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How Much Does It Cost To Sell Your House

Many times when someone is attempting to sell their first house mistakenly assume that they will receive the full amount of their selling price less what is owed on the mortgage. If you are selling the traditional method through an agent, the cost of selling your property may surprise you.

Costs Of Selling Your Home Through An Agent

A lot of times when first time home sellers go to the closing table, they are surprised at how much it costs them to sell their property. When you sell your house the regular way through an agent, the costs can add up quickly, and then depending on your market and condition of your home, there maybe some additional costs as well.

First, what the largest amount of money spent on closing is what goes to the agents. Kate Ashford has this to say about it on Forbes:

The biggest chunk of sales costs is made up of agent commissions and transfer or sales taxes ($13,357). “Your biggest ticket items are going to be that estimated closing costs column,” Olsen says. In terms of agent’s fees, typical costs include 3% of the sale price to the seller’s agent and another 3% to the buyer’s agent. As your home increases in value, so do your agent’s fees.

Read The Full Article “Selling Your Home May Be Pricier Than You Expect” Here

6 percent is a lot of money. On a 200k home that’s $12,000 alone gone to just realtor commissions. In our opinion, it is well earned though. You have to stop and think what your listing agent does for you (at least the good ones). There is all of the marketing that they do, showings of the property when you aren’t there, set up and handle open houses and negotiations with buyers agents. If they don’t sell your house, those are their expenses that are not recouped.

It doesn’t stop there, there is also closing costs that the seller is expected to pay as well:

Some of these costs may include HOA (or homeowners association) fees, property taxes, attorney fees, transfer taxes and title insurance. You also may be asked to pay an escrow fee, a brokerage fee and a courier fee. Altogether, closing costs can range from 2 percent to 4 percent of the selling price.

Read the Full Article “How much does it cost to sell a house?” Here

Here in Georgia we typically see these additional closing costs at an average of 3%. Depending on where you live and the condition of your market will cause that number to vary.

So now we are at 9% of your selling price, but hold on, we are not done yet. There are still more things that you may have to pay for, some of them maybe even before closing:

Home repairs: Your buyer will probably order a home inspection before closing. If the report reveals problems, you may be asked to pay for repairs.

Moving costs: Whether you buy boxes, pack and move them yourself or hire a company, you’ll want to budget money for the actual move.

Read The Full Article “How Much Does It Cost to Sell a House?” Here

The home repairs that need to be made that are noted from a home inspection are often times something the seller never saw coming. If you are considering selling your home with an agent it may be in your best interest to have your own home inspection preformed so you don’t have any last minute surprises.

Unfortunately, we still aren’t done with what it could cost you when selling your home. Watch this video that explains other possible additional costs, again depending on the area in which you live:

As you can see, it can add up to be quite costly when selling your home.

There Is An Alternative When Selling Your Home

There are really 2 alternatives to selling your home with an agent. The first is to sell your home yourself. However it is likely that if you properly market your property yourself the buyer will have an agent, and you will have to negotiate their commission. In this case you will also probably still have to pay some of the additional closing costs. The amount that you are required to pay will depend on your negotiation skills, or the amount of money you are willing to pay vs. not making a sale.

Your 2nd option is to sell to an investor, or a “house buying company”. This option isn’t for everyone though. If your house is newer and doesn’t need any repairs and you have all the time in the world to wait on a buyer, then your better off either using an agent or selling yourself. If your house is in need of repairs, or you need to sell quickly, this might be a viable option for you.

The reason an investor or a company that buys houses is an option is because they usually pay closing costs. That means no realtor commissions (as long as you haven’t hired one already) and no closing fees.

Our company, Mandich Property Group is a house buying company in the Metro Atlanta area. In most instances we pay all of the closing costs. That means at closing you will get the full amount that we agree upon, less your mortgage. It’s a great alternative for people that are in a hurry to sell, or for whatever reason can’t or don’t want to use an agent. You can learn more by visiting our site, or call us at 770-756-8680.

Are We Headed For Another Housing Bubble?

Everyone over the age of 30 remembers the housing bubble of ’07. If you had a home for sale during ’07 to ’09 there was a good chance that you were having to sell your house way below what you paid for it. This caused a lot of stress on homeowners that had to move because of job relocations or for whatever reason they had to move. Some homeowners were forced into being what is known as “accidental landlords” to either keep from losing so much money, or just not being able to find a buyer. Now there are a lot of reports that indicate that we may be headed for another bubble 🙁

Is The Housing Market Going To Crash Again?

There were a few factors that caused the housing crash of ’07 – ’09. One of the major factors that caused the problem was subprime mortgages. In short that is a mortgage given to someone that really can’t afford the note. Many of these loans were interest only, meaning they only made the interest payments and paid nothing towards the principal. You would think that most people in their right mind would know that this is a bad idea!

Here is a great explanation of what happened:

The financial crisis was primarily caused by deregulation in the financial industry. That permitted banks to engage in hedge fund trading with derivatives. Banks then demanded more mortgages to support the profitable sale of these derivatives. They created interest-only loans that became affordable to subprime borrowers.

In 2004, the Federal Reserve raised the fed funds rate just as the interest rates on these new mortgages reset.

Housing prices started falling as supply outpaced demand. That trapped homeowners who couldn’t afford the payments, but couldn’t sell their house. When the values of the derivatives crumbled, banks stopped lending to each other. That created the financial crisis that led to the Great Recession.

