Top Realtors Sell Homes Faster

Selling your house is never easy. For most people, their home is their biggest asset. There's a lot to consider before putting your property on the market. The main question is, how long will it take to sell your house? The answer, of course, depends on several things. In this article, I will discuss why top Realtors in Minneapolis sell homes faster. 

5 Strategies For Selling Your Home Faster

There are several ways to speed up the selling process. One way is to get professional help from a top local real estate agent like Joe Houghton from Minnesota Property Group. 

If you're thinking about selling your home, here are five ways to sell your house faster using a real estate agent: 

1. A Real Estate Agent Can Get Your Home Prepped To Sell

Before you list your home for sale, make sure your home is prepped to sell. Check to see if your home is clean and organized. Remove clutter and unnecessary items. Clean out closets and cupboards. Make sure your home is in tip-top shape for photos to put on your online listings.

Some people use professional staging services while others do everything themselves. If you choose to stage your home yourself, there are several things you should consider doing to ensure your home sells quickly. When staging a home, you want to make sure it looks like a pristine "dream home." While including things like your Minnesota Twins signed poster may sound great to you, it may not be a homerun with selling...

Selling homes in Winter

You just landed your dream job in Minnesota, and while you are over the moon at the prospect, you are not so happy about selling your home in the slowest season of the year for real estate, winter. While there are many aspects involving a significant lifestyle change that you can obsess over, don't allow listing your house to be among them.

Winter home sales in Minnesota

Real estate is not a seasonal business. People buy and sell homes fifty-two weeks a year because life doesn't come to a halt when the temperatures drop and snow flies. All the aspects that necessitate a need to relocate, be it cross country or across town, do not happen exclusively in the year's warmer months. Both advantages and disadvantages are inherent in listing a home for sale in all four seasons. One factor remains constant; presenting your home in its best light will result in quicker deals and higher prices.

When Selling in the winter, accentuate the positive home features

Does your home have features that shine in the winter months? Be sure your potential buyers know about them. Examples include:

• High-efficiency furnaces
• Newer energy-efficient windows and doors
• Extra insulation
• Solar thermal systems
• Radiant floors in bathrooms 
• Four season sunrooms
• A heated garage
• Heated walkways and driveway to eliminate ice and snow

Tips for Minnesota winter open houses and buyer tours

• Turn on your gas or electric fireplace. Remember, anything that makes your home warm and welcoming is an excellent asset in winter. 
• Brew a pot of tea and set it out with a platter of cookies. Simmer spices such as cinnamon and cloves with orange peels in a small pot in the kitchen. 
• Open the curtains. Turn on the lamps. Let as much light in as possible. Even bright and sunny homes can appear dark in the winter. ...

Pros and Cons of Selling Your Home to an iBuyer

If you are a homeowner weighing the options of selling your home, this article is for you—no sugarcoating. For most, selling the family home is a stressful situation, and it is an intrusion in your life and requires an investment of time and money. For those who want or need the convenience of doing as little as possible and don’t mind the additional expense, there is the option called the iBuyer.

Since the concept of the instant buyer is still relatively novel, you may not know anyone with firsthand experience. Before you decide, you probably want to look at the standard advantages touted by iBuyers vs. the more widely accepted method of listing your home with a real estate professional.

Using an iBuyer Saves Time

• You will not have to hire a real estate agent. Researching and selecting the best agent to sell your home takes up a chunk of time, and it’s a critical choice that may affect your bottom line and your blood pressure!

But is this a time saver? The time you do not spend researching realtors is going towards researching iBuyer companies. You also have to consider that many sellers will spend time on both options because they will want to compare the home price offered by the buyer and the suggested market price from an agent. 

• You will not have to declutter, clean, or stage your home. If housework is not your thing, not engaging in a deep cleaning and organizing project may make using an iBuyer extremely appealing.

Is this a time-saver? You are still going to need to declutter your home when you pack. Unless you use an iBuyer that does not do an in-home evaluation, don’t you want your home to make a positive impression? Keep in mind that the final offer is made after the review. I can’t help but believe that a home that looks and smells good will generate a higher request.

• You will not be required...

