Ryan DeRoode | Twin Cities MN Realtor - Ryan DeRoode

Why Choosing an Expert Real Estate Agent Will Help You Sell Your Home More Quickly

Selling your home can take months – or even years – if you don’t know what you’re doing. To get a quicker sale, and get as much money as possible, it pays to work with an expert realtor.

Ryan DeRoode has plenty of experience in the real estate market and can provide expert knowledge alongside unrivaled integrity. If you want to sell your home, then here are some crucial reasons it makes sense to choose a realtor:

Expertise

Do you know everything there is to know about selling a home? No, probably not. Does it make sense to hire someone that does? Of course! You go to a doctor when you have medical issues, and you go to a realtor when you have real estate issues. They know the ins and outs of this market, ensuring you’re in the best position to make a quick sale.

Negotiating & Counter-Offers

It’s rare that someone bids on your home for the perfect price, and the deal is done right then and there. Often, rounds of negotiating take place before the price and terms are agreed upon. With a Lakeville realtor like Ryan DeRoode, you have someone who knows how to negotiate and can get the best offer for your home.

Security

We all know that selling a home is a massive deal, which means you need things to be as secure as can be. If you work with a realtor, then you’re guaranteed to have as much security as possible. People are typically pre-qualified before entering your home, and a real estate agent is there guiding them through your home. Proper paperwork and procedures are in place regarding payments to help ensure your financial security as well.

Exposure to the wider market

Expert realtors are exposed to the wider real estate market. This means they know about house prices and what the general going rate is for specific properties. As such, you can feel safe knowing that your home will be listed for a price that aligns with the current property market. So, you’re not stuck waiting for months to see an offer because the listing is too high, and you’re never in fear of selling it for too low either.

Knowledge of the geographical area

Do you know much about the area in which you’re selling your home? Have you got an idea as to what potential buyers are interested in when looking for houses in this area? Possibly, but a realtor has all of this knowledge. As a result, they know what people in your area are most keen on, which allows them to focus on your home’s key selling points when advertising it. Therefore, you will see more interest, from the right people, from day one.

Advice for staging your home

Holding open houses and private tours for potential buyers is a key element of selling a home. With a real estate expert like Ryan DeRoode, you have someone who can provide advice on staging your home. This means they set your house up, so it appeals to the potential buyers when they see it. Everything is made to look perfect, with a specific focus on highlighting the critical selling points. This can lead to more chance of a bid that’s close to your asking price.

If you’re selling your home, then you will benefit from an Apple Valley realtor. Feel free to get in contact with Ryan DeRoode if you need an expert real estate agent to ensure your sale goes through quickly and for the highest price possible.

Image source: FabioBalbi / iStock/Getty Images Plus

Selling Your Home? Remember these 5 Tips!

Are you trying to sell your home? Perhaps you are eager to upsize, moving to a bigger place that matches the needs of your family. Unfortunately, selling a home can be quite difficult. It’s often a long road, and making certain mistakes can delay the process, leaving your home on the market for months. You can avoid this issue by making sure that you follow these five simple tips.

Selling Your Home? Remember these 5 Tips!

1. Get An Analysis Of Your Home’s Value

This needs to be one of the first steps you take. Without an analysis, you will have no idea how much your real estate is worth. Don’t forget, various factors do impact the value of your home, including the value of other properties similar to your own and those in your neighborhood. Factors like this determine what a buyer is likely to pay for your home. You need to get the value right, even before your home goes on the market. If you start too high, you’ll need to drop the price, and this can give the impression that there’s an issue with your home. That could lead to low levels of interest or buyers undercutting your asking price. Alternatively, if you start too low, you could find the home sells for a lot less than it’s worth. You can get an analysis of your home’s value from a top Lakeville realtor right now.

2. Declutter And Pre-Pack

Do make sure that you are decluttering your home and getting rid of the things clogging up your rooms. Remember, buyers are often looking for larger properties with plenty of space. Decluttering can make the smallest home look grand, great for young couples and families who are often your target buyer. Decluttering is simply a matter of removing anything that isn’t essential from a room. Put away some of the accessories and consider placing extra furniture in storage. Ultimately your property should look like a show home. Pre-packing can be a smart choice too, and provides an extra incentive to buyers, because it shows you are looking for a fast sale.

3. Evaluate Your Curb Appeal

Speak to any realtor or potential buyer, and they will tell you first impressions are crucial for selling your home. You need to make sure buyers are dazzled, as soon as they pull up outside or glimpse photographs online. You can do this by evaluating your curb appeal. How does your home look to people passing by? The yard should look stunning and well maintained. Cut the grass short to make the front yard look spacious and impressive. You can also think about adding an array of colorful flowers, either through potted plants or flower beds.

