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3 Mistakes Sellers Make When Selling Their Home

3 Mistakes Sellers Make When Selling Their Home

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The real estate market has been improving throughout the United States. This means many homeowners are feeling motivated to sell their home. Some homeowners feel pressure to sell their home quickly for fear the market will change. The rush to sell a home causes many homeowners to make mistakes. If you are one of these people, take a deep breath and make sure you avoid making the mistakes listed below.

Mis-Pricing Your Home – This happens more often than you think. You are in a rush so you either underprice the house hoping it will sell quickly or over-price to leave room for negotiation. The best way to avoid this is to learn the true market value of your home. A real estate professional will guide you through the process and keep your best interest in mind during negotiations.
Mis-Timing the Sale – Your rush to sell your house can cost you thousands in taxes. To avoid this expensive decision, learn your tax break options. Seek the assistance of an accountant. Discuss your desire to sell your home and the time frame you prefer. Find out if it’s good timing when it comes to taxes. If not, discuss the right timing that would benefit you most. Do your best to stay within the time frame. Discussing this with your real estate professional will give you more of a chance to meeting your goal and time frame.
Not Hiring a Professional – Some homeowners take the sale of their home into their own hands. A simple sign in the yard and good negotiating skills is great, but you need the help of a professional. Sellers that try it on their own often take longer to sell their home than those who use a real estate professional.

Another important mistake that homeowners make is not repairing damaged or broken things within the house. This doesn’t mean purchase new furniture or fix the chip in the vase. But, it does mean repair damages to the floor and walls, repair plumbing and electric issues plus replace any items that look old and rusty.
The common mistakes listed above cause homeowners to lose money quickly. Avoid making the mistakes above by being prepared, not rushing the process and doing your homework when it comes to market pricing. Remember, your best tool for a successful transaction and experience is a real estate professional. Don’t be shy, get started today by making an appointment.
 

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There is No Competition with God

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The church is a place for everyone to go and seek salvation and peace. It is the responsibility of each church to maintain morals and values when speaking to their existing and new members. Churches should work together in harmony to spread the word of God. Unfortunately, some churches have become competitive and greedy when it comes to recruiting new members.
This situation has come to the surprise of many churches throughout South Florida and beyond. It is understandable that a church can only exist if it has members that attend regularly. However, it doesn’t mean that false promises and over the top presentations should become part of the service.
The word of God is sacred and should be shared among everyone who wants to listen. It doesn’t matter which church the person attends. Creating competition between churches has evolved into cut-throat actions. Some churches have become so desperate to attract and keep new members they have gone to extremes with their service. Adding unnecessary drama, loud music and concert like venues are changing the way people choose a church to attend.
For example, a family with children might search for a church that will capture the attention of their teenager. A church with loud music in a rock concert like setting would suit the teenager. However, is the word of God really getting through to the teen?
This new age extreme way of attracting new members has become a competition of who can do it bigger and better. Recently, a devout Christian couple was looking for a new place to worship. They heard amazing things about a specific church. On Sunday they arrived at church early to introduce themselves to other members and get to know the people better. Unfortunately, they were met with mediocre greetings and members that were uninterested in hearing their testimony. This made the couple feel discouraged. But they powered through and looked forward to the service and hearing the word of God.
The couple was astonished when the service started with loud music, smoke machines and more. They were barely able to understand the lyrics and soon realized the sermon was the loud music. They left disappointed and never returned again.
It is important and essential to find a happy medium of providing members with a pleasant experience as well as presenting the word of God in a respectful way. The competition between churches that are trying to be bigger and better than the next needs to be re-evaluated. There has to be a respectful way to meet the needs of members and attract new members in a positive way.

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The Art of Forgiveness

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Matthew 18: 21-22 – “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? “Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Has a family member, friend, co-worker or stranger offended you or did something wrong to hurt you? There are many variations of ways that people hurt others. Sometimes the person does it intentionally and other times it’s by accident.
Today, let’s focus on family members, friends, and co-workers. For example, the holiday season just ended and surely one of your relatives said or did the wrong thing during your holiday gatherings that offended you or hurt you. You might not want to forgive the person because what they did was intentional and just plain awful. Your emotions and reaction to the situation are most likely still on high.
Let’s take a moment to take a deep breath and get a clear picture of the situation. Try to understand the person that hurt you. Look at their life, try to find the motivation behind their actions. Most of the time it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them.
For example, an insecure family member, friend or co-worker can place their focus on bringing others around them down to their level of insecurity. They often do this by saying things to others that embarrass you or hurt you. Some people can become so insecure that they plan elaborate situations just to make everyone around them feel just as miserable as they are feeling.
Matthew 6:14-15 – “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
 
