West Bank Real Estate FAQs: What Information Do I Need Before I List My Home?

Once you have made the decision to list your West Bank home for sale, there are a few things that you will need to have available to make the process a little smoother.  While this list might not cover everything, it’s a good starting place. 

As you gather all of this information together, I recommend making a file folder to keep it all in.  Of course, don’t forget where you put the folder.

Documents Needed

Floor plan (if available)  Buyers love to have a floor plan for their new house, especially if they plan to make changes OR if additions have been made to the home over the years

Flood insurance policy  There are 2 reasons for this:  (1) it contains your flood zone, which is needed to complete the disclosure and (2) many of the flood zones have changed over the years.  If you have a flood policy that allows you to be "grandfathered" in under an old zone, buyers may want to assume that policy.

Most recent appraisal  If it’s more than 90 days old, the value may have changed, but the measurements have not.  Being able to say that an appraiser measured the square footage of your home (instead of an agent) lends more credibility to the number.

Survey  The wonderful thing about surveys is that they are rarely outdated.  Unless you have given away or sold a portion of your land, the boundaries of your lot are the same now as they were when you purchased your home.  A survey is especially important to buyers if you don’t have a fence around your yard, since one will be needed if they plan to install anything around the property lines.

Flood elevation certificate (if available)  Many lenders are now requiring flood elevation certificates during the loan approval process.  If you can provide an existing certificate for the buyers, this is one less thing that could possibly delay a closing.

Home Owner’s Association Covenants and Restrictions  Residents of gated communities or those that have deed restrictions should provide copies of any and all information related to the Home Owner’s Association.  Rules, regulations, covenants, restrictions and contact information for association board members can all be requested by the potential buyers, so it’s better to have this package prepared ahead of time.

Information Needed

The Louisiana Property Disclosure form has page after page of questions for you to answer about the history of your home.  To save yourself some time, gather the following information before you meet with your West Bank REALTOR:

• Names of all people who are on the title of the house  Not only are the names of all of the owners needed, but their signatures are needed as well on all of the listing documents.  Don’t schedule a time with your agent when everyone who needs to sign is not available!
• Age and type of air conditioning/heating systems
• Age of hot water heater
• Dates of any damage to the home and details on how/if it was repaired
• Termite contract details  Who is the contract with?  When does it expire?
• Home warranty information (if applicable)
• A list of any improvements done to your home  The very things that you love the most about your home are probably the things that will attract a buyers interest as well.  You can help your agent craft the perfect description of your home by sharing all of the recent changes and improvements made to it!

Still have questions about listing your West Bank home for sale?  Give me a call or drop me an email and I’ll be happy to discuss your personal situation with you privately.

Copyright 2008.  Lisa Heindel and West Bank Living.  All rights reserved.

Is Your House Invisible to Buyers?

I know…I’ve gone on and on about the statistics.  Over 85% of today’s buyers are looking on the internet for their new home.  Listings with multiple photos and virtual tours get more views and more attention from buyers than those without.  Kind of common sense, huh?

Well, if I know this, and you know this, then please tell me why there are agents who still don’t get it.  I’d really like to understand. 

I was going through the MLS this morning, looking for the perfect new listings to send to my buyers.  Here’s the info on the 40 that I viewed this morning:

• 4 had only 1 picture (the MLS allows us to upload 8 photos)
• 19 had NO pictures and
• Zero - that’s right - not a single one of them had a virtual tour

Despite the glowing descriptions, carefully crafted by the listing agents, it all comes down to one question.  Is this how you attract a buyer to your property?

Interested in buying a West Bank home or selling your West Bank home?  Contact Lisa Heindel.  It would be my pleasure to assist you with all of your real estate needs.

Copyright 2008.  Lisa Heindel and West Bank Living.  All rights reserved.

Is Your West Bank Home A $4 Latte or A Value Menu Item?

This week, the news came out that Starbucks projects a more than 90% drop in 4th quarter 2008 earnings.  As changes in the economy are forcing some consumers to tighten their budgets, high priced coffee is no longer selling at the rapid pace that it once was.  At the same time, McDonald’s posted an increase in third quarter 2008 earnings, with much of the continued growth attributed to the value levels of its menu.

As the economy tightens, how long will consumers continue to justify paying $4 for a cup of coffee when they can get an entire breakfast, coffee included, right down the block?

I don’t think that it’s a stretch to apply this same question to the current West Bank real estate market as many sellers cling to their higher listing prices while loudly and proudly proclaiming “I’m not giving my house away”. 

Sellers need to review the current market and their pricing and ask themselves:  How many buyers are dismissing you as the Starbucks of the neighborhood and driving down the street to order from the value menu at McDonald’s?

