Why Use a Realtor to Sell Your Home?

1. Navigate a complicated process. Buying or selling a home usually requires disclosure forms, inspection reports, mortgage documents, insurance policies, deeds, and multipage settlement statements. A knowledgeable expert will help you prepare the best deal, and avoid delays or costly mistakes.

2. Information and opinions. REALTORS® can provide local community information on utilities, zoning, schools, and more. They’ll also be able to provide objective information about each property. They can provide invaluable tools, such as property valuations and CMA’s (Comprehensive Market Analysis) to help you make an informed decision on pricing your property.

3. Negotiating skills. There are many negotiating factors, including but not limited to price, financing, terms, date of possession, and inclusion or exclusion of repairs, furnishings, or equipment. In addition, the purchase agreement should provide a period of time for you to complete appropriate inspections and investigations of the property before you are bound to complete the purchase. Your agent can advise you as to which investigations and inspections are recommended or required.

4. Property marketing power. Real estate doesn’t sell due to advertising alone. In fact, a large share of real estate sales comes as the result of a practitioner’s contacts through previous clients, referrals, friends, and family.

5. Someone who speaks the language. If you don’t know a CMA from a PUD, you can understand why it’s important to work with a professional who is immersed in the industry and knows the real estate language.

6. Experience. Most people buy and sell only a few homes in a lifetime, usually with quite a few years in between each purchase. Even if you have done it before, laws and regulations change. REALTORS®, on the other hand, handle hundreds of real estate transactions over the course of their career. Having an expert on your side is critical.

7. Objective voice. A home often symbolizes family, rest, and security — it’s not just four walls and a roof. Because of this, homebuying and selling can be an emotional undertaking. Having a concerned, but objective, third party helps you stay focused on both the emotional and financial issues most important to you.

.

Understanding Capital Gains Tax

When you sell a stock, you owe taxes on your gain — the difference between what you paid for the stock and what you sold it for. The same holds true when selling a home (or a second home), but there are some special considerations.

How to Calculate Gain

In real estate, capital gains are based not on what you paid for the home, but on its adjusted cost basis. To calculate, follow these steps:

1. Purchase price: _______________________

The purchase price of the home is the sale price, not the amount of money you actually contributed at closing.

2. Total adjustments: _______________________

To calculate this, add the following:

• Cost of purchase: including transfer fees, attorney fees, and inspections, but not points you paid on

your mortgage.

• Cost of sale: including inspections, attorney fees, real estate commission, and money you spent to fix up

your home just prior to sale.

• Cost of improvements: including room additions, deck, etc. Note here that improvements do not include

repairing or replacing something already there, such as putting on a new roof or buying a new furnace.

3. Your home’s adjusted cost basis: _______________________

The total of your purchase price and adjustments is the adjusted cost basis of your home.

4. Your capital gain: _______________________

Subtract the adjusted cost basis from the amount your home sells for to get your capital gain.

A Special Real Estate Exemption for Capital Gains

Since 1997, up to $250,000 in capital gains ($500,000 for a married couple) on the sale of a home is exempt from taxation if you meet the following criteria:

• You have lived in the home as your principal residence for two out of the last five years.

• You have not sold or exchanged another home during the two years preceding the sale.

• You meet what the IRS calls “unforeseen circumstances,” such as job loss, divorce, or family medical

emergency.

Reprinted from REALTOR® magazine (REALTOR.org/realtormag) with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Advice for Better Home Showings

1. Remove clutter and clear off counters. Throw out stacks of newspapers and magazines and stow away most of your small decorative items. Put excess furniture in storage, and remove out-of-season clothing items that are cramping closet space. Don’t forget to clean out the garage, too.

2. Wash your windows and screens. This will help get more light into the interior of the home.

3. Keep everything extra clean. A clean house will make a strong first impression and send a message to buyers that the home has been well-cared for. Wash fingerprints from light switch plates, mop and wax floors, and clean the stove and refrigerator. Polish your doorknobs and address numbers. It’s worth hiring a cleaning service if you can afford it.

4. Get rid of smells. Clean carpeting and drapes to eliminate cooking odors, smoke, and pet smells. Open the windows to air out the house. Potpourri or scented candles will help.

5. Brighten your rooms. Put higher wattage bulbs in light fixtures to brighten up rooms and basements. Replace any burned-out bulbs in closets. Clean the walls, or better yet, brush on a fresh coat of neutral color paint.

6. Don’t disregard minor repairs. Small problems such as sticky doors, torn screens, cracked caulking, or a dripping faucet may seem trivial, but they’ll give buyers the impression that the house isn’t well-maintained.

7. Tidy your yard. Cut the grass, rake the leaves, add new mulch, trim the bushes, edge the walkways, and clean the gutters. For added curb appeal, place a pot of bright flowers near the entryway.

8. Patch holes. Repair any holes in your driveway and reapply sealant, if applicable.

9. Add a touch of color in the living room. A colored afghan or throw on the couch will jazz up a dull room. Buy new accent pillows for the sofa.

10. Buy a flowering plant and put it near a window you pass by frequently.

11. Make centerpieces for your tables. Use brightly colored fruit or flowers.

12. Set the scene. Set the table with fancy dishes and candles, and create other vignettes throughout the home to help buyers picture living there. For example, in the basement you might display a chess game in progress.