10 Tips to Prepare for Your Home Inspection

When a seller and a buyer meet the minds, the result is a signed purchase offer. The contract is contingent on having a professional home inspection most of the time. The after-the-offer phase of a home sale is the step that can most likely sink the deal and create a great deal of anxiety for sellers and buyers alike.

Getting ahead of potential inspection items

As a seller, you want your home to pass inspection with as few callouts as possible. Hopefully, while preparing your home for sale, you looked at your house with a buyer’s critical eye and made repairs where necessary. Better yet, you had a pre-listing home inspection and took care of all the callouts on the list.

However, if you did neither of those, you should still make preparations to facilitate the inspection process. You should do so even if you had an evaluation previously, which will be evident as you read through my list.

1.  Keep up appearances in and around your home.

In other words, keep your home clean and neat. Although you don’t get points for that on the inspection, it leaves a positive impression. You want the inspector to see that your home has been cared for and maintained. So even after you have an offer in hand, don’t let things go. 

2. Make sure there is easy access to areas that will be inspected.

The inspector will check the basement, crawl space, and attic. She will look in the cabinets under the sinks to check for leaks. Remove any clutter that is in the way of getting to these areas. Is your attic access pull-down stairs in a closet?  Emptying it is probably a good idea. If a space is not accessible, that will throw up warning signs you don’t want.

3. Remove and replace blown-out light bulbs.

Replace any burned-out light bulbs both in and outside the house. A burned-out light bulb will require that the inspector check to make sure it isn’t...

How to Sell my House

The first time we reach a milestone in our lives is generally an event we remember for a lifetime. For many of us, the purchase of our first home fits into this category. Before our marriage, my future wife Kate and I bought our first home! As a surprise for her, I hired a contractor to renovate it on our honeymoon. When we returned, she was tickled pink, and we were both on cloud nine. That first home is associated with many happy memories as we began our life together. Selling it was bittersweet. We needed more space and felt excited about finding our second home. It was the right decision but an emotional process to let go and say goodbye to that first home.

Best tips to sell a house in MN

A great deal of advice is available for first-time homebuyers, but for first-time sellers, there is a void. I have helped hundreds of first-time homeowners sell. As a guy who has been there and done that first-time seller gig, I also have some personal insights. Here are my best tips to help you sell your house. Use the internet to learn as much as you can about the process of selling your home. Below are some great topics I might suggest to search. We have a lot of great information on our website, and I have included links to posts you may find helpful.

• preparing to sell my home
• Home Staging Tips
• How to create curb appeal
• Should my agent do open houses
• ...

What Home Buyers in Minnesota Want 

For most people, their home is not only the roof over their heads; it is the most valuable financial asset they possess. As such, sellers should expect to make the most profit possible from its sale. With this goal in mind, if you are a seller preparing to put your house on the market, it is essential to consider what features buyers view most favorably.

Things for Home Sellers in MN to Consider

In the process of getting your home in tip-top shape for the market, you may plan to do some upgrades. That's a good idea, providing you do not go overboard on improvements. To spend your money wisely, it pays to know what features make a buyer's heart beat faster when looking at homes. Here are some of the features that turn lookers into buyers.

Laundry Room

Color me surprised, but a separate laundry room has become a game-changer with homebuyers in recent years. A dedicated laundry room was the number one feature in a National Association of Home Builders survey, with 91 percent of buyers saying, "I need one!" If you have the washer and dryer in the basement, as many people do, consider kicking the space up a notch with some cabinetry, shelving, and a folding table.

Hardwood Floors

According to a 2019 survey by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), 83% of buyers prefer wood floors. If you sell a home with hardwood floors under wall-to-wall carpeting, it makes sense to rip it out and refinish the floors. If your carpeting is begging for a replacement, upgrade to wood, engineered wood, or laminate flooring. ...

Prepare Now to Sell Your MN Home in the Spring

If you plan to sell your home in the spring, now is an excellent time to begin the process. I know what you are thinking. Now? Really? Is spring seven months in the future? I wasn't planning to even think about the logistics of putting my home on the market until after the winter holidays. Has Joe lost his mind!

Believe me when I say my sanity is not at risk. There is logic at the heart of what appears to be madness. For those organized, pulled-together people who prefer to plan for significant events, this is going to resonate with you. I'm hoping to convert others who feel they perform best under pressure. Here are several reasons that make the argument for getting a head start on the spring competition.