Area	2007 Average Sale Price	2008 Average Sale Price	Change (+/-)	October 2008 Average Listing Price
Algiers 70131	$178,124	$154,649	-13.18%	$190,862
Algiers 70114	$160,479	$124,523	-22.41%	$173,401
Algiers Point	$265,060	$219,343	-17.25%	$266,408
English Turn	$595,342	$506,829	-14.87%	$669,736
City of Gretna	$145,018	$143,246	-1.22%	$158,337
Terrytown	$186,981	$172,380	-7.81%	$226,697
Belle Chasse	$295,894	$262,802	-11.18%	$386,993
Harvey	$170,015	$156,469	-7.97%	$190,561
Marrero	$166,684	$156,244	-6.26%	$173,769
Westwego	$117,190	$108,667	-7.27%	$133,811

 Information from GSREIN and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

Take a close look at the 2008 and 2007 year to date average sale prices on the West Bank.  There is not a single community that hasn’t been affected by falling real estate values.  Obviously, some areas have been affected more than others, but the general trend is for lower sales prices.

Now look at the average listing prices in the same areas.

It seems to me that there is a large supply of $4 lattes on the market.  That’s too bad, because I’m taking my qualified buyers to McDonald’s.

Buying or selling on the West Bank of New Orleans?  Contact Lisa Heindel.  It would be my pleasure to assist you with all of your real estate needs.

Copyright 2008.  Lisa Heindel and West Bank Living.  All rights reserved.

Where to Find REAL West Bank Real Estate Information

Recently, the big daddy of all real estate sites, Realtor.com, changed their look and added several new features designed to make it easier for home buyers and sellers to find out everything they need to know about buying or selling a house.  It’s a nice looking site.  It’s easy to navigate.  And it’s a huge disappointment to me.

Why?

One of the big upgrades to the site is the inclusion of home valuations or "What’s My House Worth?".  Unless you are the type of person who looks at every inch of a screen or reads all of the fine print, you might miss this disclaimer:

Or this one:

Or maybe even this one:

Hmmmm…very interesting.  Or not.

Calculated estimates?

I’m pretty sure that when you are trying to find out the value of your West Bank home, you want real information, not calculated estimates.  I’m positive that if you are considering selling your home you need to review the real market data to know how to properly price it to compete with the other homes for sale in the area. 

18 months?

In today’s market, appraisers are looking for comparable sales that have taken place within the last 90 days, but will go as far back as 6 months if needed.  18 months in the real estate market is a lifetime ago and has no bearing on what your home is worth TODAY.  I’m astounded troubled by the fact that a site that says it promotes the value of using professional REALTORS would put out information that is basically useless, even if the disclaimers say to contact a local real estate professional.

How to Find Your Home’s Value

In my opinion, the only real source for local real estate information is a local expert.  And I don’t just mean someone who has a Louisiana license.  I mean someone who is familiar with the real estate market in YOUR community.  Do you live in Metairie or the River Parishes or the North Shore?  Call a REALTOR who works that market everyday.  If you live on the West Bank of New Orleans, I invite you to call me.  A free, accurate market analysis is just one of the services I provide…without all of the fine print.

Copyright 2008.  Lisa Heindel and West Bank Living.  All rights reserved.

Getting Your Home Sold in This Market - 10 Steps to Success According to Professional Home Stagers

One of the biggest benefits of belonging to a nationwide network of real estate professionals is that my network is not limited to just other REALTORS®.  It also includes title and mortgage professionals as well as some of my favorite people - home stagers. 

Home stagers are the magicians that can take your house from just OK to WOW.  Even though my friend Michelle Minch is located in California, her advice to home sellers holds true no matter where you live.  She recently wrote an article about getting your home sold in today’s tough market and I’d like to share it with you all.

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From Michelle Minch, Moving Mountains Design Home Staging

Want to get your home sold in this difficult market? Here’s 10 steps for moving your home from "for sale" to "SOLD!". I’m here to tell you that homes are selling, some very quickly, even in this market. Most of the Los Angeles homes we stage are selling in less than 30 days, some with multiple offers. Want to know what those home sellers are doing to help their homes get sold?

  Before

  After

This Valencia home sold in 14 days with multiple offers after being staged by Moving Mountains Design (September 2008) Click here to read this very happy client’s testimonial.

