My realtor showed our home to an out-of-town buyer. No pictures, nail holes patched, fresh WHITE paint, carpets cleaned . The potential buyer said, great, we won’t have to do anything to move-in. Offer was asking price. Sold! Great advice.
That's the way to do it! It's beyond me how people are so lazy when it's time to sell their house. I too prepared my last house for sale. I got 3 offers above asking price the day it went on the market (2023). Never give a buyer an excuse to not buy your house!
Audra praying that you are overwhelmed with subscribers. Your wise advice and professional teaching has been an incredible blessing to all of us. My family thanks you.
You are head and shoulders above ALL other real estate channels. I'm retired from several aspects of the real estate industry, so I think I know what I'm talking about. Consider me blown away. Your talent, knowledge and presentation are worth far more than whatever you are charging for it.
Hello from New Zealand. Sold our house last week, 4 weeks after listing to an American couple. We were so pleased to get top dollar, and watching you over the last couple of months, thorough cleaning and following your advice was so worthwhile. Thank you Audra. You’re amazing and deserve a million subscribers.
Just sold our house in San Diego. We made NONE of these mistakes as we paid attention to your previous videos from a few months ago. We had several interested bidders and got over asking. Yes, we used Dunn Edwards Swiss Coffee LOL!
LOVE when sellers are there! You can get ALL the info strait from them instead of my agent saying. "I don't know. I'll have to ask." Then they ask the seller's agent...then they take 4 yrs. to answer your question WITH an answer that does not answer your question! Hate that. Love a seller in the home.
Yes. That is what I said. The owners have the info. Also when any inspections are done the inspector needs to work with the owner or he will flag things that are not bad. The inspector will say the chimney needs cleaning, hire a chimney sweep. But as the owner, I've never used it enough to warrant that.
As a home stager, I tell every client that there should not be ANY sign of a pet in the home . . . Remove all food bowls, toys, leashes, beds, etc. While we all LOVE our pets - buyers don't appreciate any pets - especially when it's not THEIR pet. For odors - Amazon sells a fabulous product calls Fresh Wave. It doesn't mask the smell . . .it actually kills and breaks down the molecules that cause the odors. I've used it through homes to get dog smells out (and probably works for stinky teens!) WORKS incredibly well! :-) Thanks Audra as always for hitting every critical point! Appreciate you!
@@fondacarm1384 Yep. I wouldn't say 'won't purchase' the property but the best practice is to put away anything that might be objectionable to buyers. I've been a home stager for 20 years and see it all the time. (Pet smells - huge turn off; and any sign of a pet. stow trash cans outside or in the garage; toilet scrub brushes out of sight. If there is a potential ick factor - put it away) (Even in a town with two HUGE rival universities here - I've been in a home where someone from x University walked out because the Seller had all Y University memorabilia displayed) You want to sell your listing? Do what Audra has shared. In this market you need to be doing everything she has shared. Good luck if you don't. SMDH.
@@feesor Removal of anything related to a pet is JUST for showings and for MLS photos. Good luck selling your house as Audra shared if you leave the crates in for showings and in MLS photos. . Guess you or your clients REALLY don't need to sell anyway. The market is turning towards buyers now and the pendulum is swinging. Good luck with all that.
I thought my realtor's suggested asking price was too high! I trusted her and it went 20,000 over what I originally thought. So, either way, trust your realtor. If you get the right one, they are truly the experts.
@@lv4366 I had the opposite situation, I thought the price was too low and insisted she raise the price. She did and it ended up in a bidding war and we got 20,000$ over the price I set. Bad realtor
We got 2 offers on our home the 2nd week. We rejected the first (ridiculous) offer and the 2nd offer came in on day 8 and we accepted. It was contingent on the sale of their home but it was already under contract with closing date scheduled. So we were under contract 9 days after listing for above our asking price. And yes, you did help us!
A friend of mine was present for her own open house. She wasn’t “annoying” since she simply looked like another person at the open house. She didn’t wear a sign to let potential buyers know she was the seller. That being said, I’m not planning on being here when we sell our home, I’ll be glad to miss all that.