Give Yourself the Gift of Time

Even facing the best of circumstances, selling a home is a life-altering, stressful experience. The luxury of time goes a long way to reducing the pressure of working against the clock when there may be many more demands on your time. Starting the process sooner provides you the grace to prioritize work and family responsibilities over home-selling tasks when necessary. This alone is a huge stress reducer and worth its weight in bitcoin!  

Get a Headstart on the Spring Competition

In the Twin Cities, the spring market will burst on the scene sometime after the Superbowl. The weather is the key, and if it is a mild winter ...

MN Realtor Shares Easy Ways to Boost Your Curb Appeal

If your curb appeal is missing that specific something that takes it from so-so to wow, I dedicate this post to you. If you are selling your home, you should already know how critical making that positive first impression is to potential buyers. You want to hit them with your best before they walk in the front door.

Curb Appeal Works Magic on MN Home Buyers

Even if you are not selling your home, boosting your curb appeal adds value to your property. You will also win the admiration of your neighbors and become the most popular house on the block. After you finish my list of suggestions, it will amaze you that such a small investment of money, time, and creativity will result in a noticeable uptick in curb appeal.

Here are my best, inexpensive tips for upping your curb appeal game. So please put on your sunscreen, and let’s get outside!

1. Up Your Front Door Mojo

True story. Several years ago, I had difficulty selling my home in Rhode Island. It was a newer home, a colonial replica associated with like homes. Great location and landscaping but not getting the attention from buyers my agent and I anticipated.

I decided to paint the two yellow front doors turquoise over the objections of my realtor, who was reminding me that my choice wasn’t a traditional colonial-era color. A few days later, we had several showings and an offer. I’m...

If you Know A Great MN Realtor, Listen to Them

Listen to your agent is probably the #1 best piece of home selling advice you will ever hear. Consider the reasons you hired him in the first place. You were impressed with his years of experience. Over his career, he has sold thousands of homes, and he knows what works and what does not. When a house doesn’t sell, he can tell you why and what to do to fix it. He can also tell you what not to do from the beginning.

Here are some great pieces of advice that you should hear from your agent when you list your home. Would you please take it seriously? The sale of a home is a stressful process, but a few easy steps can lead to a smooth and seamless experience. Listen to your agent. He wants what’s best for you.

To put you on the inside track, here are three examples of home selling advice that are universally true.

Price Your Home to the Market

During your listing presentation, the agent should include a market analysis of your home. The evaluation should have a recommendation for the listing price for your home. He will arrive at that number by comparing your home to the most recent sales of comparable properties in your neighborhood. If you think his suggestion is lower than your expectation, ask questions.

Listen to your agent. He will point out the reasons for the difference what he feels your house will sell for less. Perhaps your kitchen and home décor have not been updated for 30 years, and your neighbor just did...

MN Home Selling and Short Notice Showings

Anyone that has sold a home before will tell you that it can be an intense and stressful experience. Strangers coming through and looking in your closets, judging your décor and housekeeping habits is an invasion of privacy. Not to mention that you will sometimes get those requests that fly in the face of that 24-hour notice you want.

Both as a Realtor and a former home seller myself, believe me, I feel your pain. With four active young boys and a dog, I know families' challenges to keep their homes ready to show when on the market. But when that short-notice request from an out-of-towner pops up, it’s hard to take a pass because you know an eager buyer when you see one.

First Impressions Matter - A Lot

Because you get one shot at making an excellent first impression, I put together this list of quick, easy pre-showing tips for sellers. These tips have proven successful personally and for many of my clients over the years.  Make your home shine and put a gleam in the eye of the most critical buyer by following my simple checklist.

√ Pick Up Clutter in Every Room

Get those size 12 Air Jordan’s off the floor and into the closet. Dirty laundry should go straight into the washer. Get the kiddo's toys into the storage bin and forget about newspapers and magazines. Any stray dishes or glasses hanging around should go directly to the dishwasher.

√ Make the Beds

If one thing goes a long way towards pulling your bedroom together, it is a well-made bed. Be particular and smooth out the comforter or bedspread, and don’t forget to fluff the decorator pillows and throw if you use one. ...