Read The Full Article “What Caused the 2008 Global Financial Crisis?” Here

That’s a great explanation from the Balance, far better than we could explain 🙂 . One thing to note that we aren’t really seeing now is that supply isn’t out pacing demand, so that is a little of good news.

So the subprime mortgage industry really kicked things off. Too many people had properties that they couldn’t afford and couldn’t sell their house. Now here is some disturbing news from Curbed:

Financial Times reports that subprime mortgage bond issuance doubled in the first quarter of 2018 compared to a year ago, going from $666 million to $1.3 billion. Furthermore, it quotes a financial analyst predicting that issuance for the year will hit $10 billion, which is more than double the $4.1 billion issued last year. For context, the value of American subprime mortgages was estimated at $1.3 trillion in March 2007.

Read The Full Article “Subprime mortgage bonds are making a comeback” Here

That even makes us sweat a little. Further into that article they state that there are some new companies that have jumped into the market and have rebranded theses subprime mortgages as “noprime”.

Now on to current property values. This plays a big part of the equation. Prices have been steadily rising for at least 6 years now in most markets, to the point where a lot of properties are over valued. Check out these comparisons from American Banker:

CoreLogic found in comparing 380 metro areas that in January 2000, 6% were overvalued while 87% were at value. But by November 2006, 67% were overvalued and 32% were at value.

At the bottom of the market in March 2011, 7% were overvalued, 42% were at value and 52% were undervalued.

As of December 2017, there was a more even distribution among the three groups: 33% overvalued, 35% at value and 32% undervalued.

Read The Full Article “Housing bubble or not, the real estate market is in trouble” Here

Another disturbing trend. Notice that 33% of properties are overvalued as of last December compared to 67% in November of ’06 at the start of the crash.

Lastly, check out this video from Faye Bishop:

Summing It Up

So when will we have another crash? No one really knows. It does look like if things continue on the current track that one could definitely be in the cards. The only thing that is a saving grace right now we think is that builders have not started building houses like they were 12 – 15 years ago, keeping the supply in check.

So the point of all of this is that if you need to sell your house that is in need of major repairs or updates and you know that putting your property on the market will take some time to get a buyer, you should consider selling now. If you are wondering how to sell a property quickly, you can visit our website for a free, no obligation offer on your property – or call us at 770 756-8680.

Can You Sell Your House While It Is Rented?

Do you have a property that is rented and want to sell it? Are you wondering if you can legally sell the property with a tenant and what are the implications? If you find yourself in this conundrum, keep reading to learn the answers.

Selling A House That Is Rented

Back during the housing crisis a lot of homeowners became landlords that didn’t want to be. They had a property that they couldn’t sell and in order to help cover costs they just put a tenant in the property. Now that the market has recovered, many of these homeowners want to sell their property. The question is can you legally sell the property with tenants in it? The short answer is Yes. However there are some things that you need to be aware of before putting the house on the market.

Tenants have rights, and sometimes it almost seems like they have more rights than the property owners. If you decide to sell the property you can’t just give them notice that they have to move within a few weeks. It really depends on the type of lease they have and if they are in any violation of that lease as well as the state laws that the property is located. Another thing that you are going to have to take into consideration is how well you and your tenant get along.

With tenants this can be a little more difficult due to the fact that you can’t just walk in at anytime to show the property. Viewings will have to be properly scheduled with the tenant as not to break the law, or worse aggravate them to where they can make it more difficult to sell your property.

If you are lucky enough to have your tenant on a month to month, then things will be much easier. You can simply give notice that you will not be renewing their lease next month. However, if they have a yearly lease, things may be a little more difficult and hopefully you are on good terms with your tenant to make the process easier.

Selling Your Property With A Tenant That Has A Long Lease

There are a few things that you can do when selling your property that has a tenant with a long lease that is still in force. The first thing you can do is the obvious, wait for the lease to expire:

Wait for the lease to expire

Most real estate agents would argue that a seller should wait for the rental agreement to expire. Tenants can sometimes be a bit of a wild card in the high-stakes real estate game, so some agents feel it’s best to proceed after the tenant leaves. After that, make some cosmetic fixes to clean up the home, and sell it vacant.

Waiting may be especially important if you have a difficult tenant or one who is unhappy that their home is “being sold out from under them.” The last thing you want is to make showing the home more difficult — and a disgruntled tenant could easily do that by mucking up paint or leaving his place a mess. The result is that your property looks less appealing to potential buyers, which can have a dramatic effect on your bottom line.

On the other hand, selling a vacant rental unit isn’t always ideal for the seller’s finances. It can take months from the time the home goes on the market until it’s sold — months during which the landlord receives no rent. This can be especially trying for sellers whose homes have been a long-term financial burden.

Read The Full Article “How to Sell a House With Tenants” Here

There are a lot of good points to be argued in that previous article. The last one is something that a lot of homeowners will have to think about if they have another property and may end up paying the mortgage on TWO properties for a few months prior to selling the rental.

If you want to sell your house quickly without a tenant, which is what most realtors recommend, you can always consider paying your tenant to leave:

Pay your tenant to vacate

Yes, you read that right.

Paying someone to leave your house might be your best option if you need to sell immediately.

But how much do you offer?