That was my thoughts too. I would think if you just sit in the kitchen, it really wouldn't matter if you're there. Of course as long as you don't say anything if they say they hate your kitchen...lol
Hey Audra!! Thank you so much for all the good info. I'm a seller and buyer Florida. My Realtor said that I'm her best-seller ever and that my house will look like an HGTV home. 😊 She doesn't know my secret: which is you! 🙂 You have taught me a toon! Keep up the good work, you are helping a lot of people. My house will be going to the market really soon. Blessings to you, Luci.🏡
Audra, Thank you for sharing your expertise. We just recently sold our mothers home. I credit the Audra Lambert, Realtor channel with our amazing success. We educated ourselves by following advice presented on this channel and received a cash offer on the first day the house went public. The offer was above the listed asking price. Thank you so much for educating us on finding a top listing agent and guiding us through the process of preparing, and staging, the house for the market. You are a real gem. Thank you. Thank you.
Audra like I said before, I’m going to put my house up for sale within the next year most likely in the spring. I don’t listen to anyone but you, you’re the best, funny and to the point. Keep up the good work . Thank you.
I don't know if you realize that most agents are not like you. YOU would be the best representation for any home! Your look, energy, presence would tell me, "I want the home SHE's selling!"
The pet thing is so accurate. We toured a home last week, and there was a cat who was very upset about us being there. He swatted at my leg and almost scratched me, and we were all stuck at the top of the stairs while he was on the staircase hissing at us. My husband had to try to find a way to chase him down so we could leave. It was unnerving having him run around our feet with his back arched and just freaking us out the whole time.
If the house smells, I'm out. That includes plug ins etc. That's why a new house doesn't smell or a house with people who never drink or smoke. Those homes don't smell either.
I just recently sold my house. Actually, a few times, the buyer showed up earlier before I left the house. and almost every time, they asked me to stay. My house listed beginning of May, and closed end of May. My listing agent never showed up in any showing, not once. And there was no open house either. I think the most important thing is the house/price itself.
In my area, the listing agent is not supposed to be present during showings. Unless it's a really high-end home with expensive art or something. Then sometimes the listing agent will insist on being present for all showings.
Excellent. I would have done the same. Nobody knows the house like the seller. I have all the questions! Hate it when I'm at a house with an agent that has no clue about the house and the seller's agent is not there. That's when you need the seller and her "touch" on the home rather than a cold sterile darkened home.
Yesssss to Swiss Coffee. A friend looked at a house with the master bedroom painted black with silver lightning bolts, the other bedrooms bright red and pumpkin orange, and the family room bright blue. He told them he wanted a $2500 reduction to repaint. They told him all the rooms had been freshly painted. It took three coats of Navajo White to cover it all. They said their realtor was ok with their color choices. What?
Yes to cameras!!! I caught a realtor going through my prescriptions( she didn’t have a buyer with her). Luckily she didn’t take anything because I did have my major prescriptions on my person., yet I felt so violated. Needless to say she is no longer a realtor. So glad I had a camera not only for watching buyers but agents as well. Geez!
This is exactly why I do not trust realtors!! Either this or they just don't care. As a buyer I've seen them all. Meeting at the house with no lights on etc. and the agent doesn't care. I have to ask to open it up and turn on lights. I've had agents tell me their seller is too high priced etc. I don't trust them with my house.
Nothing is more uncomfortable than having the seller there. Earlier this year I flew into a city across the US just to buy a house. It was perfect in every way for my family. Even after seeing it in person, we loved it. We walked away because of the seller. My realtor and I both came to the house and the seller was there giving us a tour. He was an older man, with the start of dementia and was telling us crazy stories of what he was and wasn't doing with the property. It was one of the most bizarre experiences and my realtor told me to walk because she thought it was a huge legal issue. House should have been a bidding war - eventually sold for $40,000 under listing.
Yes, on the smell. I walked in as a potential buyer to a house and the minute we walked in the front door I noticed a smell. I immediately knew that was not the house for us and we moved onward.
Just sold my house 15 days ago. I am so happy with the agent I hired very professional he actually coach me in everything. Everything done correctly & prOfessionally and smoothly. Happy seller and buyer here, we aall became friends! Audra you are still the best.
When I am looking at European houses and apartments painted in other colors than white, I love it, even if the colors may not be to my liking. You can always repaint the walls and make it your own. America lives by standards, boring I would say. White walls were one of my big culture shocks! Now after having lived here for a long time, white walls are a miner annoyance. The biggest problem, and not only mine is the whole real estate industry, investors and banks buying and raising home prices making them unaffordable for many people. Flipping is another annoyance, why do that???
True, most countries are much more vibrant! We in the US can be very plain Jane at times! I agree color is amazing in many cases, but the light colors appeal to the masses. Some people cannot see past colors in a home.
