How Can I Get The Most For My House?

I was recently asked, "How can I get the most money for my house?"   Now, this is not a new question for an educated REALTOR® and frankly, the answer is not a new one either. "You need Curb Appeal, Home Staging, the Right Financing Strategy and PRICING IT RIGHT!"   Not the "magic potion" you maybe hoping for, but that is the reality. 


Some Home Sellers want to do less work and still over-price their homes.  This formula does not work in today's market, and I truly hope they like living in that home, because if they don't get smart about today's market and what they need to do to sell their home, they're going to be living in it for a long time!

Here's the truth:

Buyers today start their home search online.  You need to have amazing pictures which show your home in its best light.  We're not talking Glamour Shots, but the pictures should be representative of your home.  This means you need to get the exterior and interior in top shape before you put it on the market.

If you don't capture a buyer's attention the minute they pull up to your house, forget it.  They're looking to be impressed. You have to do everything in your power to make that happen. Remember you are in competition with others who want to sell their home as well. If your home's curb appeal makes a great first impression, everyone, including potential homebuyers, will want to see what's inside.

One of the hottest trends to sell a home today is home staging, an interior decorating technique for making the most of your home's attributes and making it more attractive for a potential buyer. Home staging has been known to boost home sales prices, as well as quicken the amount of time the home stays on the market. With the real estate climate making selling your home difficult, home staging can be an effective tool to help sellers out.

In today’s market you need a financing strategy that will help both buyers and sellers. The unique strategy I wrap around each of the listings I agree to sell:

1.    Dramatically reduces the sale cycle for your home
2.    Allows your home to easily stand apart from other listed area homes
3.    Attracts more potential buyers by making it easier for them to qualify
4.    Lets You Walk Away With the Maximum Amount of Your Equity
5.    Eliminate or lower the Need For Price Reduction 

The longer your house is on the market, the more money you are losing every month. Your property becomes stagnant and by the time you finally decide to lower your price, it's not being shown.  This is not the time to "test" the market! Keep in mind as well that it cost you money every month (mortgage, tax, electricity, water, landscaping, trash etc.) to maintain your house. 


You MUST be priced right!  Reasonably priced listings are more likely to get reasonable offers from reasonable buyers.


Overpriced listings do not get as many showings. Fewer showings equal fewer offers.  Buyers are more educated about real estate than ever. They know if you're overpriced your house, and are probably going to wait until you get real about the pricing.  Why give them a reason to wait?  PRICE IT RIGHT at the very beginning and you'll be moving out in no time!

Nothing screams desperation quite like, price reduction!  Let's just avoid looking like the wallflower, and be the belle of the ball!  Let's get that yard looking spiffy, clean up the porches, paint the trim, de-clutter the interior (don't forget the garage!), set the home up to show off its best features and PRICE IT RIGHT!  You'll have buyers begging to your door. 

Warm Regards,

Andre Luc Plessis

REALTOR®

RCS-D^TM REALTOR®

Keller Williams® Realty

The Wealth Creation Team

CA DRE License # 01856185

Office: (818) 341-2972 - Cell: (310) 266-9463

P.S. Please disregard this letter if you have re-listed your property with an agent or broker.

P.S.S.S. I am the founder of the Wealth Creation Team. The Wealth Creation Team is a group of trusted Advisors, Pension Administrators, Estate Planning Attorneys, Tax Advisors, Mortgage Planners and REALTORS®. The Wealth Creation Team is a group of carefully selected talented professionals who work with individuals to help them protect their assets, create and manage their wealth!  Our mission is to educate and empower people, so they eliminate debts, learn how to buy and sell real estate correctly, learn how to protect their assets and build long-term wealth.

“Eliminate Your Debts, Protect Your Assets, Build Wealth, & Retire Rich!”

“Some Create The Real Estate Malaise, WE SOLVE IT!”

Child Support/Alimony To Be Considered as an Income

Child support/alimony will be considered when based on a divorce decree, court ordered separation agreement, court decree, or another legal agreement providing the payment terms confirm that the income will continue for minimum 3 years.  

Evidence must be provided to document that the funds have been received for, at minimum, past 3 months: i.e. bank statements showing the deposits and copies of the cancelled checks.

If a Borrower who is divorced does not have a court order or legal agreement that specifies the support payments, the support income cannot be used to qualify.

Myth: A divorce dissolves jointly-held credit accounts

When in the midst of a divorce, too many indivoduals fail to ask how their creditworthiness could be harmed by their former spouse. This is unfortunate, because joint liabilities can come back to haunt you. "Divorce attorneys are not financial counselors. That's not their job, but that's something you have to address.

