Midtown Tulsa Real Estate - Lori Cain

What personal items remain in your Tulsa home for sale?

Our state contract clearly specifies what items remain in your Tulsa home for sale, such as window treatments, light fixtures, fireplace inserts, built-in appliances, pool equipment and more. When we list your Tulsa home for sale, we ask if there are any items you would like to exclude, such as a chandelier for which you may have sentimental value.

But what about the pool table and the mounted flat-screen television? It's expensive to move a pool table and it needs to be re-leveled. And that mounted flat-screen television is the perfect size in the perfect spot. You might discuss those items with your Realtor before you list your Tulsa home for sale, because your potential Buyer is likely to ask for those items.

Typically we put in the "Realtor Remarks" section of MLS (Multiple Listing Service) that "items a, b and c are negotiable." It would save a little time crafting an offer on your Tulsa home for sale if it were spelled out that the pool table can or can't remain with the house.

What personal items remain in your Tulsa home for sale?

Buyers naturally fall in love with how your home is furnished, and that's a big part of the reason they chose to purchase your home. If you are downsizing and would like to sell some of your furnishings to your Buyer, leave a note in a table tent as to what's available and at what price.

Beware that Lenders do not want to see a list of couches and furniture in the real estate contract. They don't object to Buyers asking for a pool table or refrigerator to remain with the house, but the real estate contract is for real property - and the strict definition of that. If furnishings are to be negotiated, that should be done through a separate supplemental agreement.

So look through your Tulsa home for sale before you put it on the market and discuss with your Realtor what items you suspect a Buyer might ask for and whether or not they may be negotiable. If you want to take the pool table with you, state that upfront to avoid confusion!

Copyright 2011-2012 Lori Cain All Rights Reserved - Originally Posted at: Midtown Tulsa Real Estate - Lori Cain

Your Tulsa Home For Sale - it's ALL in the photos!

When your Tulsa home for sale goes on the market, you want to make sure that your home is in top-notch condition and that professional photos are distributed throughout the internet. Home Buyers are shopping online, so if they don't like what they see in the photos, they are not going to consider viewing your home.

I always encourage Sellers to stage their Tulsa home for sale, and staged homes will photograph better. The professional photographer on our team, Leslie Gregory, says that staged homes are easier to photograph and the photos require less editing. Her results are always high quality, crisp photos - inviting prospective Buyers to view - and purchase!

While searching online for half-million dollar properties for an out-of-state Buyer coming in this weekend, I was shocked to see listings with a single view of the kitchenor no photo of the salt-water pool. Before listing your Tulsa home for sale, please ask for examples of how your Realtor markets their listings. If they're taking photos on their own or with their iPhone, find another Realtor!

Photos of your Tulsa home for sale should be professionally taken, and there should be lengthy and descriptive photo captions for each. Don't leave the Buyer guessing whether the oven is convection or if the inside laundry is separate - describe each room at length in the photo caption.

The attraction and EMOTIONAL connection to your Tulsa home for sale begins with the photos. Buyers will be thinking, "I LOVE this open kitchen - look at all the storage and the beautiful island!" Or when viewing your living area or master bedroom, you want them to think, "there's plenty of room for my furniture!" Are you not falling in love with the wrap-around porch photo above?Can't you SEE yourself sipping tea on that porch?

Insist on quality photography, virtual tours and extensive verbiage when marketing your Tulsa home for sale. Make sure that it will be syndicated throughout the internet! Please consider our home selling team when listing YOUR Tulsa home for sale!

Copyright 2011-2012 Lori Cain All Rights Reserved - Originally Posted at: Midtown Tulsa Real Estate - Lori Cain

How important are SHOWING INSTRUCTIONS for Tulsa home Sellers?

Tulsa home Sellers depend on the guidance and advice from their Tulsa Realtor on how best to get their home sold, and showing instructions are a key factor. All Tulsa home Sellers want to make their home as ACCESSIBLE as possible to cooperating REALTORS.

