Selling Home & Garden

10 Steps to Take Before You Sell Your House - Home Selling You are here: About > Home & Garden > Home Buying / Selling > How To Sell a House > 10 Steps to Take Before You Sell Your House - Home Selling Home & Garden Home Buying / Selling Essentials 10 Things Home Buyers Shouldn't Do Best Tips for First Time Home Buyers "Must-Do" Tasks Before You Sell How to Buy a Home, Step by Step For Sale by Owner Advice Articles & Resources How To Buy a Home How To Sell a House Celebrity & Historic Credit Reports & Scores Design & Remodel Home Maintenance Inspections & Appraisals Investing & Foreclosures Modular & Manufactured Mold, Radon, Lead, etc. Mortgage Advice Moving & Relocation Real Estate Careers Real Estate For Sale Vacation Homes Buyer's Guide Before You Buy Top Picks Home Buying Books Foreclosure Books Mortgage Books Product Reviews Forums Help FREE Newsletter Sign Up Now for the Home Buying / Selling newsletter! See Online Courses Search Home Buying / Selling Stay up to date! Email to a friend Print this page More Home Selling Articles Understanding Material Facts and Property Disclosures Get Ready for Your Home Inspection Should You Buy a Home Warranty? More Home Selling Resources How to Read the HUD-1 Settlement Statement Getting the House Ready to Sell How To Measure Your Square Footage Recent Discussions Excellent credit, no savings- help!! Buying an out of state home ? Re-financing... Related Blogs Mortgage Fraud Blog The Real Estate Blog The Money Pit Most Popular Modular and Manufactured Homes Finding Your Best Place to ... Home Buying Don'ts First Time Home Buyer Tips Before You Sell Your Home What's Hot Coping with Unethical People How To Buy Land Real Estate Appraisal Before You Buy a Log Home Package Home Buying / Selling - GuideReviews Related Topics Home Repair Architecture Credit / Debt Management Housekeeping Landscaping 10 Important Steps to Take Before You Sell Your House From Janet Wickell , Your Guide to Home Buying / Selling . FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now! Essential Home Selling Preparations The home selling process differs from state to state, but there are some important steps that most home sellers should take before listing a house with an agent or selling it for sale by owner. Every bit of prep work you do helps you get the most return from your investment. 1. Get Pre-Approved for a Home Loan I've known sellers who signed a contract to sell their house before they knew if they were qualified to buy another. Either their financial circumstances had changed since their last purchase, and they could no longer qualify for a loan, or they weren't able to sell at a price that allowed them to buy the type of replacement house they wanted. They ended up renting or buying something that was far from ideal. Before you decide to sell the house, get pre-approved by a lender you trust and research the housing market in the area where you wish to live so that you have a good idea how much it will take to buy a replacement. Start looking for two types of real estate: houses that seem to match the one you'd like to buy and houses that are similar to your current home. How do the two categories compare in price? Can you handle the difference if you're planning a step up? Mortgage Helpers: Are You Pre-Approved for a Mortgage? And to compare for-sale homes to your own, learn how to Measure Residential Square Footage . 2. Check Your Mortgage Payoff Call your lender to check the payoff for your current home mortgage. You'll need the figure to complete Step 6. 3. Determine How Much Your House Is Worth Determine your home's fair market value. Real estate agents will usually help you determine value as a courtesy, but you might take it a step further and order an appraisal . 4. Estimate Your Costs to Sell Real estate commission if you use an agency to sell. Advertising costs, signs, other fees if you plan to sell by owner. Attorney, closing agent and other professional fees. Excise tax for the sale. Prorated costs for your share of annual expenses, such as property taxes, home owner association fees, and fuel tank rentals. Any other fees typically paid by the seller in your area (surveys, inspections, etc.). Real estate agents deal with transactions every day and can give you a very close estimate of seller closing costs. 5. Estimate Costs to Buy a New Home Calculate moving expenses, loan costs, downpayment, home inspections, title work and title policy, paying for a new hazard insurance policy--all expenses related to buying a home. Your lender should give you a disclosure of estimated costs when you apply for loan pre-approval. 