Do a quick Trulia search to find the average rent in your area. If typical rents are more than you’ve been charging, offer the difference multiplied by the number of months left on your tenant’s lease. You could also offer to pay any moving costs. If your tenant won’t budge, throw in some extra cash to pay the security deposit for the new place.

In the end, your tenant doesn’t have to accept any cash you offer. You might just have to wait.

Read The Full Article “How To Sell A Tenant-Occupied Property” Here

If you are on good terms with your tenant and they are flexible, this may be a good option for you, provided they don’t want to much cash.

There is still another option that may work well for some, and that is selling your property to an investor, or an investor that already has rental properties and is looking to acquire more:

Sell your property to another landlord

It’s not what it sounds like, but you can sell your property together with tenants. It’s not against the law to sell the occupied property and let tenants stay until the lease is up if the new owner is ready to adopt a role of a landlord. However, this approach is associated with a number of issues. First, it means that your list of potential buyers will be narrowed down to those who are looking for a buy-to-let. Second, you’ll have to settle the issue with your tenants. After all, they’ll have to live in a property for sale, which means open houses and property inspections. And, as you remember, you can’t just let potential buyers without giving a prior notice to your tenants because it would be a violation of tenants’ rights.

Read The Full Article “How to Sell an Occupied Rental House” Here

This could really be a great option for a lot of homeowners. You could start your search online for companies that buy houses and contact them to find one that does by rentals. If your property is in the Metro Atlanta area, we are one of those companies and you can learn more on our site at www.MandichPropertyGroup.com.

Lastly we wanted to share this great Youtube video that shares a lot about selling your rented property:

Summing It Up

Yes you can sell a property that is rented. However you need to remember that your tenant has rights. If you aren’t selling your property to another investor we highly suggest that you consult with an attorney before putting your property on the market to make sure you don’t break any tenant laws and help protect yourself.

Exterior Painting Will Help Curb Appeal And Sell Your House

Curb appeal is arguably the most important thing when getting ready to sell your house. But if your house has overgrown shrubs, trees and bushes, the paint is peeling and the windows are dirty and the house is just plain ugly, it will most definitely give a bad first impression to potential buyers. They will get the impression that the inside of the property is just as bad. One of the best things you can do to help increase your properties curb appeal is a fresh coat of paint on the exterior. In this write up we will cover a few things to help you in choosing colors as well as getting the job done yourself.

How Important Is Paint When Selling Your Home?

Paint and the color of your paint are extremely important when it comes to selling your property. The last thing you want to do is personalize the color to much. You need to stick with more common colors to make sure your property is appealing to the largest amount of buyers as possible. Local Agent Finder has this to say about your properties exterior:

Painting the Property’s Exterior

The importance of a good first impression on buyers cannot be emphasized enough. And the first impression that potential buyers have of your home is its exterior. It’s vital to make sure that the front of your home is as well-presented as possible. Badly maintained homes or those with a distasteful paint colours will be off-putting to buyers and may well cause them to offer a lower bid or simply look elsewhere. By painting the outer walls of your property, you can increase ‘curb appeal’ and make your home stand out from the neighbours’ houses. Neutral colours are generally recommended because they will appeal to a wider range of potential buyers. Although bold colours can be exciting, they may fall out of fashion or make your home stand out for all the wrong reasons. You can play around with colour by painting the trim a bolder shade, to make your property really pop.

Read The Full Article “Should I Paint Before Selling My House?” Here

Really good advice, especially when it comes to choosing the right colors. And, as we mentioned before, if the paint is peeling anywhere on the exterior, it will make buyers think there is even more wrong with the property on the inside.

So how do you go about choosing the best colors for your property? Check this out from How Stuff Works:

In picking a color, keep in mind the character of a neighborhood. If all the houses on the street are beige and tan, don’t paint your house pink. Common sense, right? Not for many people. The color should also reflect the landscape. Consider the shrubs and trees when shopping for a color.

You can’t go wrong with white. White is one of the safest, and most popular colors, to paint the exterior. According to one survey, nearly 40 percent of those questioned liked white. For one thing, white can make your house look larger. White also soaks up the light in a shady yard, and is also clean-looking. One of the nice things about white is that you can paint the trim with a color that makes the entire house pop [source: Burns]. Remember too, white isn’t just white; it comes in many hues.

Read The Full Article “10 Paint Colors to Help Sell Your Home” Here

We can’t tell you how many times we have gone into a neighborhood and seen a house that stands out from the crowd, and not in a good way either. It almost always seems that there is one neighbor that thinks pink is okay, or some other god awful pastel color. We agree with the above article that white is a safe color, but we always choose more earth tones for the properties that we renovate.

Here is more on choosing colors from a great YouTube video:

Now you have a good idea about choosing colors. The next question is are you going to paint the house yourself, or higher someone to do it for you?

Painting Your House Yourself

If you choose to paint your house yourself be prepared to spend some time doing it. To properly paint your house you won’t be able to do it in a weekend! One of the most important things to do when painting your house is prep work, which is often overlooked by the average do it yourselfer. Have you never painted a house before? Then check this out on paint prep:

1-day project: Wash your house

If you aren’t already washing your siding once a year, now is the time to start. This will remove any mold and mildew, expose any potential problems and get the surface ready for prep work and painting.