As a Christian, you are encouraged to forgive those who sin against you. Taking the time to understand the person who hurt you will help you gain perspective on the situation. Soon, you will realize the issue didn’t have anything to do with you. In this case, it will be a waste of time and energy to walk around angry at this person. A clear perspective will also make it easier to forgive them for what they did.
It’s not always easy to forgive others when they have intentionally hurt you so deeply. The good news is, as a Christian, you have resources that will help guide you to forgiveness. If you are having a difficult time forgiving others refer to your bible and seek a meaningful conversation with a fellow Christian.
 

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Social Media Best Practices

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Business owners are realizing that social media is one of the best marketing tools available today. Most social media sites have free enrollment and posting, which is a huge advantage to small businesses that have a low budget for marketing purposes. Most likely you already have social media accounts, if not you should sign up for Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Snapchat immediately. The following social media practices will help you take full advantage of platforms.

Brand Your Social Media Pages – Use your logo and identical color themes on all social media pages. The branding helps consumers recognize your business throughout all platforms. The familiarity also makes a consumer feel comfortable and safe using your services or products.
Set Goals – Social media platforms should be used with specific goals in mind. You might want to promote a specific product, expose current news in your industry or advertise a sale. A goal of attracting customers or bringing focus to other industry related information will give your social media work a purpose. It’s important to create authentic posts in addition to sharing information.
Choose Quality over Quantity – Have you ever seen a business repeat the same information online? Avoid saying the same thing over and over again. Post well thought out posts on a regular basis. Posting at least 3 times per week is recommended. The quality of the posts is more important than the quantity.
Research the Competition – Every business has competitors. To learn more about your industry and social media, check out the competitors. Visit their online social media sites and research how many followers they have on each platform. If they have a large amount of followers on a specific platform compared to the others, changes are your audience prefers that specific platform as well. Put it to the test and sign up for that platform.
Use YouTube – Business owners often shy away from YouTube because they think it’s a “just for fun” site. It is actually a highly-recommended site for businesses. You create your own channel and post videos related to your business services and products. Social media studies have revealed that YouTube is the most visited social media site due to its engaging videos.

Social media has made it easier for businesses to market and network their business. The sites offer free accounts and some offer additional advertising for an additional fee. Take your business to the next level by taking advantage of social media outlets. The benefits will surprise you and the exposure you receive has the potential to go worldwide. Get started today!
 

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Should You Hire A Real Estate Agent?

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Buying or Selling a home? You probably have many questions about the process. Potential buyers and homeowners sometimes try to handle the transaction on their own. Unfortunately, they end up costing themselves thousands of dollars or worse. Recruiting the assistance of a real estate professional has a variety of important benefits. If you are considering hiring a real estate agent, you will be interested in the details listed below.

Market Conditions – A real estate agent has confirmed information regarding market conditions. This allows them to guide you to the best price option. If you were to sell or purchase a home on your own, chances are you can get cheated out of thousands of dollars.
Negotiation Skills – You might have the best negotiation skills in your industry. However, a real estate agent is more familiar with negotiating in the market and can get you an excellent deal. They also have the added benefit of removing themselves emotionally from the situation and focusing on the best deal. Sometimes sellers or buyers take negotiating too personal which causes them to miss out on a great opportunity.
Knowledge of the Neighborhood – Real estate agents takes pride in knowing the neighborhood and surrounding areas. You might be able to take a drive around the neighborhood a few times before making a purchase. But a real estate agent will notify you of the pros and cons in the area that you might not be aware of.
Guidance – The real estate market is complex. As a seller or buyer, you will have plenty of questions that a real estate agent can answer. They can also provide guidance and lead you to the best option for you and your family. If you were to sell or buy on your own, many of these questions will go unanswered.

Buyers and sellers that have gone through the process on their own have often reported difficulty. They later realize they lost money, time and ended up in a situation they would have rather avoided. Most wish they would have hired a real estate professional to assist them through the very stressful process.
If you have never worked with a real estate agent, you might feel concerned. But you don’t have to be. A real estate agent is there to help you and find the best deal for you. Remember, they build their career by providing excellent service. The guidance, professionalism, and assistance of a real estate agent are essential to a successful real estate transaction. Make an appointment today to learn your options and get started on your journey in the real estate market.
 

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