6. Calculate Your Estimated Proceeds Deduct your mortgage payoff from your home's fair market value. Deduct your costs to sell from the remainder to get an estimate of the proceeds you will be paid at closing. Will your closing proceeds cover your costs to buy a new home? If not, do you have cash or other funding to make up the difference? 7. Make Necessary Repairs Make all needed repairs unless you want the house to be regarded as a fixer-upper. I'm not referring to cosmetic updates--just items in need of repair. Anything that's obviously broken gives potential buyers a reason to offer you a lower price, especially if it's one of several repair hot spots that worry buyers the most. 8. Get the House Ready to Show Most houses need at least a little spiffing up before they are shown to potential buyers. Great curb appeal , fresh paint indoors (and sometimes out), organized closets and cabinets, sparkling clean windows and appliances and a clutter-free look are essential if you want the house to appeal to buyers. Be sure to avoid the things buyers hate most about houses. 9. Get Psyched Up to Let People In If you're listing with a real estate agent, she'll ask you to leave when the house is shown. Why? Because lurking sellers make buyers nervous--they don't feel comfortable inspecting the house when they feel they are intruding in your personal space. Unless there's a valid reason for it, don't ask your agent to be present for all showings, because that requirement can be the kiss of death for showing activity. Other agents want privacy with their buyers and they don't usually have time to work around your agent's schedule. Make the house accessible. That means it should always be ready to show. Many agents won't bother showing a house that takes 24 hours to get into. Important disclaimer information about this About site. 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Real Estate Loan

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Rental Property

Las Vegas Real Estate

In Business Las Vegas December 9 - December 15 Current Issue Special Publications Search In Business In Business on TV The List Book of Lists About InBusiness Media Kit Subscribe Contact Us Real Estate and Development Centex takes over Urban Village project By Jennifer Shubinksi / Staff Writer Fresh from paying $146 million for the 15-acre Westward Ho site near the north end of the Strip, Centex Destination Properties has turned its sights to the south with the purchase of Urban Village Las Vegas. Denver-based Centex Destination Properties, a division of the Houston-based Centex Homes, bought the first phase - 13.6 acres - and the original Urban Village Las Vegas concept promoted by Diversified Real Estate Group. The purchase price was not disclosed. Clark County recorder's data does not show any recent sales between the two parties. Centex Destination Properties has the option to purchase the remainder of the 50-acre site at a later date, said C.J. Julin, Centex Destination vice president of market ing. The Urban Village concept will remain largely unchanged from its Diversified beginnings. (Diversified Real Estate Group is owned by Philippe Pageau-Goyette, formerly involved in the under-construction Manhattan Condominiums at Las Vegas Boulevard South and Serene Avenue and who is also involved in the development of condo tower Club Renaissance in downtown Las Vegas.) Urban Village, at the southwest corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Pyle Avenue, will include five neighborhoods with about 2,400 condominium houses in brownstones, high rises, live-work spaces, flats, lofts and condo-hotel units. Also slated for the project will be restaurants, service retailers, a pool complex and fitness center, jogging paths and parks. The first phase of the project will consist of the brownstone portion of the project, Julin said. The architecture will resemble the brownstones of the East Coast, Chicago and Boston areas with an emphasis on brick, Julin said. Reservations for the first phase will begin after the first of the year with construction tentatively scheduled for the spring, Julin said. Price ranges for units were not disclosed. John Restrepo, principal at Las Vegas-based Restrepo Consulting Group, said large companies buying out smaller companies' ideas is not uncommon, whether it's in the high-tech field or in real estate. "Maybe Philippe wants to focus on Club Renaissance and they (Centex Destination Properties) probably gave him an offer he couldn't refuse," Restrepo said. Restrepo said this type of transaction is positive for the market and means the project will probably get built more quickly than if it had stayed with a smaller developer. "It will allow Philippe to focus on his downtown