Red Door Realty & Associates

Marketing your property -  Selling a home is a big decision. Whether your relocating across the world or in your community - The first thing to do is hire a

Red Door Realty and Associate agent. 

 (281)-852-DOOR

                                                  Red Door Realty & Associates prides itself on professional real estate agents that can do the job. Click on our agent list to see for yourself. Before working with an agent, you should know that their duties depend on whom they represent.

Agents who list the property for sale represents the owner. Your real estate agent's sole duty is to ensure that your home sells quickly, easily, and at a suitable price.

All brokers must treat you honestly and fairly regardless of whom they represent.

Setting a price

 When setting a price, the important thing is to be realistic. If the price is too high, you may not find a buyer. Too low, and you cheat yourself out of money.

Appraisal
Regardless of what you originally paid for your home and the cost of improvements you have made, the only price that matters is what the market will bear at the time you decide to sell. You may consider hiring an independent real estate appraiser with specialized training and experience. Don't rely on assessed valuations made for tax purposes. Such valuations may not be reliable indicators of value, as they are usually made using mass appraisal techniques.

Comparative market analysis
Whether or not you get an appraisal, your Red Door agent can develop a comparative market analysis. This analysis will describe homes in your area that have recently withdrawn from the market and may compare specific features of your home to others--the value of a corner lot, a city view, or an extra bedroom, for example. The analysis may also point out market fluctuations caused by the opening of a new school or business, as well as long-term trends.

Net proceeds
Once you've decided on a price range, your Red Door agent can help you calculate an estimated amount you might net from the sale. If you have owned your home for several years, you may have built up sizable equity. Equity is the difference between the value of your home and the balance on your mortgage. After subtracting what you owe on your mortgage, ask your agent what costs you will incur in closing. These may include title fees, taxes, a penalty for prepaying your mortgage, brokerage commission, attorney fees, and charges for preparing and recording documents. Finally, ask your tax adviser or attorney about the tax implications of your proceeds.                                          

Signing a listing agreement   

 After choosing an agent from Red Door Realty & Assoc., you will  sign a listing agreement--a contract in which you agree to sell your home during a given period and pay the agent a fee when your home sells. 

Length of listing
The listing agreement will specify how long you agree to list your house with a company. You want a period that's long enough to advertise your home and respond to buyers. Remember that the listing agreement is a contract. You should get a copy for your records.

 Marketing your property   

                                            
In preparing your home for viewing by prospective buyers, remember that people buy on emotions. Your home has to feel right, or buyers will look elsewhere. Ask a Red Door agent and some honest friends to look at your home objectively and suggest ways to make your home more inviting and sellable. Consider both the exterior and interior. Since you will be appealing to buyers' feelings, you need to pay attention to detail. An extra $50 you spend on red geraniums or new bath towels might mean a significant increase in a buyer's offer.

 Home staging is ABOUT SETTING THE SCENE. It's CREATING an atmosphere that allows a buyer to picture themselves living there. It's beyond decorating and cleaning. It's about perfecting the art of creating moods. Staging makes your house look bigger, brighter, cleaner, warmer, more loving and, best of all; it makes home buyers want to buy it.

Staging is what you do after you've cleaned, de-cluttered, painted, made minor repairs; it's all about dressing the house for sale.

What is a Professional Home Stager?                               

Professional stagers are highly skilled artists. Homestead Staging and Design is a locally owned staging and redesign company that comes highly recommended. Contact a Red Door Realty agent to get more details. 281-852-DOOR. They can take a blank canvas and paint a beautiful portrait without ever lifting a paint brush. They possess the skills and they create dramatic scenery that appeals to all five senses. 

What Accessories Does a Stager Use?

Stagers bring in a vast array of items to spruce up the house- mirrors, flowers, etc.  How they are utilized is limited only by the creativity and vision of the stager.

Clean your home thoroughly and make minor repairs such as tightening towel racks and gluing wallpaper edges. For larger repairs, consult your agent as to whether repairing the item will generate a good return on the sale. Repainting the woodwork may be worth it, but replacing the carpet may not. Hire a professional inspector to examine your house for structural and mechanical defects. Get an inspection early, and you can avoid surprises.

 Honesty and candor
If your home has a major problem you aren't going to repair- disclose this to all buyers, be candid about it. Don't paint over the water marks on the ceiling to hide a leaky roof. In an age when lawsuits are as common as family sit-down dinners, it pays to be open about everything.

