Buchanan Real Estate

LAKES REGION

851 Route 16, Ossipee, NH 03864 * Office: 603-539-9088 * Fax: 603-539-9529

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TIPS FOR SELLING YOUR PROPERTY

An overview of what you can expect when making the decision to sell your home.

MAKING THE DECISION TO SELL
Before you put your home on the market, there are many things to consider. Where are you moving to? Is time a factor? Are you upgrading or downsizing? Can you afford to move? If you put the home on the market today and it sells tomorrow, do you have someplace to move to? Do you need to sell this home before you can purchase another? These are some of the questions you must ask yourself before making the decision to move so when you do put the home on the market, you will be as prepared as possible.

PRICING THE HOME
Before listing the home, you need to do the impossible. You must detach your emotions from selling your home. We all put a lot of importance on certain aspects of our lives and our homes are one of them. After all, our entire LIVES are wrapped up in the home and we often feel that that should be worth something when it comes time to sell. Unlike physical improvements to the home (new bathroom, kitchen etc.) "Blood, sweat and tears, what you paid for the property and tax assessments unfortunately have little value in pricing the home for today's market. Buyers ultimately determine the price of a home. Not you - not your agent. Buyers will not pay more for your home than they would for one similar to it. That is why pricing is ultimately determined by how much buyers have recently paid for homes similar to yours. Current prices, expired/withdrawn prices are considered, but it is largely homes that have sold similar to yours that determine the value. Your agent has a legal and ethical duty to be honest with you, so you may want to heed the pricing advice. If you and your agent are miles apart on pricing, ask yourself what it is that makes you believe that your home warrants the higher price.
Another very important aspect of pricing is considering the appraisal. If the home is going to be financed by the buyer, the lending institution is going to do an appraisal. The lending institution will not lend more than the appraised amount, and this may hamper your efforts to sell if priced too high. Most people will not want to or will not be able to come up with the difference in listed and appraisal price.

PREPARING THE HOME FOR SALE
Once a figure is agreed upon and all the paperwork is signed, then you need to get to work. START CLEANING! Straighten out closets, and pack up the clutter. If the house is spic and span, the buyers will be better able to visualize their belongings there. If the walls are dirty or brightly colored, paint them a neutral color. Brightly colored walls may make it more difficult to sell, especially if the buyers are overwhelmed by how much painting they will have to do if the colors are not to their liking. Vacuum and shampoo carpets and furniture. I know you will be taking your furniture with you, but household smells, pet and cigarette odors get imbedded in the upholstery. The house should always smell fresh and clean. Fix the leaky faucets, mend the screen door and be sure not to forget the outside. Rake, prune the bushes, keep kids toys and pet droppings picked up, fix the broken fence and in winter KEEP WALKWAYS and STEPS free of ice and snow!

THE SHOWING
Please have your home ready to show at all times. You never know when the "right" buyer will come along. Keep the beds made and dirty dishes out of the sink and dirty laundry in the hamper. Please keep personal items out of sight and do NOT leave jewelry, money or other valuables out in the open. Be prepared to leave when the home is being shown. Buyers often fear offending you when they discuss the pros and cons of the house. You may love your neon green flocked wallpaper but a buyer may not and they need to feel free to discuss what they might like to see in its place. Point being, the buyers should spend as much time in the home as possible to make a decision and if they fear that they are imposing on your time or may offend you they may rush through and make the decision NOT to purchase because they have not had the opportunity to weigh all of the pros and cons.
Please take your dog with you if possible, and if not, please put the dog in a crate. The same is true for cats. If your cat is an indoor cat, we do not want your cat to make a run for it when the buyers step into the house. Placing the cat in a room and closing the door is not always useful. Buyers will want to inspect all rooms and they should not be worried about kitty planning a grand escape. Plus, not all buyers are animal lovers and we want them to be as comfortable as possible when inspecting a home.

THE OFFER
All Purchase & Sales agreements must be made in writing to be considered legal. Agents are required by law to present all offers to you, even if they are extremely low. When an offer is made to you, you will have three options.
1. Accept the offer as is
2. Counter offer (make a change to price or some other term that is

unacceptable to you and present it back to the buyer)
3. Reject the offer
Once the price and all terms are agreed upon, and the offer is signed by all parties it is delivered to all parties and it then becomes a legally binding contract.

THE CLOSING
After the contract is signed and all contingencies (home inspections, buyers financing, etc.) are met you will need to hire a title company or have your lawyer prepare the deed.
A time and place will be agreed upon for the closing. Just prior to the closing, you will be notified of any funds you must bring with you (if applicable). Funds must be in the form of a certified bank check. Bring your drivers license with you and the keys to the home.

REMEMBER
Reserve a moving company or van (if you are moving yourself).
Contact insurance company
Notify cable, gas/oil, telephone and electric companies of change of service.
Notify internet and cell phone provider
Register children at their new schools
Fill out change of address cards for the post office.
Order new checks.
START PACKING!

(if you have followed my advice and started packing up clutter and unused items

prior to the time of listing,

you should have very little left to do!)

CONGRATULATIONS!
YOU HAVE SOLD YOUR HOUSE!

For more detailed information, please come in and see us or give us a call.

