Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Selling a Home

 

The Boehmer Team assists home sellers across the St. Charles County and St. Louis metro area to make the most of their home sale. We like to educate our clients on pitfalls to avoid during the home selling process. Here’s a list we’ve put together of common home selling pitfalls we’ve seen an advised our sellers to avoid.

 

Selling It Yourself

There is tons of data showing that the typical “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO) route is not the best path. Think you’re saving yourself from paying a commission to an agent? True, but you’re likely missing the chance to make a lot more money. Unless you’re an expert at home marketing, know how to set the best price for the market, enjoy detailed contracts and paperwork, have lots of time to show your home and field calls, and are an expert negotiator, then you might have a chance of successfully selling your home yourself. Likely, all of these things don’t apply to you. Hire an a qualified agent and make more money. Currently less than 10% of all sellers sell their home FSBO while 90% use an agent.*

 

Hiring Family or Friends

While it might seem fun to work with a friend or family member to sell you’re home, there’s a few reasons why it isn’t the best idea. Your friend or family member may be lazier complacent and underperform with you because there is less pressure to impress and get future business and/or good reviews. Imagine if things go bad, will you be able to fully express your frustrations and concerns? What would it do to your relationship? Unfortunately, we’ve heard plenty of stories involving ruined relationships due to bad real estate transactions.

Not Interviewing or Researching Your Realtor

Even if a Realtor has years of experience, they may not be the best fit for you. Interview several agents to see if you like their communication style, their local expertise, particular specializations and their home marketing plan. Research the agents to learn about their business history and see customer reviews. Then choose the real estate agent or team that is the best fit for your needs.

 

Waiting for the Right Time to Sell

The right time to sell a home could be anytime. A good Realtor will advise you on what needs to be done to sell your home when you want to sell it. This could include making changes to present your home in it’s best light, or selling your home without changes at a price competitive to similar homes in the market.  A qualified and full time Realtor will be versed in the supply and demand that most affects the sales of homes like yours.

Pricing a Home Too High

We understand the thought to “test the market” with a high price. However, the usual result is the home being on the market for longer than necessary. Do you want to sell the home quickly at a good price or keep paying mortgage payments for months while you slowly lower the price to fair market value?

While there are many home value estimators online, ask a trusted Realtor to provide you with a comparative market analysis for the most accurate valuation of your home including any updates made to it for the best-suggested sale price.

Learn more about the dangers of overpricing here.

Refusing to Make Changes

When selling you want to present your home as best as possible. This includes making any necessary repairs, cleaning, decluttering, and neutralizing the décor to make the home most appealing to the maximum number of buyers. Homebuyers often point to repairs as a reason to offer less money on a home. Also, buyers can be turned off by highly specialized home décor that they will have to change. Be prepared to update your home in ways that will most appeal to buyers.

 

Skimping on Repairs or Hiding Issues

Beware leaving repairs unattended. Even small defects can turn buyers off. If they go through your home and find dirt, loose doorknobs, or leaky faucets, they’ll wonder if you’ve been neglecting bigger issues in the home as well.  In addition, most buyers get a home inspection after you accept their offer. If a major problem with your house comes up during the inspection, it could delay your closing date or even terminate the deal altogether.

Not Using Professional Photos

Most homebuyers will most likely see your home online. Therefor, you want to have the best photos of your home available for online viewers. The photos will indicate to buyers whether they want to tour a home in person or move on to the next home listing.

 

Limiting showings

Once you’ve put your home on the market, there will be requests to tour the home. Try to cooperate when your agent wants to show it. This may mean scampering out at dinnertime for a private showing, vacating for several hours or even most of the day for a weekend open house. The goal is to accommodate as many buyers as possible, even if their timing isn’t necessarily convenient for you.

 

Not Leaving for Home Showings

While you may be curious as to who is interested in your home, sticking around for showings does nothing but make everyone feel awkward. Leave any questions to the agent and allow the buyer room to tour the home without you being present. breathing down their neck. You don’t want to stand in the way of the buyer’s ability to see your house as their dream home.

Not Expecting The Costs of Home Selling

Be prepared for the costs associated with selling a home. A good Realtor knows how to best arrange your home sale with these costs in mind.

• Agent commissions.
  
