- Move the furniture. Get as much furniture as possible out of the way, and then cover what’s left with plastic drop cloths held in place with masking tape.
- Buy good paint. Top-quality latex interior paint will hide what’s underneath and make the job go faster.
- Tape the edges. Taping the edges with painters tape will speed up the job and make the results more professional.
- Work top down. Paint the ceiling first, then the walls, then the windows and trim and finally the baseboards. This will cut down on time spent repairing drips and splatter marks.
- Cut in the corners. Applying a three-inch band of paint around the edges will allow you to fill in the middle with a paint roller.
- Apply paint generously. Trying to stretch the paint won’t save sellers any money if they have to repaint.
Pocket Listings Heat Up: Good or Bad?
Pocket listings -- off-market listings that are marketed directly by the seller’s real estate agent or broker -- are growing in number, according to news reports.
Sellers must agree to "pocket listings"; otherwise they aren’t permitted. Some sellers agree to such arrangements to “test the waters” first with selling or to avoid a large number of people from entering their home, or they may seek privacy, like in cases of celebrities or public figures.
Some real estate professionals argue the rise in pocket listings is hurting the housing market because these homes are given limited exposure and are making it more difficult to compare homes and prices.
Usually with pocket listings, brokerages complete the entire transaction in-house, thus collecting both the seller and buyer commission.
“Pocket listings are a good segment of our business,” writes one real estate professional on the RISMedia Facebook page. “Regarding cons with agents taking in full commissions ... we charge a flat rate for our pocket sales, much less than a full-percent commission.”
But many agents note that the majority of pocket listings are eventually entered into the MLS.
Source: “Pocket Listings: Helpful or Harmful?” RISMedia (March 14, 2013)
The best way to update a property in {Location_Name} is to paint it. It’s a job that many sellers can do themselves.
Here are six suggestions for making the work go quickly.