How to Choose a Real Estate Agent | Carthage MO

Ready to Buy, Sell, or Rent Your Home?

Charles Burt Realtors is your local real estate agency. We live and work in the areas we serve.

Planning to sell your house is a major decision And no matter how nice your property may be, a house won’t necessarily sell itself! The person you choose makes or breaks your selling experience.

Look for an agent dedicated to pushing your home and garnering the best offer for you. Providing you a pleasant home-selling experience is my goal during every real estate transaction.

Look at a few of the ways I will be the best agent for your needs:

• Together, we’ll decide your home’s value and get the best bid possible.
• Your house will be in the best condition for Open House events in Carthage.
• I’m there when you need me — on the go, in person, and even via text message. You’re my top priority and my schedule and actions display that.
• Your house is my top selling priority, and I’ll ensure it gets the attention it commands in all available venues, even nationally. Every agent in Carthage will see your great home.

As a popular agent in Carthage, I’ll work to get the best price for your home and get it off the market quickly. It’s easy to snap up the first real estate agent who seems nice enough, but selecting the most knowledgeable agent takes planning.

Your interests stay at the forefront throughout the whole selling process. You’ll have my knowledge on your side.

E-mail Charles Burt Homefolks at maryleader@charlesburt.com or just call (417) 358-6088. I’m always available to answer any questions that you might have about selling in Carthage, Missouri.

Curb Appeal Checklist

Inspect the outside ground. Remove any building materials, scrap wood, discarded household items, etc. from the property. Store garbage cans in the garage.

Check the home from the roof line down.

Is the roof free and clear from obstructions and moss?

• Are the gutters clear and neatly hung?
• Are the windows clean and free from obstructions (such as overgrown bushes or trees)?
• Are bushes, trees and shrubs neatly pruned?

Inspect the condition of the paint or siding?

• Is it time to power wash the siding?
• Is touch up paint needed?
• Is the front door in good shape?

Do flower beds need an upgrade?

• Are plants neatly pruned?
• Is the bed free and clear of weeds?
• Is the bed properly mulched?
• Are flowers in bloom?

Keep the lawn neatly groomed.

• Is the lawn free from weeds?
• Is the lawn free from grass clippings?
• Is the lawn neatly edged?

Getting the Best Price for Your Home

Effective marketing is the key to selling your home quickly and getting the highest price. Aggressive, effective marketing of my Client’s homes by every available medium is how I’ve become a top real estate agent in the Carthage area. It’s my job to assure that you get as many qualified offers as possible, allowing you to extract the highest price the market will bear.

One of the most important elements of marketing your home effectively is setting the price right. Set the price too high, and you won’t get any offers and your home will take too long to sell. Set it too low and you cheat yourself by not getting your home’s full, fair value. As an expert in Carthage area real estate, I analyze the market and set area home prices every single day. I’ll work closely with you to assure that everything possible is done to get the highest price, in the time frame you need.

The condition and appearance of your home are also critical factors in getting the best price for your home. I’ll personally walk through your home with you and advise you of what you can do to properly stage your home most effectively. Some areas are much more important and more likely to pay off than others! Often, the buyer is motivated by emotional responses as much or more than financial issues. There are usually things I can point out to you that are easy and inexpensive, yet go a long way toward triggering those “buy” emotions.

As your agent, I’ll negotiate furiously on your behalf throughout the entire process to ensure that your best interests are protected. Real estate negotiations and contracts can be intimidating in their complexity. Most people have almost no experience in these negotiations. After all, how often do you buy or sell a new house? As a top real estate professional, getting you the best terms and prices in all negotiations is simply part of my job.

Home Appreciation | Carthage Home Prices

Need Some Help Understanding Why They Appreciate?

Over time, the value of a property will go up and down. House values appreciate in the long term almost always. But, of course, in real estate there are no “sure things”.

When your property appreciates you have a bigger asset to borrow against, and you’ll realize a better profit when you sell. Property values in Carthage fluctuate for many different reasons, so how will you be sure what you’re buying now won’t depreciate the day after you close? The most important factor to consider is that you pick a real estate agent in Carthage who can identify the factors that influence local prices.

A lot of people assume that the economy is the most crucial factor affecting real estate appreciation. Naturally, there are many factors on a national level that influence your home’s value: unemployment, interest rates, quarterly earnings reports, and more. However, your home’s value and the elements that play the biggest role in its appreciation are specific to the local Carthage economy and housing market.

Let Charles Burt Homefolks help you with your first home purchase in Carthage Location in a community – Convenient access to schools, jobs and amenities like shopping, restaurants and entertainment is important to a lot of us and will greatly influence home values. So when it comes to holding their value, these areas typically appreciate better than others.