This means your showing instructions should NOT require that your Listing Realtor be present for showings. It is difficult enough to map out and schedule showings for 5-8 homes without having to accommodate another busy Realtor's schedule.

DO NOT be present during showings. It is okay to remain at your property until prospective Buyers arrive if they can't give you a definite time they'll be there. But when they DO arrive, please LEAVE. Walk the dogs, go to a neighbor's home or simply go for a cup of coffee. Buyers are intimidated when the Seller remains on the property and they will rush to get through your home. You WANT them to view your home leisurely.

We will request one hour's notice to show, but if you only get a five-minute warning, please don't turn Buyers away. I would rather them see your home with dirty dishes in the sink than to skip seeing your Tulsa home for sale entirely.

There's no doubt that it's stressful for Tulsa home Sellers to always keep their home tidy while it's on the market. The absolute easiest thing a Tulsa home Seller can do to help expedite a sale is to make showing instructions easy.

Our showing instructions are included in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and are not seen by the public. So, if an appointment is not needed Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm, spell that out in your showing instructions.

If you text-message, make that option available for Realtors to schedule a showing appointment.

If you think your Listing Realtor is giving you special attention by offering to be present during showings, please think that over again.

When YOU are out house shopping, would you be comfortable with the Seller's Realtor hovering over you and listening to every comment?

Simple and flexible showing instructions are important for Tulsa home Sellers. The more traffic you get, the more likely you will receive an offer.

So, make your showing instructions attractive and let's sell your Tulsa home for sale!

Copyright 2011-2012 Lori Cain All Rights Reserved - Originally Posted at: Midtown Tulsa Real Estate - Lori Cain

Stan is the type of home Seller that Realtors dream of representing.

Stan's home interior was in need of a fresh coat of paint and the pups had taken their toll on the carpets. His beautiful hardwood floors had a lot of wax build-up and needed to be refinished. There was landscaping needed and general power-washing and cleaning of the exterior.

Realtors are sometimes timid about being truthful with Sellers about the amount of work needed to prepare their home for sale. We worry that we will offend the Seller after giving a long "to do" list, and we worry that we are asking the Seller to spend more money than they are willing or able to spend.

But, Stan took it all in stride and said the magical words Realtors love to hear, "you're the professional - if you say it needs to be done, let's do it!" And when I explained to Stan why I wanted him to have the home professionally staged, he replied, "that makes sense to me!"

My colleague Dana Ferguson does a fabulous turn-key job of renovation and staging. She selected and coordinated all of the need contractors, communicated directly with Stan when decisions needed to be made and did an excellent job of restoring his beautiful home. Once she had the home staged and I walked through it with a critical eye, I knew we would sell Stan's home quickly.

At the time we listed Stan's home, there were eight homes for sale in his subdivision - many of which had been on the market for months. Stan and I studied the comps together, and he agreed to price it to sell.

Our listing was input on Thursday and photos were uploaded that evening. My valuable assistant Lil began syndicating the listing on Friday, and we had an offer in hand by Sunday.

FOUR DAYS ON MARKET. Easy-peasy when it's done right.

So, here's the home selling formula that works: (1) prepare your home for sale to impress the most discriminating home Buyer; stage your home so that the Buyer can SEE himself living there; (2) price your home realistically and competitively; and (3) market the property aggressively with professional photos and virtual tours, detailed verbiage and photo captions; saturate the internet.

All the preparation that Stan agreed to and making the decision to stage his home led to a quick sale. Period. No more mortgage payments, no more monthly utility or insurance expense and no worries. Stan was able to see the big picture and that's why he is the type of home Seller that Realtors dream about.

If you're planning to sell your Tulsa home, I would love the opportunity to view your home to give you an idea of what you need to do to prepare your home for sale. I would like to tell you about our listing services and how those set me apart from other Realtors.

Planning is paramount to success, and you can never start too early.

