Archive for tag Essam elsafy
July 20, 2010 at 02:36 PM · Posted under Essam Elsafy
Very often the negotiating emphasis is on price. That makes sense if a buyer was to simply pay cash for a home. However, another important consideration in the discussion is interest rate. Interest rate plays a huge role in the decision making process because very few people actually pay cash for a home. Most simply finance the purchase. So what impacts you most is not really what you pay (on paper) but your monthly payment. It’s the mortgage payment that impacts you every month. It’s what most people build their family budget around.
The conclusion is that while it might feel good to ride out a seller until he succumbs to a lower price; a prospective buyer might actually end up paying MORE on a monthly basis by not capturing a historically low interest rate now.
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July 01, 2010 at 06:01 AM · Posted under Essam Elsafy
Based on my experience in working with hundreds of sellers I find successful sellers have common patterns in their attitude.
| Successful Sellers | Unsuccessful Sellers |
Recognize the market is fluid | Fail to acknowledge changes in
the market |
Are not attached to a specific price | Believe there is only one acceptable
price for their home |
| Recognize that a list price can’t be
based on the assessed value, what they
paid, or how much they invested | Fail to recognize that the market
dictates price |
| Position their home as the best value
among its peers | Price their home equal to
their peers |
| Accept the buyers as the ultimate
judge of value | Dismiss the opinion of buyers |
| Can emotionally let go | Are unable to detach |
| See their house as product | See a house as their home |
| Make more money in the long run | Make less money in the long run |
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June 03, 2010 at 07:00 PM · Posted under Essam Elsafy
For years Realtors have known the importance of curb appeal when selling a home. Making an immediate first impression on a prospective buyer is critical to getting them excited about your home before they even step inside. Overcoming a bad first impression is difficult, so we want them thinking good things right away.
Twenty years ago buyers formed that first impression by driving up to the house. But today, that critical first impression is not made when they pull up to the house. Heavens no. Now, the new curb appeal happens online – well before the buyer ever gets near your home. And if you don’t look GREAT online, the buyer won’t bother to schedule a showing.
Here are a few tips:
- Have your Realtor send you a link to how your home looks on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). MLS is what most Realtors see when determining if they should recommend a home to their buyers.
- Look at your home on the company website of your Realtor.
- Look at your home on national websites like Realtor.com and YouTube.
If the information and photos don’t look GREAT, then you need to make a change. Remember that the photos shouldn’t be about documenting every room of the house. They should have one singular purpose – to get a prospective buyer to schedule a showing. Period. If a picture or ad copy doesn’t contribute toward that goal, then it should be changed.
As we move into summer, invest in sprucing up the exterior attractiveness of your home. Start with general cleaning, window washing, touching up paint (especially the front door), and replacing light bulbs. Your lawn should be green and mowed frequently. Trim the shrubs, edge the sidewalks (has great visual impact), add fresh mulch, and enhance with colorful flowers.
You have high expectations of your Realtor to market your home and negotiate strongly on your behalf. But the condition and appeal of the home is your job. It’s the one thing in the process that you control. Realtor and home owner working together, each doing their job well will get your home sold!
Email me anytime for more help on getting your home sold.
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April 28, 2010 at 04:42 PM · Posted under Essam Elsafy
The homebuyer tax credit expires but don’t let it take you out of the real estate market.
The real estate market has been buzzing the past couple months as qualifying first-time and move-up buyers rush to take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit. The tax credit, amazingly low interest rates, and attractive home prices made it a historically magical opportunity to buy a home. If you took the plunge and made a savvy buy…congratulations! You will look back in several years and be proud of your smart decision making.
But what if you didn’t buy a home before the April 30, 2010 accepted offer deadline? Should you stop looking to buy? Heavens no! Of course you no longer qualify for the tax credit, but the decision to buy a home remains one of the smartest financial decisions you can make. The conditions are still heavily in your favor.
Interest rates remain below 5 ½ % for most buyers with good credit, prices are very attractive, and sellers are far more open minded about offers. This remains a classic “buy low” real estate opportunity. My advice to you is:
- So stay in the game
- Work with a knowledgeable Realtor
- Find the right home
…..and position yourself now to capture great appreciation in the future.
Email me for my list of “Best Buys” on the North Shore of Milwaukee.
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March 31, 2010 at 07:49 PM · Posted under Essam Elsafy
As Realtors we often hear sellers say, “I better price higher so I have room to negotiate since I’m going to get “low-balled”. Please resist the temptation to do that. The far better strategy is to price your home compellingly. Notice I did not say competitively. Pricing like your competition (competitively) will yield the same results as your competition (hundreds of days on market, inviting low offers, and depressed sellers). By pricing compellingly out of the box you stand out as the clear choice for buyers, you break away from the pack, you get generate offers (and negotiate firmly), and you move on with life.