4. Make Needed Updates And Repairs

Do not give a buyer a reason to lowball their offer or avoid making one completely. Ensure that updates and repairs are completed. The last thing that you want is for your home to come across as a ‘fixer-upper.’ You need to make it look like a dream come true and the ideal home for new buyers.

5. Choose A Knowledgeable, Expert Realtor

Ultimately, whether or not your home sells fast and for the right price, often comes down to marketing. A knowledgeable expert like Lakeville realtor Ryan DeRoode can ensure that your property is marketed correctly, and the unique selling points of your home are showcased. A skilled realtor will get buyers to fall in love with your home, before they have even walked through the door. Call Ryan at (651) 503 – 4158 to chat about your current home, and the home you are dreaming of owning.

With these tips in mind, you’ll find selling your home to be a lot easier, faster, and a less stressful process!

7 Reasons Autumn May Be a PERFECT Time to Upsize Your Home

Look online, and you’ll often find articles telling you that spring or summer is the optimum time to sell your home. But that’s not true in all situations. People often forget that some individuals are less interested in selling their home, and more interested in escaping stress through the summer months. That can lead to slim pickings for home buyers looking for a great, larger property. Here are some other reasons why you might want to wait until autumn to upsize your property.

Summer Sellers Are Fatigued
A lot of buyers will start trying to sell their property in the spring. If their home hasn’t sold by autumn, they can definitely be starting to feel the fatigue and the pressure. They have probably had countless showings, an offer or two, and maybe even a few of which probably reached the final stages before falling through. Ultimately, they are fed up, and this can lead to a slash in their home price to get a quick sale. That can bring a great bargain for you.
Autumn Sets A Tone For A Cozy Impression
You might think, “I want bright, summer weather to sell my home!” Well, don’t underestimate the beauty of autumn. According to Lakeville realtor, Ryan DeRoode, marketing a home is all about selling the dream place to live. The gorgeous colors of the leaves, the warm fireplace, the luxurious fall scents – they all help you create a very cozy picture for buyers. Plus, autumn sets the stage for people imagining spending their first Christmas in their new home! The emotional appeal may be very strong for a potential buyer.
Less Competition Than Spring/Summer
Since a lot of people believe those articles telling people to sell in spring and summer, that’s when many try. This means that by summer, the market has thinned out a little more. As such, you can market your home, without your neighbor two houses down the street potentially undercutting on their sale price.
Tax benefits Before The End Of The Year
Selling a home and buying a new one can provide tax benefits. To make the most of this, you want to sell and buy your new home right before the end of the fiscal year. Putting your property up in autumn will allow you to do this and save a fortune.
Our MN Leaves Offer Stunning Home Settings
Minnesota presents a unique advantage for home sellers in autumn. Through this season, there are gorgeous palettes of vibrant reds, oranges, rusting browns and sunny yellows on the trees. These all provide an incredible backdrop, ideal if you can get buyers to explore your beautiful backyard, and perhaps “FALL” in love with the exterior of your home.
Our MN Offers Excellent Weather In Autumn
Weather is one of the main reasons why people suggest you don’t try and sell your home through autumn and summer. However, MN is different. Here, we rarely see the worst of the weather from the later seasons, and instead, it tends to cooperate with home buyers. You won’t (hopefully, as we all know MN can have surprises, too!) need to worry about snow or ice at this time of year, and that means there’s nothing to throw off your home sale.
You’re turning the corner into appliance sales!
Finally, you might be putting off upsizing your home because you know you’re going to need to purchase new appliances for a new property. Or, perhaps you want to make sure that the appliances you leave behind will be in excellent working order. Either way, you’re in luck. Sell in autumn, and you’re as close as you can be to the epic December sales, guaranteed to make sure you get those appliances for an absolute steal of a price.

When selling your home, there are no guarantees a buyer will simply walk through the front door. But, there are steps that you need to take so your property receives maximum exposure to attract a ready, willing and able buyer…Ryan is here to help you with that process!

How to Choose a Real Estate Agent

First and foremost, this is not a “pick me, pick me” post. This is about finding a real estate agent who fits you and your needs. You’re about to embark on a two to six-month journey, with a trusted advisor, to help you buy and/or sell, in most cases, your most valuable material possession. Most of us research doctors, lawyers, financial advisors, personal trainers, etc…before signing up with any of them. You may want to do the same to find your real estate agent.

Buying or selling a home in Lakeville MN means you are in a transitional phase in your life. The transition itself is usually stressful enough on its own. It can be exciting (marriage, baby, promotion), or challenging (loss of a job, divorce, loss of a loved one), or both exciting AND challenging (empty nesters, down-sizing, combining families, job transfer, etc…). No matter what the situation, you should expect a level of empathy and understanding from your real estate agent. More importantly, count on them to navigate the transaction, to best suit your transitional needs, and help set up a support system along the way. It’s vital they remain your emotional rock and ensure emotions aren’t taking you (the client), off the path to your end goal.

