Content: Kirkland homes - selling considerations, competitive market analysis, home improvements.

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Selling a home is more than a financial transaction.

Whatever your reasons for selling are, consider these questions:

1. How familiar are you with every detail about your home? (Quick: hold old is that furnace?)
2. What do you think your home is worth? (The truth: what someone is willing to pay for it.)
3. How quickly do you want to sell it? (Your time may be worth more than you think.)

You, the home owner, are my best resource for information about your home. In the State of Washington, one of the first steps in the transfer of residential property is to tell what you know about your property by filling out the five-page Washington State Real Property Transfer Disclosure Statement.

→  What's the history of your home? Have you made any improvements? Did you add a room or a deck, remodel the kitchen, got insulated windows? Did you make any repairs? Have you fixed that flushing around the chimney, replaced those leaky down spouts? Put new drain tiles in the back yard? Can you document this? Got receipts?

→  What happened to the neighborhood? Your home is not an island and the history of your home (and it's value) is tied to what has happened around you. Did the city install sewers? Did they build a new school just around the corner? If you live in a condominium, did the board switch to a "no pets" policy?

→   What is the value of your home? When it comes to determining the asking price, facts trump emotions. After you have taken an inventory of your home's and neigborhood's history we take a look at the bigger picture. What's the current economic climate? Where are interest rates headed? For how much have comparable homes sold over the past six months in your neighborhood? How long did it take for them to sell? How many were sold at the asking price? I will provide you with a Competitive Market Analysis that will help us in setting the appropriate asking price. Another factor is your time frame. Can you afford to wait or are you in a hurry to sell?

→   What kind of improvements should you make? Consider the return on your investment. Start with "home hygene" and cosmetics: clean the carpets professionally, paint the place (neutral colors), regrout the bathroom tiles. First room to consider for an upgrade with a good return on the dollar: the kitchen. Look at your furnace and water heater. When were they last serviced? If you would replace them if you stayed in the home for another two years it's probably time to replace them now.

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