Last week I spoke with Loveland, Colorado real estate agent and Connect2Agent member Maribeth Bergan. She told me,

“Sometimes my busiest times are during the holidays. Last year I wrote a contract on Thanksgiving Day!” 

There are as many opinions on this topic as there are buyers, sellers and real estate agents. However, because I have this format in which to express my opinion, allow me to do so. If you’re serious about selling your home - and in this market, who isn’t? - there are some definite advantages to making your home available to buyers during the winter holiday season. Here a few.

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During the last few years, you may have read about some atypical real estate transactions, such as the condo owner who sold his million-dollar home through Zillow’s Make Me Move. Or two New Jersey neighbors who swapped houses. Even more unusual is the couple who sold their home at their yard sale. 

Certainly these are not everyday occurrences, but with home sales in somewhat of a paralyzed condition, sellers are looking for creative ways to attract buyers. On the crowded dance floor of real estate, what can be done to increase the chances of luring a committed dance partner to one’s home?

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When you’re putting your home on the market for sale, you do your best to make it attractive to a wide variety of buyers. You get rid of the clutter, clean, repair and paint to the point where you ask yourself, “Why wasn’t I motivated to do all this for myself and my family?” (That’s a whole other topic.)

After all this hard work, you’re feeling good about your accomplishments and know your home is ready for showing. Just then you look out your front window and notice several small mounds of earth sticking up in your lush, meticulously manicured lawn. You scream - if only in your head - and dash out of the house.

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Are you a homeowner who needs to sell your house right now? Here are a few resources and alternative options I’ve previously blogged about to help you navigate tricky waters.

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Last weekend I was out and about in my county, taking a ride to cruise listings. I’m not a licensed real estate agent and I don’t want to waste anyone’s time, since right now I am not in the market to buy a house. But I am naturally curious about real estate - speaking with professionals and blogging day in and day out about that very topic.

My curious mind wanted to know what’s going on outside my back door.

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Keep your ear to the ground or listen to the feedback from your listing agent after a showing and you might hear things like, “They wanted newer appliances” or “For the money they were just expecting some more updating - like newer carpeting, granite countertops …” and at this point your automatic reaction might be to start tuning out; suddenly everything you are hearing is in slow mo’ and sounds like the teacher from the Peanuts cartoon.

“Carpeting … granite countertops … mwah mwah mwah mwah.”

Time to start listening and switch from tune out to tune in, autosave and replay. What buyers want is your top priority to get your house sold. No, they won’t pay those 7-11 prices in many places anymore, but make no mistake, a convenience store lifestyle is what a home buyer wants … dig?

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If you are selling a house in a market saturated by REO (bank owned) and short sales, it’s time. The choice you are making is how serious you are about selling your house. Do you need to sell your house today or are you listing it ”just to see what you can get?” If it’s the latter, you might want to reconsider your choice to list your house.

If it’s the former, roll up your sleeves–I have some action items for you.

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Search needs to get better. I am finding it increasingly difficult to find what I need online by doing simple searches through the major search engines. I know they tweak their algorithms and are always exploring ways to gauge a site’s content so the consumer can get more relevant information, but I am still unsatisfied. I find that lately the returns I get for my results are taking me to the second or third page of Google.

A few years ago, I would have been satisfied with page one’s results.

The real estate consumer might do a few online searches for real estate and land on a website through an organic or paid advertisement. Some consumers are just going to type in their address bar what they are looking for–"3 bedroom homes in Sacramento CA"–and see where that gets them. Others might be pointed in the direction of a blog post by a social network service like Digg and StumbleUpon real estate listings.

And let’s not discount household names Craigslist and Zillow for real estate listings and home value information–consumers are going there too.

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If you are looking for an alternative to bankruptcy or a foreclosure and feeling like the walls are closing in on your options, you may want to consider a short sale. A short sale is when you accept an offer to purchase that is less than what you owe on your property. Your mortgage company would then have to accept less than what they are owed in order for the house sale to go through. 

Documentation is key

In a short sale, your mortgage company will require documentation from you throughout the process before it approves the lower amount. A few common items most mortgage companies will require during this process are:

• A copy of the buyer’s offer to purchase on the real estate property–This is the final offer that you and the real estate buyer have accepted.
• An appraisal–You can submit yours. The mortgage company will also have an appraisal done on your house.
• An estimate of the proceeds on the sale of your house–Normally, your real estate agent will submit this with the accepted offer to purchase on your property. Later, the mortgage company will want a copy of the closing statement your attorney will prepare for the HUD-I settlement statement.
• A statement of your finances–The mortgage company will want to know why you are no longer able to make your payments. They will also want to know why you cannot make up the difference between what you owe on your house to the mortgage company and what you are selling it for.

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If you are preparing to put up your house for sale on the real estate market and you are now interviewing real estate agents, your questions probably go a little something like this:

1. How many years have you been selling real estate full-time?
2. How many houses have you sold during the past two years?
3. How much money do you think I can get for my house?

These questions should not be dismissed, but before you hang your hat on the answers, you also need to get down to the details. The following probing questions will help you do just that.

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