Great video Audra! We just sold a home and bought another one and both our agents were superb. We (as you recommend here) trusted their expertise and didn’t get in the way of them doing their jobs, and therefore had very good results.
Thank you for the great tips. As a seller, i will be getting rid of the light grey, hate it anyway. our agent wanted to put our house, on 6 acres, for $510k, but we told her $425k or lower because we know from shopping house in another state, the homes that are moving are mid $300s or lower. and I mean moving in a few days. We need enough to pay off our current mortgage and maybe take $80k with us and we are NOT shopping for higher priced homes, we are downsizing or looking for fixer uppers because everything in the US is too expensive right now.
Side question how are realtors get paid with the new ruling going in showing homes if they're buyer doesn't buy anything? Love your advice on seller selling their homes we have a modest home in Oregon.
Great job Audra! Tell it like it is!! On the contingent note we did that last year, except our market was still hot and the house we were buying wasn't. Our house, which we prepped for sale, sold in the same day it went on the market. But I agree it's not an easy situation.
I wish my sellers were there and told me what was important to know about the old house I bought. To this day I am still trying to figure out things, and it’s frustrating.
Thumbs up on that comment. You understand how it works. I'm currently buying a house from a seller and he is fixing things up and I'm asking questions and learning and figuring things out.
Back in the days my husband was being transferred by his employer, my “go to” wall color was “relocation beige.” Also, I would walk out if anyone other than my Real Estate Agent was in a house I was looking at to purchase. I warned several agents this would happen and it did. As usual you are 💯% on point!
I have relaxing and muted color's on my walls around the house and not planning on painting it white. However the woodwork will be painted a clean crisp white. And the floor really cleaned. Wish me luck!
My worst nightmare is soft muted colors in a house!!! Everyone will have to paint. Just do it and it will open up the house, make it appear bigger, brighter and cleaner!!
@@jsmum196 I do agree it will make it bigger and brighter but right now I'm prepping for a garage sale and packing up my personal stuff. The wall colors are clean and my house has been well maintained for years. I have not put on the market yet but doing my due diligence to get it ready. Audrey has given me some great ideas!
Hi, I watch your show from Norway, and love it! One thing we do here, that you have not mentioned, is that when an offer comes in, all interested buyers are informed via SMS so that the bidding process can start. It is really exciting!
You are so point on everything you had said. I would never decorate my home for any season if I had listed my home during that time. You see a Christmas tree in pictures when now the time is early spring Easter. If you want to put a seasonal wreath on your door, do it after the pictures are take. Then remove it right after the holiday.
100%!! Remove all seasonal decor before the photos. What if you end up having a deal fall out and you have to re-list it, or you decide to pull it off the market until after the holidays? And now your Halloween decor looks really out of place at Easter?
@@AudraLambert question: my realtor wants to take pictures of the outside now to show what it looks like in summer (we live in Minnesota). I'm thinking if you show pictures from a different season, doesn't that make it look like your house has been on the market a long time? Potential listing in February?
😊 Thank you Audra! I really needed to hear all 10 of these! Especially the issues about pets. I finally made the connection. Having pets on property is too personal. I depersonalized like crazy... And left my pets roaming around during showings. *hand to forehead* I will do better!
Thank you! Points well taken and understood. This is extremely valuable information and will use them during the upcoming sale of my home. Most annoying thing Real Estate Agents Do: NOT tell these things to the Seller and expect us to not do these things. Been there….would have been great to have an Agent who did more than just collect the commission after my first meeting with her. Thanks for the great content!
Audra, you're a Natural at what you do! Just Love your Plain Speaking, Tell-it-like -it-is persona! You present the Educational truth in such an entertaining way 😄 Smarts, Humor, and Beauty, tell your husband he hit the Trifecta! 😊 🎉
Sold my home on first day listed with multiple offers, over asking and both cats in the home, the people loved them. How do I know, because we were all in the house vacuuming and getting ready to leave for the day and it just sold like that! I have regal Persians and they are like little pieces of decor. One even asked if the cats came with the home!
As a seller I agree about not being there even though it helped us once to know the buyer wasn’t qualified for no contingencies on sale of the other house
Appreciate your comment. Your agent should be helping with the qualification verification and other details. Sounds like you are a take charge kind of person. Good for you!
I've seen an old couple of sellers sitting in their garage during the open inspection of their super lovely home (A lot of time and energy and love have been put into this sweet home). I felt so bad for it and I think this was the same feeling for them.
