4 Ways to Make Your Vacant Lakeland Sandpiper Home For Sale Appealing

4 Ways to Make Your Vacant Lakeland Sandpiper Home For Sale Appealing

If you are selling a vacant Lakeland Sandpiper home, it has its benefits as well as challenges. For one, you don’t have to worry about negotiating move out versus move in dates since the buyers can move in any time after closing.

On the other hand, selling a vacant home has some drawbacks. When prospective buyers view photos of vacant homes online, they have a hard time visualizing how the room is uses, the size of the room, and the actual layout of the home.

Vacant homes also give buyers an impression that a home may have been on the market for so long because the owners have already moved or that there may be something wrong with the home and this may be the reason why some buyers might skip vacant homes. You may have a perfectly valid reason for moving like a job change, for example, but buyers wouldn’t have a way to know that.

Buyers usually make higher offers on furnished or occupied homes. Buyers who enter vacant homes struggle in visualizing their own stuff occupying the rooms.

There are ways to stage a vacant home to still make it appealing to buyers. Here are a few tips”

• Virtual Staging

For your online Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale’s photos, you could use computer-generated furnishings and accessories in the vacant rooms. There are some companies who offer virtual staging services  for a fee, but the catch is you have to disclose in advertising that the rooms in your photos have been virtually staged.

• Furniture Rental

There are companies who offer furniture rental packages, usually for 3 types of rooms (living room, dining room, and master bedroom), complete with accessories.

Before you select a furniture rental company, make sure to check out different companies and their terms since some companies will make you enter into a monthly lease agreement with a 3-month minimum.

• Consignment Furniture

You can go to a consignment furniture store and buy some inexpensive furniture to make the house look furnished. You could also offer them to your buyers upon purchase of the Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale. Note that you cannot add the cost of furniture to the sale price of your home and you are doing this purely as an incentive for buyers. This incentive makes your home more attractive especially to first-time home buyers who start with little or nothing.  

• Closeout Furniture

This is a similar idea to consignment furniture, but you are buying brand new furniture from the store. Some stores offer discounted floor samples at closeout prices. For a budget of $1,500, you may already be able to purchase living and dining room furniture. That would definitely cost you less than a price reduction on your home for sale.

Any of these 4 options can greatly enhance your vacant Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale and make it more appealing to prospective buyers. It is better to apply any of these options sooner rather than later so your home won’t stay on the market too long. For more home staging tips, visit  http://www.lakelandfloridaliving.com/.

Call me, Petra Norris, at (863) 619-6918 if you’re looking for a Lakeland Florida real estate agent with superior local knowledge, experience, professionalism, integrity, and personal service to help you sell or buy Lakeland Sandpiper homes for sale.
 

Petra Norris, REALTOR®…

Going The Extra Mile For You!

Does Your Address Affect the Value of Your Lakeland Sandpiper Home?

Does Your Address Affect the Value of Your Lakeland Sandpiper Home?

Your address (and zip code) can definitely affect the value of your Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale. In fact, some homebuyers even put more importance on what zipcode they will live in than anything else about the home.

Other factors relating to your home’s location that can affect its value are:

• local schools and public services
• travel or commute time to work
• crime rate in the community
• state of the roads especially during winter
• future developments (new mall, road widening, etc.)

All these factors affect not only the value of your Lakeland Sandpiper home, but your quality of life as well. Beyond these considerations, you may already be living in the next big hot spot and you just are not aware of it yet.

Even if you think your Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale may never regain its value in a tough market, just keep yourself informed and updated. Change may be on its way.

At the end of the day, the best indicator of your home’s value is based on the value of comparable homes sold in your area. To find out the true and current value of your home, contact an experienced Lakeland Fl agent who can help you determine your home’s value based on the current market conditions and comparable homes sold in your area by doing a comparative market analysis.