A pressure washer is the most popular cleaning tool, thanks to its powerful spray — but it’s not a magic wand. In addition to patience, you’ll also need protective eyewear, a couple of five-gallon buckets, a pressure-washing cleaning solution and a stiff brush.

Soak the surface first to loosen up debris, and then start cleaning with a wide, sweeping motion, from the bottom to the top of each wall.

To prevent damage, start spraying at a distance of 10 feet and work your way in. Wash windows, garage doors and cracked seals at the lowest setting or by hand.

If that big, loud pressure washer leaves you feeling a little gun-shy, you can get the same results with a scrub brush, bleach solution and garden hose.

Read The Full Article “How to Paint the Exterior of Your Home (the Easy Way!)” Here

If you have, or have not painted a house before we recommend that you read that entire article to learn some valuable tips. It’s important to note that they take a full month to paint a property, that’s if you have a full time job that won’t let you take off some time to spend a couple of weeks painting you house on your own.

Summing It Up

Painting the exterior of your home will greatly improve your properties curb appeal. If you do it yourself it’s going to take you some time, but you will have a great sense of satisfaction once it’s done. Just make sure you spend some time in picking the right colors to appeal to the widest range of buyers as possible.

The draw back with painting the exterior is that it’s going to take some time, whether you do it yourself or higher a contractor. As a quick reminder, if you need to sell your house fast and are in the Metro Atlanta area, here at Mandich Property Group we buy houses in any condition. We don’t care about peeling paint or anything else. To get a free no obligation offer you can visit our website or call us at (770) 756-8680.

Selling Your Home And Your Pets

Almost everyone loves pets. According to Psychology Today 39% of Americans own a dog and 33% own a cat, so the chances of a potential buyer that visits your home owns a pet are pretty good. However, having a pet in your home that your are trying to sell can adversely affect how fast you are able to sell your property, as well as the price. Keep reading to find out why and what to do with your pets when trying to sell your house.

Pets And Trying To Sell Your House

We’ve covered in a previous article improving your curb appeal to help welcome, and be more inviting to potential buyers. However, if you have the outside pristine only to have them walk inside to smell a dirty litter box, you have a problem.

First, not all people are comfortable with pets. Ya, it’s hard to believe, but true. I mean what’s not to love? Most pets are very lovable and only require some food and water and are willing to give you all kinds of love in return. But some people are scared of dogs and cats, while others maybe allergic to them. The Balance has this to say about why some people don’t like pets:

Why Don’t Home Buyers Like Your Pet?

Nervousness. Pets make some people very uncomfortable. Not everybody grew up with a family pet or enjoys outings at the zoo. Fur and four legs does not a human make.

Fear. Real and irrational. It’s not only dogs that instill fear in people. All kinds of silly wives’ tales and superstitions involve cats.

Inexperience. Pets are not always predictable.

Your pets aren’t their pets. They imagine yours bite, jump, vomit, claw, spit-up hairballs or are just plain hyper and bad — which is not all like their pets. Their pets are perfect.

Read The Full Article “Selling a House with Pets at Home” Here

The last point is pretty good, your pets aren’t their pets and everyone thinks their pets are perfect, kind of like children 🙂

Pets Can Adversely Affect Your Selling Price

If a buyer walks in and notices a dog or cat, more than likely they are going to start looking for pet damage. This can really affect how much you are able to sell the house for. How Stuff Works has this to say about how pets can adversely affect your sale:

If you want to ensure you get the highest final sale price, you’ll have to properly stage your home to create the illusion you are not a pet owner — or at least eliminate any signs that your animals were destructive. How? By fixing any major damage your pets caused that will catch the eyes (and noses) of potential buyers. In some cases, a quick fix will do. But larger problems may require more significant repairs — or may need to be replaced altogether.

Even if your house is in excellent condition, and you’ve done your best to keep it clean, owning pets could take up to $30,000 off of its value if potential buyers notice odors or other pet issues [source: Tuttle].

Read The Full Article “5 Pet Problems to Fix Before You Sell Your House” Here

30k is a lot of money to lose just because a potential buyer notices a smell of pets or urine in your house! So get rid of all of those odors and pet stains before even thinking about trying to sell your house. Now on to the last thing, which can be hard to do for a lot of pet owners –

Remove Your Pets When Trying To Sell Your House

Yes, removing your pets is the best thing you can do. This way you can clean the house and not have them make a mess right behind you. There are also legal reasons why you may want to relocate your pets when selling:

When selling a home with pets, at the very least, you should remove your them from your home when you are showing the property for sale. All the cute things your dog does will not help you sell your home, and will only remind the potential buyer that the house has contained pets previously.

Ideally you should have your real estate agent showing the home, preferably while you are away. Having a pet in the house or yard can create complications for your agent while trying to show the house, and puts your pet at risk of accidentally getting out during the process. There are also liability issues to deal with as well. While your dog or cat may be ultra friendly, it is certainly possible they can have a bad day just like you and I.

When you leave your pet home during showings you are asking for trouble especially if a buyer brings a young child and they are curious. The last thing you want is Fido taking a chunk out of a buyers child’s arm. Remember we live is a lawsuit happy society! You are taking a big risk when your pet is allowed to roam freely during showings.

