• ---------BETTER JUDGEMENTS---------
  
  Better Judgements eZine
  Terria Judge, Realtor
  CRS, ABR, GRI, Broker Associate
  
  Better Judgements is a newsletter on home
  matters, from Terria Judge, your Garden City, KS
  real estate agent!
  
  Contact Terria Judge at 620-271-2129!
  
  Terria Judge
  Home Town Real Estate P.A.
  1135 College Dr. Suite A
  Garden City, KS 67846
  
  
  620-271-9500
  http://terriajudge.com
  http://gardencityksrealestate.com
  http://gardencityksrentals.com
  
  Terria@TerriaJudge.com
  
  Subscription Management at end of newsletter.
  
  Thanks for your subscription to Better
  Judgements, the newsletter from your Garden City
  Kansas Realtor, Terria Judge.
  
  ---------BETTER JUDGEMENTS---------
  
  In this Issue
  =============
  
  1. Article: The For Sale By Owner Fantasy
  2. Featured & New Listings
  3. Article: A Few Common Home-Selling Mistakes
  4. Article: Helpful Hints for Home Staging,
  Moving and Storage
  
  
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  The For Sale By Owner Fantasy
  by Art Gib
  
  For Sale By Owner, four words that conjure up
  images of small yard signs purchased from the
  local hardware store and planted in the front yard
  of a house that no one but the neighbors will ever
  see. Houses that are sold by their owners without
  the aid or a professional real estate agent have a
  very low chance of being sold. Even with the
  ability to list a house through the internet the
  likelihood that a homebuyer will go to a website
  like Craigslist.com or MySpace.com to find a house
  is slim to none. The majorities of people looking
  for a house scan the public access sites of the
  MLS database and utilize the resources of their
  real estate agents to find homes that are suitable
  to purchase.
  
  Although sites like those listed are wonderful
  for advertising resale items that people may be
  looking for without paying retail prices it is
  unlikely that homebuyers will make any serious
  effort to view for sale buy owner houses through
  these sites and even less likely that they will
  want to buy a home that is being offered there
  because most home owners that do not want to list
  their home for sale with a realtor are concerned
  about retaining the most amount of money they can
  and are often delusional when it comes to
  separating their emotional attachment to their
  home from the business side of selling their home.
  
  Without the services of a real estate agent the
  for sale by owner properties have no real idea of
  what the present value of their home may be.
  Throughout the country home prices are off because
  of the growing foreclosure market and federal bank
  bailout. Home prices have dropped in recent months
  and even though some areas of the country have not
  felt the effects of the housing market drop as
  much as others it has become harder to determine
  the actual value of a home in the marketplace.
  Real estate agents keep a constant pulse of the
  market and know what a home is worth and what it
  will sell for while the average home owner that is
  looking to sell their house by themselves does not
  have a clue what the housing market is doing.
  
  Aside form the advertising and marketing that
  real estate agents handle for their clients they
  can also arrange all of the necessary documents
  that are legally required in the transaction of
  selling a home and ensure that everything is
  handled legally and accurately. Considering all
  that is involved in selling a house it is
  surprising that people attempt to do it themselves
  and believe that they can be successful without
  the services of a realtor.
  
  About the Author
  
  Re/Max Mississippi
  (http://www.remax-mississippi.com/) provides
  buyers and sellers with real estate maximums
  quality professional service. Art Gib is a
  freelance writer.
  
  
  
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  FEATURED & NEW LISTINGS
  ========================
  http://terriajudge.com/garden-city-ks-real-estate/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1
  
  
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  A Few Common Home-Selling Mistakes
  by Art Gib
  
  
  For many homeowners, selling a home can be an
  understandably emotional experience. This is
  especially true if the homeowner has lived in the
  home for many years and has become attached, not
  only to the home, but to the neighbors and
  community. It is important, when selling a home,
  not to become so emotional that you make common
  sellers mistakes. Selling your home should be a
  decision you come to after careful discussion and
  consideration. No seller wants to experience
  seller's remorse after signing the final papers.
  With careful thought and with the advice of
  experienced real estate professionals, sellers can
  avoid the common mistakes that some sellers make.
  
  One common mistake is pricing the home too high.
  Pricing the home at a saleable price is a skill
  based on carefully acquired information. It is a
  probably a good idea to consult with a real estate
  agent when trying to decide on an asking price. If
  the price is too high, buyers won't even take a
  second look at it. If the price is to low, you
  might be giving away valuable profit. Also, a
  common problem with pricing too high initially is
  that buyers might make lowball offers and you
  might not get the value out of it that you would
  have had you priced it reasonably.
  
  Another common mistake is trying to sell the
  house while it's in poor condition. In fact, some
  people only sell their homes because the home is
  in poor condition and they don't want to do the
  necessary repairs. This is unwise. By leaving the
  home in a state of disrepair, you may leave the
  potential buyer wondering what else about that
  house is in poor condition. This can lead to price
  negotiations that may result in a loss for you.
  Sometimes all the house needs is a quick fix like
  taking care of leaking faucets and squeaking
  cabinet doors. Doing this in advance can save
  money in the long run. Another important step in
  this process is staging the home. A seller needs
  to stop thinking of the house as their home, and
  instead, think of it as a product to sell. Staging
  the home includes getting rid of clutter, making
  small repairs, painting, and other touch up steps
  that will improve the interior and exterior of the
  home.
  