Does the real estate agent fit your style and personality? How do they communicate, and will they communicate on your terms (in person, phone only, text only, email only, all of the above)? Do they walk around 24/7 with a blue tooth in their ear, constantly telling you how busy they are? Maybe you sell blue tooth earbuds and enjoy this about your agent? 😉

The point: It’s always your choice. Choosing the right realtor for you should be based on a mix of “real feel” and “facts”. You can find lists all over the internet, so I won’t dwell on too many of the bullet points. Here are a few of the important ones, at least in my opinion.

Experience: How many homes have they sold? How long have they been in the business? Are they full or part-time? If they are new, do they have a strong mentor or team, to help them with the technical aspects? We were ALL new at some point, and I’ve worked with some amazing newer agents, so don’t let that necessarily be a deterrent, just make sure they have a strong support system.

Reviews: Do they have a variety of reviews from a variety of past clients? This will give you a pretty good idea of what they are like.

Non-negotiables: Professional photography and expansive online presence should be a staple in our industry by now. Unless the realtor is a professional photographer on the side, then I would expect this to be hired out. A majority of buyers will have viewed your property online, prior to even calling a buyer’s agent. Do not risk your home being passed on, simply due to poor photography. (…and yes, it does happen)

Accessibility: How quick is the realtor to return your calls, or available to show you a property. In our current market, the “good ones” are typically sold within a day. Make sure your agent has some back-up, if they’re out of town, or working with multiple clients.

Pressure: You should never feel pressured into buying. There is a big difference in advising the client on the urgency of a market, and pressuring a client into buying a home, just for the sake of getting one before it’s gone. If it doesn’t feel like home, you should never feel pressure to buy, in fear of nothing else coming on the market. There will always be more homes! Wait for the one that feels good to you! 😊

Benefits of Buying or Selling in the Winter

I’m often asked, “Do homes sell in the winter? Do people actually buy homes in the winter?”

The answer is yes and yes, regardless of a hot or “cold” real estate market!

Fall and winter can actually be the best time of year to buy or sell your home, depending on your situation. Here are just a few reasons, we see year after year.

Benefits for buyers:

1. Fewer buyers out looking, means you are less likely to run into bidding wars. There is also a better chance of getting your new home at a lower price, with less competition from other buyers.
2. Speaking of price, sellers are more likely to price their home competitively. They have either been on the market for some time, or need to make a move for a job relocation, or financial reasons.
3. Some sellers want to move their homes for tax purposes, prior to year’s end.
4. Get a feel for how the home holds up in some our state’s more challenging climate! Windows, roof, furnace, insulation and a good garage suddenly become pretty popular this time of year!! 🙂
5. Your realtor is likely working with fewer clients, and has more time to focus on YOU!

Benefits for sellers:

1. Most Fall and Winter buyers are not out joyriding/window shopping. They are serious about finding a home, and ready to go!
2. Just as for buyers, sellers can also benefit from buyers relocating out of necessity (job, family, lifestyle changes).
3. Fewer homes on the market mean less competition from other sellers. This makes it easier to get your home to stand out!
4. Both parties tend to be more motivated, which can make negotiations less chaotic and rushed.
5. Depending on your home and décor, the holiday season can create emotional ties to a buyer and your home. No need to go Clark Griswold on it, but tasteful décor can be quite helpful!

Interesting Eats at the 2017 Minnesota State Fair

Looking for some interesting eats at the 2017 Minnesota State Fair? Below you’ll find a roundup of the top 5. The fair runs from August 24 through September 4, 2017.

Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar

Yes, you can probably bake about 20 dozen for the price of one bucket but what would be the fun in that? These small, soft, gooey cookies are a right of passage at the Minnesota State Fair, and they go pretty well with a large glass of milk. Which, coincidentally you can get in the same booth.

1919 Rootbeer

The Postiglione family has been pouring 1919 draft root beer, made at the August Schell Brewery in New Ulm for over three decades. Make sure you grab one outside the Garden and Underwood.

Lulu’s Public House

If you’re thinking about heading over to the fair in the morning, you’ve got to stop at Lulu’s Public House which is located in the West End of the Market. Here you can try what’s called a Breakfast Buddy Bowl. It’s a waffle bowl filled with eggs, syrup, cheese, bacon, hash browns, with a biscuit and gravy on top. Guess you better go on an empty stomach?

O’Gara’s

Ready to try some deep fried avocado? Sounds like some fatty goodness right there yes? If the plain ones aren’t quite good enough, you can always pair them with chipotle sauce for dipping. Stop by O’Garas which is on the south-west corner of Dan Patch Avenue.

Oodles of Noodles

There’s always that one person in the group that has some pretty strict dietary needs; gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian or heck maybe all three? There’s a perfect solution to this over at Oodles of Noodles in the Food Building. Their newest dish this year is red curry rice cooked in coconut milk with an onslaught of authentic produce.