Copyright 2011-2012 Lori Cain All Rights Reserved - Originally Posted at: Midtown Tulsa Real Estate - Lori Cain

What to do with pets when your Tulsa home for sale is on the market

Sometimes a challenge to home Sellers is what to do with their pets when their Tulsa home for sale is on the market. Ideally, we don't want to request more than an hour's notice to show your home, so it needs to be "show ready" all day, EVERY day.

Many Tulsa home Sellers will be able to run home prior to a showing to crate their 4-legged family member. Some will keep their pup in the back yard or garage during showings.

If a home Seller is confident that their pet will not alarm or harm prospective Buyers, they may let them have the run of the house. Then, it's appropriate to write in Realtor remarks, "Fido is a friendly dog and welcomes you." But if Fido jumps on people, he needs to be contained.

I'm fortunate that my dog-sitter lives ten blocks away and could be available to remove all three of my pups with little notice, if my home were on the market. It rained today though, and my kitchen floors are covered with muddy paw prints. My dog-sitter is wonderful with our dogs, but she doesn't clean floors.

As hard as it is to imagine, not all people are "dog people." If none of the previous suggestions will work for you, perhaps a neighbor could help get the pups out of your home during showings. Please don't ask for more than two hours notice to show though, because that's truly an inconvenience to Realtors and your home will likely be shown less.

Talk to your Realtor about possible solutions to keep your pets segregated or confined during home showings. And, remember to reward Fido after a showing, because he's trying to make a good impression too!

Copyright 2011-2012 Lori Cain All Rights Reserved - Originally Posted at: Midtown Tulsa Real Estate - Lori Cain

Reasons why Tulsa home Sellers should have their home inspected first

Tulsa home Sellers should have their home inspected before their home is put on the market for several reasons. Many repairs are not negotiable and will have to be made regardless of the Buyer's requests. You can't sell a home with termites unless you have a willing cash buyer. Period.

Inspection findings may scare your Buyer off after you are already under contract. Try to sell a house after "mold" is found. Had mold been found in the beginning and documentation of successful remediation provided to the Buyer, it would be a non-issue.

Remove doubts that you have structural or other major issues and provide your Buyer a level of comfort before they make an offer on your Tulsa home for sale. They will offer more if they believe that the home they love is in top-notch condition.

Give yourself plenty of time to make needed repairs at a more affordable cost. I recently had a closing delayed over two weeks while we scrambled to find contractors willing to excavate a crawl space. Because we didn't have time to locate a more qualified contractor, the Tulsa home Seller wound up spending more in cleaning after the fact and also incurred damage to valuable personal items in the home.

Oklahoma real estate contracts allow ten days for inspections (unless more is requested), which leaves the Tulsa home seller less than three weeks to get bids and complete repairs. And although the Seller may be WILLING to make all repairs, there is always the chance that the Buyer may think the list or type of faults are too overwhelming to proceed to closing.

Be prepared that the Buyer's inspector may find something that your inspector didn't - or that something will deteriorate between the time you inspect and repair and the Buyer conducts inspections. Again, generally, the repairs will have to be made regardless.

I think most Tulsa home Sellers want to pass on their home in good condition. Just as we encourage Tulsa home Sellers to update their home and present it in good cosmetic condition, don't overlook the advantages to knowing up front what repairs you'll need to address once you're under contract.

Funny that we only inspect our homes when we are transferring ownership. After a few recent inspections I've experienced, I'm thinking of having MY residence inspected. I won't have to fix anything if I don't want to, but I suppose I would like to know if I have structural problems or conditions conducive to termites.

So, if you are preparing your Tulsa home for sale, I encourage you to pre-inspect and make needed repairs. You can find qualified inspectors and vendorson my web site!

Copyright 2011 Lori Cain All Rights Reserved - Originally Posted at: Midtown Tulsa Real Estate - Lori Cain

Vacant Tulsa Homes for Sale: Insurance & Vandalism

If your Tulsa home for sale is vacant, you need to be concerned about vandalism and reduced insurance coverage. All neighborhoods are susceptible to theft and vandalism, regardless of location.

