Real Estate News Radio with Rowena Patton

Maximize Your Home Sale: Expert Tips and Strategies for a Seamless Experience

• Rowena Patton

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Ever wondered how you can make your home sale a seamless and profitable experience? Discover the transformative power of cash CPO offers and how they can secure up to 70% of your home's value upfront, eliminating the hassle of showings or repairs. This episode of the Plain English Real Estate Show, hosted by Rowena Patton, provides a roadmap for anyone looking to sell their home, especially those planning for a move in 2025. From dealing with inherited belongings to navigating storm-damaged traffic patterns, we cover the practical steps to prepare for listing your home.

Join us as we explore the dynamics of selling during the holiday season, where festive cheer can become your greatest ally in attracting buyers. Learn how strategic home improvements, like minor kitchen makeovers and enhancing curb appeal, can significantly boost your return on investment even in a flattened market. We also dive into the unique challenges of buying and selling simultaneously, offering solutions like pre-inspections and CPO listings that can alleviate the stress of relocating, particularly in the serene mountain regions.

This episode is packed with expert advice on selecting the right real estate agent, tailored to your personal circumstances such as senior living or divorce. We discuss the importance of timing considerations and the potential financial benefits of certified pre-owned listings. Whether you're overwhelmed by possessions or contemplating a strategic move, our in-depth discussion provides actionable insights to ensure your home sale is both successful and satisfying. Tune in for practical tips, real-life success stories, and a fresh perspective on selling in today's market.

Speaker 1:

This is the Plain English Real Estate Show with your host, rowena Patton, a show that focuses on the real estate market in terms you can easily understand. Call Rowena now. The number is 240-9962 or 1-800-570-9962. Now here's the English girl in the mountains, the agent that I would trust, rowena Patton.

Speaker 2:

Good morning. It's Rowena Patton here with the realestatenewsradiocom show. Can you believe we've been chatting on the Saturday mornings for 12 years? We've all been chatting away for 12 years on a Saturday morning. What do you think to that, andy? Oh my gosh.

Speaker 3:

I'm telling you 12 years has flown by, has it not?

Speaker 2:

I mean we met back in our 20s, right? Oh, it had to be.

Speaker 3:

Had to be.

Speaker 2:

Oh my, Are you all prepared for Christmas?

Speaker 3:

Already. Wow, I've got the house decorated, I've got the invitations sent out, out the presents bought and wrapped. You know, you believe that, do you believe?

Speaker 2:

that I think it was when you said, said the invitations were set out, that kind of gave it away. I'm like, well, I didn't get mine right in the hot seat. So today we're talking about if you're considering selling your home in 2025, this show is for you. So you know what happens. You sit around, you go towards the holidays. Probably last year you said I think it's time to sell, we want to be by the grandkids and the year's gone by, and now you're moving into the holidays.

Speaker 2:

It's classic and it's very, very common. It's like okay, we're going to sell it in the spring. So you're welcome to call in and join us live on air at 828-240-9962. Or you can let your friends and family know to listen outside the live broadcast area today at the link to listen live anywhere, even in Mars, at realestatenewsradiocom. That's realestatenewsradiocom. That's realestatenewsradiocom Link to listen live anywhere. Remember, if you're thinking about listing your home anywhere in the USA or Canada, give us a call 828-333-4483. We've got agents standing by 24-7 and just amazing partners around this country and in Canada too now. So this is Rowena Patton at All Star Powerhouse. What's your week been like, randy, other than not getting your invitations out? Busy.

Speaker 3:

It's busy this time of the year, even though we're still recovering here from Helene. It's busy, the traffic here because of the infrastructure that was damaged during the storm. The traffic here is a nightmare, isn't it?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's amazing. So a lot of the side roads are still blocked and everything seems to go on the highway. Now it's interesting. It's interesting how it will, I think, change traffic patterns forever as people just stay on the main roads. We'll see. I mean, who knows? There's no precedent we can look at for this and you know, to see happening and people are always asking me. Obviously, we deal with a lot of people around the country and I get continual questions. You know, are we doing? How is it going? And I think it's just slow. You know the main stuff's been cleared up. What are you seeing, randy?