@@aloha8410 Sellers or rather, owners should be with the inspector during the inspections to inform them of the whys and hows. Otherwise the inspectors will have a list and the list will be inaccurate to wrong.
binge watched your videos! so happy to finally find someone who is Straight forward, honest, clear, data driven, not emotional, and loves checklists!!! my engineering brain loved it! It made SOOOO much sense to me when you mention you used to be a "computer nerd" in one of your videos HAHAHA. Keep sharing your wisdom and knowledge!
I thought your mockery of home owners who are concerned about not being present during showings exhibited a disdain towards your clients. Their concern is valid. A better approach would be to make them feel confident enough in your expertise that they are comfortable to leave their house in your hands. Just my opinion.
When a seller is there it feels like stalking to some people. You want them to visualize themselves living there not hear your stories about the property.
That was good tough love Audra. As I write this, I'm waiting for my paint to dry - White Dove, and it looks so darn good. Great video & selling advice today - thanks for taking the time to share this valuable info with all of us.
You have a great personality and I so enjoy listening to you. I’m wanting to sell but can’t seem to get stuff gone fast enough. I may miss my opportunity this year. Retired and widower…
Same issue here...health concerns make it very hard for me to get the house ready. Realtor and I agreed I need more time and we will revisit in February.
Understandable, you can only do so much! Take your time and maybe aim for Spring next year! Best of luck getting your home ready. Thanks for watching and reaching out, much appreciated!
Audra, great comments. I dearly would like to sell our house. I hope next spring to have everything spruced up , started painting all rooms “Pure White”. Builder had everything painted Builders Beige, even the ceilings (9 foot high) ugh! Our daughter in law is our real estate agent, certified stager, very qualified can sell commercial, land large or small, all levels of housing low end to over $1,000,000 homes. She is amazing. Thank you again for your helpful comments, you are spot on.
I definitely like the camera idea but thinking cameras may make a buyer feel more uncomfortable. What's your experience with buyers that see cameras everywhere? What reactions to them have you seen?
There was an Alexa Echo Dot running while we looked at an empty house. The owners kept the internet running just to spy on buyers! We tried not to say anything while near the Echo Dot, but it's hard to not say anything while touring.
@@jsmum196 Sounds like the agent doesn't want sellers to hear any feedback for whatever reason. Unless there's no signs posted regarding cameras. Maybe they're letting them know for "recording law" reasons
@@schex9 Depending on where it was located and how big the home is, I don't think it's capable of listening to conversations that far from it. Me personally...I wouldn't be shy to voice my opinions good or bad. Seller obviously wants feedback. I probably wouldn't be shy expressing my opinion if cameras were present either. But that's just me. Wondering though how the majority of buyers react to cameras.
Not planning on being in the house for showings but what about a ladt minute call and you're in the middle of fixing dinner etc? You can't always stop what you're doing and be ready in 30 minutes or less to split.
All of the doors, architraves, windows, baseboards, and crown molding in our home are painted Swiss Coffee, however, the walls throughout our home are painted in a very soft linen color, which I consider a neutral color. The hardwood floors have been refinished in a light neutral, and they look beautiful. Why would I possibly consider painting the walls white?
I am grateful that I stumbled upon your channel. Your information is beneficial to us as we plan to sell our home. We did a home inspection and are currently making repairs. Our walls need to be repainted, and we were going to repaint the same beige color, but you have convinced us to go with Dove White or Swiss Coffee. Thank you for your videos!
i love the advice and love the commenters who either are not in the US (most people on YT are not americans so you have to be very aware of that in terms of education, bias, etc) or have never sold a house. The pets thing is key, it's like a smoker house. When you have a 'doggy' or a 'kitty' house, the showing agents will tell prospects "Ok this is a stinky house but you can get it for a deal. . . "
Hi Audra, Love your haircut. I always enjoy your videos and have learned so much. I won’t be selling for a couple of years but I’m keeping all your videos that will help me when the time is right. My situation is a bit different than people selling in the city as I live in a rural mountain area. We only have a couple of realtor agents so may need bring in someone from the nearest city if a local realtor doesn’t meet the standards you are setting. Plus I don’t think they do staging here because we don’t have the resources to have that done. I’ll check to see if that’s true, but if we don’t, what would you suggest as my furniture is older and I won’t be taking it with me when I move. We don’t even have a have an organization who will pick it up to sell for the less fortunate and I can’t just give it all away since I need to live here until I’m able to sell and move.