Read The Full Article “7 Tips to Sell a Home with Pets” Here

Your dog may have never bitten anyone before, but if you bring in a stranger your dog is probably going to be a little on edge. Add in a small child that may be a little to rough with the dog and before you know it you have a problem. Something else to mention that if you are not at home when your house is being shown and your pet is and it gets out – it can be hard for an agent to wrangle your pet, your pet may get lost or worse – injured.

Summing It Up

We all love our pets, but they can make it difficult when trying to sell your home. It is best that if it is possible for you to relocate them while the house is on the market, it will be best for your wallet as well as your pet. If you aren’t able to relocate them be sure and crate them or possibly put them in a doggy daycare on days when you are showing the property.

If you are in the Metro Atlanta area and are trying to sell your house fast and have pets – we love animals! We would love the opportunity to make you a fair, all cash offer for your property and we don’t mind if your pets are at home when we visit. In fact, we would like to meet them! You can learn more on our site at www.MandichPropertyGroup.com

First Impressions Are Important When Selling Your House

You are ready to sell your house. You possibly are ready for an upgrade or maybe have a new job in another city. Whatever the case may be, getting your house ready to sell is at the top of your list. First impressions to a potential buyer are extremely important. What’s the first thing they notice? Your yard. If the yard is trashed and hasn’t been maintained, a buyer may leave and not even want to come in. No matter how nice the inside of your house is, if you have overgrown shrubs and bald spots in the yard, buyers are going to form an opinion about your house before stepping foot inside. Don’t know how to make your yard immaculate? Then keep reading.

You Get One Chance At First Impressions When Selling Your House

Like it or not, your yard is the first thing people notice when they arrive. How does the grass look? Do you have sod with weeds in it? Are there bald spots? How about the shrubs. Are they overgrown and maybe touching the house? Surprisingly enough, Popular Mechanics has this to say about your front yard when selling:

It doesn’t matter how attractive your home is if no one can see it. Trees, branches, and shrubs can obscure your home’s features and make it seem dark and uninviting. Plus, trees that rub against your house can damage your siding, limit the amount of direct sunlight you receive, and offer a bridge to squirrels, mice, and other critters that want to get onto your roof or under your siding.

Rent or buy a chain saw to trim back tree branches, and use a hedge trimmer to tame your bushes. Cut away anything covering a window or touching your house. Well-manicured trees and shrubs complement a healthy, green lawn.

Read The Full Article “10 Ways to Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal” Here

Even if you aren’t moving, keeping shrubs, overgrown bushes and trees from touching your house is a good idea. The thing that we notice most here in Georgia by overgrown shrubs touching the house is that it is a gateway for bugs to enter your house.

Look At Your Property From A Buyer’s Point Of View

This is pretty easy to do. You can walk across the street and just look at your property and see what needs to be done or what “jumps out” at you. An important thing to do is to park where a potential buyer would and evaluate the property from there, which was pointed out in an article from The Balance:

Curb Appeal Exercise

The next time you drive up to your house, make note of the following:

Your first impression of the house and yard.

The best exterior features of the house or lot.

The worst exterior features of the house or lot.

Park where a potential buyer would and walk towards the house, looking around you as if it were your first visit. Is the approach clean and tidy? What could you do to make it more attractive?

Take photos of the house’s exterior. If you have a digital camera, view the color versions first, then remove the color and look at it in black and white. It’s easier to see problems when color isn’t around to affect our senses.

Make a list of the problem areas you discovered. Tackle clean up and repair chores first, then put some time into projects that make the grounds more attractive.

Read The Full Article “How to Improve Curb Appeal” Here

We like the tip of taking photos and removing the color and looking at them at black and white. That’s a great idea to gain another perspective of your property. It’s also a great idea to make a list of everything that needs to be done even before starting. The list will help you make sure you get things done as well as give you a sense of accomplishment checking things off the list.

Tackling Large Shrubs And Flowering Trees

While everyone that owns a house knows how to mow a lawn ( or at least you should 🙂 ), not everyone knows how to maintain larger shrubs and flowering trees. One flowering tree that is popular in Georgia is a Dogwood. Believe it or not, there are proper times of the year to trim up these trees without damaging them, which was covered in a recent article by Houzz:

Flowering dogwood forms flowers on older growth and should be pruned shortly after flowering has ceased.

Flowering trees. Early blooming trees, such as dogwood, should be pruned in summer, once the flowers have faded. These trees, which bloom in spring into early summer, produce their blooms on growth from the previous year. Trees that bloom in summer develop flowers on new growth that has occurred in the same year, and they can be pruned in late fall through early spring.

Read The Full Article “When Should You Prune Your Trees and Shrubs?” Here

Hopefully you have been keeping up with trimming your flowering trees. If you are selling your house and you need to trim a tree outside it’s recommended time frame, hopefully you won’t damage or injure the tree to bad. You may want to seek the advice of a professional arborist to properly guide you.

Conclusion

Like we stated above, you only get one chance to make a first impression. When selling your house that first impression is made when a buyer first arrives at your property and looks at the front yard. If you can afford it, you may want to hire a professional landscaper to help up your game. If not, you may have to spend an entire weekend or longer making your property more presentable.