Speaker 3:

stuff's been cleared up. What are you seeing, randy? Well, yeah, and and again. Uh, major highways and bridges, roads were, were destroyed and and it just takes time to rebuild those things and and to get traffic back to its normal pattern. Uh, the swananoa river bridge, right below ashville mall there is still out and will be for a long time. That's a major, thorough, major side road yes, and that's thrown a lot more traffic on tunnel road and I 240 and and so, yeah, it's just going to be a while. Pack your patience.

Speaker 2:

That's the best thing to do is pack your patience it's true, and I think people are getting a bit frustrated as well, like why isn't it fixed already? You know I mean my gosh, anyway. So let's talk about what we're doing here. So you're starting to prep for sale. Oh, we've got to go through stuff. I've got a number of friends going through this right now. Actually, it's very interesting packing up that stuff. Randy's been through it as well and I know the last time I moved I said, okay, every night I am going to fill one of those giant trash bag full of things that I'm going to donate. And you can even be organized and still feel a little overwhelmed towards the end. So you know, the furniture is kind of easy unless you've got stuff that you want to donate. And if you've been in your house for a long time, you've probably got a lot of stuff you want to donate. So we can help with all those various companies that we've got. Just, we've got agents in our network. It's the CPO. Agents have a whole list of people that can help you. So you know, all you got to do is say we've got a lot of stuff to move out the house. We feel like we're kind of hoarders, or if you're not, that's fine too, but we've got some stuff handed down from our grandparents.

Speaker 2:

You know this is the first generation now where kids don't want the stuff. So the boomers, the people, the early boomers, you know the people. So boomer starts at 59 and up through your 60s, those people kind of felt obliged to keep the furniture from their parents when it was passed down from their parents often, and the kids just don't want it. You know there's all that ancient, antique stuff that probably has a lot of value, except when you go and sell it. You know it's the memories value, but the kids don't want it. Maybe they've learned that the memories are all there and you don't need the furniture to tell you that.

Speaker 2:

You know, also, it was back in the days where you didn't have a whole lot. So if your parents or your grandparents gave you a bedroom set, ok, I'll take that, thank you, because you didn't have to buy it. You know you look how cheap furniture is now. Now, of course I can hear, I can see a lot of you rolling your eyes, even through the radio again. Yeah, but it's not the quality. It may not be, but we've turned into this disposable society. But we've turned into this disposable society. Think about the fridges that are avocado. And was it Randy Harvest Gold is the one that you grew up with. Is that right?

Speaker 3:

An avocado green.

Speaker 2:

An avocado. Yes, oh my goodness. But those fridges and those ranges, a lot of them are still going. You know, a lot of them were built in 1960. And think about that for a minute. Here we are, 64 years later they are still going. You know, a lot of them were built in 1960. And think about that for a minute. Here we are, 64 years later they're still going. And now they say to expect an appliance to last for 10 years if you're lucky.

Speaker 2:

So we've turned into this disposable society. So you know, if you've got that old furniture, it may be wonderful and it may look like new, or at least new in an antique kind of way. But you know you may not like it, even you didn't like it. So now you're expecting your kids to take it on and that you know it causes all kinds of issues with the family. So think about that. You know, if you don't have that stuff and you're moving into a place that's around the same size as what you've got, but a lot of people that those boomers, the 59 and up, gosh, there'll be 60 next year. The 59 and up are right sizing, in other words downsizing. They're moving into a smaller place. So think about the furniture you want to let go. It's really, really important Because, honestly, the furniture moves the easy bit.

Speaker 2:

We all think that's the hard bit because it's heavy and you have to get movers. You know what the hard bit is? All the other stuff, those and I call them the slush bags. I've been going through my stuff so I've got two right now so you might have four sets of dishes. Do you really need four sets of dishes? You've probably got 30 mismatching glass.