Recent sales – Your REALTOR® should give you reports on the recent home sales in the areas that you’re interested in. You’ll want to know average time on market, selling versus listing price and more.

Appreciation history – Have house prices gone up or down over the past 5-10 years? Is the community thought to be desirable because of its location or affordability?

Economic factors – Have businesses moved into or away from an area? Are local companies hiring? Is there a nice combination of business in an area, or does it depend on just one industry? Each of these elements plays a role.

Knowing the factors that play into your property’s value is important. Click here to get an assessment of your property’s value.

Call me at (417) 358-6088 or e-mail me if you have any questions at all. I’d love to hear from you.

How To Stage Your Residence for an Open House

Best Residential Staging Tips

If you need even more information on home staging to sell your house quickly in Carthage, contact Charles Burt Homefolks and I’ll assist you with promoting the best image for your home. Sell quickly in Carthage with home staging and with me as your real estate agent – (417) 358-6088.

Before you put your residence on the market, consider the best way to sell your house: careful home staging. Some positive aspects of home staging include fewer days on the market and higher bids. If your goal is to sell your home quickly, choose a thoroughly thought out home staging strategy.

Staging your home in Carthage, Missouri is all about selling a lifestyle. You want buyers to picture themselves living and lounging in your home. You want them to see your current house as their future home.

Preparing your house for an Open House doesn’t have to be an annoying experience. It can actually be enjoyable. Together, we’ll work to get an exceptional offer for your home. To see fewer days on the market in Carthage, Missouri, employ these low-cost staging tips:

Curb Appeal Checklist

Start with the outside of your house, better known as your curb appeal. Examine the outside of your home from a quick glance from the street. What jumps out at you? What great characteristics seem to fade into the background? Acknowledging this assists us in determining what plan of action we can use to attract buyers from the street and into your house. If your house isn’t attractive on the outside with touched up paint and colorful garden plants we’ll need to tackle those issues. Refer to the Curb Appeal Checklist and boost your home’s final selling price.

Welcome Home Checklist

Sell quickly in Carthage with home staging and with me as your real estate agent – (417) 358-6088.

Could a buyer see themselves hanging out in your living space, relaxing in your master bedroom or getting work done in your home office? I want your home to pleasantly accept buyers and offer them a sense of contentment. I’ll help you achieve this by suggesting small improvements that enhance the features of your home. I’ll tell you eliminate anything that gives the impression of clutter. Surface areas like tables, desks and counters should be clutter-free. Brick-a-brack, souvenirs, family photos, and kids’ artwork should get moved out of sight. You need to “generalize” the house so buyers can envision it as their new house.

Every area gets a once-over. Changes that directly affect your sale price include easy-to-fix items like pieces of furniture that should be rearranged, rooms that need fresh paint, carpet that needs steaming, fixtures that need shining, and windows that need washing

Buyers’ agents know that their clients want a residence that brings them inside. Everything that could be unsightly should get moved out in order for your property to have general appeal while on the market.

Setting the Stage

I’ll tell you when for the Open House, because everything comes together to create a picture of what buyers will expect after they close on your house. Dark living areas can be a real mood killer, so we’ll do things like part the curtains and add lighting where needed to invite the buyer inside. Together we’ll enhance the mood of the house with enjoyable music playing softly and assure a nice scent flows throughout your home. We’ll incorporate cozy-looking bedspreads, and pillows on your couch and bedding. Buyers should feel like your house has the potential to be.

Is it Time to Short Sell Your Home?

Not sure what a short sale is? A short sale is when the amount of the outstanding loans is greater than the value of the home. This situation is typically the result of home prices in an area rapidly declining. For many homeowners, a short sale is preferential to foreclosure or bankruptcy when they can negotiate with the lender to forgive the remainder of the loan.

How do I proceed with a short sale?

First, figure out the true market value of your house. A knowledgeable REALTOR®, like Charles Burt Homefolks, will be able to give you a good idea of what your property will possibly sell for based on a market analysis. Beware of websites where a computer estimates your house’s market value since they may not have complete information or know important things like neighborhood trends and current listings. Should you have any questions regarding real estate or what happens during a short sale in Carthage, Missouri just contact me here or email me.

Next, determine your closing costs. My work in this area means I know to take into account fees including title report, appraisal, escrow, property taxes, and agent commissions to calculate your final costs at the closing table.

Finally, get in touch with your lender and make them aware of your situation. They may even have a dedicated team that manages short sales. Ask about their exact steps. Some lenders will be more willing to work with you than others. They may be able to lessen the amount owed or make other arrangements. Your lender will have to give approval for the final sale.