Home Seller Information
Increase showings on your house by doing this one thing
May 12th, 2012 categories: Home Seller Information
On a recent Saturday, I had scheduled showings to view 8 homes in Spring Texas. There was one home in particular my buyers were extremely anxious to view. The home was within their budget, it had been recently updated, it had a good size backyard, and it was on a greenbelt. This Spring Texas home checked all the boxes on their list of criteria.
On our way to the front door, we chatted about all how wonderful the neighborhood was and how convenient it is to I-45. I accessed the box with my Supra Key and grabbed the key to the front door. For the next 15 minutes I tried to open the front door. I tired the top lock. I tried the bottom lock. I turned it to the right. I turned it to the left. I put the key all the way in. I put the key 7/8 of the way in. I jiggled the key.
No luck. The key was not going to open the door. In one last attempt to gain access to the house, I went around to the back of the house looking for another door that the key just might work in. No such luck. The back door was a sliding patio door.
I returned to the front of the house where my buyers were peeking in the window. I told them we could reschedule the showing for another day and hopefully by then the sellers will have the key working. Their response was “No, let’s just move on”.
What one thing can you do to increase showings on your Spring Texas house? Get a key that easily unlocks your front door.
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Plan for the end in the beginning
May 9th, 2012 categories: Home Seller Information
What do curtains, shelves, fireplace screens, television brackets, and garage hooks all have in common? They are all items that at one point in time in my career as a Spring Texas Realtor I had to request / beg buyers to allow sellers to take with them.
In real estate all items are negotiable which includes curtains, shelves, fireplace screens, television brackets, and garage hooks. It’s the timing of the negotiations that dictates whether the negotiations will go smoothly or will be a challenge.
Negotiating items to be retained by the sellers goes smoothly before the house is in contract. Negotiating items after the house is in contract now that’s challenging.
Before you put your house on the Spring Texas real estate market, you need to plan for the end otherwise known as closing day. To do this slowly walk from room to room in your house and make a list of all items that would be considered permanently installed, built-in, or a related accessory that you want to retain possession of after closing day.
Provide your list to your Realtor so the items may be identified as exclusions in your listing. Better yet, remove all items you want excluded from the sale of your Spring Texas house before you even put it on the market.
Read also:
- What stays and what goes when you buy a Spring Texas house
- Who repairs the nail holes? Sellers or Buyers?
- What is a sellers temporary lease back and do you need one?
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Prudential Gary Greene stands alone in the Top 100
April 23rd, 2012 categories: Home Seller Information
Prudential Gary Greene Realtors is the only HOUSTON based brokerage to break into the Top 100 on RisMedia’s list of Top Brokers in the Nation. In 2011, Prudential Gary Greene completed 6,509 real estate transactions with a sales volume of $1,576.526,862 ranking 55 and 53, respectively.
Thank you to all the buyers and sellers our brokerage had the opportunity and the pleasure to service in 2011. When you are ready to sell your Spring Texas house, give us a call at 281.804.8626.
List with the local leader.
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Do you have to repay the $8,000 home buyers tax credit?
April 1st, 2012 categories: Home Seller Information
Two years ago you bought a Spring Texas home. In return for buying a home, our government gave you an $8,000 tax credit. It was a sweet deal!!
Today you just found out your employer is moving its corporate office. Your 10 minute drive to work will turn into 50 minutes. You want to sell your Spring Texas home and move because a 50 minute commute to work will drive you insane. The only thing holding you back from listing your house is you would have to repay the $8,000 tax credit since you haven’t lived in the home for 36 months.
If you sold the home, you have to repay the entire $8,000 tax credit if:
1. the home ceased to be your primary residence within 36 months after the date you purchased it
AND
2. you sold the home for a gain of $8,000 or more. The sale must be made to a person unrelated to you.
To calculate the loss or gain on the sale of your house:
1. Calculate Net Sales Price. Sales Price – commissions / Realtor fees – advertising expenses – legal expenses = Net Sales Price
2. Calculate Adjusted Basis. Purchase Price + legal fees + recording fees + survey fees + owners title insurance, if paid by you + cost of additions or improvements = Adjusted Basis of home
Loss or Gain on the sale of your house = Net Sales Price – Adjusted Basis of home
If your gain was less than or equal to $8,000, you would owe the IRS the entire amount of the gain. If the gain was more than $8,000, you would owe the IRS $8,000.
If you sold your Spring Texas house for a loss, you would NOT have to repay any of the $8,000 tax credit.
I admit it’s a tad bit complicated. It wouldn’t be an IRS rule if it wasn’t. Contact your tax accountant and seek guidance as you may be able to move without having to repay the $8,000 tax credit.