A Realtor showing a vacant Tulsa home for sale I had listed last year reported that the air conditioning was not operational. The Seller went by the property to investigate and discovered that the copper wiring from the air conditioning unit had been stolen. This was NOT covered by the Seller's insurance.

Another vacant Tulsa home for sale I had listed was flooded by a broken toilet. A Realtor showing the property called to report that there was an inch of water in the first floor - caused by an overflowing toilet on the second floor. Thankfully this was caught after the water had been flowing a short time, and although the damage caused was significant, it could have been much worse.

The Sellers of the flooded home purchased a home in midtown Tulsa, then put their home in south Tulsa on the market. They notified their insurance provider when they purchased the second property and were not aware that the insurance company had lowered the coverage on their vacant property.

If you have a vacant Tulsa home for sale, please make sure your insurance provider puts the maximum amount of coverage allowable on your property. The Sellers of the flooded home had to put in quite a bit out of pocket to restore their home before putting it back on the market and were fortunate that they had the funds available to do so.

Just as homeowners leaving their home empty for a vacation, owners of vacant Tulsa homes for sale should solicit neighbors and friends to drop by the house on a regular basis. Park in the driveway, turn on different lights each time, pick up mail or phone books that are dropped on the porch entry. The "for sale" sign in the yard is a necessity, but it's possible to make the house appear "occupied" with a little diligence. And if someone were walking through the house turning lights off/on, a running toilet may have been discovered and ensuing flood avoided.

Realtors showing vacant Tulsa homes for sale are very good about notifying the Listing Realtor if they suspect damage or anything out of the ordinary. However, if the home is not being shown on a daily basis, it needs to be checked by neighbors. Perhaps there's a responsible teenager in the neighborhood that would check the house for a little extra spending money.

If your Tulsa home for sale is vacant, do take precautionary steps and discuss your insurance coverage with your provider!

Copyright 2011 Lori Cain All Rights Reserved - Originally Posted at: Midtown Tulsa Real Estate - Lori Cain

What to consider when negotiating an offer on your Tulsa home for sale

Recently my Sellers received an offer on their Tulsa home for sale. The offer was $25,000 less than their list price, and their home had been on the market for four months.

They did take their Tulsa home for sale off the market for a month to renovate: new wood flooring, new carpet and new - more neutral - interior paint. And they made the investment to have their Tulsa home for sale professionally staged.

According to the absorption rate in their subdivision, there is a one-year supply currently listed for sale. That's a high inventory with a limited pool of qualified Buyers.

Although they had made multiple improvements to their home, the fact still remains that there are nine other properties for sale in their subdivision with an average of one property selling per month. What IS that "bird in the hand" really worth?

It's worth the end of mortgage payments, utility payments and lawn maintenance - and throw in some peace of mind.

The next offer may be better, but it could be worse. There is no way for me to predict that - all I can advise is that if we negotiate this offer to something we can live with, we're done.

So, we offered a "gentleman's counter," which is simply splitting the difference of the amount listed and amount offered. It's possible that we could have countered at a higher amount, but each time a Seller counters, you open an opportunity for the Buyer to move on to another property.

While we're negotiating, did another property the Buyers were considering reduce its price to be in their desired price range? Did they continue to shop and find another Tulsa home for sale that they like as much?

It is an emotional experience negotiating your Tulsa home for sale. Try to remove the importance placed on the sales price and look at the big picture. There are nine other Sellers in your subdivision wishing THEY had been the one picked.

That bird in the hand is worth more than you think, and your first offer is usually your best offer. I'm very fortunate to have Tulsa home Sellers able to see that big picture!

Copyright 2011 Lori Cain All Rights Reserved - Originally Posted at: Midtown Tulsa Real Estate - Lori Cain

If you know your toilet doesn't flush correctly, fix it!

