Real Estate Information Archive

Selling a home is not "fun", and it isn't easy. It is made impossible when sellers use poor logic when it comes to selling, pricing, staging, and choosing their agent. Listed below are some of the biggest mistakes we see sellers make and solutions to those issues.

3 HUGE Seller Mistakes

• Choosing an agent who tells you what you want to hear. Do not choose your agent because they tell you your home is worth more than any other agent. This is an unfortunate ploy by desperate agents who are looking to use your home to pick up buyers from sign calls. Look at the raw data regarding comps in your area. You should look at very recent sales (90 days or less) and also the homes you are competing with. Take your seller hat off and look through the eyes of a buyer and ask yourself if you would buy your home compared to the others. If not, than do not buy in to this ploy. In a declining market you will absolutely lose money by chasing the market downward.
• Choose an agent based on what they charge.  Do not confuse what you spend with what you net out of a sale. As in every business, it is your bottom line that truly counts.  There are great products for sale on the market that you've never heard of. They probably aren't paying much for their marketing efforts and aren't making a profit either.
• Base your decision to sell on future market values. No one can tell you what the future holds. We can all guess both short and long term and all be wrong. I hear that the housing market is improving on the news and the next week new construction starts were the worst in history. We saw a surge in first time buyers due to the ending tax credit while unemployment figures continue to rise. The point is you cannot count on values to be higher in the near future and shouldn't make a decision based upon that.

So now that we've established what not to do, what should you as a seller do when hiring an agent?

What to Do When Hiring an Agent

• Hire the agent who will tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear. Yes it may be painful but it will result in your being able to move. That agent should be comfortable sharing with you raw data about the market which you can review together and make mutual decisions.
• Hire the best negotiator. You will know who they are when you ask them to reduce their commission. In this market negotiation takes place from the moment the home is listed until the moment it closes. A great negotiator will net you more money and help keep deals together.
• Hire a full time agent. In this ever changing market negotiating, inspections, marketing, and communication are more than full time jobs if done properly. Marketing a home takes a lot of time. Done right, it will expose your home to a far greater number of potential buyers. More potential buyers equals a better chance to sell you home at a higher price.  It takes a full time agent to properly keep up with our changing industry and handle the items mentioned above.
• Make your decision to sell based on your needs and affordability today. A decision to sell should be based upon what you and your family need. Waiting for the value of your home to go up also means your next home will cost more...they are tied together. A Decision based upon need and affordability will almost always provide you with better results than one based on trying to time the market.

Simply stated, applying the above information...a reality check if you will, will help you make more money when you go to sell your home. In fact it will often be the difference between selling your home or just being listed. And just being "listed" is not why you hire an agent in the first place.

If you are looking for a great agent to sell you home in the Indianapolis areas of Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, or Westfield, the Borushko Team of Keller Williams Realty would love the oportunity to help. We promise to tell you what you need to hear and most importantly will net you the most money for your home!

Indianapolis area real estate agent Matt Borushko provides these tips for buying a home with a builder:

Building a home can be a great experience...or a nightmare. As a local real estate agent I often see the long term effects of decisions made by people choosing to build a home. My past also includes 10 years as a new home sales consultant with both local and national builders. With this experience many of my clients build new homes with great success. With that in mind here are a few tips to help you should you decide to build:

Have Representation: Hire an agent to represent you during the building process who has experience with builders. I know what you're thinking, of course I'll say that as an agent. However with 10 years experience I can tell you that the majority of poor decisions were made by people without representation. The easiest way to say it is that you don't know what you don't know. Also a good agent can help you save money through better choices and stronger negotiation positions.

Don't Overbuild: Do your research and be careful not to build a home that you can't resell. Before you build, make sure you know what style of homes, what upgrades, and what price ranges are typical in the area you've chosen. When you know this information make sure the home you're building fits in to this niche. Again your local real estate expert can do the legwork for you.

Prioritze your Choices: When it is time to decide what to put into your house, prioritze your list of selections. Make sure you select the items that cannot be done at a latter time first. For example a garden or deluxe bath often changes the basic structure of the floorplan and cannot be done later, so this selection becomes much more important than flooring that can be done at a later date. Also make sure you can live with your last minute cuts...I've seen too many people cut out the "full basement upgrade" at the very last minute only to regret it later. That extra square feet is often the storage you need when your family grows or the place for that full bathroom and wouldn't cost much up front.

Choose Location Wisely: Location, location, location. Where you build your home matters. The area of town, the neighborhood, the homesite you choose all make a huge difference. The right homesite will allow you to enjoy your home, and will also benefit you by allowing you to sell your home for more money later. Pay particular attention to the school districts in your area. Better school systems almost always correlate to better resale.

Financing: Get approved before you go to a builder. The approval will definitely help your negotiating position as well as help you know and understand your options. Builders will often pay your closing costs if you choose their lender but the rates are often much higher. Plus you may be giving up some of your much needed seperation.

Have Proper Expectations: No home is perfect. If you choose to build you need to understand that mistakes will be made and there will be some material defects. Good builders understand this and have systems in place to address and correct these issues as they arise. Everything in a home can be fixed if addressed in a timely fashion. We would be happy to recomend you to a great builder with these systems in place.

Buying from a builder and building a home can be a great experience. Hiring an experienced agent can provide you with needed representation, helps make the building process more smooth and predictable, and can save you money in both the short and long term. If you're considering building a home in the Indianapolis area, contact the Matt Borushko Team and put our experience to work for you!