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All Texas home sales to be taxed at 3.8% … Fact or Fiction?
March 29th, 2012 categories: Home Seller Information
The great thing about the Internet is the vast amount of information available at your finger tips. The bad thing about the Internet is not all the information is accurate.
A half-truth that has been flying around the Internet for a while now and probably will continue is all real estate transactions will be taxed at 3.8% in 2013.
If you knew a 3.8% real estate tax was on the way and you were thinking about selling your Spring Texas house, you might put your house on the market in 2012 to avoid the tax. But wait … don’t rush to list your house just to avoid a real estate tax until you learn the facts.
Here’s the FACTS:
- Effective January 1, 2013, there is a new 3.8% Medicare Tax on investment income.
- The tax is NOT a “real estate sales tax” NOR is it a “transfer tax”
- The tax DOES NOT apply to every home sold.
- Capital gain exclusion of $250,000 (for individuals) and $500,000 (for married couples) on the sale of a principal residence remains in place.
- Individuals with an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of more than $200,000 or married couples filing a joint return with an AGI of more than $250,000 AGI are subject to the 3.8% Medicare Tax. Individuals and married couples earning less than the respective $200,000 and $250,000 are NOT subject to the tax.
Real world example:
- John and Mary sell their Spring Texas home which is their primary residence for $725,000. Their profit on the sale of their home was $525,000 (sales price – cost of selling – original purchase price – improvements). John and Mary are high income earners with an AGI of $300,000. John and Mary would be subject to the 3.8% Medicare tax.
Tax calculation:
- $525,000 profit – $500,000 capital gain exclusion = $25,000 subject to tax
- $25,000 subject to tax * 3.8% Medicare tax rate = $950 tax.
For more examples of the 3.8% Medicare tax download a brochure from the National Association of Realtors. If you have further questions about the tax implications of selling your Spring Texas home, please consult your tax accountant.
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6 things to remove before listing your Spring Texas house
March 10th, 2012 categories: Home Seller Information
It happens at the same time each year. The Spring Texas real estate market heats up just as the weather heats up. So if this is the year you are planning on selling your Spring Texas house, it’s time to get your house ready to list.
But where do you start? Start by removing these things from your home.
1. Personal Photos - If your shelves and walls are covered with family photos, you need to remove them. Buyers will and do look at your photos. If buyers are looking at your photos, they are not looking at your house. What are you trying to sell? Your house or your photos.
2. Money and valuables- Eliminate temptation by putting all cash, coin jars, watches, and jewelry away. You nor your Realtor is going to personally know everyone who views your house.
3. Items with sentimental value – If you came home from a showing and found the pitcher your favorite Aunt gave you laying on the floor broken, would you be mad and upset? If the answer is yes, please put it away. Accidents do happen especially when there are little kids in the house.
4. Prescription medicine – Leaving your medicine out on the counter as a reminder for you to take it is okay when your Spring Texas house is not on the market. Don’t take a chance of your medicine walking out the door in someone’s pocket. Put it away.
5. Bills and personal papers - Don’t make it easy for your identity or personal credit card information to be stolen. People good and bad are curious by nature.
6. the Family Calendar – Put the family’s planning calendar away. Don’t unknowingly share with strangers your family’s comings and goings.
Read also:
- How to increase your list price and attract more buyers
- What does it cost to sell a Spring Texas home?
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You’re in contract but you receive a higher offer can you take it?
March 1st, 2012 categories: Home Seller Information
After sitting on the Spring Texas real estate market for many months, you finally received an offer on your home. After numerous back and forth negotiations, you have agreed to what you feel is a decent price. Now two days after your house went under contract, you’ve received a higher offer. Can you take the higher offer?
Yes, you can take the higher offer but it would be considered a “Back-Up” contract. In order for the Back-Up contract to become the primary contract, the first contract would have to be terminated by the first buyers.
As a seller, you can only terminate the first contract if the buyers are in default. Although a Back-Up contract may not become the primary contract, it does provide you with assurances that your Spring Texas house will be sold.
A Back-Up contract also provides you with leverage in negotiating repairs with the first buyer. If the first buyer wants every repair identified on the inspection report, you could say “No Repairs”. Your stance on repairs could push the first buyer to terminate the contract. Then the higher sales price Back-Up contract would become the primary contract.
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Are you stuck with the Realtor assigned by the RELO company?
February 22nd, 2012 categories: Home Buyer Information, Home Seller Information
If your employer offers you relocation benefits, the relocation company will “assign” a Realtor to work with you. The Realtors who agree to be assigned have taken relocation certification courses and agree to pay your relocation company between 35% to 40% of the commission they earn from either helping you with the purchase of a house or helping you sell your current house.