If you don’t have the time or money to make your landscaping look immaculate, let us remind you that we buy houses as is. We don’t care if the yard or house itself hasn’t been kept up. We buy houses fast in any condition – you can learn more at MandichPropertyGroup.com

Cleaning Your House Before Selling It

It’s time to put your house on the market. What’s the first thing you need to do? Clean it! From top to bottom. Believe it or not, if your house is dirty, you’re not going to get a buyer as quickly as you would like. So what do you need to do, where do you start? Keep reading below to find out 🙂

Clean Houses Sell Quicker

You may or may not have spent a lot of money on updates on the interior of your house. The outside might be nice and the buyer likes it, or it’s just so-so. Then they walk in the house with clutter and/or carpets aren’t vacuumed or floors swept and a half inch of dust on everything. If the buyer was on the fence before, they’ve definitely fallen off now. The fact is, your house has to be clean.

Yes, a nice and clean house will most definitely sell faster than one that is dirty. A lot of people skip this step, only to wonder why their house isn’t selling as quickly as others that are similar on the market. Think you don’t need to super clean your house? Don’t take our word for it – check this out:

Why Do I Have to Clean my House?

This is a very common question. Based on houses for sale that I have visited, there are lots of people who feel that house buyers are coming to look at the layout and condition of the house, not to inspect its cleanliness. That thinking is both right and wrong – that’s why I wrote this section on house cleaning tips.

It’s true that the reason home shoppers look at houses is to inspect the layout and condition. However, there are several reasons why cleaning it and keeping it clean are to your advantage:

Showing a Messy or Dirty House

1. If potential buyers get distracted by too much disorder, they may will walk away from the house with a sense that it has not been well- maintained, even if it is actually in great condition.

2. If the house is dirty/messy it gives people the feeling that they will have a lot of work to clean it before they can move in.

3. Some people won’t be able to see past the mess/dirt. They will get a sense that the house is hard to maintain and doesn’t have enough storage – neither if which are good selling features.

Read The Full Article “House Cleaning Tips to Sell Your Home” Here

We couldn’t agree more with what they have to say about showing a dirty house. If you have spent a lot of time and money with the upkeep of your property, you don’t want potential buyers walking away because your house is dirty and think it hasn’t been maintained.

Getting The Job Done

Now you know without a doubt you have to “super clean” your house. Some people will have more work to do than others. Yes there are “clean freaks” out there that won’t have to do as much. But there are others that will have to do much more, especially if they have a house full of small children and pets.

Check out this article from Curbed that will give you some good advice on some tools to use to get the job done:

Deep Cleaning—Floors and Surfaces

While a Swiffer Sweeper with wet and dry pads is perfectly suited for everyday spot cleaning, you’ll want something with a little more power for a deep clean. Investing in a quality vacuum cleaner will save you a lot of time and frustration in the long run. Look for something bagless and lightweight so you don’t have to lug a heavy machine around the house. The iconic Dyson Ball Vacuum is a splurge, but its powerful suction and multiple attachments are well worth the price tag. Bissel also makes a budget bagless vacuum that’s very well reviewed.

Once you’re done with the floors, a telescoping microfiber can handle furniture, countertops, ceiling fans, and other hard-to-reach areas. For textiles, a portable steamer will help lift those mystery stains on your carpets and upholstery.

Read The Full Article “Spring Cleaning 101: The best vacuums, dusters, storage bins, and more” Here

You might already have a good vacuum cleaner, however if you don’t just think of it this way – if you go buy a nice one you will have it to use at your new dwelling!

Summing It Up

Don’t think that you don’t have to deep clean your house before selling it. While it is true that people are looking at the layout of the property, they will also be subconsciously making judgements about the property due to it’s cleanliness. If you don’t have a good vacuum cleaner or other cleaning supplies, go ahead and buy them and you can take them with you to your next house or apartment.

As a reminder, if you have a house that you are selling in the Metro Atlanta area, we buy houses in any condition. No need to make repairs or even clean the house. Find out more at MandichPropertyGroup.com

Tidy Kitchens Help Sell Your House

Believe it or not, kitchens are a big selling point when selling your house. For a lot of people it is the focal point of the home, especially families with children. It’s where the entire family comes together and has breakfast before heading off to school and work, and then in the evening winds down and has dinner and talks about their day. So it only makes sense that it is one of the biggest selling points of your home. Your mission, should you choose to accept it 😉 – is to clean, spruce up and organize your kitchen so that it is as inviting and “warm” as possible for potential buyers. In this article we are going to cover a few tips on organizing things in your kitchen to give it a more neat of an appearance for buyers.

Declutter Your Kitchen

The last thing you want is someone to open up the cabinet under the sink and find all kinds of cleaning supplies haphazardly scattered throughout, or to open your junk drawer that has stuff in there that belongs in the garage.

The first thing you need to do is remove things that just don’t belong in the kitchen. Start with that junk drawer. Then under the sink. When you start, don’t panic, we know that it can seem a little overwhelming when you look at the entire picture. Organized Home has some good info on this:

Take It Step-By-Step

Once you get started, it’s hard to avoid decluttering all sides at once. For example, you find a lone Christmas plate in the junk drawer, so you go to the high cabinet that holds the Christmas dishes, only to see a sack of whole oats that belongs in the cupboard where sits the bottle of window cleaner you forgot you stashed there while looking for the mop a few days ago … stop!

Declutter a single shelf, drawer or cupboard at a time, no exceptions.

Use one of the boxes to hold items to be put away in another location in the kitchen, and assign a second box for rest-of-the-house put-aways.

