Live Chat , Update, Tips

Posted by urbandigs

Mon Feb 4th, 2008 10:27 AM

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In case you didn't notice, I reinstalled the live chat in the right side of urbandigs.com. I'll start doing the chat again daily from 10:00AM to about 11:00AM, or as time allows it. When I'm working, I'll leave the chat online in case anyone wants to talk briefly.

Also, I apologize for light postings past few business days, as I'm very busy right now. Once I get bids in for clients, searches done for new buyers, and appointments all set up I'll work on some new content and views on both the market here and macro updates. All in all, it seems the market here is active which leads me offer a few pieces of advice for both buyers & sellers:

FOR BUYERS:

Analyze your OWN, UNIQUE situation when deciding whether to buy or not. Try not to get caught up in headlines. If you can afford to buy, have the liquid assets waiting to be put to work, have a 4+ year timeline to own, and are happy with your job security and salary, then follow these easy steps so that the resale-ability of the product you will buy is maximized:

a) LIGHT/VIEWS
b) LOCATION
c) RAW SPACE
d) MONTHLY'S

Visit at least 7-8 properties in your price point so that you become familiar with property size, layouts, property condition, what is considered good light/views, etc.. Become a mini expert on your price point; understand how monthly costs should affect affordability of the purchase price on the open market. When a product comes on the market or becomes priced right both for you & the open market, go for it. Analyze building and neighborhood comps, focusing on the building comps more heavily, and devise a bidding strategy to increase chances of 'hitting' your desired # in the end!

FOR SELLERS:

Depending on your motivation to sell, focus on these two things first:

a) PRICING
b) MARKETING

Doug Heddings points out the importance of product quality, which is so important at resale, but in this case you already own your home so there is nothing you can do to change it. So, after pricing & marketing, you may want to dabble with low cost staging and/or renovations to get your property into tip top showing condition!

Psychology IS important to buyers! As they browse through your home, they try to envision if it will work for them. As they go into deep thought and envisioning, they start adding up what work will be needed to the property. More times than not buyers try to deduct these expenses from the purchase price. It's only in cases of aggressive pricing & packed open houses that this train of through becomes less of a factor.

Here are some quick tips:

1) remove your personal/family pictures wherever possible; remove the YOU element of the property so that you don't disrupt the buyers' train of thought as they envision their family in the apartment

2) floors? Refinishing your floors is a low cost and very high reaction type of renovation! For $2.25 - $2.50/sft, Marc at FloorworksNY can add life to your worn out floor; I'll vouch for his services and used him twice myself. As buyers walk into an apartment with a dull floor, they immediately think of replacing the floor and the high cost of that expense; aprox $15/sft! If the floor is sanded, stained, and poly'd and shines right into the buyers' faces as they enter the apartment, this expensive thought suddenly disappears!

3) try to show at sunniest times

4) staging; anti-clutter the apartment and re-arrange some furniture if need be to make the layout flow properly to maximize viewable usable space. Buyers like to see a large apartment, not a cluttered one that makes it appear smaller.

5) clean; such a simple thing yet I can't begin to tell you how many disgusting apartments I take buyers to. If the place was clean, the buyer wouldn't walk around the property with a grunt on their face the entire time.

6) quote accurate square footage; lying will get the buyers hopes up as they view the property online and disappoint them when they come to see it. A disappointed buyer is a buyer who doesn't submit a bid; and if they do, it's likely to be on the low side.

As to moving the property, obviously with a higher motivation to sell pricing becomes way more important. If you truly price right, you should get buyers into your open houses and hopefully a few bites within the first 3-4 weeks. If you aren't getting any traffic, re-analyze pricing and ask your broker how the property is being marketed weekly?

Good Luck to all!