If you are selling your house, the relocation company will typically have two Realtors from two different real estate brokerages meet with you to present their marketing plans. You will then have an opportunity to choose between the two Realtors.
If you do not like the Realtors assigned by the relocation company because they didn’t listen to your needs or may they are not familiar with your neighborhood, you are not stuck with them. You do have choices!! Just tell your relocation company the name of the Realtor you want to use. The Relocation company will then contact your chosen Realtor to confirm that they are willing to pay a relocation fee. Although Realtors don’t like to pay a 35 to 40% fee to the relocation company (can you blame them?), the majority of Realtors will agree to pay the fee.
You do not have to use the Realtor assigned by your relocation company in order to receive your relocation benefits. You do have a right to choose your Realtor.
If you are relocating to Spring Texas or moving away from Spring Texas and you would like for me to be your Realtor, then give my name to your relocation company. I work with all the major relocation companies including SIRVA, CARTUS, PRUDENTIAL, HEWITT, and BROOKFIELD.
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7 Reasons why your house won’t sell
February 4th, 2012 categories: Home Seller Information
Has your house been sitting and sitting and sitting on the Spring Texas real estate market? Has it been more than 45 days since the last time you had a showing? Maybe on the reasons below is stopping your house from selling.
Your house won’t sell because:
1. Unavailable for showings – Do you require 24 hours notice? Do you require confirmation of all appointments? Do you require 1 hour showing windows? Do you restrict showings to certain days of the week? Showings occur at convenient times for buyers which may not be convenient for sellers. Unless you are on your death bed, don’t turn down a showing. The showing you turned down could be the one you have been waiting for.
2. Poor condition – Buyers don’t and won’t buy your lived-in house. Replace the stained carpet. Repair and paint the beat-up back door. Stain the weathered front door. Change the filthy air filters. Replace the grungy shower caulk.
3. Bad photos – The majority of buyers begin their search of homes for sale on the Internet. If the photos of your house were taken from your Realtor’s car window or they are dark and grainy, buyers are going to say “NEXT”. Buyers have plenty of homes to look at and if the photos of your listing don’t grab the buyers then they won’t schedule a showing to view it.
4. Over priced – Pretend you’re a buyer and search Spring Texas homes for sale. How does your house stack up to other houses listed at the same price. Be honest! Your house may be better than those other houses but what about your subdivision. Has there been a lot of foreclosures and short sales in your subdivision pushing prices down?
5. Out-dated - Yes, I know it seems frivolous to replace the brass light fixtures when they are in perfect working condition. It also seems to be a waste of money to remove the wallpaper. But … buyers don’t want out-dated. They want updated.
6. Incomplete or Mistakes in listing data – Buyers have an enormous amount of flexibility on how they can perform searches. If your listing data is incomplete or inaccurate, your house is either not be shown to buyers or being shown to the wrong buyers.
7. Not a product – Does your house look like it’s your home? Are your kids names on their bedroom doors? Do you have photos of the family over the fireplace? Is your kids’ school schedule taped to the refrigerator door? When you put your home on the Spring Texas real estate market it’s no longer your home. It is a product. A product that you are wanting someone to buy. Buyers can’t envision your house as their house when all they see is your home.
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Do you Buy or do you Sell first?
January 27th, 2012 categories: Home Seller Information
For one of a half a dozen reasons ranging from your house is too cramped to your commute is too long, you want to sell your Spring Texas house. The question is “Do you Buy or do you Sell first“?
The first step is to determine if you have the option of buying before selling your current house. If you are not planning on paying cash for your next home, you will need to get a loan and thus a call to your lender is in order. Are you able to get loan pre-approval for your next house while still owning your current house? Are you planning on using the equity in your current house for the down payment on your next house? Your financial situation may require you to sell your current house before buying your next Spring Texas house.
If your financial situation allows you to have options, then consider these pluses and minuses:
BUY first:
- Less Hassle – You aren’t interrupted by buyers wanting to view your home at inconvient times. You no longer live at the house that’s on the market. You have already moved on.
- More Costs – You have the expense of maintaining two households. (lawn care, utilities, mortgage, insurance, real estate taxes)
SELL first:
- Higher sales price - Occupied houses sell quicker and for higher prices than vacant houses.
- Financial Certainity – You know the sales price of your house, the cost of negotiated repairs, and what you will net.
- Multiple moves - You may have to move into temporary housing until you find the right next home or until your new construction house is complete.
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