property," Restrepo said. "They are a small company and they can only manage so many projects at one time." Officials with Centex Destination Properties view the Las Vegas market as the place to be right now. "There's nothing like Las Vegas in the world," Julin said. "In Las Vegas, that's the attraction - Las Vegas." Centex Destination Properties entered the Las Vegas market several years ago with its Lake Las Vegas resort communities. It was the positive feedback from that project that in part spurred the company to pursue further opportunities in the valley, Julin said. Centex Homes, a large Las Vegas homebuilder, has built homes in Las Vegas since 1952. Centex Destination Properties has essentially made bookends of Las Vegas Boulevard - with its Urban Village at the south and the Westward Ho at the north. Centex Destination Properties in September, together with Gary Tharaldson, created a limited liability company to acquire the Westward Ho hotel and casino. Details on redevelopment of the site have not been released. Tharaldson was the original financier for Diversified Real Estate Group for the Urban Village Las Vegas concept. Urban Village Las Vegas is helping define Centex Destination Properties' direction, Paul Stashick, president of the West Division of Centex Destination Properties, said in a statement. "We plan to take this concept to addi tional markets and create similar villages that reflect the unique qualities of other cities," Stashick said in the statement. In other news: • Del American, the development company that was sued for changing its pricing structure on the under-construction Vegas Grand, has announced new plans for its previously announced condominium at Flamingo Road and Hugh Hefner Drive, near the Palms. Now called Las Vegas 888 (previously called Las Vegas One), the planned 50-story tower is now in the reservation stage. Condominiums at Las Vegas 888 are priced from $750,000 to more than $10 million. • Wright Engineers is under construction with an office building at Buffalo Drive and Peak to accommodate its expanding workforce. The 16,000-square-foot building will be located next door to its existing building, which will continue to house its structural and engineering departments. The new building will accommodate the company's expanding civil engineering department and surveying division. "The Las Vegas construction market has been unbelievable and we have been fortunate as a company to ride the wave of this phenomenal growth," said Brent Wright, president and chief executive of Wright Engineers. "This additional office will help us to better serve our clients and accommodate our continued growth." The move-in date for the new building, which Wright Engineers has purchased, is July. • Las Vegas-based Slade Development re cently announced its plans for Vantage Lofts, planned for the southwest corner of Gibson Road and Paseo Verde Parkway in Hender son. Vantage Lofts is planned for construction in three phases. Phase one will encompass 110 units and has an expected completion date in the fourth quarter of 2006. Construc tion of phase two is scheduled to begin the second quarter of 2006. Slade Development, which has built and sold custom homes in the past, is the developer and design builder. Metropolitan Realty is the development's broker. The development consists of one-and two-bedroom flats, town homes and two-story lofts ranging in size from 1,000 to 2,600 square feet. The project will be terraced into the hills with glass walls that will give views of the city and the mountains, the developer said. • Sunvest Communities USA LLC bought three Las Vegas apartment properties totaling 836 units for a total cost of $103 million. The company's Las Vegas portfolio already includes the Latigo and Desert Shore Villas properties, both condo conversions. Sunvest bought the 180-unit Southgate, 2615 W. Gary Ave., in Las Vegas from St. James Las Vegas LLC for $21.6 million. The lender is Key Bank National. The company also purchased Traverse Point, a 296-unit property at 45 Maleena Mesa St. in Henderson, from Traverse Point Apartments LLC for $39.96 million. The Lender is JP Morgan Chase Bank NA. It also bought Pinehurst Apartments, 6650 Warm Springs Road in Las Vegas from Pine hurst Apartments LLC for $42 million for 360 units. The lender is JP Morgan Chase Bank NA. Jennifer Shubinski covers real estate and development for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-8832 or by e- mail at js@lasvegassun.com. IBLV Homepage Click here for problems or questions. Read our policy on privacy and cookies. Advertise on Vegas.com. Work for Vegas.com. All contents © 1998 - 2005 Vegas.com The Most Visited Place on Earth