When it’s time to sell, you must be confident that every element of negotiating the best terms and the highest price has been set before your home is even listed.

Start with the resources I’ve provided. There is no charge for this information. This will help get you started in terms of assessing your real estate situation and planning for a stress-free and successful sale.

The real estate market in Southern California is volatile, especially lately, and it takes an experienced professional to move your house quickly, professionally, and profitably.

When you’ve decided to sell, I will be your advocate, your guide, and your fierce negotiator. I will work hard to make yours a great sale.

I look forward to it.

Sincerely,
Kim Pape

 
STAGING YOUR OWN HOME

If you want to try your hand at staging your own home, then here are a few tips to turn your home into a model home.

Cleaning:  The house should be Q-tip clean.  Every surface should sparkle and every groove should be dirt free.  And above all, wash the windows.

Clutter:  Pack up family photos, stacks of paper, medicines on the bathroom counter, the books overflowing the bookcase.  Hide trash cans, ashtrays, the laundry hamper, the kitchen sponge, the cat’s litter box and food dishes.

Color:  Dark walls make the house look smaller.  Walls should be off-white, or have earthy tones if the room has lots of light.  Ideally, the carpet would be “real estate beige”.  Open or take down the curtains, so that rooms will have as much light as possible.  Leave on the lights in darker areas.

Focal Point:  To think like a professional stager, stand at the doorway of each room.  What features do you want to accentuate?  Where’s the focal point?  (A room should have only one.)  So if you have a fireplace and a big-screen TV, take out the TV.  Arrange the furniture so the eye is drawn to the focal point.

Furniture:  Most rooms have too much furniture, which makes rooms look smaller.  Reduce the number of pillows on the couch to zero, or have an odd number, like three.  Remove blankets and reduce the number of paintings on the walls.

Dining Room:  Take out the leaves from your dining table and put no more than four chairs around it.  Set the table as if for a meal, and put an appealing centerpiece in the middle.  Reduce the number of dishes in the china cabinet, leaving only a few.

Kitchen:  The exterior of the refrigerator should be bare.  Store any appliances you don’t use daily out of sight.  Hide the trash can, and put the sponge and soap under the sink.  You can spruce up an outdated kitchen simply by changing the knobs and hinges.

Master Bedroom:  Buy a new bedspread, if necessary.  Clear off bedside tables and chests of drawers.  Hide the alarm clock.  For the closets, pack up any clothing you’re not using this season.  It will make the space look larger.

Bathrooms:  Replace bar soap with liquid.  Coordinate all towels, using one or two colors.  Fold them in thirds and hang them neatly.  Clear everything out of the shower except for one bottle of liquid soap and one bottle of shampoo.  Clean or replace the shower curtain.  Make sure all grout is clean and in good condition.  Remove all cloth toilet lid covers, and keep the lid down.  Hide the trash can.

Outside:  Keep the lawn mowed and the edges neat.  Trim shrubs, especially around windows.  Put flowering plants near the front door.  Does the house need painting?  Consider painting or staining the front door; it’s one of the least expensive ways to spruce up the entry.  If there’s furniture on the porch, make sure it isn’t plastic but rather good wicker or wrought iron.  Power-wash or stain the deck.  Remove or hide old cans and bottles, auto parts, boats and RVs.

Seller closing costs
If the seller has not yet paid for the house in full, the seller's most important closing cost is satisfying the remaining balance of their loan. Before the date of closing, the escrow officer will contact the seller's lender to verify the amount needed to close out the loan. Then, along with any other fees, the original loan will be paid for at the closing before the seller receives any proceeds from the sale. Other seller closing costs can include:

Broker's commission
Transfer taxes
Documentary Stamps on the Deed
Title insurance
Property taxes (prorated)
Negotiating Closing Costs
In addition to the sales price, buyers and sellers frequently include closing costs in their negotiations. This can be for both major and minor fees. For example, if a buyer is particularly nervous about the condition of the plumbing, the seller may agree to pay for the house inspection.

Likewise, a buyer may want to save on up-front expenditures, and so agree to pay the seller's full asking price in return for the seller paying all the allowable closing costs. There's no right or wrong way to negotiate closing costs; just be sure all the terms are written down on the purchase agreement.

Prorations
At the closing, certain costs are often prorated (or distributed) between buyer and seller. The most common prorations are for property taxes. This is because property taxes are typically paid at the end of the year for which they were assessed.

Thus, if a house is sold in June, the sellers will have lived in the house for half the year, but the bill for the taxes won't come due until the following year! To make this situation more equitable, the taxes are prorated. In this example, the sellers will credit the buyers for half the taxes at closing.