Selling Your Minnesota Home

A Recap of The Minnesota Real Estate Show – June 21th, 2008

Today’s show consisted again of a number of great phone callers regarding all sorts of issues: short sales, bank owned properties, mortgage rates…the list goes on and on. We did cover two particular topics. The first topic we titled, “The Fact of the Matter.” The second topic was in regards to the offer process. When discussing the “fact of the matter,” we wanted to cover some of the important items that sellers should be keenly aware of in our local Minneapolis real estate market.

The first fact: your first six to seven weeks on the market are the most crucial. During this time period, buyers who have been actively out shopping with their agent, will see your home as is shows up as a new listing on the MLS. If the home is priced correctly, the buyer will recognize this and make an offer. If it is not priced correctly, “Minnesota Nice” often sets in and buyers do not make the low ball, insulting offer. They simply move on to the next property.

The second fact of the matter: cleanliness is essential. Currently we have over 33,000 active listings on the MLS here in the Twin Cities. Homes that are selling need to be clean and odor free. This simple fact may seem brutally obvious to some, but you would be surprised on some of the various homes that an agent can see out on the market for sale here in the Twin Cities.

The third fact of the matter that we discussed on air: the paint and carpet fact. Yes, again, it may seem obvious, but we encourage all sellers to spend a little extra money and repaint and put in new carpeting as needed. You will see a definite bang for your buck by doing these simple cosmetic improvements.

Lastly, we discussed the importance of a nicely groomed lawn. How many times as an agent have you driven up to a home with your client and the yard is about 9 inches tall? The client says to you, “We don’t need to go in.” You somehow are able to convince them to go in and they are pleasantly surprised. As a seller, don’t put yourself at an immediate disadvantage. If you are not around, hire a lawn company to cut the grass. Something as simple as a nicely groomed lawn can make the difference between a showing taking place or a buyer simply deciding not to go in.

In the second half of the show, we discussed some of the specifics of the offer process. We discussed the intricacies of the inspection and financing contingencies in a purchase agreement. The upshot of our discussion: make sure you have a buyer’s agent working with you helping you navigate the timetables and ins and outs of these two contingencies.

Lastly, we had Scott Ficek on air as the agent of the week. Scott is a top agent on The Minnesota Real Estate Team. He also has a great investment property blog I would encourage everyone to check out. Go to Minnesota Real Estate Investment to find out anything and everything you would like to know about Minnesota investment property. Scott also will be hosting the Real Estate Investing 201 Seminar this coming week. All info is on MN Investment Properties