Here are 10 steps you can take to help get your home sold, too:

1. Hire the best full service REALTOR or real estate agent you can find. This is no time to be fooling around with less than full service. Do your research on the internet and by asking friends who they’ve worked with and if they had a good experience. Interview at least 3 REALTORS or real estate agents. Don’t hire your best friend, their cousin, your hairstylist who moonlights as a real estate agent, unless you are certain that they know what they are doing and can back up their claims. You are selling what for many is their most valuable asset. Don’t be embarrassed into letting your home sit unsold because you didn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings.
2. Don’t negotiate the sales commission. A really good, experienced REALTOR or real estate agent will tell probably tell you "no" anyway. Marketing and selling real estate properly is an expensive proposition. All the brochures, flyers, virtual tours, professional photographers, etc. cost money. If you negotiate a lower commission, you are preventing your listing agent from pulling out the "big guns" to get your home sold as quickly as possible. Don’t hamstring the sale of your home by limiting the amount of money your listing agent has available for marketing. Also, with the abundant inventory on the market right now, buyer’s agents are going to show the homes that pay full commissions first.
3. Listen to your Listing Agent regarding pricing.They know what they are doing (assuming your followed step 1). They are on the MLS every day and know what homes are selling for and how quickly they sold. They talk to other REALTORS and real estate agents daily. It doesn’t matter how much your dry cleaner thinks you should list your home for. It doesn’t matter how much profit (or how little loss) you would like to walk away with. All that matters is how much someone will be willing to pay for your house. A good REALTOR or real estate agent will be able to tell you how much you should list your home for to get it sold quickly.
4. Hire a professional building inspector for a pre-sale inspection. You can address any issues that might sink a sale during escrow, or prevent someone from making an offer in the first place. Use the information to get your home into tip-top shape.
5. Make any needed repairs. Home buyers want a home that is truly move-in ready. They don’t want an allowance for new carpet or a new roof. They want a house that already has new carpet and a new roof so they can move in right away.
6. Clean your house from top to bottom. Clean it until it is cleaner than it has ever been before. If you don’t have the time or energy, hire a cleaning service. Make sure your house sparkles and smells clean every day it is on the market. If there is an issue you can’t address by cleaning, then replace it. For instance, if the linoleum in your kitchen has a big burn mark from the hot skillet you dropped, replace the linoleum.
7. Hire a professional home stager. Again, do your research on the Internet and with your listing agent. Make sure you hire an experienced professional and not a hobbyist or (again) your  sister-in-law, unless she is a pro with experience and knowledge of your market. Ask to see the stager’s portfolio (or view it on-line) and make sure all the photos are of their recent work. If you are a do-it-yourself type, at the very least, hire a professional home stager to do a comprehensive consultation so you know exactly what needs to be done. Most home stagers will also help you choose paint colors and carpet as well.                                                                                 
8. Listen to the home stager regarding the condition of your home and what needs to be done tp make it appealing to the greatest number of buyers. If they tell you your favorite floral pattern wallpaper has to go, do it. A home stager’s expertise is preparing homes to look their best so it is appealing to the greatest number of buyers and they have done it successfully for numerous home sellers (assuming you followed Step 7). Remember, they are looking at your home through "buyer’s eyes".
9. Have your home photographed by a professional photographer. Many REALTORs and real estate agents include this as part of their marketing package. Photos taken by a point and shoot camera are not going to show your home at its best. 80% of home buyers are looking at homes on the Internet before going out to see homes they are interested in. If your home doesn’t look great in the photos, then most buyers will pass you by.
10. Follow all of the above steps before you put your home on the market.Clean it up, fix it up, have it professionally staged and then photographed. Once you have great photos that really showcase your home, give your REALTOR the go-ahead to post them on the MLS. Make sure they post the maximum number of photos allowed. The more photos you have showcasing your home on the MLS, the greater your chances of selling it. If you rush the process, then you will not be putting your home’s best face forward from day one. Staging or adding better pictures after your home has been on the market, even for a few days, won’t get back potential buyers who dismissed your home when they saw few pictures, bad pictures, vacant rooms or an unstaged mess.

Read The Benefits of Staging a Home

Read Home Sellers: Are You Getting a Lot of Lookers, But No Takers? Maybe Its Time For A Staging Makeover!

Read How to Choose the Right Home Stager

Remember: When you put your home on the market, you are entering it in a beauty contest. The best looking homes in the best condition sell first. It’s a no-brainer.

*Getting Your Home Sold In This Market - 10 Steps To Success* copyright 2008 Michelle Minch and Moving Mountains Design. All rights reserved.

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Please visit our Los Angeles home staging web site for more information about how we can help you get you home sold quickly and for the best price. You can reach Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design,  directly at (626)441-8975 or via email, Michelle@MovingMountainsDesign.com . Don’t settle for second best when selling your Los Angeles area home. Choose Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, the Los Angeles staging company with the track record of rapid sales and the referrals from many happy clients to back up our claims. Featured in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Sunset Magazine and numerous other national and international publications, we don’t sell homes, but we know what makes homes sell!

Thank you Michelle for allowing me to reprint this article here!

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