Posts Tagged ‘west windsor homes’

This month’s newsletter features articles on:

Navigating Choppy Real Estate Waters

Over the past couple of years, you may have heard of homeowners being “underwater” or “upside down” in their mortgages.  These terms refer to negative equity, when borrowers owe more on their mortgages than they are worth.

The Epicurean Center

What’s the recipe for a fabulous, functional kitchen?  This question is key whether you’re buying a new home, renovating your current one to make it more apealing to potential buyers, or enhancing it for your own enjoyment.

Avoiding Rejection

Few things are more heartbreaking than finding the perfect home for you, but then getting turned down for a mortgage.  By knowing some of the common reasons lenders reject otherwise qualified applicants, you can be proactive in avoiding them.

Buying or “Just Looking”?

Is your home on the market?  If so, it is important you know with whom you’re dealing as far as potential buyers are concerned.  Some types of buyers are less desirable than others….

Planting Perks

While the finished product is something to admire, the actual process of gardening offers may benefits to those willing to take the time to get down and dirty.

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This month’s newsletter features articles on:

Deal or No Deal?

The number of vacant properties in the US rose to 18.8 million last year.  With the range of properties available for immediate occupancy, many at reduced prices, good reason suggests that the purchase of a vacant property should be a ”good deal”.  But is it?

Clearing the Air

Your home is supposed to be a respite from the outside world.  But, surprisingly, when it comes to air quality, you’re often bettter off outside your home than in it.  To improve your home’s air quality, consider these tips.

Avoid Overpaying

Anyone who’s in the market for a new home is prepared to spend a lot of money.  But, of course, nobody wants to spend too much.  For tips to help you avoid overpaying for your next home, keep reading.

Your “Not To Do” List

Sometimes it’s a home’s condition or location that turns buyers away.  But, on occasion, it’s the very sellers themselves who put buyers off.  Don’t sabotage your own home sale:  Here’s a list of things NOT to do!

Top Priority

Spring is a popular time for making home improvements.  If you’re like many homeowners, you probably have a list of projects you need done.  But, with which do you start?

Read May’s Newsletter here

Marketing is one of the biggest parts of our job. A good marketing plan will bring many able buyers to the table, and get you top dollar for your home. If your home isn’t marketed properly, it may sit on the market much longer than it has to. We are aware that one of the ways people rate the performance of their agent is by how much marketing they have done, and how quickly their home has sold. A good marketing plan is essential to selling a home quickly, and getting the highest price. We want to do the best job possible for you, so we have developed the following marketing plan:

Each of these advertising methods is used for every listing we take.
1. Yard Sign: A colorful, eye-catching yard sign is placed on a post in your front yard to attract the attention of people passing by. The sign has the name and phone number of the listing agent.

2. Brochures: A colorful created is created with a picture of your home and all the pertinent details and amenities. We deliver a supply of these to you, so that you may give them to friends, family, and co-workers..

3. Newspaper Ads: We place ads in 3 papers – The Town Topics, The Princeton Packet and Trenton Times. This is dependent on the location of your home.. The ad will have a description of your and our contact information to find out more.

4. Direct Marketing: A full-color postcard is mailed to all your neighbors announcing that your home has just been listed for sale, and asking if they know of any interested buyers. Many people like to live close to friends and family, so if they find out your home is for sale, they may mention it to a friend or family member who is looking to move.

5. MLS (Multiple Listing Service): We have the ability to place your listing in
the Mercer County, Middlesex or Somerset MLS System. Your home is listed in this computer database with pictures and all the important details. Every Realtor in the area has access to this system, and when an agent is beginning a search for their client who is looking to buy, they start here. We offer a co-op incentive to any agent who brings the successful buyer, that is, we offer in this system to share our commission with the agent who represents the buyer that buys your home. This gives the agents a reason to show your home to their clients.

6. Office Caravan: Our entire office will stop by your house (on Tuesday) to familiarize themselves with all the great features of your home so that they are knowledgeable when a call comes into the office. We could have buyers immediately with a network of over 12,000 Weichert agents, our relocation division or referral network.

7. Broker Open: We hold a brokers open the first week after you put your home on the market. This is held from 11-1, and opens the home to all agents from the area to get a preview of the house – thus gaining even more exposure.

8. Weichert.com & Homesofprinceton.com
Your home will appear in these sites which will strongly increase your exposure.
Weichert’s vast marketing program includes being a sponsor in the major search engines – which will increase the likelihood of getting interested buyers.

9. IDX (Internet Data Exchange): We participate in the IDX. What this means for you is when your home is listed on the MLS, we select the option to also allow it to be displayed on the internet. Now, every other agent’s website that provides MLS search capabilities to its users will also display yours. For example, if a buyers is visiting an agent’s site and enters search criteria that fits your home, yours will be among the results of their search. This option increases your exposure even further.

10. Realtor.com: Your home is listed with a picture on Realtor.com, the most visited site by buyers searching for their next home. More and more buyers are starting their new home searches on the internet today, so it is important that we take advantage of this, and create a strong presence there.

11. E-Mail Flyers: We create an e-mail flyer with a description and pictures of your home. Then, we send it to every Realtor in town, again letting them know that your home is available if they have any interested clients.

12. Open House Program: Weichert’s successful open house program allows potential buyers to browse your home. Every Sunday or even Saturday (at your request) from 1-4, we will be present to show potential buyers through the house. Everyone is required to sign in with their name, address and phone number so that we can follow up to accelerate the buying process. Our big bright yellow signs attract a lot of drive-by traffic. Open houses have a huge success in bringing in offers resulting in sales.

All of these methods are put into action simultaneously. We don’t try one or two methods, and see what happens, adding more if they don’t work. We know that to attract as many buyers as possible, which will get you the best deal for your home, we need to advertise aggressively, so we enlist every method above to sell your home.

The following is a basic breakdown of the steps involved in the sale process, from start to finish. It is intended to give you a general idea of what to expect along the way. As every transaction progresses a little differently, your agent will help guide you through the intricacies involved in this process.

Please contact us with any specific questions you may have.

• Choose a professional agent and sign a contract
• Speak with a lender and become pre-approved for a loan
• Prepare for your purchase by repairing any credit/financial problems
• Work with your agent to find homes that meet your criteria
• View potential candidates for your next home
• Submit an offer to purchase the home
• Negotiate and/or have your offer accepted
• Start packing and make moving arrangements
• Escrow is opened with a title company
• Necessary inspections and an appraisal is conducted
• Sign loan and closing documents at escrow office
• Deposit closing funds with escrow office
• Receive keys and remotes
• Move into your new home
• Title is transferred and recorded