MN Home Selling Tips

When your home is for sale, the most significant challenge is keeping it ready for people who want to drop in on the short notice. I’m not talking about a neighbor that might pop over unexpectedly to borrow a cup of flour. She won’t think twice about the dirty dishes in the sink and your unfolded laundry occupying prime real estate in the living room.

But those other people will care. They will look in all your corners, open all your cabinets, peer into your closets, and they will judge. They are picky and often quick to find fault and not shy about voicing their opinions about the condition of your home or your housekeeping habits. They are called buyers.

The Goal - Ready to Show at All Times

Before you listed your home, you developed a plan for preparing for this event with your Realtor. You got rid of clutter, you organized, and you cleaned. You repaired, refurbished, and recycled. You gave up a month of precious weekends, your book club night, and Netflix to get it done, and never hardly ever did a complaint escape your lips.

Now you have to do one thing. Keep it tidy, clean, and show-ready until you find a buyer. That is the one request your agent will make while your home is on the market. I know you have kids. You work. You have a dog who thinks it’s his job to...

MN Realtor on the Importance of Home Staging

Just a few years ago, staging a home for sale was rare. It was also generally for homes on the higher end of the pricing scale, new homes or empty homes. Today the story of home staging is entirely different.

The National Association of Realtors study conducted in 2017 found that 58% of real estate professionals said that when you stage, the sale price can increase as much as 20%. This same study found that 39% said staged homes sell much faster. The message of staging and selling a house quickly and for more money resonates with today’s home sellers at all price points and for all types of housing options.

Even sellers with starter homes or small condos with a limited budget can stage their property to make it more desirable. I will share some great tips that I guarantee will make your home more marketable and cost very little as long as you are prepared to invest some time into the project.

The Five Basic Building Blocks of Home Staging

What I am about to share can be considered the foundation of staging a home. Whether the seller has a small or large budget, these are five rules that everyone will incorporate into the staging plan. Those with a generous budget will spend money instead of time, and those with fewer funds will sacrifice their time.

...

Real Estate Agent On Why Your Home Won't Sell

When your home is not getting offers in a seller’s market, it is no surprise that you are not in your happy place. It’s not how you expected things to go. You thought it would sell quickly. Now you are asking your realtor why other properties are selling while your listing is growing moss.

Taking more time to sell a home happens all too often. As an agent who has been in the business for 16 years, I have been in this scenario. Here are what I’ve found to be the seven most common reasons a home isn’t selling.

The Price is Too High

The most common reason a home is not moving even in a market favorable to sellers is incorrect pricing.  At the listing time, your realtor should do a market analysis of properties comparable to yours that recently sold. The price comparison is the best method to determine the asking price.

There are times sellers disagree and insist their home is worth more. There are often factors that the seller didn’t consider that affect the value. To neutralize the adverse effect of imperfections, a price adjustment is necessary. The price of a home should align with its condition.

Buyers today are savvy, and most of them are working with agents who also do a...

Selling a Home With Pets

According to the American Pet Products Association survey in 2018, 68% of households have at least one pet. People love their pets. That same APPA survey found that those millions of pet owners spent billions of dollars to prove it, $72.13 billion give or take a couple of mils. That’s a lot of puppy chow and catnip! 

Many pet owners consider their fuzzy wards children and often refer to them as “fur babies.” Being a dog owner, I understand completely. Our Doodle is an integral part of our family, and we all love him. However, when the time arrives to sell your home, beloved pets can present logistic problems. As much as I hate to have to say it, there are times that pets can raise issues that sellers must resolve before listing the property. 

The Challenges of Selling a Home with Pets

Some of the issues sellers faces when they have pets include:

• funky smells and odors
• what to do with pets during showings
• keeping the home...

Use Hygge to Sell Your House

Did you know that Sperling’s Best Places named Minneapolis the third best city for hygge in America?  Now you do. Don’t get me wrong; we are not turning our nose up at the third-place award to Seattle #1 and Portland #2. However, some of us think with more people of Scandinavian heritage in the Twin Cities and colder winters, we should be #1 when it comes to getting our hygge mojo working.

What does hygge even mean, and how do you pronounce it?

By now, you have probably at least heard the term hygge. It is a Danish concept that has created a considerable buzz in the home décor market. But it is not just about decorating; it’s a lifestyle.

