Saturday, July 4, 2009

How to Make Money on Your Home

Making money on your home is key to many of you. My clients report that they simply would not consider owning a home that they did not make some profit on. The thought of taking a check to closing is repulsive. Here is what I want you to know about making money on your home.

The obvious things about home ownership that make you money...

  • The whole time that you live in a home, if it is your primary residence, you are saving on your taxes. In other words, you can either use your money to pay for a place to call your own that you are buying, or you can pay more taxes.
  • The home ownership experience lends itself to your higher self-esteem. Self-esteem will lead you to making more money in all aspects of your life.
  • The home gives you a place to do all of your handyman experiences on your own dime with your own result of profit, or not.
  • As your mortgage payments are made over the years, your equity stake in the investment in your home, in most cases, will rise and your debt will fall.

But, on to how to make money on your home...

  • Keep your home maintained the whole time that you live there.
  • Keep your home clean and especially clean it well when you are selling it. Clean homes make 3 to 4% more money than dirty homes.
  • Market your home at a high price instead of what your naive neighbors or low-balling agent of the neighborhood recommends. Go with your gut and go high. You will never get a high price if you don't ask for it.
  • Sell your home with a listing company that has low listing commission fees. Most homeowner's profit is used up in selling commissions. You now have alternatives.
  • Sell your home Staged and maybe throw in some furniture.
  • Get every tool available to make your home look its best on the internet. Virtual tours, Staging, Videos and anything else that you can find. The first showing to potential buyers is on the internet. By the time that the buyer comes to your home in person, it is really the second showing.
  • Offer a home warranty in lieu of some of the inspection items. If this is not enough for the buyer, tell them that you will give them 5 service call deductibles to cover future costs.

To make a good deal on the sale of your home, it is imperative to make a good deal when buying it. Use an experienced agent to help you buy. They are a valued resource and cost you nothing. In fact, in my company we split out our commission with our buyer clients for helping us find them the home.

If you are a seller of real estate, view more marketing tips on my website.
http://www.DuffyRealtyofAtlanta.com

If you are a buyer of real estate, I have a whole website that you must see about buying. This is a FREE website made for you. TipsandFormsforBuyers.com If you are a real estate agent I invite you to learn more about how I sell real estate with a FREE 14 part mini-course at http://www.CODRealty.com

From Rhonda Duffy, Real Estate Broker and National Consumer Advocate The Real Estate Powerhouse

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