I'm recommending to Tulsa home Sellers that they pre-inspect their properties for sale before putting on the market. Because of the way we negotiate repairs in the Oklahoma real estate contract, it's possible that the leaky shower pan may kill a transaction that a lot of work has gone in to.

In the Oklahoma real estate contract, we agree on a "repair cap" - a limit to which the Tulsa home Seller is responsible for repairs. And we come up with this figure by best guess, because we negotiate this figure BEFORE we conduct home inspections.

Now, by the time we do inspections, all parties are moving towards closing and likely packing boxes.  If the repair estimates exceed the cap, either party can cancel the contract.

The Buyer has already spent money on inspectors and an appraisal. The Seller has already taken his home off the market and made plans to move to their next property.

Sometimes Tulsa home Buyers are anxious or overwhelmed by the AMOUNT of items inspectors will find in less than working order - not necessarily the severity.  Sellers are often SURPRISED by what inspectors find because they haven't recently been in their crawl space or truly had no clue that their shower pan was leaking. 

Particularly in older homes, we get use to the creaks and squeaks - we know to jiggle the handle in the downstairs' bath in order for the toilet to properly flush.

Home Sellers are just better off pre-inspecting and making repairs up front.  The number of Buyers who want to purchase a property in "as is" condition are decreasing, and now we have Lenders and Appraisers dictating what must be brought up to code.

Also, the time table between inspections and closing may be short and you may pay top dollar for repairs that would have been less expensive if done at a repairman's leisure.  Tulsa home Sellers have worked hard to present their home well - don't let the inspections and repairs kill the deal!

Copyright 2011 Lori Cain All Rights Reserved - Originally Posted at: Midtown Tulsa Real Estate - Lori Cain

How do Tulsa Home Sellers attract Tulsa Home Buyers?

Would you go on a first-date without immaculate clothing, make up (or shave) and stylish hair? Of course you wouldn’t, because you want to make a good impression – a good FIRST impression.

So, why would you put your home on the market, expecting to interest Buyers if your HOME did not make a good first impression? Spend a little time, money and sweat on the exterior, because you can’t sell your home if we can’t get our Buyer through the front door!

What we understand about the home buyer’s selection process to help prepare Sellers . . .

Because I work with BOTH Buyers and Sellers, I have a good idea of what Buyers are looking for and am better able to help Sellers prepare their Tulsa home for sale.

Get your home in top-notch condition BEFORE you put it on the market. New carpet to be installed with acceptable offer? Phooey. Upgrade allowance? Forget it.

Our inventory of Tulsa homes for sale is high and Buyers have much from which to choose. Given similar location, similar layout, etc., do you think the Buyer will choose the home that needs NO improvements or the one that needs painting or updating?

Buyers will choose the home that tugs at their heart strings - and you can take THAT to the bank!

In addition to preparing your Tulsa home for sale, I STRONGLY encourage home Sellers to hire a professional home stager. The difference between a staged and non-staged home is the emotional feeling a home Buyer experiences while touring a home.

If the Buyer can imagine himself enjoying a cup of coffee in the sunroom overlooking the back yard or enjoying the tranquility of the covered front porch, they are one step closer to making an offer. If the Buyer feels at home and can envision preparing meals in the kitchen, you've just nabbed yourself a Buyer!

Buyers will select a home when they develop an emotional attachment to your Tulsa home for sale!

Lessons for Buyers?
Look beyond what you can change and focus on what you can not change. Remember your priorities. It’s okay to re-evaluate as you go, but try to achieve your larger goals.

Lessons for Sellers?
Remove as many possible objections Buyers may have before your Realtor puts that sign in the yard and try to make a great first impression!

I am happy to help Tulsa area home buyers and sellers! Please call me: 918-852-5036!

Copyright 2011 Lori Cain All Rights Reserved - Originally Posted at: Midtown Tulsa Real Estate - Lori Cain