• Closing costs: usually 1–3% of the home price including sales tax, title transfer fee, and title company closing procedures.
• Professional home staging. If needed, the costs vary depending on where you live, the size of your home, how many rooms you want to stage, whether or not you’ll be renting decor, and different pay structures including an initial consultation and monthly fee. On average, home staging costs around $525–2,000.
• Funds for repairs brought up by the home inspection. Depending on the seriousness of the issues that come up, repairing your house could cost hundreds or thousands. While that doesn’t mean you have to pay to fix it, buyers will expect a discount.
• Moving expenses like hiring movers or rental storage fees can add up too. Be sure to research these costs.

 

Taking a Low Offer Personally

An offer on your home is part of a business transaction and not a reflection of your home, décor or housekeeping abilities. Keep in mind that if the buyers are making an offer, it is because they really like your home. A low offer can be a starting point for negotiating a good counteroffer. A truly interested buyer will likely improve their original offer in negotiations.

 

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If you are considering selling your St. Louis or St. Charles County area home, interview The Boehmer Team. We’re an open book of real estate knowledge that we’re ready to share with our clients. Working with a team is a plus, allowing us to offer superior service, expertise in each area of a transaction, and ensures a qualified agent will always be available for your questions or needs. Learn more about us and our award-winning services at www.TheBoehmerTeam.com. 

 

*Data from Realtor.com

 

Map of the Home Buying Process

Purchasing a home in the St. Louis or St. Charles County area of Missouri, although exciting, can also be challenging. However with the right Realtor(s) and the right information, the process of buying a St. Louis or St. Charles County area home can be easier than you think. We help with everything from financing to home search to home procurement. Below we’ve mapped out the home buying process for you.

 

The Home Buying Process Mapped Out

Pre-Approval
This required process will help determine the price range for your home search, and give you the best position for when you put an offer on a home.

Necessities
Your buyer specialist will discuss with you the features you are looking for including size, style, location, amenities, accessibility to schools and other personal preferences and must-have features.

Home Search
Your buyer specialist will provide you with homes that match your criteria, but you will also have full access to the MLS System through TheBoehmerTeam.com. Register for Property Watch to save your favorite homes, store notes and receive automatic emails of new homes that match your search. Set appointments with your buyer specialist to tour any home that interests you. A qualified buyer specialist will have a variety of resources that are only available to licensed agents and should have access to homes that may not yet be marketed to the public.  They should be actively searching and assisting you with your search for your new home.

Submit an Offer/Negotiations
Negotiations can involve everything from settling on a sales price to concessions and financing. The Boehmer Team agents are trained, expert negotiators whose job it is to represent your interests during the entire real estate transaction.

Purchase & Sale Agreement
Once an offer on a property has been made by a buyer and accepted by the seller, they enter into a legal contract known as a Purchase and Sale Agreement. This document outlines the specific terms and conditions of the transaction and is acknowledged by both parties.

Inspections
Once a buyer and seller reach a mutual agreement on a property, a home inspector is brought in to determine if the home needs any repairs. An inspector will check items, such as the roof, basement, heating system, water heater, air-conditioning system, windows, plumbing, and electrical. Afterwards, buyers may have the opportunity to negotiate with the sellers to cover the costs of certain repairs or to ask for concessions.

Title Insurance/Survey
You will receive a full report detailing the property history for you and your lender to ensure there are no legal discrepancies between a new owner and the property being purchased. If you choose to have a survey performed it would be done at this time.

Final Loan Approval
You should already be pre-approved, but now that you've entered a contract to purchase a home you will be working more in-depth with your lender on your final loan approval. To learn more about this process, pay a visit to our Mortgage Center page on TheBoehmerTeam.com.

Final Walk-Through
Your buyer specialist will accompany you on a walk-through of the property before closing to ensure the home is in as expected condition and any agreed upon repairs have been performed to your satisfaction. This is also the time to double check that all closing details are completed and utility information is prepared for switch over.

Closing
Prior to closing, you'll receive a settlement statement outlining any fees that may apply to you. At closing, all of the paperwork is signed by the buyer and seller - both parties pay any settlement fees and the documents are officially recorded.  After closing is finalized and recorded, the home is yours. Enjoy!

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For our homebuyers, The Boehmer Team has dedicated buyer specialists on our team to assist your every need in the home buying process. Even in a competitive market, we're helping homebuyers make their home ownership dreams a reality. Contact The Boehmer Team to assist you in the home buying process or to request a printable home buying process map.

 

 

Winter Activities in St. Charles County

 

It’s officially the winter season in St. Charles County, Missouri. Despite the cold and short days, we still want to enjoy activities and entertainment. So what is there to do in St. Charles County in the winter? Plenty! We have a large county made up of 17 municipalities filled with parks, rec centers, and entertainment options. While we don’t have room to list them all here, we’ve put together a great list of things to in winter in St. Charles County.