You should consider including a one-year residential service contract with the sale of your home. This buyer perk is a common practice and helps ease concerns. Typically, after the first year, the buyer has the option of renewing the coverage at his or her expense. A residential service contract is simply an agreement with a company to repair certain items on the property if such items fail to function or are in need of repair (for example, air conditioning unit, heating equipment, plumbing system, etc.).

Attracting and screening buyers
As part of the overall marketing strategy, your agent may arrange a tour of your home for local agents and perhaps schedule an open house for the public. Your Red Door agent may also run ads in local newspapers, Web sites, and other publications tailored specifically for the type of home you are selling. As responses come in, your Red Door agent will screen out sightseers and half-hearted inquirers and make appointments with the serious prospects.

When the showings begin, keep your home clean and ready. Your Red Door agent uses a company to coordinate all showings and will try to give you advance warning before showing your home but be prepared anyway. If people drop by and are not with an agent, it's best not to show them your home. Ask for their names and phone numbers and refer them to your Red Door agent.

Purposeful absence
When an agent comes to show your home, it's best if you are not there. Many buyers feel like intruders when the owner is present; they tend to hurry away. Letting the buyers walk through your property at their own pace will help put them at ease. They will feel free to look around and ask questions. If you must be there, let your Red Door agent handle the showing. Sit quietly and be courteous, but avoid engaging the buyer in conversation. The agent needs the buyer's complete attention to show your home properly.

Fair housing
Red Door agents are required by law to make your property available to all persons without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status. 

The OFFER 

                                               When a buyer makes an offer on your home, your Red Door agent will contact you promptly. We will scrutinize the document, review it with you carefully, and answer your questions. The written offer lays out all the terms of the proposed transaction--the price the buyer is willing to pay and the financing terms--and becomes a binding contract if you sign it.

The offer may be contingent on the buyer selling a home first or obtaining an inspection. Ask your Red Door agent how these terms affect you and whether the offer is in line with the market. The offer describes the property, states who pays for which closing costs, and specifies dates of closing and possession. Along with making the offer, the buyer may place some earnest money with the escrow agent as a sign of good faith. The earnest money will be kept in an escrow account and applied to the buyer's down payment or closing costs when the sale closes.

Your options
In reviewing the offer, you have three options: accept, reject, or make a counteroffer. A counteroffer is a rejection of a buyer's offer with a simultaneous offer from you to the buyer. Carefully review the figures compiled earlier to determine your net proceeds--closing costs may be quite different from earlier calculations. Discuss the possibilities with your Red Door agent, your attorney, and/or a tax adviser.

Seller's disclosure
In most residential sales, Texas law requires that the seller deliver a seller's disclosure notice to the buyer on or before the effective date of purchase. This document provides important information about the seller's knowledge of the condition of the property. Complete the notice to the best of your knowledge and belief. Your Red Door agent will most likely ask that you complete the notice at the time the listing is first taken. Copies of the completed notice will be made available to those looking at your property.

Lead-based paint disclosure
If your property was built before 1978, federal law requires that before a buyer is obligated under a contract to buy the property, the seller shall: 1) provide the buyer with a lead hazard information pamphlet (as prescribed by EPA); 2) disclose the presence of any known lead-based paint or hazard; 3) provide the buyer with a lead hazard evaluation report or records available to the seller; and 4) permit the buyer to conduct a risk assessment or inspection for the presence of lead-based paint or hazards. A contract for the sale of property built before 1978 must contain a statutorily prescribed Lead Warning Statement to the buyer. Your Red Door agent will provide you with the forms necessary to comply with the law and will suggest procedures to follow in order to comply.

Accepting the offer
Once you and the buyer agree on terms and sign the contract, the buyer will generally have to find a lender and apply for a loan. Your Red Door agent may monitor the loan process, which could last several weeks. During this time, your agent will also be busy coordinating other arrangements to prepare for the final sale.

Title search
As part of the process, the title company may order a survey of your property and research the title to your home, making sure the chain of title is clear. Clearing the title may require paying off liens--that is, any monetary claims against your property. Examples are: mechanic's liens, unpaid state and federal tax liens, court judgments, and probate considerations (if a co-owner has died). The product of the title search can be in the form of title insurance, abstract of title, or certificate of title, depending on what is commonly used in your area.

