While April and May are great months to put a home on the market, selling a house in spring is not the only option. The St. Louis area is still a seller’s market, which means buyers are out there all year long waiting for the right home to become available.
Most homeowners have a pretty good idea of where their property ends and their neighbor’s begins. But when it comes to a yard’s exact boundaries in a legal sense, “pretty good” is not good enough. Finding property lines for your house is particularly important when getting ready to sell. Buyers need to know precisely what they are getting—and not getting—along with the house.
Has your house been on the market for a while, but you’re not getting any offers? There are few things more upsetting than not being able to sell a house. This is especially true when trying to coordinate the sale with the purchase of your next home. How long do you wait before you start to worry?
The world of real estate has a language all its own…which can make it difficult for first-time buyers to understand the status of a listing when searching for a home. While a real estate agent can shed light on the differences between pending, under contract, contingent, and other terms encountered during the home buying process, it helps to know a little about them before beginning your search.
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When buying or selling a home, the realtor might mention the “assessed value” of the property. While often used interchangeably with a real estate appraisal, an assessment is not the same thing. One important distinction is that an appraisal estimates the price that a home could sell for. An assessment helps to calculate the property tax amount. Another difference is that an appraisal is performed by a contractor hired by a mortgage lender, while an assessment is done by a government employee from the county or city assessor’s office. In our region, that is either the St. Louis county assessor or the City of St. Louis assessor.
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When a homeowner decides to hire an agent to sell their property, both parties usually sign a contract called a listing agreement. The listing agreement grants a broker legal authority to represent the owner in a real estate transaction. The document lays out important information for the seller, such as agreed-upon terms regarding commission percentages, timelines, and marketing tactics. Having a formal contract is a good thing for both the owner and the agent.
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It’s hard to believe, but the holidays in St. Louis didn’t always involve putting up elaborate decorations and rushing around to find one last gift. In fact, the idea of a Christmas tree didn’t exist in Missouri until the 1830’s, when German immigrants brought small decorated tabletop trees into their Franklin County homes. Instead of the string lights we now wrap around our trees, they put candles on branches for a shimmering touch – similar to the Jewish Festival of Lights. They also introduced simple German traditions like hanging stockings for St. Nick to fill with small toys and fruit, gathering with family to sing carols together, and baking Plätzchen (Christmas cookies) to share with friends.
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One of the first questions people ask related to home selling is “What is my home worth?” Sure, one can quickly get a suggested list price using an online tool. However, an algorithm can only crunch the data a user enters. Because a live person doesn’t review the information, homeowners don’t always have an accurate picture of their home value.
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The pandemic brought about some drastic changes to work, school, and our social lives. And it is still unclear how close to pre-pandemic “normal” we will ever get again. One shift we see is people deciding where to live post-pandemic.
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Putting your house on the market is an exciting experience, especially since St. Louis is a seller’s market. This means your home is a hot commodity. Buyers look for spacious, organized, and clean homes. You’ll want all areas of your home, big and small, clean and organized. Focus on clearing out and refining each area so you can sell to the highest bidder.
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