Donations or items for storage go to their respective boxes. Stick with your shelf until you’re done, then put away the items from the put-away boxes before moving on. You’ll stay focused when you declutter one step at a time!

Decluttering step-by-step also provides a natural opportunity to break down a big job. If you’re distracted by caring for small children, declutter one drawer or shelf per nap, deep-cleaning as you go.

Read The Full Article “Cut Clutter in the Kitchen” Here

Taking it step by step is great advice. It’s kind of like “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time” (we don’t condone eating elephants 🙂 ). Another great tip is that if you don’t need it right now and can do without an item for a while, go ahead and pack it up and move it to storage, then you are one step ahead when it comes time to move!

Organization

Once you have the kitchen decluttered, next you need to try and properly organize your kitchen, even under the sink. A smart buyer is always going to look under the sink to evaluate the plumbing and/or garbage disposal. Thankfully there are some inexpensive things you can do to help better organize under the sink and other areas of your kitchen. Houzz just put out a great article with some fantastic ideas:

Cabinet door organizers. Make the most of your below-sink area with the addition of slim cabinet door organizers. These mini-shelves are perfect for storing small, frequently accessed items like sponges, scrub brushes and rubber gloves.

Pullout shelves. Part of what makes the below-sink zone such a mess is its depth; no wonder things get all jumbled up when you can’t even see what’s in there! Install gliding shelves inside your cabinet, and when you need to reach something way at the back all you have to do is pull out the shelf.

Labeled bins. If your cleaning supplies are out of control even after decluttering, you may need a bit more structure. Clear, labeled bins sorted by task (floors, windows, etc.) can help you see at a glance which set of products you need. Pair these with pullout shelves for a supremely organized cleanup zone.

Read The Full Article “Post-KonMari: How to Organize Your Cleaning Supplies” Here

The first and third suggestions are relatively inexpensive and easy to do. Pullout shelves maybe a little harder for your average homeowner to accomplish and be a little more expensive. More than likely the pullout shelves will have to be custom built, and without the proper tools can be rather difficult to complete.

Summing It Up

When you first think about cleaning and organizing your kitchen, you may be a little overwhelmed at first. Maybe just set aside a weekend to get it done, depending on how much you have to do and how big your kitchen is. Remember, for most buyers, the kitchen is the biggest selling point of your home, so don’t skip it or take short cuts. Follow the above tips and with a little elbow grease, you can have a clean and well organized kitchen for prospective buyers.

If you don’t want to have all of the hassles of cleaning and tidying up your kitchen, or your entire house for that matter, don’t forget, we buy houses as is and in any condition – Mandich Property Group. Just reach out to us and we will be more than happy to make you an offer on your property just the way it is 🙂

Improving Curb Appeal To Help Sell Your House

One of the most important things you can do to help sell your home quickly is to improve it’s curb appeal. You only get one chance to make a first impression. When a potential buyer arrives at your residence they will quickly judge your house on it’s initial appearance, usually within the first minute. If the yard needs mowing, shrubs are over grown and paint is peeling on the siding or front door – well they may think your house is just as rough on the inside and be turned off right away. If you want to sell your house as quickly as possible, then check out these easy and inexpensive tips to improve your properties curb appeal to get a buyer quickly.

Dazzle And Entice Buyers With An Inviting Front Yard

In a previous post “Cleaning Your House Before Selling It ” we touched on the importance of just how important it is to clean and tidy up your house before marketing it. The same holds true for your front and backyard and all of the natural areas. If the yard is unkempt and windows are dirty along with dirt on the foundation from rain, well that’s not going to give the best first impression or be all that inviting.

Besides the yard, one of the first things people notice is the entry way and the front door. Making this area “pop” is a great idea which HGTV has some good advice on:

Glam the Front Door

Adding pizzazz to your home’s front entrance is an easy, low-cost way to up your home’s curb appeal. Try painting your door a pretty hue that coordinates with your home’s color. “Make sure there is a contrast between the front door and the facade of the home,” says Kristine Ginsberg, owner of Elite Staging and Redesign in Morris County, N.J. If your house is gray or white with black shutters, consider painting the front door red, she suggests. Other ways to beautify your home’s exterior are adding appealing house numbers to your entrance and hanging a pretty wreath on the door. For extra pop, place a potted plant or two by the front entrance.

Approximate cost: A gallon of paint for the front door will cost as little as $25. Metal house numbers can be purchased for less than $4 each, while a potted mini evergreen like boxwood or a dwarf Alberta Spruce could run you less than $20.

Read The Full Article “8 Budget Curb Appeal Projects” Here

You would be surprised at how much just painting the front door can change the look and feel of your property. The entire article from HGTV is full of very inexpensive ways to help boost your overall curb appeal. There is good info in there about cleaning the driveway, walkways as well as the house itself.

Make The Yard As Pretty And Beautiful As Possible

When it comes to the yard itself there is the obvious, mow the lawn and trim up the hedges. Put the kids toys away and clean up any debris. And don’t forget about the side of the house as well as the backyard.

Depending on what time of year it is you can also plant some inexpensive flowers that are blooming for that season. If you need some ideas about what to plant you can ask your local home improvement store or nursery. Houzz also has some good tips on figuring out what to plant:

Look at what’s nearby. An excellent way to find planting ideas for your yard is to look around your neighborhood and see what is already growing — or take a walk in a nearby natural area, if you’re looking to grow native plants. Friends and neighbors are growing in the same, or similar, conditions as you are, and they can tell you which plants, or combinations of plants, do well in their yards.