Call me, Petra Norris, at (863) 619-6918 or send me an email at petra@petranorris.com if you’re looking for a Lakeland Florida real estate agent with superior local knowledge, experience, professionalism, integrity, and personal service to help you sell or buy Lakeland Sandpiper homes for sale.

Petra Norris, REALTOR®…

Going The Extra Mile For You!

Homebuyer Incentive Do’s and Don’ts for Your Lakeland Sandpiper Home

Homebuyer Incentive Do’s and Don’ts for Your Lakeland Sandpiper Home

 

Homebuyer incentive do’s and don’ts for your Lakeland Sandpiper home

Offering buyer incentives like a home warranty can set your Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale apart from the rest. Make sure your incentives send the right message to buyers to encourage them to buy your home for sale in Sandpiper Lakeland Fl.

To make sure you are giving the right incentives, follow these do’s and don’ts for offering homebuyer incentives:

DO’s

1. Use incentives that will set your home apart from the competition.

If all the homes for sale in your Lakeland Sandpiper neighborhood have the same patio, offering a stainless steel barbecue grill with a luxury patio set will definitely make your home stand out from the rest.

2. Offer incentives that compensate for your home’s flaws.

If your kitchen has an outdated wallpaper, offering a decorating allowance of $3,000 may help buyers accept and purchase your home despite the outdated kitchen wall. If your furnace is old, a home warranty may ease the buyer’s concern of having to spend thousands of dollars to replace it once they move in.

DON’TS

1. Assuming that all buyer incentives are legal.

Homebuyer incentives may be banned in certain states so be sure to check with your Lakeland Fl agent before offering buyer incentives.

2. Using incentives to mask a price that is too high.

The risk of offering expensive incentives like a luxury car or high-end TV is buyers may think it’s a gimmick to avoid lowering the sales price of your home. Ask your agent if it is better to lower your list price instead of offering a buyer incentive. Most of the time, homes that are priced just a tad below its true value will attract more buyers and agents.

If you have decided that offering buyers incentives will help sell your Lakeland Sandpiper home faster, choose incentives that will add value to your home or neutralize its flaws. The key to getting an offer lies more in addressing the buyer’s concerns about your home than in offering expensive incentives.

Call me, Petra Norris, at (863) 619-6918 or send me an email at petra@petranorris.com if you’re looking for a Lakeland Florida real estate agent with superior local knowledge, experience, professionalism, integrity, and personal service to help you sell or buyLakeland Sandpiper homes for sale.

 

Petra Norris, REALTOR®…

Going The Extra Mile For You!

5 Ways to Research the History of Your Lakeland Sandpiper Home

5 Ways to Research the History of Your Lakeland Sandpiper Home

5 Ways to research your Lakeland Sandpiper home’s history

If you are selling or buying a Lakeland Sandpiper home, it is important to know the history of how your property had developed over the years. The history of your property can give you information that will help you in updating or fixing your Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale.

 

If you plan to remodel your home, you will need to know how the home was built and what was possibly added on to it and what lies behind the walls or under the floors.

Here are 5 ways you can find out about the history of your Lakeland Sandpiper home:

1. Ask the home inspector. If you are buying or selling an older home, check with the home inspector you hired and ask about all the nooks and crannies he inspected. You can also ask about the home’s foundation.

2. Talk to your neighbors. You can also talk to the people living in the area or the previous owner. You can get information about a home’s original owners once you have access to the land records.

3. Check with the register of deeds. Deed transactions are recorded in the register of deeds.. These records may be on computerized records, microfilm, or other physical publications. You just need to give the staff the address and they can help you find what you are looking for. When you begin your search, start with the most recent deed transactions and work back to the earlier records.

The legal description in the deed includes the official address, subdivision lot number, section number, township, and range of the property.

4. Visit the library.  Check out old newspapers or archives of local publications that may offer any information about events that happened in your Lakeland Sandpiper home or neighborhood. This may give you a sense of the neighborhood during the time the home was built.