It is a concept of embracing simple pleasures. The Danes, being awesome people, created hygge in the 18 century, and it remains an integral part of their culture today.

The word is pronounced “hue-gah.” Frequently defined as coziness, and in the Oxford English Dictionary as “to keep or make oneself snug.” So hygge also reflects a feeling of safeness and warmth.

The critical thing to note is that even with long winters and limited hours of daylight, Danes are considered the world’s happiest people. Since you want buyers to be the most satisfied people when they tour your home, let’s hit them with some hygge.

Soft, Warm, Snug Cozy

Hygge decorating is about texture. Soft materials that provide warmth and comfort are essential. Aspects of this decorating style that you can pull together in staging your home for winter are knits, fur or velvet pillows, soft fuzzy throws of soft merino wool...

Staging for The Holidays

Let’s face it, selling your home over the Christmas Holiday can be a challenge. It goes over, and above the usual inconveniences you must endure and the compromises to the rhythm of your family’s routine you must make when you sell. For most, it happens to be the busiest time of the year regarding shopping, family activities, and entertaining. A string of strangers looking in all your nooks and crannies is not at the top of your wish list.

Many sellers temporarily take their home off the market in December while others wait until January to list. However, there are buyers out there, and most of them that are house shopping in December are serious buyers. So for those sellers with a high level of motivation, the holidays can provide a unique opportunity for your home to shine. You can also get a step ahead of the competition who decide to fast forward to January.

Once you decide to market your home when bells on bobtails ring, the next question is should you decorate and if so what are the rules? Here, the basic rules of staging your home for any season apply. Keep everything clean, eliminate clutter and avoid the personal items in your choice of holiday decorations.

Now let’s drill down to the details. Here are my best tips for home sellers who want to rock their holiday décor....

Success-driven Home Selling 

Most people have two primary goals when they sell their home. These are to sell quickly at the best price possible. Both are attainable and if your location is TheTwin Cities metro and your home value is under $500,000, the market favors you in a big way.  

However, please do not think that you will achieve these goals if you ignore the basic rules of how to prepare to sell your home. If you want multiple offers and you want them in the first few days of listing you need to accept the fact that preparation is necessary.  If your home’s list price is in the higher tiers, it becomes even more critical.  

Convinced?  Fabulous! Here are my ten commandments of home selling. Follow these, and you will present your home at its finest. 

Clutter is not aesthetically appealing. It makes your home look messy and lacking in storage space. The goal is to go through every closet, cabinet, drawer and storage space from basement to attic. Don’t forget the garage and any outbuildings as well. Everything you decide you do not need should be for sale, consignment, donation or disposal.

For some, this step is no big deal, and for others, this is the most difficult. It helps to think of this...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Make That Home Sale with Curb Appeal

When you sell, curb appeal is the first impression your home will make on a buyer.  Do it right, and you could end up with an offer, just like that! Do it wrong, and a potential buyer may decide not to walk through your front door.  So when evaluating your curb appeal as you prepare to sell your home, be critical because I promise you that buyers will be.

Pretend you are a buyer. Take a look around the outside of your house and yard. Now ask yourself, if you were buying today would the exterior of your home inspire you to take a look inside?  If the answer is anything less than, “I can’t wait to see the inside of this house” then you have a bit of work to do. Here are a few steps that will send your curb appeal rating meter over the top. 

Clean Up

Just as you do inside your home, you should “pick up” in the front and backyard, porch and deck. You want it clean and tidy. Remove any remaining dead leaves, branches, and other debris from the previous season. Oil stains on the driveway or garage should ...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

The Argument for Staging

Once you have organized your home and removed its clutter, it’s time to talk about staging.  In a 2017 study conducted by NAR, the National Association of Realtors, 58% of agents surveyed said staging increases the selling price of the home as much as 20%. In this same profile, we find that 39% of agents believe staged properties sell significantly faster than those not staged. Additionally, 77% of buyers found it easier to visualize a staged property as their new home. 

Keep in mind that the objective of sellers is to prepare their home so buyers will envision themselves living there. If a buyer cannot make a personal and emotional attachment to your property, they are not going to make an offer. You want your buyers to fall in love with your house. Staging can go a long way towards making that happen.

...