Selling A Home in Connecticut

It’s no surprise that HOMES SOLD BY REAL ESTATE AGENTS, SELL FASTER, MORE EASILY, AND FOR MORE MONEY.

To help prepare you for the home selling process here are a variety of topics related to selling a home in Connecticut:

• The Role of Your Agent
• When to Contact an Agent
• How Long it Takes to Sell
• Pricing Your Home
• Putting Your Home's Best Foot Forward
• Investing in Repairs or Renovations
• Finding Buyers
• Closing the Sale

Your Real Estate Professional with Coldwell Banker Newtown, CT

Kathy Suhoza knows how to sell homes in Connecticut! Successful home sales balance four key components: the market, price, condition of the house, and exposure.   With a background in Economics and years of experience selling homes in Newtown, CT and the surrounding areas, Kathy Suhoza knows about market trends and the other homes for sale in your neighborhood.  She is well equipped to custom market your home and strategically position it in current market conditions to close a sale for the most money in the least amount of time. Kathy will use creative marketing tools to emphasize your home’s unique qualities.  Your Real Estate Broker:

• Has a Fiduciary responsibility in seller representation
• Has contacts and access to people who are most likely to buy your home
• Is trained in areas like pre-qualifying potential buyers and negotiating with them
• Will expertly market, list, manage and sell your property in the MLS & many search engines, so anyone worldwide can find it
• Is always "on-call"—Kathy is reachable and available to her clients anytime.

EXPERIENCE-KNOWLEDGE-COMPETENCE-COMFORT-CONFIDENCE-TRUST

• Competence: Kathy Suhoza has a portfolio of credentials, past achievements, sales volume and letters of recommendation for over 2 decades. Kathy's experience is relevant to your needs.
• Comfort:  It is import that you are comfortable and trust your agent as a person cannot be overstated. You're going to be dealing with this individual on a regular basis for months, during a stressful time. Kathy Suhoza will share the responsibility, tension, anticipation, frustration and ultimately joy of selling your house.

You're Ready to Sell Your Home, Now What?

You should contact Kathy Suhoza as soon as you decide to list your home for sale.  There are always buyers looking and the agent is your bridge to those buyers. While the number of buyers remains relatively constant, they tend to act when a new property with high value comes up for sale. Timing is key, and Kathy is able to act quickly.

Many ask when Peak selling season is.  Of course, Spring and Summer, people like to do their house shopping in pleasant weather. However people are moving year-round and not limited to one specific town anymore.  They become more flexible to find 'the right home' and are viewing homes for sale in Newtown CT and many of the surrounding towns in Fairfield & Litchfield Counties.

If you're under no pressure to sell, waiting for particular market conditions is not likely to increase your profit potential. While you’re waiting for conditions to improve, you are continuing to make mortgage payments, insurance payments, HOA payments if applicable, and home repairs. This increases the amount of money you invest in your home while the price of your next home may also be increasing.

How Long It Takes to Sell

Average listing times vary from 14 to 60 days, depending on a variety of factors; seller finding suitable housing, lease fulfillment, agreed closing dates, lender commitments, etc. When your property is first put on the market, creating a perception of value and a sense of urgency will get you the greatest number of showings.

Buyers who look at your property in the first few week or two are typically financially qualified and have been working with a Realtor®. They have been waiting for new inventory to hit the market and have likely seen other properties in the area, and are educated about market prices. Most likely, they have placed offers on homes and were caught in multiple offer situations, pushing them back on the sidelines.

By the third week, the number of showings will drop. From this point, most potential buyers are just entering the market and will not be ready to make a decision for months. They still have to arrange financing and have not seen enough properties. So, your best opportunity is during the initial first week exposure to the market. This is when you’ll have access to the largest pool of buyers, and when properties sell at the highest price.

Buyers pay attention to how long a house has been on the market, and their perceptions change accordingly:

• A house that has been on the market for only two days is a "must see."
• As the days pass, buyers think the seller is anxious and should be willing to negotiate.
• When the property is on the market longer, they wonder why it hasn’t sold and think something might be wrong with it.

Buyer perceptions of value decrease with every day a house is on the market. This is another reason a property will most likely sell at its highest price within its first few days on the market.

Pricing your home

Your home is only worth what a buyer in the current market is willing to pay; in other words, fair market value. This is the highest price an informed buyer will pay, assuming there is no unusual pressure to complete the purchase. It is usually not the asking price.

You will know if your home is priced right by the number of showings:

• If a property is overpriced, buyers and agents will notice it when it hits the market, but there won’t be a perception of value. Therefore there will be no showings or offers.
• If a property is priced close to buyers’ perception of current value, there may be some showings, and possibly an offer below the asking price. Without competition and a sense of urgency, there is no need for a buyer to offer the asking price.
• If the property is priced a little below buyers’ perception of value, it becomes a hot property. There will be numerous showings, multiple offers, and possibly a bidding war. By setting the price a little below buyers’ expectations, the seller simulates the conditions found in an appreciating market, and ultimately sells more quickly and possibly for more than the asking price.

As your experienced realtor, Kathy Suhoza will watch the market and determine how your property stands out against the competition. Kathy will make work with you to position your property at a price to drive traffic to it and create the best conditions for more than one offer. This is why they recommend asking prices (starting bids) based on recent listings and selling prices of houses in your neighborhood.