13. Replace heavy curtains with sheer ones that let in more light. Show off the view if you have one.

14. Accentuate the fireplace. Lay fresh logs in the fireplace or put a basket of flowers there if it’s not in use.

15. Make the bathrooms feel luxurious. Put away those old towels and toothbrushes. When buyers enter your bathroom, they should feel pampered. Add a new shower curtain, new towels, and fancy guest soaps. Make sure your personal toiletry items are out of sight.

16. Send your pets to a neighbor or take them outside. If that’s not possible, crate them or confine them to one room (ideally in the basement), and let the real estate practitioner know where they’ll be to eliminate surprises.

17. Lock up valuables, jewelry, and money. While a real estate salesperson will be on site during the showing or open house, it’s impossible to watch everyone all the time.

18. Leave the home. It’s usually best if the sellers are not at home. It’s awkward for prospective buyers to look in your closets and express their opinions of your home with you there.

Reprinted from REALTOR® magazine (REALTOR.org/realtormag) with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Set your Selling Price

Being Overpriced is a Bad Place to Start

By Michele Dawson

If you’re selling your house, one of the first steps you’ll take is setting an asking price, a maneuver that requires the ability to find the perfect balance between attracting solid offers and ultimately receiving top dollar.

If you’re working with a Realtor or other industry professional, you’ll probably hear talk of fair market value, which typically means the highest value an educated buyer will pay. Fair market value is usually not the asking price.

Many agents will begin by conducting a competitive market analysis of your house and give you an estimate of the fair market value of your home, which is a range that will fluctuate depending on the housing market in your area and how much similar homes in your neighborhood are selling for.

While overpricing to some degree can be beneficial, you’ll still want to be careful and avoid pricing your home too high, which almost always is nonproductive. As you work with your agent and set your price, you’ll want to recognize the factors that may prompt you to raise your asking price too much when it isn’t warranted. Some of those factors include:

• Upgrades have been added. While many home improvements will help you recoup a good chunk of your investment, it won’t give you 100 percent of what you paid. Also, the more personal the improvement—a swimming pool, a sunroom, purple floors—the less likely it will be viewed favorably by potential buyers.

• The need for money.

• You’re moving to a higher-priced area.

• The original purchase price was too high.

• The seller lacks factual comparable sales to prove what the market value is.

• The seller wants bargaining room (listing more than 1-3 percent above market value actually reduces bargaining power).

• An unnecessary move, so you’re not motivated.

On the other hand, if you’re in a buyer’s market,, you’ll really need to be cautious in setting your price.

Generally, the asking price—the price advertised when it goes on the market—is set slightly higher than market value, usually 1 to 3 percent above market value.

You should assume that negotiation will be necessary to reach an agreement with the buyer. If you price your home too much above market value, you’ll get fewer showings and offers in which the potential buyer is fishing to determine how low you’ll go.

You’ll want to establish your priority list: Are you more concerned with selling quickly or getting the most money possible? You’ll also want to contemplate whether you think the agent’s suggested price is reasonable and whether you’d pay that amount if you were a buyer.

Your agent, as well as friends, relatives, and neighbors, will help you point out your house’s advantages and disadvantages that you may not have thought about because you’re too close to the house and not as objective as others.

A third party will help you think of your house as a commodity—something with positive and negative selling points. At that point you can decide on a price that you deem competitive and in line what other houses in your area have sold for.

Copyright © by Realty Times

Preparing for Sale: What to Do Before Listing Your Home

“What should I fix, replace, or change in my home before I put it on the market?”

Chances are there are a couple of minor repairs and slight improvements you should do before we place a For Sale sign on your lawn. There are many ‘no-cost’ and ‘low-cost’ changes you can make.

The use of your home changes when you decide to put it on the market. Instead of that “lived in” look that we all have, the home needs to send a different message. You know what I am saying. I love my bright red guest room/office, but it’s not about me. It’s about the next owner of the home. A fresh coat of neutral colored paint will attract the buyer’s eye. This type of project is low cost and not overly time consuming.

In keeping with changing the use of the home from ‘yours’ to ‘theirs’, it is a very smart idea to begin packing. I know it may seem silly, but I am talking about packing any items you don’t use that often. Clearing out extras in your cabinets, closets and drawers gives a spacious organized look to your home. Make several piles. Donate, Storage and Toss. Now, GET MOVING. Taking down some of the keepsakes and family photos is also a good idea. Again these are no cost or low cost changes that can lead to a quick sale.

Some sellers ask, should I just disclose an issue that needs repair and let the buyers take care of it? Or should I fix it? In making that decision, you need to keep in mind that making the repair ahead of the sale may result in a higher sales price of the home. Buyers love to hear the words “recently updated” and/or “new” as they tour a home. Whether it’s a new appliance, energy efficient window, etc., this gives the impression that the home has been cared for.

Most home buyers are requiring a home inspection prior to closing. This clause in a purchase and sales contract, if worded properly, can allow the buyer to terminate the contract if the home inspection is not satisfactory to the buyer. Issues found in a home inspection can also cause buyers to ask for price reduction. Why chance it? If your home needs a few minor repairs (cracked window pane, leaky pipe, noisy bathroom fan) take care of it ahead of time.

Sellers have an obligation to repair or disclose any issues regarding health or safety.

By: Lauri Bessey

Meet Our Team

Tips & Advice

Contact Us

Dark Horse Realty
3642 Rt 106,
Reading, VT 05062
(802) 484-7388
dana@darkhorserealty.com


Contact