How Do We Use Merchandising to Sell Our Homes?

Merchandising is one part of a successful home selling strategy. Here’s how our team does it.

Today we want to talk about something that we think is very important when you’re trying to sell
your house: merchandising.

A lot of times, people don’t understand the art of making your house look great. It will take
cleaning, decluttering, depersonalizing, upgrading, updating, and more. Merchandising is one of the
things we do for our clients to help them sell fast and for top dollar.

We can make it even easier for you because we have the contractors necessary. A lot of times,
all that is needed is a little furniture adjustment.

If you’re interested in selling your house quickly and for top dollar, give us a call today. We’ll take
a look at your house, give you our opinion on its value and let you know what you can do in
order to sell it for top dollar.

If you have any questions for me in the meantime, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an
email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

What We Can Guarantee When Selling Your Home

If you need to sell your house and you don’t want to mess around, call the Lance Woodley Team and we’ll get it done for you.

If you’re selling your house, you need to work with an agent with a plan. That’s why, no matter what
reason you’re selling, you need to call the Lance Woodley Team. We have a professional home selling
system that will sell your house quickly and for top dollar. We have a guaranteed sale program with no
strings attached that guarantees that we’ll sell your house for at least 90% of its real market value. To
hear our full message about why you should call us to help sell your home, watch my latest video.

Why Is Our Home Selling System the Best Around?

Our home selling guarantee is the best in the Midlands. Here is why.

Buying a Columbia Home? Search All Homes for Sale

Selling a Columbia Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

How are we going to sell your house? We are going to talk about our unique process today.

We can sell your home fast and for top dollar because we have the No. 1 home selling
system here in the Midlands. In fact, we are so confident about our home selling system that we have
a guaranteed sale program. It is the most aggressive guaranteed sale program you will see anywhere.

We have a three-part system that guarantees you get at least 90% of the fair market value of your house. If you or someone you know is interested in hearing more about the program, please feel free to give us a call or send us an email today. We would love to hear from you soon.

Rules and Regulations that Affect Construction and Renovation

Should investors be able to renovate homes they purchase in historic areas? I think so, but what’s your opinion?

Buying a Columbia Home? Search All Homes for Sale
Selling a Columbia Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report 

An interesting thing has been happening in our real estate market lately. The city of Columbia has started putting historic overlays on certain neighborhoods that we haven’t been able to fully understand. The historic overlays prevent homeowners from improving or renovating their homes, even in the most basic ways.

In fact, I know of an investor who wasn’t even allowed to replace broken windows with rotting wood.

In my opinion, after selling thousands of new and renovated homes, property owners should have rights and one of those rights should be to repair their home.

As you can see in the video above, a lot of these properties are in very poor condition. They say this kind of home is “An example of a minimalist style that we don’t want to lose”, but I see it differently.

One property is bringing all other values down.

The fact is that for most of the homes in this neighborhood, this property represents potential. In its current condition, however, not so much. The poor condition of the home is bringing down the values of all the other bigger, nicer homes in the neighborhood.

Wouldn’t it be better if the owner of this home was allowed to tear this shack down and build a new home? Or at least renovate the home to an acceptable condition?

I want to know what your opinion is in the comment section below. Should the government have a say in what property owners can and can’t do to their homes? You already know my opinion. What is yours?

If you have any other questions for me, don’t hesitate to reach out. I would love to hear from you.

How Can You Make Your Home Stand out for a Winter Sale?

If you’re selling a house during the wintertime, you need to set it up to show a little bit differently than you would in the spring or summer. I have some tips for just that.

Buying a Columbia Home? Search all Homes for Sale

Selling a Columbia Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

If you sell your home in the wintertime, there are a few things you need to do differently to make sure it shows well.

The first thing you can't overlook is the home's exterior. Even though the grass may be dead and brown and things generally don't look good outside, it's still important to think about curb appeal. Driveways and walkways still need to be edged, the yard should stay raked, and flowerbeds still need fresh mulch or pine to look clean and sharp.

Even though it's winter, you can't overlook your home's exterior.

Just like the rest of the year, the interior needs to appeal to buyers. Go for fresh paint and clean all items from your countertops and vanities. When you go through Thanksgiving and Christmas, though, you may still want to decorate, and that's just fine. Decorating for the holidays doesn't hurt the house, but it needs to be tasteful. You don't need to make your house look like you're trying to win a Christmas decorating contest with a gazillion displays. This can make rooms look small and cluttered.

It's easy to sell your house in the wintertime if you follow these rules. If you have any questions for us or you're thinking about selling, give us a call or send us an email. We'd love to help you!