Things to do in Winter in St. Charles County

Note: Click the name of an establishment to go to their website for more info.

Ice Skating

For fun on the ice check out Wentzville Ice Arena in Wentzville, St. Peters Rec-Plex in St. Peters, and All American Sports Complex in St. Peters.

Roller Skating

For roller skating St. Charles County has Great Skate Roller Skating Rink in St. Peters or check out Vetta 70 for their top-notch roller hockey rink also located in St. Peters.

Sledding

The St. Peters Community Park, Blanchette Park , Schaefer Park and Jaycee Park have great hills for sledding.

Rock Climbing

If it’s too cold to climb outdoors, that’s OK, because we’ve got Climb So Ill indoor rock climbing available in the city of St. Charles.

Bowling

Let’s go bowling! One of our favorites is Plaza Lanes Bowling Center & Tubby’s Pub & Grub. Also check out St. Charles Lanes. There’s three options for bowling in St. Peters, MO: Harvest Lanes, Cave Springs Lanes and Bowlero that includes an arcade and billiards. For an unusual bowling option, visit The Corner Bar in old St. Charles that features cocked-hat bowling. This type of bowling uses three regular pins and a candlepin ball (no holes for your fingers).

Movies

There are plenty of great movie theaters for catching a movie in St. Charles County. Catch a flick at: Marcus Theaters St. Charles Cinema 18, AMC Streets of St. Charles 8, Marcus Mid Rivers 14 Cinema, Regal O’Fallon, Wentzville Tower 12, and Marcus Town Square Cinema in Dardenne Prairie.

Arcades, Pinball and More

For a range of indoor activities in one place visit Playtime Arcade and Bar in Wentzville. It features axe throwing, laser tag, mini bowling, a virtual rock wall, indoor playgrounds/inflatables an arcade and bar. Also check out Kokomo Joe’s in St. Peters featuring an arcade, bumbler cars, a trampoline park, laser tag, a laser maze, mini bowling and a café/bar. On Sundays everyone can enjoy a big array of arcade and pinball games at Two Plumbers Brewery and Arcade, the rest of the week is over 21 only. 

Escape Rooms

Want to escape the winter blues? Try an escape room. In St. Charles County there are several options including: Escape on Main located on historic main street in St. Charles, Deadlock Escape, Mastermind Room Escape, and MindBreak Escape in St. Charles, and Unchained STL Escape Rooms in St. Peters.

Casino

For some adult gaming fun St. Charles is host to Ameristar Casino, Resort and Spa. The 130,000-square-foot casino includes a full-service luxury suite hotel, an indoor-outdoor pool, seven dining venues,12 bars, an entertainment venue, and a full-service luxury day spa.

 

Shopping for Real Estate

Of course we had to mention this! If you are hoping to purchase a home in the spring, you’ll want to start the home buying process in the winter to get a leg up on the competition. Same with selling, if you hope to make a spring home sale you need to start preparing for the sale in winter. Contact The Boehmer Team to learn about the home buying and selling process and to get started.

 

 

Find a Home Faster with a Realtor

Homebuyers in the current real estate market, whether in St. Louis, St. Charles County or beyond, are facing more competition as low inventory of available homes for sale persists. Some are getting discouraged at the amount of time and number of tries it can take to find the right home for sale and get a contract accepted. But there is no need to give up on the search for a new home. Working with an experienced Realtor and/or real estate team can make the process easier and faster.  That being said, if you are competing with cash offers and buyers that are willing to waive all of their rights, your agent will help you understand the possible dangers of those decisions.

Learn of Homes For Sale Quicker

Working with a Realtor that provides information on new homes as they hit the market or that are coming soon to market will give you an edge. Realtors, particularly at larger brokerages, know of listings that have yet to hit the market. They also have access to local multiple listing service systems that can often provide updates of homes for sale before they hit the national websites. In a competitive market, this extra time may make the difference in getting your offer submitted and accepted before others find the listing.

A Resource for Community Information

When trying to find a new home in a competitive market, the local area around a home of interest may seem less of a concern than actually procuring the home. This is a good time to have a Realtor in your pocket. Realtors know communities and often have information about the local area like roads, other neighborhoods or commercial properties being built nearby that may be of concern to the home buyer.

