How do home buyers view FSBO's

For Sale By Owner homes are called FSBO homes and are listed without the assistance of a real estate agent so the seller can avoid paying a commission. First time home buyers are often nervous about buying a home and are uncomfortable dealing with someone selling their own home.  Without a Realtor guiding them through the unfamiliar steps of buying a home, they often don’t make the purchase.

Buyers  know that a FSBO doesn’t pay a Realtor fee, so they may write an offer less that fee .  Investors usually work with a Realtor because they are busy people and expect their agent to do the research and present them with opportunities that meet their criteria.

Serious out of town buyers generally work on a tight time constraint and may only have a weekend to find a house.  They rely on a Realtor because they don't know the neighbourhoods or the house values and often need someone to drive them around and familiarize them with the area.

 

Can Feng Shui Decorating be Helpful?

Using Feng Shui decorating to sell your Nanaimo home can make a big difference by creating environments that have the best energy suited to a specific activity and space.

Clear away clutter to release old energy before applying Feng Shui decorating using colours and textures to replace the old energy with a new, vibrant one. Good air quality and light will bring good Feng Shui energy into your home.

Feng Shui decorating focuses on bringing positive energy into your entire home, and also targets the energy of each individual space, depending on what the room or space is used for. Feng Shui decorating in your bedroom will give it a relaxing, romantic energy while your home office needs to have an atmosphere of success and accomplishment.

This Holiday Season Could Be the Right Time To Sell Your Nanaimo Home

There are many reasons you may need to move during the Christmas season, yet your first thought might be that it’s a bad time to put your house on the market. You’re not alone, most people think this is a bad time to sell a home and will take their homes off the market or wait to put them on the market. This leaves less competition for sales and is a good reason to list your home now.

Most holiday house hunters are very often serious home buyers, who wouldn’t be looking during the holiday season unless they really want or need to buy.Your neighbour’s out of town visitors might just see the for sale sign and you could get some interested buyers. Many people get Christmas bonuses and some will likely plan to use theirs as a down payment. If you are planning to be away for the holidays, your home would always be show ready. Contact a qualified Nanaimo real estate agent such as Lynn Donn to facilitate the sale of your home. 

Do open houses sell homes?

An open house is a great way to draw attention to a home through ads online and in the paper as well as additional signage pointing to the house.  A couple of decades ago open houses were one of the few ways buyers could see homes for sale. But the Internet changed all of that, making it easy for buyers to search and view homes online. As a result, open houses have become a less powerful selling tool.

According to the National Association of Realtors, only 9% of buyers found the home they purchased at an open house in 2014. That’s a 16% decline from 2004. The number of buyers that include open houses in their search stood at 44% in 2014, down 51% from 2004.

The stress related to the entire affair and the amount of time and money it costs to prepare for and host an open house has to be weighed against the expected outcome. Do not rule out an open house but it is important to be aware of the pro & cons before holding one.