Inspection and repairs
A buyer may hire an inspector to review many items in the property such as the structural components, mechanical items, electrical systems, and plumbing systems. The inspector will report to the buyer the items that the inspector finds to be in need of repair. Most likely, the buyer will provide a copy of the inspection report to you and may ask you to complete certain repairs. Don’t be surprised if the inspection notes some items in need of repair. An inspector is trained to see items and defects that are not obvious to you and your agent. No matter how new or well-maintained a home is, an inspector may find some items in need of repair.

Closing the deal

Closing the deal
The sale formally ends at the closing table. In most transactions, the closing lasts less than an hour and often occurs at the title company office. Your Red Door agent and the buyer's agent may be present. A title company officer or escrow agent will preside. Be sure to bring your driver's license to the closing (DPS identification cards and passports are also acceptable).

Basic documents
The sale actually consists of two transactions: 1) transferring the property to the buyer, and 2) paying off the existing mortgage on your home (or allowing the buyer to assume your mortgage). To transfer the property, the title company will present documents proving that you have the title. Proceeds of the sale may be disbursed at closing or shortly thereafter, once all the paperwork and verifications have been processed. When you give your house key to the new owners, the sale is complete.

What is the Difference Between Market Value, Appraised

Value & Tax Value?

Values directly related to homes are referred to in several different

ways that can be confusing to a buyer or seller. Besides market value

-- homes are also described by their appraised value, their assessed

value and by values calculated using automated-valuation models.

Market value is defined as the price at which a house will sell within

a reasonable period of time. It is the price at which a buyer is willing

to buy and a seller is willing to sell. Buyers and sellers determine

market value!

Appraised value is the true market value of a property, so that the

lender can make an informed decision when providing a loan. That is

typically accomplished by using recent sales of comparable homes in

the area, along with a physical inspection of the house and

neighborhood, to deduce market value. The mere fact that a buyer is

willing to pay more or less does not necessarily, by itself, establish the

true market value of the home.

That brings us to the most confusing value of all:

Tax value. Ideally, assessed tax value should be the same as market

value. Typically, however, it is not. Tax assessors are required to

determine the value of properties in their jurisdictions each year; they

are not required to adjust the assessed value of those properties to

reflect market value. In real estate, we generally don’t look at

accessed value, as these values usually don’t give us an accurate

picture of the market today.

Why You Need a REALTOR®

The first factor to consider is the difference between a REALTOR and a Real Estate Agent.

The word “REALTOR” can only be used by professionals who are members of The National

Association of REALTORs (and locally, the Houston Association of REALTORs).

In order to be a member, an agent must agree to abide by a strict code of ethics based on

values of competency, fairness, and high integrity.

An agent who has become a REALTOR has committed to a higher standard of service and

professionalism.

What a REALTOR will do for you

Financing. A Professional REALTOR knows a lot about the different kinds of financing

options available to you. He or she also has experience working with many lenders in the

Houston area and can direct you to someone who has a home loan that is right for you.

Finding. Once you know how much you can and want to invest, the fun begins. Your

REALTOR has many resources to help you conduct a thorough search.

Deciding. Making a final selection is an exciting and emotional decision. Your REALTOR

can help you by providing objective information about each property including zoning, the

quality of local schools or whether or not your selection will be a good investment.

Negotiation. Many details will need to be negotiated in the contract including price,

financing, terms, date of possession, the inclusion or exclusion of repairs and furnishings or

equipment. The purchase agreement should also provide enough time for you to complete

inspections and investigations of the property before you are bound to complete the purchase.

Your agent can advise you as to which investigations and inspections are recommended or

required.

Due Diligence. With a negotiated agreement in hand, it is time to complete the evaluation

of the property. The area will determine the type of inspection(s) you will need. Your

REALTOR can assist you in finding qualified responsible professionals to do most of these

recommended investigations and provide you with a written report. You will also want to see

a preliminary report on the title of the property. Title indicates ownership of property and

can involve confusing status of past owners and rights of access. The title to most properties

will have some limitations; for example easements (access rights) for utilities. Your

REALTOR can help you resolve issues that might cause problems at a later date.

Closing. Finally there is the closing or settlement. Generally, you will meet with your

REALTOR, your lender or attorney to finalize your contract. Your REALTOR will see you

through this last stage, when the papers a signed and keys are in your hand.

Buying a home is a major decision in your life. Before you begin, find a professional you

can trust. Your REALTOR will be an important advisor during one of the most personal

and exciting experiences of your life. It is OK to be very careful about choosing someone

you feel comfortable with.