TAKING THE MYSTERY OUT

OF AGENCY RELATIONSHIPS

As a consumer of real estate, whether you are a buyer, tenant, seller or landlord you have many choices to you as far as what duties your agent owes you. All buyers/tenants and sellers/landlords, whether contractually represented or not, must be treated honestly and fairly and all known information about the property, whether good or bad, must be disclosed to all parties concerned. To begin, lets go over the definition of "AGENCY".
AGENCY is a relationship between the PRINCIPAL (CLIENT) and the AGENT (the real estate brokerage firm and all of its sales agents). Both the AGENT and the CLIENT are liable for each others actions. The AGENT owes the CLIENT "FIDUCIARY" duties. These duties include:

1.*Loyalty
2.*Obedience
3.*Care/Diligence
4.*Accounting
5.*Disclosure
6.*Confidentiality

Loyalty - AGENT must place the interests of the CLIENT above anyone else, including the AGENT.
Obedience - AGENT must obey all instructions of the CLIENT (within the scope of the transaction and must be legal). The AGENT cannot discriminate, or conceal any known defects.
Care/Diligence - AGENT must be careful in his/her actions. Example: be sure doors are locked and lights are off after showing a property, or to render competent advice.
Accounting - The AGENT must be sure that all monies and documents held on behalf of the CLIENT are properly accounted for as provided by state law.
Disclosure - The AGENT MUST disclose all material defects in a property that is being sold. Do not ask your agent to lie or omit any information about the condition of the property that is known to you and to him/her. It is illegal to do so.
Confidentiality - On the other hand, the AGENT must NOT disclose any personal information about the CLIENT, such as marital status, motivation for moving, the highest or lowest price acceptable or any other personal information about the CLIENT. Rule of thumb, if it is information about the property, the AGENT MUST disclose to all parties. If the information is about the CLIENT personally or may beneficial for the other party and detrimental to the CLIENT, it MUST be kept confidential. Confidentiality is required by the AGENT long after the sale has taken place. It is for life.

YOUR CHOICES
SELLER AGENCY The AGENT works FOR SELLER, owes fiduciary duties to the SELLER and must represent all of the SELLERS interest in the sale of his/her property. The SELLERS may be liable for the actions of the AGENT or any SUBAGENT within the scope of the real estate transaction

BUYER AGENCY The AGENT works FOR BUYER and owes the same fiduciary duties to his/her BUYER as a SELLERS AGENT. BUYERS may be liable for the actions of the AGENT or any SUBAGENT within the scope of the real estate transaction.

SUB AGENCY All of the sales people within the AGENCY whom the CLIENT has hired, will also represent the CLIENT. As a matter of historical practice, it was once common practice for ALL agents to be SUBAGENTS of the sellers. This was long before buyers began to hire AGENTS to represent them in their search for property.*
This extended to all of the other agencies. for instance, ABC company has the exclusive listing on your home. A sales person from XYZ company shows the property, He and all of the other sales people would have had the same fiduciary duties to you as your own agent. Many real estate companies have stopped the practice outside of their own company. It exposes the CLIENT and AGENT to far to much liability as both would be responsible for their actions.

****BUCHANAN REAL ESTATE DOES NOT OFFER SUB-AGENCY OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE****

DISCLOSED DUAL AGENCY This situation is arises when your AGENT represents you and the BUYER in the same transaction. example: Johnny Sellalot has the listing on your home. He also has buyers who have hired him as a BUYERS AGENT to help them find a home. They decide to look at your home. Now, it is not possible to represent BOTH parties completely, so BOTH parties would need to have this information disclosed and agreed to IN WRITING BEFORE THE SHOWING. In a Disclosed Dual Agency Agreement situation The AGENT
must remain honest and fair to all parties, but the fiduciary duties must be modified. All confidential information must remain so. The AGENT will not be able help either party negotiate in either party's favor.

ANOTHER RELATIONSHIP (NON-AGENCY) If a consumer does not wish AGENCY REPRESENTATION in a real estate transaction, it is referred to as ANOTHER RELATIONSHIP or NON-AGENCY. The AGENT WORKS WITH you, must be fair and honest and disclose all material facts about the property. He may review the real estate process, show property, prepare and convey offers, provide information regarding professional services, but does NOT owe any of the fiduciary duties owed to a CLIENT.

So, whether you are a BUYER or SELLER, TENANT or LANDLORD, you have choices as to how you would or would not like to be represented in a real estate transaction. It is required by State Law that ALL real estate licensees provide you with a "Disclosure of Agency and Non-Agency Relationships in Real Estate Brokerage" form. The form further explains the information in this brochure. It is NOT a contract and binds you to nothing. It is merely a disclosure - a way to inform you of the choices that you have when buying or selling a home. You may sign this acknowledging that you have had this form provided and explained to you (again, it binds you to nothing) or you may choose not to sign it, but it must be presented to you.

WHO SHOULD HAVE AGENCY REPRESENTATION?

While not everyone feels that they need to be represented by their agent, some should
consider it if:
You currently have your home listed for sale.
You are a relative or close friend.
You have bought or sold with this agent before.
You are purchasing commercial property
You are a first time buyer or seller.
You are an agent purchasing for yourself or family.
Your are purchasing from a builder.
You are relocating from out of the area.
You are a business Associates.
You want to remain anonymous.
You are an investor.

Hopefully, this has taken some of the confusion out of your choices for representation when buying or selling a home. For more detailed information, please come see us or give us a call.