If you're a joint account holder, you're equally responsible for that balance. You need to keep an eye on it, and you need to check your credit regularly to make sure that bill is getting paid. As the credit company to send yu a seperate statement so yuo can verify that your spouse who is responsible to pay the debt by the divorce decree pays on time and every month. If your spouse promises to keep current on payments on a jointly-held account and fails to follow through, be aware that will impact your score.

The Wealth Creation Team Successful Financing Strategy

We, at The Wealth Creation Team have a unique financing strategy that is the Advil for the pain in this real estate market today, that allow us to market properties different than other REALTORS® in the Los Angeles County.

Our unique financial strategy get double the potential buyers, so we can move the properties twice as fast, which allow our clients to maximize their NET EQUITY.

Myths About Divorce Decrees & Debts! What to Watch Out For!!!

Myth 1: A divorce decree protects my credit if my ex-spouse doesn't pay the debts they were assigned in the divorce.
Fact: If you have a joint financial obligation with your ex-spouse, and your divorce decree states that your ex-spouse is responsible, and your ex-spouse is delinquent on paying, your credit as well as his is affected. As stated above, your legal responsibility for a debt does not go away because a divorce decree assigns responsibility for a debt to your ex-spouse. Along with a legal responsibility to pay comes the right of the creditor to report a debt delinquent on your credit report if it is not paid as agreed in the original contract. Period.

Especially tragic are situations where one ex-spouse files bankruptcy and includes many joint debts in the BK. The spouse not filing bankruptcy is left holding the bag for these joint debts, and many times is not notified of the ex-spouse's filing until months or years down the road when it is too late to correct the situation. So not only is the spouse who didn't file BK responsible for the unpaid debts (and can be legally sued for them), but the non-filing BK spouse's credit also is ruined - something that cannot be corrected - because the credit bureaus have the right to report them delinquent.

Myth 2: A divorce decree can relieve a spouse from financial obligations of joint debts.
Fact: Debts that were obtained in the name of both spouses before a divorce (meaning both the husband and wife signed a document or application saying that they were both responsible for the debt) remain the obligation of both parties after a divorce, no matter what a divorce decree says.
Why? Because both of you signed a legally binding contract with the creditor, and the divorce decree does not amend this contract. Amendment of any contract requires agreement by all parties (including the creditor). Proof of the amendment requires the signature of all parties. During a divorce, the creditors are not even consulted, let alone a part of the divorce courts, and therefore the original agreements/contracts stand. Consequently, if your ex-spouse does not pay a debt that he was assigned in a divorce decree, then you are responsible for it.

Myths About Divorce Decrees

Creditors aren't interested in how property and bills are divided during divorce. If you have debt in joint accounts with your spouse, you are both responsible for paying it back, no matter what the divorce decrees says.

Creditors are not legally bound to abide by your final decree of divorce. A judge's order does not override what you owe your creditors and most attorneys don't alert their clients to the potential for problems if one spouse does not follow the court order. If one can't pay, the other is responsible. A court cannot overturn contracts between individuals unless they are fraudulent or not lawful. A divorce does not fit either of these definitions, so the contract remains in tact until the contract ends (when the debt is paid off).
I can't tell you how many individuals have been unpleasantly surprised to find out years later that their credit was damaged because the ex spouse that was supposed to pay the bills did not. DON'T FORGET TO DIVORCE YOUR SPOUSE FINANCIALLY!

Changing Your Will to Favor Your Children After Your Divorce

Do you have a will? You should have. It’s your way of making your wishes known and distributing your property and assets after your death and as such, it’s very important to have a will.

If you’re married or with a partner and own a house and have children, then you definitely should have a will. But when your circumstances change, you need to remember to change your will, otherwise you’ll find that, on your death, your former partner could receive everything you desired in your old will.

Things to Consider When Changing Your Will

You need to look at your assets, everything you own. After splitting with a partner,  you want to provide for your children in the event of your death, so you need to see your solicitor and make changes to ensure they will inherit whatever you own and wish to pass on. Remember, too, that assets aren’t all material; they can include heirlooms, family photographs and memorabilia, too, things you want your children to have and by which they remember you.

If, say, you’ve bought a house, make sure it goes to your children (if you have more than one child, spread it equally between them. If they’re under 18, it will need to be held in trust for them until they come of maturity). The same is true for all your financial assets. Have them held in trust until your children are old enough. This has the effect of making sure your former partner can’t have them.

The chances are that under your old will, your former partner would have been the executor of your estate. Obviously, you’ll need to change that. If your children are over 18, you can appoint them as executors. It’s a relatively simple procedure, and if you’re not sure, an estate planning attorney will be able to advise you on the mechanics and wording.

If You Find a New Partner

Moving in with, or marrying, a new partner is another huge change in your circumstances, and one that will require a new will. However, much as you love this new person in your life (and possibly any children she already has, as well as any you may have together), don’t forget your own children. Be equitable in the way you leave your assets.