Why Now Is a Great Time to Sell Your House

Can you still sell a house during the holidays? You absolutely can. Allow me to explain why this time of year is actually a great time to sell your house.

Buying a Columbia Home? Search all Homes for Sale

Selling a Columbia Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

Is it a good idea to list your home for sale during the holidays?

We sell homes 12 months out of the year, so I can personally say that selling your home during November or December is a great idea. If now is the time for you to put your home on the market, we can absolutely sell it during these months.

Selling your home during November or December is a great idea.

Of course, the holidays bring many celebrations and visits from friends and family. These types of things can make selling a house difficult. If you want to sell your home, but you think it's difficult because of the guests and celebrations, we want to meet and get everything set up so that we can 'pre-list' your house.

That means we'll get everything set up, signed, and agreed on. We want everything in the home ready for the photographer to shoot pictures; that way, we're ready to go live with your listing right after the first of the year.

You have two choices: you can sell right away if you don't think your guests and family traditions will hinder the sale, or we can pre-list you and wait for the beginning of 2017. We just had a listing last year with a client who listed on December 1st, and the house went under contract by the middle of December. It really works!

If you have any other questions about selling this time of year, don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have!

How to Handle a Due Diligence Clause as a Home Seller

Successfully navigating the due diligence clause time period involves working with your agent so they can help you determine what’s fair and favorable.

Buying a Columbia Home? Search all Homes for Sale
Selling a Columbia Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

When you get a contract on your house, there is a clause in the contract called the “due diligence clause” that gives the buyer the right to do any inspections on your house that they feel are necessary. They are usually given 10 business days to complete them. In this period of time, your house is almost held ransom, and there’s no way to get around it.

Buyers have the right to do any inspections they feel necessary. Some of the more common inspections include:

• The home inspection. This is where an inspector comes in and checks everything out. Afterward, they'll give you a report.
• The heating and air inspection. Here, the heating and air company will come out and inspect the heating and air systems to make sure that everything is working properly.
• The CL-100 inspection. This is just a termite inspection to check that there are no issues that would promote termite growth.

When these inspections are complete, the buyer has the right to ask you to fix anything they feel needs to be done, but since this is a negotiable item, you don’t have to do everything. What you need is a good agent to help you navigate these waters and determine what’s fair and favorable. If a buyer, for instance, is asking for something that is excessive or something that we do not agree with, what we would do is have our own inspector give a second opinion.

You don’t have to do everything the buyers asks.

The bottom line is that this is nothing to really worry about. 99% of the time we get through the inspection phase of the contract, the contract stays intact, and we proceed to a closing. My recommendation to most sellers is to expect to pay a couple hundred dollars on doing little things that come up on the report just to make the buyer happy and get through this period of time.

Again, the main thing a seller needs throughout the contract is an agent that is knowledgeable about the process so they can help you come out on the other end with a successful closing.

If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email and we’d be glad to answer them. We look forward to hearing from you.

Don’t Miss these 10 Columbia Home Selling Secrets

Check out helpful home selling tips for your South Carolina home.

Buying a Columbia Home? Search all Homes for Sale  
Selling a Columbia Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

 

 

We have ten major tips to share with you if you’re selling your home in Columbia this year. We will countdown from number 10, but we will only cover numbers 10-6 in this video.

10. Buyers want to see empty closets and storage spaces. If these places are full of your stuff, try to remove at least half of everything before showing your home. It can make your closets seem much bigger. 

9. Show your home light and bright. Turn on the lights, open the windows, draw the blinds, and possibly even clean your windows. Buyers will not purchase a dimly-lit home.

8. Get your pet out of the house for a while. Some buyers may have allergies, or some people may simply detect a pet odor. Not everyone loves pets, and you need to remember this while selling your home.

 

 7. Depersonalize your home. Remove family photos, awards, collections of photos, or artwork. You like your belongings, but a potential buyer will not. Remove your personal items from the home so that the buyer can focus on the property and not your stuff.

 

6. Always be ready to show your home. Keep your home clean and show-ready when you’re selling, because you never know when someone will be coming to see it.

Stay tuned next time for the rest of our selling tips. You won’t want to miss them if you’re selling your home this spring!

How Can You Enhance Your Home's Exterior?

Buying a Columbia Home? Search all Homes for Sale

Selling a Columbia Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

Hey everyone, welcome back to our blog. We talk a lot about the importance of physical appearance when it comes to selling your home. Most of the time, we are talking about the interior staging of your home, but the exterior of a home is often overlooked.

