Palos Verdes Real Estate

March 2013 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: 

The real estate market is still jumpin’, with interest rates remaining below 4% for all but the biggest loans or smallest down payments.  There is still very little for sale, and prices have certainly risen during the past 6 months or so.  The feeling on the street is that it’s just a matter of time (and not much time) before rates rise, so my theory (not exactly genius) is that everyone who has been thinking about buying and can, given the low rates and stiff post-meltdown lending requirements, is. 

One subject I haven’t discussed in a while is that of preparing your house for the market.  In any market, slow or hot, your house needs to look as good as possible when you go on the market.  “We’re going to fix up that bathroom next week” doesn’t cut it.  Why?  Because the vast majority of agents and buyers see the house in the first couple of weeks – these are the buyers who are already looking and have seen everything else.  One of these buyers is probably the best (meaning highest price) buyer for your house.  Many of them are ready to buy and remember what they see, not so much what we tell them.  If you want top dollar, you have to be ready. 

Having said that, there is an optimum stopping point for pre-market fix-up.  As my past clients will attest, I spend your money like it’s my own, and I am not interested in spending money we won’t recover at least dollar for dollar in the sale price.  Sure, you may sell for $5000.00 more by remodeling that bathroom, but how much sense does that make if you spent $10,000.00 to do it?  You also do not want to go thru the house and fix every non-cosmetic issue – see my article “Potential Buyers Won’t Take a Shower at Your House” on my website DanaGraham.com.  I have really good people who can make any repairs necessary, either beforehand or any we agree to during the escrow. 

That’s about as specific as I can get without seeing your house, which I’m happy to do at your convenience.  Call me at 310 613-1076 and I can give you specific recommendations that will pay off in the sale price, while avoiding others that won’t.  What we’re interested in is not necessarily the highest sale price, but rather the greatest sum in your pocket when the dust settles.  Here is what the seller of 29 Hilltop (enclosed) had to say after close of escrow:       

“You were absolutely perfect in every respect. Think about what you accomplished.   Maybe it is            because you have been doing this for a while, but you absolutely maximized the profit from the sale by not allowing me to invest any more in the property than was absolutely necessary.  You called the shots along the way and what you predicted became reality.  You couldn’t have made  it any easier on me.  You took care of things like the painter and the carpeting guy…all things I could have done, but you had the relationships and made it happen.  You came highly recommended and now your legacy will continue as I become the one that highly recommends you.”           

This is the sort of typical reaction that makes it all worthwhile for me.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 5th, 2013 at 8:58 am and is filed under Buyers, Everything I've Written, Newsletters, Palos Verdes Information, Real Estate General Info, Sellers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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