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5 Things You Can Do if Your House Won’t Sell

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No one likes to sit on the market any longer than they have to but if your property is just not getting the attention you would like, there are some things to do that could change the effects. Of course, it really does depend on the market. If you’ve priced it correctly in the market can support it, there may be other issues involved. Here are five things to do if you cannot sell your property.5 Things You Can Do if Your House Won't Sell

#1. Make sure your home offers what buyers want.

Does your home draw buyers in from the curb appeal? Have you taken professional photographs? Have you staged the home, de-cluttered, and cleaned? Does the home need a facelift? Does the curb appeal make buyers want to see the inside? Is the home vacant? If so, it may be time to get a professional stager.

#2. Ask about a guaranteed purchase program.

If you are moving based on job relocation, your employer may help with a guaranteed purchase program. This means that the program will buy your home if you can’t sell within a certain amount of time This is an unusual program but it’s definitely worth looking into.

Read More: Will a pre-inspection help sell my house faster?

#3. Sell to a real estate investment firm.

There are a lot of investors that will buy your home as-is with cash. However, they will usually give you much less than it’s really worth but it could save you a lot of time and headaches.

#4. Consider renting it out.

Instead of selling, your property could generate cash flow while you wait for the market to turn around. Talk to your real estate agent because this may or may not be a good idea for you depending on the current market. If you could get a short-term lease for six months, the market may be better by then.

More: 10 Ways to Make a Small House Seem Larger

#5. Consider new real estate agents.

Agents typically specialize in a lot of different types of properties but maybe you have an amateur agent, someone that is too new to understand the market and how to price your home. It may be time to fire your agent and look for another.

At Sunset Beach and Beyond, we have specialized in buyers for decades and recently partnered with a well-established and experienced listing and selling agency. Whether you are buying or selling we have the agents for you. Every home is different so pricing it correctly from the beginning and gauging the market is really the key to getting your home sold fast.

Find out what your home is worth today!

10 Ways to Make a Small Space Seem Larger

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Staging a small room or home can be a bit challenging and while you don’t want to deceive buyers, you can do a few tricks of the trade to make space seem or feel larger than it actually is. No one likes to feel cramped or crowded so if you’re staging your home for sale or just want to expand your own space a little more, use these simple tips to make a small space appear larger.  

10 Ways to Make a Small Space Seem Larger

Paint or wallpaper the ceiling to make the room look taller.

You want your eyes to draw up boards, which in turn, will make the room feel larger.

Stick to light tones and colors on the wall and the floor.

Darker colors can make a room seem smaller and more closed in.

Pull furniture away from the wall.

Keeping the furniture right up against the wall can make things look and feel cramped. By pulling things away from the wall it shows that there is additional space and may give you extra room to hide things.

Read More: Home improvements that quickly add value

Make furniture work double duty.

Make use of hidden storage and double duty items by using Ottomans and coffee tables as additional storage.

Remember the rule of three.

Keep decorations and knickknacks in sets of three and keep things larger than a cantaloupe. Small knickknacks and items may actually crowd a room.

Use stripes and rugs.10 Ways to Make a Small Space Seem Larger

A striped rug can make a room appear longer as long as you orient the stripes the length of the room for optimal effect.

Use furniture with exposed legs.

Furniture that does all the way to the floor makes it look bulky and crowded.

Read More: Staging has decreased time on market

Use mirrors and glass.

You can strategically placed mirrors to create the illusion of more space and subsequently, glass items will make it feel like there is more room as well.

Use lighting to your advantage.

You can say floor space by hanging smaller lighting from the ceilings or create a sense of more space by doing away with overhead lighting altogether.

Use a larger art piece rather than a bunch of small pieces.

Always go up and out when you can to give the illusion of a larger space.

Whether you are selling your small house or condominium or just looking to make the room feel larger, these 10 tips will certainly help get you started.

What’s Your Home Worth Today?

Should My Agent Advertise My Listing on Social Media?

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Being in the real estate industry we speak to a lot of buyers agents and listing agents and have a good sphere of influence and book of business that we commonly refer to, especially when we take on a new listing. Because we work with both buyers and sellers we may have a buyer ideal for your listing, alleviating the need for any advertisement. But, should your agent advertise your listing on social media?Should My Agent Advertise My Listing on Social Media?

In today’s social media forward world if your agent isn’t on some form of social media they may not be doing their clients justice. Buyers are on social media and by using it correctly you can advertise to the right individual and get the lead you need, however, nobody wants to look at a feed full of real estate listings.

So how can a real estate agent advertise correctly on social media?

Well, for starters, a real estate agent has to be well-versed in whatever social media they are going to use. This could mean Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or Twitter, but whatever they do, they should be advertising more than simply listings.