Ahh..thanks for the haircut compliment. Means a lot. I lost 70% of my hair..its finally coming back. Sounds like you live in a different area than where I live:). If you don't have staging services and your furniture is older, I would keep the older furniture and just make sure you declutter....A lot. You don't want a vacant house. It creates awareness that no one is living there. Better to be safe. You could potentially virtually stage as well.
Why having the seller at their home so annoying to people? What are you people up to? Try purchasing a car without the salesman that represents the dealership being present or a used car being sold by the owner not being there and letting you just open it up and checking it out and that just a car. You have all been brainwashed by Realtors .
To be honest and to come clean I've thrown some pretty epic parties at sunset showing my listings. Nothing like popping some champs with a panoramic ocean view. Surprisingly, none of my sellers wanted to join in the festivities and neither has ever said they were brainwashed when they got the check from Escrow... but I mean that's just me.
I was uneasy leaving my realtor alone in the house because she had to let everyone and anyone in and show them everything! I was worried about her safety during the only open house we had. I was fine when she did appointment showings without me. But I did leave the house during that open house because she said she was not worried about it.
Sellers don't make mistakes. They control what happens. Sellers need to be present during the showings because they need to give info and answer questions. Same with when an inspector goes through. Annoying does not matter. Buyers can suck eggs. If buyers are not asking questions during the showings, they will be asking questions post purchase and not being able to get answers. Realtors don't know what they are doing. They may be professionals, but that does not mean they know how to sell any particular house. The buyer bought it and owns it so the owner knows what is important. Houses don't need to be depersonalized. If they are, they will sell faster. If the owners still live there, they don't need to sell it fast. Sellers that live there do not want to or need to sell. Selling fast is only needed to be done when the owners moved away and it is vacant.
Nothing is timeless. I really wish trends in home design would slow down. These HGTV-type shows feel that they have to constantly change home style so that they can have something "newer" than the trends that were on point 5 years ago. I had an agent try to tell me that Shaker-style cabinets are out of style. They've been used for 250 years! We are chasing our tails with all of these new trends!
@@schex9 besides shaker cabinets I think white marble baths, Edwardian fixtures, hardwood floors and white traditional kitchens have stood the test of time.
Nothin but gratitude here. Just today. A nice "market analysis" from a very helpful and patient Realtor. One of the best in (New Hampshire). Not gonna name names. And so here I am, alone, just barely making my bills. Yada Yada Yada. Do I sell now or go for another winter here? Absolutely totally overwhelmed. The only word I have for my Realtor is BIVOUAC. Yep, for hell or high water I am sheltering in place, listening to all of your tips and tricks and day by day it's Metal scrapyard, It's Goodwill, It's Town Dump, It's forget about those memories. My son in Denver, his mother finally not involved in my town, accepting (the loss of) my fox news zombie siblings in Ohio, never mind the destruction of the orange man group in this town, and so totally alone. A very patient Realtor who I think has heard it's~BIVOUAC for me. Just sheltering in place ~ gonna be a long cold winter but I'm pretty good at what i do. 〰Thank you ✨🌿👍🌿✨
I think you have made it clear about what color your walls should be. How about the exterior of the house? I plan on selling my house in the next 2-3 years and will have to paint the exterior before putting it on the market.
I recently went to an open house and there were a couple of people (likely teenaged kids) studying. The agent didn’t introduce them, but.i was so uncomfortable and I felt I was disrupting their family life. I left quickly.
Please encourage staging as most people have old tried furnishings and your home will sell much faster if it is staged and it will sell for more money. Online first looks are where staging g gets them in your door! Be the first showing in your neighborhood not the last!
I always want my agent to go to the house first to tell me what it smells like. (I wish they would!) If I decide to see the house, I ask that automatic scent machines be removed due to "allergies".
lol, I feel like I get annoying to my agent. I don’t ride her or question her marketing because I trust her. But I don’t trust me, and I’m panicking now that we move in two weeks and will have two house payments if we don’t sell. So I ask her, am I doing something wrong, is there something I need to be doing, is there something I can help with or am I somehow making this difficult? She’s like no you’re actually doing everything right it’s just a very specific house and there will be someone who wants it.
Tell me you're a realtor in L.A. without telling me you're a realtor in L.A! Should be this video title! I say this tongue in cheek with love! My bro in law is in Pasadena and deals in real-estate. My wife and I sold a home in Silicon Valley. We are homeowners in Colorado. We have several properties. I am a native of Colorado. We don't deal with this crap so much.
Can you please do a video on how many days for a buyer to produce financing after making a empty offer no pre-approval letter and stupid owner accepts it not just California laws