You know, there's an old saying in real estate that goes: "The outside brings them in, and the inside sells them."Having a great looking yard and positive curb appeal will get those buyers into your home this summer.

Over the years, it's very easy to keep your yard looking great. When you fertilize, de-weed, water, and cut regularly, you can make your grass look like a golf course. It's very easy to do if you're on a regular schedule, and it will be a huge benefit when it's time to sell your home. 

If you have any questions for us, feel free to reach out via phone or email. We look forward to speaking with you!

Don't Fall Victim to the Same Mistakes Other Property Owners Make

There are many excellent homes to choose from in the Columbia area, with a variety of local real estate markets that have properties of great quality available for purchase. If you're considering buying real estate in the Columbia area, GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're in the process of selling your home, CLICK HERE to obtain a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions you have regarding the market conditions of Columbia real estate, or your own home's value, please don't hesitate to contact me at  (803) 407-3883.

Today we are talking all about property management. If you are an investor, who has a property your are managing yourself, and are having difficulties trying to rent the home out, finding a qualified tenant, or collecting rent when its due, we can help make your investment a passive one. We can qualify your people, take care of maintenance, and all you have to do is sit back and collect the check. 

A lot of times when people buy a 2nd house to create cash flow, they get the wrong tenant in there and everything becomes a big headache with trying to collect payments while maintaining the property. We do all the work for you, doing background searches on potential tenants and taking care of all the little problems that come up with your property. 

Most people think of renting out a home from an investment perspective, but what if it's just not the right time to sell your home? If you have found the perfect home but aren't quite ready to put your home on the market, we can put that home in our rental market, too. We can rent it out for you until the equity comes back on it. This way, you can sell when it's right to, not when you feel pressured to. We recently had a client adopt this strategy and after 3 years, they put a nice check in their pocket after finally selling their home. 

If this is something you would like more information on, we would be glad to oblige. Give us a call or send us a quick email and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

The Importance of Staging in Your Home

There are many excellent homes to choose from in the Columbia area, with a variety of local real estate markets that have properties of great quality available for purchase. If you're considering buying real estate in the Columbia area, GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're in the process of selling your home, CLICK HERE to obtain a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions you have regarding the market conditions of Columbia real estate, or your own home's value, please don't hesitate to contact me at  (803) 407-3883.

Today we are going to talk about a very important process in selling your home: staging. It is often overlooked by sellers and agents alike, but staging your home for sale properly will put much more money in your pocket and sell your home in a much quicker time frame.

When we stage a home, we are really looking at taking care of three things:

• De-cluttering 
• De-personalizing 
• Small Home Improvements

We understand what needs to be done to attract today's buyers and how to set up a home for photography. We hire a professional photographer to do all of our staging because we know how important photographs are to a home's online marketing. We can look at a home and help identify the proper things to do to improve it, rather than spending money on things that won't give you a result.

If you are interested in learning more about staging, or if you want some information on your home specifically, give us a call or send us an email. We'd be glad to help you out.

What Can the Lance Woodley Team Do that No One Else Can?

There are many excellent homes to choose from in the Columbia area, with a variety of local real estate markets that have properties of great quality available for purchase. If you're considering buying real estate in the Columbia area, GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're in the process of selling your home, CLICK HERE to obtain a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions you have regarding the market conditions of Columbia real estate, or your own home's value, please don't hesitate to contact me at  (803) 407-3883.

Hello, and welcome to the first of many video blog posts! We're going to be keeping you updated on what's happening in the Midlands of the beautiful state of South Carolina so you can make informed real estate decisions.

Our approach to real estate consists of breaking down the Columbia area into two separate markets: the general market and the Lance Woodley Market. We put our clients in a position where they have more favorable conditions - our average clients sell their home quicker and for more money than sellers in the general market. We do this through our professional home selling system, which has 3 unique qualities.

1. Marketing: We don't simply post an address on the web. We understand that marketing is about crafting an attractive image of your home so that it is impossible to pass up. We have a large marketing budget to ensure every client's home looks its best. 
2. Merchandising: We set your property up to make it attractive to the largest number of buyers. We position it to draw the attention of the market and get a favorable price.
3. Pricing: This is often misunderstood. The initial listing price can make or break your bank. We have a strategy that gets results - we put more money in the seller's pocket than anyone else.

As you can see, our dedication to being the best in the industry is all so you can have a stress-free and efficient real estate experience. If you are looking to buy or sell in the Midlands, we're the team to call!