5. Check the patent records of the Bureau of Land Management’s General Land office. This will show you the date when the federal government first sold the land parcel to a private owner and who the owner was.

You can also check other resources like insurance maps, census data records, even marriage and death records, to see how the Lakeland Sandpiper home changed over time.

Online databases, commercial sites, and genealogical research databases can also help you discover valuable information about your property’s history.

Call me, Petra Norris, at (863) 619-6918 or send me an email at petra@petranorris.com if you’re looking for aLakeland Florida real estate agent with superior local knowledge, experience, professionalism, integrity, and personal service to help you sell or buy Lakeland Sandpiper homes for sale.

Petra Norris, REALTOR®…

Going The Extra Mile For You!

How to Attract Active Adult Buyers to Your Sandpiper Lakeland Home For Sale

How to Attract Active Adult Buyers to Your Sandpiper Lakeland Home For Sale

Here’s a secret on how to attract active adult buyers to your Sandpiper Lakeland home for sale. It’s not what your home has, but what it doesn’t have that matters to these buyers.

Baby boomers are attracted to low-maintenance homes with one-story floor plans.

 

Here are other features that active adults look for in a Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale:

1. No steps

First floor master suites and one-story type homes with ramps are very popular among this demographic. Hallways wide enough for a wheelchair to pass through and open floor plans are also perfect for retirees.

1. Low maintenance

Retirees want homes and neighborhoods that don’t require yard work or too much home repairs. Active adults want to travel as much as they can without worrying too much about their homes.

1. Flexible space

Rooms and spaces that can be converted into any other type of room like a home office, den, or sunroom is also a must for active adults.

1. Sense of Community

Active adults like to bring back the times when people knew their neighbors and enjoyed a sense of community. Neighborhoods like Sandpiper Lakeland Fl with walking trails, clubhouses, community centers, function rooms and clubs are great in fostering this sense of community among active adults. Clubhouses and fitness centers also appeal to retirees who want to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle.

Does your Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale have these features that active adults seek for in a home? Ask your real estate agent how you can make your home more attractive to retirees.

Call me, Petra Norris, at (863) 619-6918 or send me an email at petra@petranorris.com if you’re looking for a Lakeland Florida real estate agent with superior local knowledge, experience, professionalism, integrity, and personal service to help you sell or buy Sandpiper Lakeland Fl homes for sale.

Petra Norris, REALTOR®…

Going The Extra Mile For You!

Lakeland Sandpiper Fl Home for Sale Can Compete With Newly Built Homes

How Your Lakeland Sandpiper Fl Home for Sale Can Compete With Newly Built Homes

How Your Lakeland Sandpiper Fl Home for Sale Can Compete With Newly Built Homes

If you are selling your Lakeland Sandpiper Fl home, it is important to learn more about your competition, which is not limited to other similar existing homes in the market. Your competition also includes new homes being constructed nearby or other newly built properties that are similar to your home’s price and style.

You can’t do anything about the fact that your home is 5, 10, or 25 years old, but you can do something to make your Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale more appealing to buyers by researching and analyzing the trends in new homes. This will give you an idea on how to improve your home and price it properly.

Here are some tips on how your Lakeland Sandpiper Fl home for sale can compete with newer homes:

1. Check the condition of your home.

A newly built home will be almost perfect - with fresh paint, no defects, and expertly designed by an interior designer. You can get ideas on the latest home decorating trends by looking at model homes in magazines or walking through a newly built home for sale to see it yourself. Minimize your home’s least appealing features, apply fresh paint in neutral tones, remove all the clutter, and make necessary repairs. Just make sure you don’t overspend or go over your budget when improving your Lakeland Fl Sandpiper home for sale.

2. Improve your home’s curb appeal.

Newer homes have fresh landscaping and freshly painted fences and trim. Do the same for your home so you could attract more buyers. Repainting your front door and replacing hardware like door knobs and lighting fixtures will do wonders in making your old look new and modern.

3. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes.

Buyers like to visualize how they will live in a home, not how you are currently living in it. To help buyers have an easier time visualizing themselves living in your home, make sure you remove all personal items, photos, clutter, and dirty or used items. Make sure the beds are made, fresh towels are hung up in the towel rack, and replace personal knickknacks with neutral decorative items.

4. Check out your finances.

Builders of new homes sometimes offer buyer incentives like closing cost assistance. You can do the same and offer similar concessions or lower your price. If you have an older home that looks dated, you can even offer a lump sum of money that the buyer can use for upgrades or home decorating so they can redecorate your home the way they like it.

If you are in a seller’s market where there are few homes for sale, you may not need to be too concerned with newer homes since there will be plenty of buyers available, but in a buyer’s market where there is plenty of inventory competing with each other, you may need to be more creative with incentives or lowering your price to attract buyers, especially if there are a number of newly built-homes in the competition.

Your Lakeland Fl agent can help you with more suggestions and ideas on inexpensive home improvements you can make with your Lakeland Fl Sandpiper home for sale and guide you with the latest trends in the local market.

Call me, Petra Norris, at (863) 619-6918 or send me an email at petra@petranorris.com if you’re looking for a Lakeland Florida real estate agent with superior local knowledge, experience, professionalism, integrity, and personal service to help you sell or buy Lakeland Fl short sale homes.

Why Your Carillon Lakes Home Isn’t Selling

Why Your Carillon Lakes Home Isn’t Selling

If your Carillon Lakes home for saleisn’t attracting buyers for a few weeks, or even months, then you have a good reason to be worried.

There are several reasons why a home doesn’t sell. Some of these reasons are beyond your control, but the good news is, you can control most of them.

Here are some of the most important elements (which you can control) that determine if a home will sell.

1. Pricing the home right.

A good Lakeland Fl agent will help you determine the right price for your Carillon Lakes home for sale based on a comparative market analysis (CMA). A home that is priced too high will not attract buyers and stay longer on the market. On the other hand, pricing your home too low will make you lose potential profit.

Make sure your home is priced based on current local market conditions and not on your estimate of what your home is worth or the amount you need to pay off your mortgage. Your Lakeland Fl agent will help you determine the best price for your Carillon Lakes home for sale based on the recent home sales in your area as well as current listings.

1. Make sure your home is in good condition.

Buyers have high expectations of your home, and the exterior will give them either a good or bad first impression of your home. Their first impression can be their last, so make sure your home’s exterior in impressive. Add bright colored flowers and plants, paint your front door, pull out the weeds, add some lights to the driveway, and remove all the clutter and toys from the lawn.

Your home also needs to be clean, organized, and de-cluttered inside. Make sure to remove any personal items, photos, trophies, etc. to depersonalize your home and make it easier for buyers to visualize living there.

1. Marketing your home.

When you choose a Lakeland Fl agent to market your home, ask them about their marketing plan and the photos they will post online. Most buyers initially look online for properties for sale, so it is important that your home has professional photos that will highlight its best features and make it look attractive. A listing without a photo or a badly lit photo will not attract any offers.

1. The open house.

You must make sure that your home is always available for showing. Buyers prefer to view a home without the owner there, so make sure your Lakeland Fl agent has access to a lockbox at your home.

If your Carillon Lakes home for sale is not getting any offers, ask the help of an experienced Lakeland Fl agent. Your agent will help you evaluate the market and suggest home improvements or the need to offer incentives like closing cost assistance. Your agent will also help you emphasize the positive features of your home while de-emphasizing any negative aspects.

Call me, Petra Norris, at (863) 619-6918 or send me an email at petra@petranorris.com if you’re looking for a Lakeland Florida real estate agent with superior local knowledge, experience, professionalism, integrity, and personal service to help you sell or buy Lakeland Fl short sale homes.