As I said, nobody wants to look at a feed full of real estate listings unless that’s what a buyer is looking for at that moment. The problem is, you want people to be interested in your voice and your activity far before they actually need to buy a house and to do that, you need to offer other practical and helpful information.

If you’re listing your home, you’ll want to ask your agent how they advertise. You want a good range of advertising options such as in person, flyer, open house, online, MLS and any other way that could possibly bring in a buyer. But it’s okay if your agent isn’t on EVERY social media available… I mean, there are something like 3000 of them and that’s impossible to keep up with.  We have to go where the buyers are and have a good wealth of followers to do any good. I recommend using an agent that knows how to use at least 2-3 social media outlets well. They might post other things like recipes, gardening tips, local events and news, funny jokes and memes and then throw an amazing listing in there from time to time. If the people have followed thus far, they may be more likely to share your listing as well. 

And images matter! We are in the Snapchat/Instagram era where photos are the thing that catches the eye. If the image is stunning, the click-throughs will follow, which is why it really pays to have amazing listing photos. 

So yes, your agent SHOULD advertise on social media if they use it! Just throwing up a bunch of listings is nothing people want to look at, unless you’re Zillow…

More Goodies:

3 Truths About Real Estate Agents

Benefits of a Real Estate Team When Buying and Selling Simultaneously

4 Truths About Real Estate Agents

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We want our clients, whether it’s a buyer or a seller, to be well informed about the home buying and selling process and that sometimes means being honest about real estate agents. Not all agents are ethical, shocker! But by weeding out to those that might have unethical practices, we can help you be more informed and better able to make a wise decision when it comes to selling and buying and who to represent you.

4 Truths About Real Estate Agents

With that in mind, here are four things you should probably know about real estate agents before buying or selling.

Real estate agents can work both sides of the transaction.

This means that the same real estate agent can assess the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. Typically, the buyers have their own representation and the sellers have their own listing representation but dual agency is allowed in most states and this is where the same real estate agent can represent both the buyer and the seller. You can probably already start to see the discrepancies and conflicts of interest that this can create. If an agent is representing a buyer and a seller, how can they hold up to their fiduciary duty and be honest both sides? Confidentiality can be skewed when it comes to representing both sides. If a buyer is trying to negotiate for a lower price but the seller knows that the buyer can afford more, chances are that buyer is getting the short end of the stick. Similarly, if the seller can come way down on the price and the buyer knows it, they’re going to keep negotiating for that lower price. You can see how this can be a huge conflict. It’s best to have your own agent representing you, regardless of which side you are on.

Commission is negotiable.

Most listing agents will tell you a flat 6% commission but it is negotiable. However, that 6% is split in half between the buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent. For higher-priced homes, there is a pricing strategy that can be used but when negotiating, just remember that you can always negotiate for a lower or a different type of split to be more attractive to buyers agents, drawing in more buyers.

Open houses may not work.

Sellers expect open houses but they usually don’t necessarily sell the house. Statistics show us that only 7% of buyers find their home at an open house. Often times, agents will sit open houses simply to gain more buyers, rather than to actually sell the house. When it comes to an open house, it’s truly up to the homeowner whether they choose to have an open house or not. There’s always the security aspect so think carefully before deciding on an open house.

Read More: Is it okay to find a Realtor® at an open house?

You are free to choose your own service provider.

Because we work with both buyers and sellers (because we have listing agents) we have a plethora of resources such as home inspectors, real estate attorneys, escrow and title companies, but you have the ultimate choice on who to use. One little piece of advice when it comes to service providers, experienced, long-term agents have usually built up a better book of referrals and resources the new agents. Because we have sold real estate for decades, we have found excellent service providers that are reputable, honorable, and affordable.

Great Questions to Ask Your Realtor®

The point is to choose your real estate agent carefully. We have listing agents and we are buyers agents so even though we are on the same team are loyalty lies to one side or the other during a transaction. Feel free to interview us, ask questions, and contact us when you’re ready to buy or sell throughout Brunswick County in both North and South Carolina.

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Schedule a Consultation with a Buyer’s Agent

Will a Pre-Sale Inspection Help Sell a House Faster?

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If you’re in a hurry to sell your home, and most homeowners are, then you’re probably looking at doing everything possible for a quick sale. One of those things could be getting a presale inspection. Unexpected items on an inspection is one of the most common reasons for a sale to fall through. The price might be right, buyers may love the home, but if there is something seriously wrong with the house, the deal may collapse.Will a Pre-Sale Inspection Help Sell a House Faster?

