Real Estate • May 13, 2016

Don’t let Home-buying be a Challenge in Today’s Market

by Tom Fine

Choosing a Real Estate Broker

Pacific NW Homebuyers are challenged by the fast paced real estate market, this includes Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland and Eastside. Homebuyers are bidding on homes, many are bidding on 6 or more times and not being successful. It’s sad to say, without a great REALTOR, I’m not inflating anyone’s ego; there must be a plan to win in this market. Otherwise, many of them are wasting their time and energy, by bidding on these properties and spending money on inspections.

If a home looks good and is priced reasonably it will have multiple offers, it can go from list price to over $100k over list in a heartbeat. The key is to position yourself so you are patient and looking in the area that makes sense for your lifestyle and your budget. My clients have been fortunate to be successful in wining on the bidding process with the great attitude and plan. Don’t get me wrong we are not just walking in a property and winning, it takes a wining combination and if my clients are willing to participate then we have a great chance at getting them the home of their dreams in this market.

To discuss how Tom Fine can help get you into your home or sell your home to get you where you want to be, contact Tom Fine at tomfine@windermere.com , call or text, whichever is your preference at 206-434-6561.

Tom Fine works with Windermere Real Estate and is a real estate broker and a REALTOR and working in the Mercer Island office, a couple minutes from downtown Seattle, Washington. Serving Seattle and the Eastside market.

Real Estate • May 16, 2015

Don’t Make Mistakes Selling Your Home

by Tom Fine

1. Not preparing to show your home in the right light. It’s critical to make sure when you are getting your home ready to sell that you put items in the right place. Don’t have too much clutter; arrange furniture so the rooms flow. If you don’t have the right furniture the best bet is to place staging in place of your furniture. Remember you are looking to get top dollar.

2.Doing a minor home improvement before selling might make sense.

If you have a ½ bath and have room to make it a ¾ bath to increase your selling price or a kitchen renovation to get more money, doesn’t that make sense? Yes! But don’t get carried away by doing too big of a renovation.

3. Not hiring an agent. So many people think they can do what an Agent/Broker can do. Are you willing to go through all the steps t get top dollar and then you don’t deal with an action in the right order or miss a timeframe that jeopardizes the deal, it’s critical that you have someone that can represent you to explain all the details. Studies have shown that hiring an Agent/Broker, you’ll get your money worth and it will eliminate a lot of headaches. Hire a professional to do a professional job.

4. Putting too high of a sale price. Wanting to get top dollar is everyone’s dream, but setting too high of a sale price can hurt in more than one way. It will keep the house on the market longer, the first two weeks is when your house sees a lot of action and people. When a house is on the market longer than a couple of weeks, then buyers believe they can get a bargain or low ball an offer. It’s key to get a BPO, (Brokers Price Opinion) this will provide an price with comps so you can make the right decision on the pricing.

5. Not hiring the right agent. You may have a friend or you see a truck that says “Use this truck for free when Moving, hire me” you get a postcard that says discounted fees or free staging. Do you want to think about discount people when selling your home? You want the right person and the one that thinks outside the box, has great opinions and options to sell your home.

6. Not exposing your home to the masses. When interviewing the agents, what is the agent going to do for marketing? Is she/he going to market to thousands of local agents, what about a Brokers open and open houses for the masses? Email marketing, Video tours on the Internet. Neighborhood mailer about the home. If the neighbors love the neighborhood, they’ll tell their friend about the great neighborhood, SOLD!

7. Putting restriction on the buyers, not letting buyers access the home. Some sellers, believe they know better than the agent, so they restrict the agent from showing the home, not allow agents market the home strategically. The right agents know how to go to market and know how to sell your home, let the professionals do their job.

8. Sellers should not be in the home while showing are happening. Several of my clients wanted to show the potential buyers their home, they felt they knew what to show buyers and they wanted to be there for the showings. This is a big No-No. Buyers and sellers should not be together, buyers want to feel free to talk about the house what they like and don’t like. They may want to do a remodel and the sellers can’t imagine why someone would want to change their home. The best scenario is to have the sellers out of the home during any showing and any open or brokers open. If they forget something, oh well they can come in after the showings. Believe you want top dollar, this will shoot them in the foot if they are there while a showing is going on.

These are the main items that can help get you on the right rack for positioning your home with the right agent, maximizing your return and getting maximum exposure. If you are in the Seattle and surrounding areas and you would like to discuss how we Tom Fine could help you, contact Tom today. Todays market is hot for sellers, positioning your home can potentially get more than market value. Have fun selling your home.

Real Estate • January 29, 2014

Properties For Sale, what I look for, are you looking at them the same way?

by Tom Fine

Every day I am looking at properties, for my clients (Buyers & Investors) all over town from Capitol Hill heading South thru Mt. Baker, Seward Park and then West to West Seattle and then NW, to Magnolia and Ballard. Don't get me wrong; I hit a lot more neighborhoods besides these.

What I saw and continue to see from some other Brokers is disappointing; these are listings that come on to the market and they are not prepared for the buyers. The sellers have one opportunity to make a first impression and when I walk up the house and grab onto a post to open a gate and the post is wobbly, I loose trust, then I say, well let’s see maybe that was overlooked. Then I see other items that make me nervous and concerned. These are minor items such as cover plates missing off electrical devices and poorly executed finishes. These are items that should have been addressed prior to putting this home on the market. Why? If these are not an issue then these items don’t turn off people.

As a professional I am coaching my clients on getting the best return for their investment and this means installing cover-plates on switches and receptacles, fixing a wiggly post for a fence and dealing with a heap fix to meet a code issue. Oh I forgot to mention, the house smelled! I work hard for my clients and my clients know that when I ask them to do something, they know it is in their best interest, not mine and for them to maximize their return, they do what makes sense.

I can see that several items feel thru the cracks for this listing, and I don't know where it was but I am glad to say I am thoroughly disappointed in what I saw. I saw another property that was on the market for a while and I can say the pictures online look great! The in person comments are, peeling paint and cracks in the walls. For a fixer upper, not a problem, but overpriced is what we see and this will attract the low ballers.

Look at the listing as what the buyer will see, the “Buyers Eyes”. Remember if a buyer sees items that don't look good, they start thinking what else is wrong with the house?

Don’t let the buyer drive the price down, get the price up.

Let me know if I can help you.

Tom Fine

Windermere RE, Capitol Hill, Inc.