Experienced Real Estate Negotiator

When you find the home that’s “the one” it can be easy to allow emotions to get involved in negotiations. Or, you may lack the experience needed to ensure you position your offer to secure the home. As a result, it may take longer to get a deal finalized. Using an experienced Realtor to handle all negotiations will more than likely get things done more efficiently and at a better price than you probably could have negotiated yourself.

Help with Paperwork and Closing

Real estate transactions involve a lot of paperwork and legal forms. If you try to handle this on your own, mistakes could be made that prevent a transaction from being completed or throwing your purchase into chaos at closing. By letting your Realtor take charge of the paperwork and closing, a purchase can be done professionally and accurately. From making sure the title to the property is clear to ensuring the lender has met all deadlines on financing, a Realtor will help create a smoother, faster closing.

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Don’t just trust any Realtor; be sure you have an experienced Buyer’s Agent like those on The Boehmer Team to represent you. If you walk into a home for sale unrepresented and use the Realtor listing the home, their first duty is to their home seller. So contact The Boehmer Team to talk to our dedicated Buyer’s Agents or to get listing updates from our local MLS to see the type of homes you want as they hit the market in real time.

 

5 Outdoor Living Spaces Homebuyers Want And Homeowners Love

With three seasons of outdoor weather, and a waning pandemic keeping us home more, homeowners and those looking for St. Louis real estate desire usable outdoor spaces at home. Expanding your living space into the outdoors makes a home more pleasurable and more valuable to home buyers. We’d like to share what types of outdoor spaces we’re seeing at homes and what homebuyers are currently looking for.

 

Space to Lounge

A designated place to sit and lounge outside of your home is important in today’s housing market. A deck, patio or even paver patio will increase the usability of your home’s outdoor space and can increase the appraised value of the home. There are great new materials available in pavers or you could even use flagstones to create your own patio if you don’t want to pour concrete. Additionally, there are alternative materials to create long-lasting decks with as well.

 

Great use of different materials for an outdoor space.

This stone patio looks posh.

Textured concrete creates a great look.

Space for Dining

There’s something about a table and chairs that makes the outdoors feel homey. Take advantage of the nice weather and enjoy a meal outside. While you can easily find picnic tables or great outdoor dining sets, don’t forget to consider thrift shop finds, or repurposed interior furniture to really bring indoor dining outside. 

 

This spacious deck has plenty of space for dining.

 

Work or dine outdoors for long hours with comfy seating.

 

Bringing indoor furniture into an outdoor space creates a homey feeling.

This vintage sewing machine makes a great outdoor table.

Space for Grilling

Tis the season to grill in the St. Louis area.  Take an evening walk in your neighborhood and you’ll surely smell the smoke of someone grilling. A designated space for a grill that’s at least three feet away from the home provides a safe space to cook outdoors. 

 

As grills get bigger more space for them may be needed.

This built-in grill makes for a more high-end space.

This outdoor fireplace and gathering area can function as a grill or fire pit.

 

Space with Shade

It can get really hot on St. Louis summer afternoons, so if you want to be able to enjoy your outdoor space during these times you’ll definitely value shade. Shade also allows you to see a computer screen if you want to work or be on your tablet or phone outside. Patio umbrellas, awnings, arbors, sails or even large trees can provide shade. Setting up part of your outdoor space in a shaded area will increase your ability to enjoy the outdoors at home.

 

This custom covered porch provides high-end shaded gathering space.

An extended roof overhang provides a shady patio.

Trees and other landscaping can provide a shady lounge area.

A structural arbor ads a bit of shade and great architecture to an outdoor space.

Space for Pets

Are you one of the many people who adopted a pet over the past year? It turns out that the pandemic was great for animal shelters as more people adopted pets than ever. This means more homebuyers than ever are looking for fenced yards for their home. The most popular types of fencing are wood, but with the price of wood going up dramatically it’s worth considering the great vinyl fencing options currently available. You can even have vinyl fencing painted to match your house.

 

Vinyl fencing is a great alternative to wood.

Corrugated metal can be made into stylish fencing.

Wood fencing can be painted to compliment an outdoor space.

Grab some inspiration from the creative fence on the left of this photo.

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These are the types of valuable outdoor spaces homeowners are currently looking for. We hope you’ve found some inspiration for your outdoor space in this article. Or, if you’re looking for a new home with more outdoor space for you and your family, contact The Boehmer Team to help you find the perfect home. We’re here for you and understand the challenges that today’s buyers face as well as how to overcome them.