Alyssa Friend

Yes, to an extent. Have a few flowers or bushes in front of your house, but don't go overboard. People really love a fenced in yard and a wood fence is preferred over a chain link fence. I think people care about whether is has a fence or not more than they care about it having flowers. Fences are desired for those with pets and children and that covers a large percentage of today's buyers.

As an agent in Topeka, any time between March through mid-May is the best time to list your house especially if it will be listed for less than $200K. The reason why is because Kansas offers some very large grants through out those months and it helps bring more buyers to the table. But that's not to say that the rest of the year is necessarily a bad time to list either. The market has started to slow down right now, but houses still sell as long as they're priced well. Just don't list the house too close a big holiday when people are traveling. Let me know if you have any other questions about the Topeka market!

Tons of people don't use an agent, but if you're buying your first house then you need someone to walk you through the process and the contracts. After you do it you're first time then you might have a good enough understanding to sell your own property in the future. When it comes to buying though, you should use an agent or at least have the foresight to ask the listing agent about the commission on their listing agreement with their seller. Ask them if the seller has already signed an agreement to pay "x" percent to the buyer's agent. You can then place a lower offer and ask that the listing agent revise the commission in their agreement. Or you can just get your own buyers agent because the seller is already paying for it. If you are looking at houses without you're own agent, please know that if you press the large button that states "Call an agent" on Zillow it will connect you to an agent who is paying for your lead. They will put you on their system in the hopes that you will buy with them. If you truly don't plan to use them, please call the listing agent directly. At least the listing agent will get paid by the seller when the house is sold.

I like to do one on the very first weekend that its on the market. After that, I would offer once a month. My brokerage likes to have the newer agents host the open house for them because it's a great way to gain buyer clients, but not necessarily buyer's for your home specifically.

If you're just curious then look up the Zestimate on Zillow and take it with a grain of salt. If you're house has never been updated then it might be lower than that. If you've done work to it recently and it's had some cosmetic face lifts then it might be higher than that. Call up at least 2 different local agents and ask them to do a walk through and see what they think. Average out the numbers and that's what you should list it for.

Spring is the best, Summer is good, Fall and Winter are okay as long as you don't price it on the high end. Don't list around the holidays when people are traveling. If you're waiting for something specific to happen, you can wait until the interest rates go back down to or under 6%.

Your agent will know the best answer to that since they are familiar with your market. If it's been on for too long then shoot your shot and if the sellers don't like it then they will either counter offer or reject the offer. If they reject it, then you can send in another offer a little bit higher.

I'm not sure what the question is here, but if you want a foreclosure home and don't have enough cash to cover the cost, I recommend you look into an FHA 203(k) loan. Not all banks offer them and they are a lot of paperwork, but they provide you with extra money to fix up the home and get it up to FHA standards. It does not have to be up to FHA standards until "x" amount of months after you close on it.

Shop around for mortgage rates. You can have as many lenders run your credit score as you want, but they all need to happen within a 2 week period. Buy a house that isn't entirely perfect, but can be fixed with little money. This could be having an ugly kitchen or buying a house with a horrible paint colors in each room. In my case, we purchased a house with a washer and drying in the unfinished basement and moved it up a floor. It only cost about $700 for professionals to move the plumbing and electric, but it greatly improved the value of our home. Don't buy a fully remodeled house and then expect to be able to sell it for a profit in 2 years. Keep in mind, the location is the one thing you can not change.

It all depends on the brokerage and what types of forms they have. If the listing agent is hosting a house then they do not require you to sign anything in order to walkthrough because they are completing one of the duties listed on their listing agreement. However, a lot of open houses are being hosted by newer agents as a way to gain buyers. In this case, the agent is just a colleague of the listing agent and has no agreement with the seller. Some people will alter the listing agreements and add the newer agent into the provisions. Some brokerages recommend that the agent hosting the open house just have each person who enters sign an a separate agreement. My brokerage offers a short term agreement for us to show properties, but some agents and brokerages prefer to go straight to the buyer agency agreement. Whichever one they have you sign, you will need to examine the length of time and the compensation it states. I typically will write it in as a 1 day agreement with $0 for compensation. Some agents will have it state that its good for only the one house and some will state that their are owed a commission if you choose to purchase that specific house. Be careful with what you sign, but it's okay for them to ask you to sign something.

The listing agent will often times have a preference. If you're purchasing a home in Overland Park, then I would use a title company on the Kansas side and not Missouri and vice versa. But that's just my personal preference.

Give your lender the address of the property, and how much you're wanting to offer. As the agent, I am usually the person relaying this information to the lender and asking them to send a financial breakdown to my clients. We tell them the address so they know how much the property taxes will cost.

This is common and that agency is just trying to make things right with you. Interview their recommended agent, but don't sign anything right away. Interview a few other agents as well and go with the person you get along with the best. I recommend taking it off the market for a few weeks and wait for a new set of buyers. If it sat on the market for a few months then a new strategy needs to be made. That could be lowering the listing price, making updates on the home, or cleaning and staging so it presents better. Hope you get it sold!

Yes! List it immediately and use the leftover money to better your life. List it on the low end to attract more buyers and improve the likelihood of a quick sale. Do NOT list it at the top dollar because your priority is to sell the house, not make the most amount of money. You don't have time to test the market.

Hopefully you mean the 11th of next month and not today. I would recommend you consider dropping the asking price to as low as you can go to get some traction and keep the property clean and presentable. You still have a month, so I would continue trying to sell the property up until the deadline. Hold off on signing the deed in lieu until you're out of option and/or out of time.