Ultimately, you make more money. Because eventually, the bitter reality of the market will cause other home owners to adjust too. They are just too emotionally attached to recognize it now. Rather than doing it early (when they should have), they hope their home is different, and they think “all I need is one good buyer”. Unfortunately, they are not armed with the right information and data to make a good decision. Eventually the market will force them to a price BELOW where they should have started, except it will happen 6 to 12 months later.
So please know as an ethical and skilled Realtor I would never want to give my client’s home away. I am fully committed to marketing a home as aggressively as possible and I always create a well thought-out and comprehensive plan to get it sold.
To a certain extent I feel like your stock broker. Imagine this analogy:
Pretend you are fully invested in the DJIA (Dow Jones Industrial Average) and I call you on January 2nd 2009 when the DJIA is at 9,935 to say you should sell it all at 8,735. Naturally you would think I was a crazy. However as we all found out later, by March 6th 2009 the market dropped to 6,627. While 8,735 seemed painful at the time you would have certainly wished you’d sold at 8,735. The same sort of thing is happening in real estate now but home sellers aren’t seeing it. Everything I’m reading suggests that pricing is going to go lower.
Here’s why:
- In many markets there is over a year’s worth of inventory.
- On April 30th the homebuyers’ income tax credit expires.
- Equally important and very rarely discussed is on March 31st the government stops supporting mortgage backed securities. That will cause interest rates to go up.
- The rate of foreclosures is increasing.
- Delinquencies on mortgages is increasing, suggesting even more foreclosures resulting in even lower home prices.
So imagine a real estate environment after April 30th where you are competing with more foreclosures, no income tax credit, and higher interest rates. Challenging to say the least. This why I want you to do your very best be as compelling as possible as you set the price in order to get yourself out of the market as quickly as possible. While the other guy is waits and sells his home for less than you.
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February 22, 2010 at 01:30 PM · Posted under Essam Elsafy
Getting your home sold is challenging. And it has never been more challenging than right now. Yet almost every week a home will be sold in our community. Why? What is the magic that home possessed that the others did not?
PRICE and CONDITION period!
Buyers shop for homes by benchmarking and comparing homes to each other. Therefore your home is constantly in competition with other homes. In other words this market is like a price war and beauty contest all rolled into one. The playing field shifts every time a new home comes on the market and another is sold. The home that sells is the one that represents the BEST VALUE among its competitive peers at the moment. What is value? It’s the balance of what you get for what you pay.
Simply put, a home must be sharply priced and in excellent condition to capture the attention of a buyer. If not, they have many other homes to choose from. No amount of advertising, negotiating, or smooth talking will overcome a home that isn’t priced competitively and shows beautifully from the first day it’s on the market. Gimmicks like baking cookies before showings aren’t going to cause a buyer to pay more than current market price. The truth is, there is no magic.
Buyers don’t care what you paid for the house, how much you spent to update, or what you need to get out of it. Pricing based on your need is almost always a recipe for making less money. The key to success is to always ask a simple question,
“How do we compare?”
In this difficult market, the key to getting sold is to be either better than your competition at the same price; or the same as your competition at a better price. That’s how you become the best value.
If we can fairly and objectively say that we are the best value, then your home will be the next one to sell!
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November 24, 2009 at 04:32 PM · Posted under Essam Elsafy
Staging your home and communicating an “I Care” attitude is very important if you want to get your home sold for the best value and in a timely manner.
Help us merchandise your home. Just like a showroom, the interior of your home needs to appear in “perfect” condition everyday! We know it is a lot of trouble but it will make all the difference.
- Make sure each room sparkles! Make sure beds are made, bathrooms and kitchen are clean and carpets are vacuumed. (It’s especially important that the bathroom and kitchen are spotless.)
- Organize closets.
- Make sure all of your appliances and fixtures work.
- Repair leaky faucets and frayed cords.
- Make sure the house smells good: from an apple pie or cookies baking (Hide the kitty litter.)
- Put vases of fresh flowers throughout the house weekly.
- Having pleasant background music playing will also help set the stage for each showing.
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Front Porch After Staging
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Front Porch Before Staging
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Staging the exterior of your home is important too! Always keep the exterior of your home looking great! If buyers are not attracted to your curb appeal- they will never see the inside.
- Be sure the doorbell works.
- Sweep the sidewalk, mow the lawn, prune the bushes, and weed the garden and clean debris from the yard.
- Clean the windows (both inside and out) and make sure the paint is not chipped or flaking.
- Add seasonal flowers or greens to make your home more inviting.
Just a Reminder…
Please be out of the house whenever a showing is scheduled- even with little notice or an appointment.
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