  Incorrectly marketing the home is another
  problem. Though some people prefer to use the "For
  Sale by Owner" method, it can often be more
  effective to use a real estate agent. Real estate
  agents can be helpful in marketing the home, using
  better materials and marketing to a wider audience
  than you have access to by yourself. Part of
  marketing well is making sure promotional photos
  of the house portray the home at its best and that
  the home's most marketable qualities are listed on
  fliers and handouts.
  
  In your rush to sell the home, make sure to do
  your research and discuss it carefully with
  experienced real estate professionals so that you
  don't inadvertently make one of these common
  mistakes.
  
  About the Author
  
  RE/MAX Missouri(http://www.remax-missouri.com/)
  provides buyers and sellers with real estate
  maximums quality professional service. Art Gib is
  a freelance writer.
  
  
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  Helpful Hints for Home Staging, Moving and
  Storage
  by Rachel Omiliak
  
  
  Real estate staging, home staging or simply
  'staging,' is anything that you do to prepare your
  home to prepare it to be sold. Generally, home
  owners work to make their home attractive and
  appealing to potential buyers through cleaning,
  moving furniture and decorating. Over the past few
  decades, this trend has become increasingly
  popular, and home staging can be provided for any
  person, and any budget. Many people choose to hire
  a professional home stager to bring in art, rugs,
  furniture, plants and other home accessories to
  show off the home's best attributes while it is on
  the market. Other home staging services will give
  homeowners a list of areas where they should
  remove clutter, move furniture and paint walls.
  For the budget conscious mover, the latter is the
  most economical option for home staging, and is a
  more 'do-it-yourself' approach to home staging.
  
  Real estate agents encourage their clients to
  enlist home staging services because of the
  positive impact that staging has on a home's final
  selling price. Reports by the US Department of
  Housing and Urban Development show that staged
  homes sell for approximately 17% more than homes
  that are not. Buyers prefer a home that seems
  move-in ready, meaning they can visualize their
  family living in the home. When the walls are
  crowded with years of family pictures, and your
  magic eight ball collection is covering the
  bedroom window sill, it is more difficult for
  buyers to see themselves living in your home. Very
  few people are able to see past clutter, so
  helping them along through home staging is
  definitely worth your time.
  
  Here are the three main goals of staging your
  home: Removing clutter from counters, shelves,
  window sills and on top of furniture will make
  your home seem more spacious. You want to show off
  the best features of your home, while minimizing
  the less desirable elements Maintaining a neutral
  color palate and flow from room to room makes your
  home seem move-in ready and appealing to potential
  buyers. Since interior decorating is not a natural
  skill for everyone, staging services can help you
  attain these goals, and relieve the stress of
  preparing to sell your home.
  
  Removing clutter from your home is the single
  most important part of the home staging process.
  If you are methodical with packing your
  knick-knacks, you will have a head start on the
  daunting task of packing the rest of your home.
  When removing clutter, it is best go through your
  home one room at a time. Doing this will allow you
  to pack similar items together, making unpacking
  at your new home much easier. Home stagers
  recommend that you go through each room and clear
  off all of your tables, dressers, counters and
  shelves, particularly of hobby related items and
  personal photographs. You want potential buyers to
  be able to see themselves in your home, rather
  than wonder about your hobbies and the
  collectables in your home. In the kitchen, it is
  ok to leave out your main appliances, including
  your microwave and toaster (you do live there
  after all!) However, you should clear any other
  appliances, cookbooks and utensils off of your
  kitchen counters and table to make your kitchen
  feel more open.
  
  Now you are probably wondering: What do I do with
  all of these boxes of my stuff? Since you have a
  newly clutter-free home, storing these boxes in
  your house will detract from the hard work that
  you have done. Taking these boxes out of your home
  is ideal, and one of the most popular ways to do
  this is by using a storage pod. Pods storage
  companies offer an easy, convenient way to store
  your extra furniture and boxes while you are
  selling your home. There are many storage pods
  that offer door to door services, and can make
  storage much easier than renting a u-haul truck!
  These companies will deliver portable storage
  containers to your home, where you can pack the
  container, and then the company will take the
  storage container to a facility for you. Many
  times, these storage companies will also deliver
  your storage pod to your new home when you are
  ready to move.
  
  Whether you are listing your home now, or are
  planning to put your home on the market in a few
  months, home staging can make a remarkable
  difference in the sale price of your home, as well
  as the time that you home is on the market. If you
  are doing staging on your own, remember- removing
  clutter is the key to a successful home sale. Get
  a head start on your moving by packing these boxes
  into a storage pod, the most cost effective way to
  prepare your home for a sale, all while minimizing
  the work for you!
  
  About the Author
  
  Door To Door Moving and Storage has helped making
  moving easier since 1996. Our moving and pods
  services and portable storage containers offer an
  alternative to hiring expensive moving companies
  and moving rental trucks.
  
  ---------BETTER JUDGEMENTS---------
  
  This newsletter is compiled and published by
  Mitone, http://mitone.com

  July 27th, 2009 at 7:00 pm

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