Stella Black, MORE Realty

The goal is to make your home as appealing as possible to the most potential buyers, before photos of your home are taken. Staging your home can include anything from redecorating to rearranging furniture, cleaning or other aesthetic strategies to present the home in the best possible light. You can do it yourself, have your real estate agent guide you, or hire a staging company.

The information is for the buyer and the buyer pays. Home inspection in Oregon is only shared with the seller at the seller's specific request.

If someone is selling a home that needs repairs - yet chooses not to fix them - they may choose to list a property as-is. Disclosures and inspections are typical steps in the process. In an as-is sale, a buyer is willingly purchasing the home in its current state with full knowledge of its condition.

The seller is required to disclose anything they are aware of that materialty affects the value of the home, but are not required to investigate issues included in the disclosures that they are unaware of.

Factors such as the time of year and market conditions play a big role in how quickly a property sells. How you price, market and stage your home are also very important variables that will affect how long a home remains on the market.

If there is an item you wish to keep, such as a particular light fixture or other attached item, they should be boted as exempt from the sale in the listing.

An apprasal is a detailed evaluation made by a professional appraiser. This is required by a lender to assure that the property is of sufficient value to secure the loan.

Most Realtors are paid on commission, which is usually a percentage of the sales price. In Oregon, commissions are paid by the seller, and the listing agent shares a percentage with the buyer's agent. Commissions are a negotiation between the listing agent and the seller.

The first step is to contact a Realtor to view the home and give you a Market Analysis. They should discuss how the process works, and what they will do to market your home. You can often get a preliminary value, based on algorithms, but a Realtor will give you a more complete and thorough report based on actual local comparables. They can suggest necessary changes or repairs to make the property to improve the value and guide you through what the showing process is like. They will help you review any offers, and give you information to help you decide which offer to accept, whether to counter an offer, or to reject. They will consult you regarding any repair requests from the buyer, and help you make informed decisions regarding your response. There are many things to consider and advice from a professional will help you make informed decisions.

There are many online tools, but all are differently constructed and use different criteria. As a Realtor, I can use tools to compare your home to like properties and refine the value.