Depending on Current Market Conditions, Some buyers leave room for negotiation when they make an offer. Thus, a certain degree of flexibility is called for on the part of the buyer and seller. While it is ultimately your decision to accept or reject an offer, or present a counter-proposal, Kathy will be of great assistance during the negotiating process. As negotiations proceed, Kathy will inform you of your options in responding to each offer.

To get an estimate of fair market value, plus details on recently sold homes, contact KATHY SUHOZA for a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) of your house. This service is free of charge, with no obligation. KATHY.SUHOZA@CBMOVES.COM 

Putting Your Home's Best Foot Forward

Unless your house is nearly new, chances are you'll want to do some work to get it ready to sell. What type and how much work depends largely on the price you're asking, the time you have to sell, and of course, the present condition of your home. Kathy Suhoza will tour your home with you and go over the items that should be addressed to attract the buyers for a swift sale.

As a general rule, stick to light, neutral colors. Keep your yard and all rooms free of clutter. Remember, when a buyer looks at a house, he or she is trying to imagine living there. Create as clean a canvas as possible. Here are a few low-cost ways to present your home in the best light:

• "Curb appeal" is most important to draw the buyer in and give the first impression to get them in the front door. Keep two key words in mind: neat and neutral. New paint, an immaculate lawn, picture-perfect shrubbery, a newly sealed driveway, potted plants at the front door…put them all together, and drive-by shoppers will probably want to see the rest of the house.
• People may look behind closet and crawl space doors, as well as those to the bedrooms and bathrooms. So get rid of all clutter; have that garage sale and haul away the leftovers.
• After you've cleaned, try to correct any cosmetic flaws you notice Paint rooms that need it, re-grout tile walls and floors, remove or replace worn-out carpets. Replace dated faucets, light fixtures and handles on your kitchen drawers and cabinets. Paint goes along way.
• Clear as much from your walls, shelves and countertops as you can. Give your prospects plenty of room to dream.
• PURGE PURGE PURGE, CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN.
• A Mr. Clean eraser is the best tool to use on all woodwork and light switches.
• Buyer's use all their senses. Sight, Smell, Touch. All are important to address prior to showing a home. Clean the cat box, wash the dog bed, clean the door knobs and switches.

Discuss with Kathy and Depending on the Market,

Certain higher-cost home improvements have proved to add value and/or speed the sale of houses. These include:

• Adding central air conditioning to the heating system
• Building a deck or patio
• Finishing a basement
• Doing some kitchen remodeling
• Adding new floor and/or wall coverings, especially in bathrooms

For more information on getting your home ready to show, take a look at our Home Selling Checklist.

Investing in Repairs and Renovations

If you are about to start a project in getting the house ready for sale, you might want initially contact Kathy Suhoza to review the viability of recouping the cost of any major renovations. She will evaluate the repairs needed and what can be done to sell for the least amount for you to outlay.

Kathy Suhoza can provide you with a list of professionals to assist in getting your home ready for market; Heating contractors, plumbers, electricians, handyman, etc. It can be advantageous to bring them in prior to going on market so the buyers will know that you have lovingly maintained and cared for the home. It reduces the "red flags" during a buyer's inspection which can reveal major problems with your home's structure or mechanical systems. These health and safety issues can be negotiated to have them fixed properly. Sometimes, repairs may be required before the transfer of title takes place. If a buyer finds a long list of items at the inspections, they are likely to get 'scared off' and walk from the deal. This creates a waste of time and a list of items you will still have to address with no buyer.

You may have also heard about lawsuits involving sellers who failed to disclose problems before the sale, such as an addition to the house that wasn't built to code or the presence of lead-based paint. Most states maintain very specific disclosure laws and require sellers to provide buyers with a completed and signed Property Condition Disclosure Form. Consult your Coldwell Banker agent for details.

Finding Buyers

Our agents will list your home in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), a system that reaches millions of buyers around the world. The system enables brokers to share commission on the sale of houses. For example, if you list your home with one broker and another broker actually sells it, he or she shares the commission. The advantage to you is clear: More brokers have an interest in selling your home.

Fewer than 5% of buyers actually purchase the first house they call an agent about. So our agents will design advertising to "find the buyer" with eye-catching professional photos, videos and professionally written descriptions. Depending on the property,  floor plan layouts and drones can be available. Kathy also has multiple channels—online, print, radio, TV, social media and direct mail.

As another valuable part of the marketing process, if you choose, Kathy can offer open houses to prospective buyers who want a low-pressure, "browsing" atmosphere. You shouldn't expect it to generate a sale, at least not directly. What you can expect is increased showings of your home. The key to marketing your home is EXPOSURE.

You and your pets should definitely plan to be out of the house during any showing or open house. People often feel uncomfortable speaking candidly and asking questions in front of current owners. You want them to feel as free as possible to picture your home as their own.

Closing the Sale

Every step of the selling process, Kathy Suhoza will be extremely helpful.  From the very beginning to after the sale, Kathy helps you step-by-step through the entire process and what will be expected of you. Kathy will make sure you have all necessary documents and other information for a smooth successful close.

Once the attorneys transfer all of the signed documents and monies, the home is sold. Congratulations! Now you can Move forward toward your next adventure!

Kathy Suhoza will help make the experience of selling your home as smooth and easy as possible. Even if you're not ready to list your home and simply have questions about the local market, price or mortgage trends, contact Kathy Suhoza, 203-994-2731.