With resources like Houzz, you can also see which plants do well in your area by looking online. Filter landscape photos by region to see which plants grow in your area. If you can’t readily get a plant ID from the designer, tap an online forum or network, or bring photos of what you like to a nursery with knowledgeable staff. They may be able to help you identify those plantings.

Read The Full Article “How to Find the Best Plants for Your Yard” Here

Just taking the time to drive around your neighborhood as well as nearby subdivisions can give you some excellent ideas. If you don’t know what something is you can always politely compliment the homeowner on there landscaping and ask questions.

Conclusion

Making the front of your house clean and dazzling will most definitely help you bring in a buyer fast for your property. With very little cash and some elbow grease anyone can get these things done. When you think you have it looking really nice, ask your friends or neighbors what they think. They may spot something that you totally overlooked.

Remember, if you don’t want to do anything to your house and sell it as is, contact us, Mandich Property Group. We buy houses fast in any condition, without you having to do a single thing to your property.

Packing & Moving Tips When Selling Your House

When it comes time to sell your house one of the most important things is to clean and declutter for showings. You will have a much harder time trying to sell your house, either with or without an agent, if your house is dirty or cluttered. One of the best things you can do is to go ahead and pack some things away and store them to help give your house a more spacious feeling. But just how do you go about that? We are going to give you some good tips for packing and putting things away in this short article.

Packing Things Up

An important thing to remember when selling your house is that you want to de-personalize it as much as possible. Put away family photos and nick knacks so that a potential buyer can visualize their own belongings in the house. You do want to leave your furniture and properly stage the house to further help the buyer visualize the house as theirs.

When it comes to packing things up, a lot of people make things harder on themselves than it has to be. You want to be able to unpack in your new dwelling to go as smoothly as possible, as well as being able access things that are already packed just in case you need too.

The Denver Post gives some really good tips:

6. Don’t pack air

Many folks empty dressers and chests before they move. Don’t. This adds to packing time, and wastes usable truck space. Leave dressers full. If a chest is empty, fill it with linens, said Howell. You will also get less load shift. Likewise, don’t pack empty suitcases. Fill them.

7. Trash bags are treasure

Boxes are great because they stack, but so are sturdy trash bags, because they squish. Fill large trash bags with soft nonbreakables. They can be stuffed into trucks and morph into shapes that boxes can’t.

8. Hang ’em high

Don’t pack hanging clothes. Keep them on hangers and put them in the back of your car. flat. Then hang them back up in the new place.

9. Pad, stack, and pack

Don’t pack blankets or beach towels; use them as pads and save on boxes. Wrap and tape blankets around artwork and lamp bases. And stack and pack lampshades; they often take a beating in a move. Remove each shade; stack them small to large, then put them together in one box to ensure that they arrive intact.

10. Label on two sides.

Mark every box with its contents and destination (kitchen) on more than one side. Also note if contents are fragile. Though movers likely won’t care, you’ll know to go easy on them.

Read The Full Article “Home design: Pack fast, move fast, with these 12 tips” Here

Really good tips there. Some people may frown on using trash bags, but they do have a point about how they squish. This would be great for clothes that are out of season and can be stuffed in between things in storage. We also like their advice for using blankets and towels for wrapping things. Moving places, and truck rental services usually charge for extra blankets.

One word of caution though, some dressers are extremely large these days and if you leave them full of clothes, you will make it much more difficult to lift and maneuver into the truck and storage.

Putting Things In Storage

Have you had things in a storage unit before, need them and practically have to complete move everything out to find it? That’s a real pain! Houzz gives some excellent advice for making the most out of your storage unit :

Make sure clothing and other fabric items are clean.

Put heavy items in small boxes and light items in large boxes.

Put clothing in wardrobe boxes.

Put the heaviest stuff on the bottom of the unit and distribute weight evenly.

Put anything you need to access often at the front of your unit.

Leave a pathway to the back of the unit.

Elevate things off the floor.

Store mattresses, protected with a cover, upright along the side of the unit for short periods only; for long-term storage, keep them flat with nothing on top.

Wrap mirrors and pictures with bubble wrap and store them upright along the side of the unit.

Disassemble weak or heavy pieces of furniture.

Cover furniture with sheets, not plastic, which could trap moisture.

Store sofas (except sofa beds) on an end to maximize space.

Clean refrigerators and freezers, drain water supply lines, vacuum coils, fill with other kitchen items and store with doors slightly ajar.

Read The Full Article “A Guide to Self-Storage: Packing Tips” Here

There’s a lot more good information for you. We have to admit, some of those things we have never thought of, especially about covering furniture with sheets instead of plastic. That’s a really good tip, especially if your storage unit is not climate controlled.

Summing It Up

We don’t know anyone that likes to move. It can be a real headache. However, with some proper planning it can go a lot smoother. Important take aways are you need to de-personalize your home and put away as many things as you can. Not only will this make your home more appealing for potential buyers, but will also give you a head start when you do sell your house and it’s time to move.

Another thing to remember, here at Mandich Property Group, you can leave all of your belongings in the house and get an all cash offer from us. We have the ability to look past the clutter and see your properties true potential. Contact us anytime at 770 756-8680 for a hassle free sale of your property 🙂