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Jackie Colson-Miller

Jackie Colson-Miller, CIPS
Certified International Property Specialist
NAR Liaison to Austria
Tampa Real Estate
Direct - (813)629-5757
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3401 Henderson Blvd
Tampa, FL 33609
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How To Sell Your Home in A Buyer’s Market…Tampa Real Estate Market News

In the Tampa real estate market, we are experiencing the first buyers market in nearly a decade. For some sellers, this is their first experience selling in a buyers market. What can you do to position your home in Tampa to sell in a reasonable amount of time?

1. Spruce it up!

Many homeowners dont see the flaws in their own home. Ask your agent, and several others, to objectively look at your yard and the exterior of your home. Curb appeal is critical, so paint the exterior, make any rotted wood or roof repairs and plant some flowers to make the home inviting. Homes with neutral colors inside are also more appealing. Clean out the clutter, too. Make sure the closets are neat. Rent a local storage space, if you need to.
2. Get a Home Inspection

Hire a Professional Home Inspector to check for any defects and make the necessary repairs prior to listing your home. YouNewlisting can provide potential buyers with the inspection report and the list of repairs.

3. Check for Open Permits

The latest version of the Florida Real Estate contract(FAR 9) calls for Sellers to verify that all work on their home was done with proper permits and that all permits have been closed. Failure to do this in a timely manner can cause the cancellation of your contract, so be prepared and get the information in advance. You can find more information in my previous article on the FAR-9 contract.

4. Neutralize it!

Buyers need to imagine themselves living in your home, so remove as many of your personal touches as possible. A Gator room is appealing to a Gator, but probably not to a Seminole. The same goes for any religious items, political items or suggestive photos. When I was shopping for my first home in Tampa, many years ago, there was a home with a large photograph of the owner in her bridal lingerie . UGH! It was something that should have been removed before they put their home on the market.

5. Remove your PetsPu_g

A dog, or cat, that bothers the buyers when they try to look at your home will send them runnning! Make plans for your pets to be caged, or out of the house, so the buyers have plenty of time to look without being disturbed.

Sk_unk6. Get Rid of Any Odors

I wrote a great article about the many ways to get odors out of your home. Dogs and Smokers are tough to cover up, but you need to make your home sweet-smelling.

7. Price It Right

Pricing your home right is the key in this market. Buyers are looking at the recent sales in each neighborhood and they want to pay the lowest price, not the highest price per square foot. If you want to have more traffic than the competition, price it 5 10% below them.

8. Be Flexible

A buyers market means low offers. Dont be insulted. Be Patient and make a reasonable counter-offer. If they are serious about buying your house, you should be able to work it out.

9. Be Willing to Pay Some Closing Costs

Lenders are being more stringent with loan qualifications in this market. Your willingness to pay some of the buyers closing costs will increase the number of buyers who are willing to consider your home.

10. HIRE THE RIGHT AGENT

Hire an agent with experience in a buyers market! That would be someone who has worked full-time in Real Estate for more than 10 years! Ask the right questions. Over 80% of all buyers are shopping for homes on the Internet, so be sure your agent is tech savvy and not depending on newspaper advertising, or open houses, to sell your home. Be willing to put your home on a lockbox , if that is what your agent recommends. Once you hire a professional, you must be willing to listen to their advice.

For advice on selling YOUR home in a buyer’s market, or a FREE Market Analysis, please contact me.

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If you are looking for a house in Tampa, South Tampa, Davis Islands, Beach Park, Riverview, New Tampa, Westchase, Odessa, or any of the Tampa suburubs…or manybe a condo on Clearwater Beach, I can help!

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This entry was posted on Sunday, February 24th, 2008 at 6:19 am and is filed under How to, Real Estate News, Sellers, Tampa Real Estate Market. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “How To Sell Your Home in A Buyer’s Market…Tampa Real Estate Market News”

  1. Ines says:
    August 1, 2007 at 8:17 pm

    Love lists Jackie and this one is complete and every seller should read it. The odor thing is sooo important (but you know how I feel about that).

  2. The Best on The Vine says:
    October 19, 2007 at 10:05 am

    [...] Jackie sizzles over at the RealEstateSizzle with more tips on selling in a buyer’s market. [...]

  3. Very Vintage Vegas » How To Sell Your Home in A Buyer’s Market says:
    October 19, 2007 at 11:31 am

    [...] guest columnist today is Jackie Colson-Miller, a Keller Williams Agent from Tampa, Florida.  I had started a similar article, but found [...]

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