best to be represented by an attorney who has had substantial experience in handling real estate transactions. The presence of a seasoned attorney will make sure that all terms, conditions, and penalties (if ever there are) are in writing to avoid future mix-ups.

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Selling your Home yourself on the Internet

If you want to sell your home, you can do this through a variety of ways. The simplest is to just put a "For Sale" sign on your lawn and hope it attracts the attention of passers by. You can also make little flyers and distribute them after mass, or during soccer games. If you don’t want to hand out flyers manually, you can just make several big posters and put these in well frequented places like groceries and post offices.

In case you want to reach a wider market, you can place an advertisement in your local newspaper. Unfortunately, this may be costly and the ad may only run for a few days. If you don’t want the hassle, you can simply hire a real estate agent and then just let him do the leg work. Finally, in recent years, a new form of advertisement has cropped up – advertisement via the Internet.

Through the internet, you can put your home up for sale at a low cost and yet reach such a wide market. There are several real estate websites on the World Wide Web and, for a small fee; you can upload information on your property. Depending on the kind of subscription you have, your ad can stay on the World Wide Web for at least 6 months or as long as it is still available for buying. You can upload photos (usually a maximum of six) or just include links to other sites (photo albums, etc). You can also upload descriptions of your home and since you will have more space for text (and your rate will not be dependent on number of lines or square cm – like newspaper ads), you will not be constrained to use usually unintelligible acronyms. With all these benefits, it is not surprising that a lot of home owners opt to place online advertisements for the properties they have on the market.

Naturally, there are downsides. You may receive inquiries from bogus buyers, or even buyers from out of town (or country). With the large number of real estate websites on the Internet, the competition is also huge. Your advertisement may not reach your intended market. However, the benefits outweigh the down sides, thus making Internet advertising one of the most preferred marketing activities for individual home sellers today.

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