This is why getting a presale survey or inspection can be an excellent way to prepare your home for a faster sale. A survey or inspection will confirm any repairs or replacements that might not be obvious to the naked eye. It’s basically conducting a “health check” on your home to let you know what needs to be tackled before listing. But, even if you’ve already listed your home, conducting your own inspection could put you steps ahead in the home selling process. It could be an incentive to potential buyers when they see that sign that the home has already been pre-inspected. Buyers sense that the homeowner has done their homework and is serious about selling a well put together and well-maintained home.

Schedule a Listing Consultation

Knowing about any deal breakers early on can strengthen your negotiation hand and it can help you from being blindsided by buyers suddenly terminating the transaction because of something they are found on the inspection report. You can also negotiate a sale price from a more understanding position and it also means you will probably get offers from serious buyers so that nobody wastes time.

Read More: 10 Pre-inspection Checks for All Homeowners

A preinspection will provide all the defects that a surveyor finds and could potentially offer solutions and repairs for those issues. This also gives you the opportunity to fix those hazardous or most concerning issues and save you time and money on the backend.

Just because you have an inspection report doesn’t mean you have to complete all of the “to do” jobs. You can hold off replacing major items or updating large fixtures such as appliances, cabinets, and counters but focus on easy things such as decluttering, repainting, and fixing anything that is an eyesore, drips, weeks, or creeks.

Read More: Who should attend an inspection?

Other options for speeding up a sale include being prepared at a moments notice for a showing. We tell our homeowners never to make a mass that cannot be cleaned up in 30 minutes or less. Being flexible is also a good way to get more homebuyers through the door. If they have to wait 24 hours for a showing you might miss them or if there are only certain allotted showing times, this can deter buyers from visiting on their schedule or at a moments notice. Of course, you’ll want to be reasonable with your showing times like 7 AM or 10 PM are usually out of the question.

Ready to get started? Feel free to call us for a free in-house listing consultation at any time. Because our team works with both buyers and sellers we can help you stage your home for today’s buyers and price it correctly so that it sells fast.

Schedule a Listing Consultation

Read More:

How to make the most of your home inspection

Can the seller’s response to an inspection kill the deal?

Benefits of Using a Real Estate Team to Buy & Sell Simultaneously

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Benefits of Using a Real Estate Team to Buy & Sell Simultaneously

Our team has been buyer focused for decades. We love homebuyers and there’s nothing more joyful then the look on homebuyers faces when we hand over the keys and they can walk to the door of their very first home or even their dream home after years of saving. Recently we have partnered with listing agents, George and Elisabeth Smith, who also have years of experience listing North Carolina real estate. While we love helping buyers, they have the same passion for homeowners and sellers. We figured this is an amazing team because when people need to buy and sell simultaneously, the thought of having different agents for both sides of the transaction just adds to the stress of the process.

One-Stop Shop

This is why if you are buying and selling a home in the Sunset Beach area or anywhere up and down the Intracoastal waterway of North Carolina and parts of South Carolina, we would love to be your one-stop shop for real estate needs.

Experience on both sides

Because we worked with buyers for years we’ve not only built up good experience under our belt, but a good and healthy mix of resources and referrals. You need someone dedicated and reliable when it comes to real estate appraisers, home inspectors, survey specialists, lenders, escrow, and title companies. Because we’ve done this for years we have collected a group of individuals that specialize in the real estate transaction. We are not amateur agents or brokers; because we’ve done this for years, we have experience and we have experience with others involved in the transaction.

Don’t just trust anyone

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen amateur agents out there tried to give referrals to businesses they’ve never worked with. If you’ve never worked with a lender or a home inspector, how can you know they are going to be a good fit for your client? And, we don’t just have one reference or referral; we have several because everybody works differently with different people. We have lenders and inspectors that work with real estate investors and others that work with first time home buyers. A well seasoned real estate investor knows what they’re looking for and they don’t need all of the handholding and detailed reports that a first-time homebuyer needs and should want.

But, back to the simultaneous buying and selling. When you’re selling a home and buying another in the same area or within close proximity to each other, having the same teamwork on the transaction will keep things on point, on time, and help you close simultaneously. This is no easy feat. Selling and buying simultaneously takes a lot of communication, exact timelines and time frames, and excellent time management between all the parties involved. There are so many people when it comes to a real estate transaction that if you don’t have people all on the same page, mistakes are going to happen. I’m not saying that every deal you do with us will be perfect because every transaction is different and every home and buyer is unique, but, having everyone communicate together and having everyone familiar with each parties attitude, work ethic, and communication preferences really help to pull the entire deal together.

If you need to buy and sell anywhere along the Intercoastal waterway of North Carolina even stretching down into Little River and Myrtle Beach South Carolina, give us a call. Our team handles all types of real estate, golf properties, homes on the Intracoastal Waterway and can help close your deal in a timely manner with as a minimal stress on you as possible.

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