Speaker 2:

You, I can see now you've got some wives and husbands looking at each other, rolling their eyes at each other, like, see, told you, told you, so you know you've got to start going through all that stuff. You only need one set of glasses, honestly. You only need one set of coffee mugs. I promise you, when you let it go, you won't miss it. In fact, you'll be so much happier because you can actually find things. You're not going through all those mugs, I can. Some of the people out there are poking each other now going see, see, I know it resonates. Oh, randy, we have a caller, so we have. Who do we have on the line here? We have ruth. Good morning, ruth. How you doing?

Speaker 4:

hey, ro, it's roth from candler. Did we lose her there? And we've got, I think, call it a manufactured home on a raised daylight basement. Is this suitable for cash, that cash program that you have? We prefer no showings because of our big dogs and work kind of weird schedules. Can we still earn as much on our house?

Speaker 2:

Ruth, that is a great question. Thank you so much for calling in today. Absolutely so. The first one the first thing you said was you have big dogs and you'd rather not have showings. Totally get it. Doggies can be the hardest thing actually when you're showing your house or going on vacation or anything else. Sophie, don't listen, close your ears. You know it does make showing your house quite a little bit more difficult. And I think the second thing you said, ruth, was you have kind of crazy work schedules, so that makes showings hard as well.

Speaker 2:

So the way showings work is that most of us across the country actually use a company called Showing Time and it's all set up so that when an agent books a show they do that on our multiple listing service called the MLS. Anywhere in the country all the MLSs are different and it puts through a request to you, usually through your text. So you get a text request saying can you show your house at 10 o'clock? So the nice that tomorrow, you know, gives you time and obviously it tells you it's 10 o'clock in the morning, not 10 o'clock at night, because that would be weird and you hit Y or N Y means yes and it tells you what to hit in the little text that comes through to you. So you know you can say N for no and then it says when could you reschedule? And you can give a couple of times. The problem is now that the market has shifted. In most places in the country the market has shifted to a buyer's market. It's either flat in most places or it's shifted to a buyer's market. So if somebody wants to see your home, you want to get them in and yes, it can be an absolute pain. You're exactly right and you said so.

Speaker 2:

The third thing you said was you have a manufactured home and could we do the cash offer with that? So it's cashcpocom, cashcpocom. If you're working with an agent, you can have your agent put it in there for a full market value cash offer. And absolutely, ruth, you can. In fact I just closed on one that was a cash CPO offer. This is a full market value offer. So what we do is we buy it and you get up to 70% but wait, there's more Up to 70% in that first round and you get to stay up to 90 days. The difference is you don't have to have any showings, you don't have to fix anything, you no sign outside. So it's fully private and you get a chunk of your cash and you can stay in the home for 90 days if you want, even after you've got the cash. That gives you a chance to get set up in your next home. So you're not making a contingent offer and you know it just makes it all much, much easier. So what we do then is we come in once you've moved out and all your furniture's out, we come in. You can leave stuff behind if you want. You know, if know, if you like.

Speaker 2:

I just don't know what to do with the rest of this. In fact, we just did one like that in ashville where, um, they moved on to a color florida. Uh, susan and dennis, I'll give you a shout out, I hope you're enjoying the weather in sunny florida and their home went through a little remodel. We painted the cabinets, we fixed some things on the inspection and the appraisal. It is now listed for sale and I'll give your house a shout out too.

Speaker 2:

Just search 55 Tipperary Drive. You can search on my website at mountainhomehuntcom mountainhomehuntcom 55 Tipperary. It will pop right up. It's got a pool. It's all freshly painted. It's got a beautiful new walnut mantle in there. Thank you so much.

Speaker 2:

That's builder Joe. Joe Shively, if you've heard on the show before, put that in there for us. Beautiful, luxury vinyl plank floors. It's got a big fenced area for those doggies that you don't have to show it to, and it's listed for sale now. So once that's sold, the profits minus the funding partner's fee and obviously the things we've done to the house go back to the sellers. And two thirds of our sellers make more than with a regular sale or a conventional sale or an old fashioned, an old school sale. But the difference is you can move on, you can buy that house. You don't go through all the housework, showings and everything else and we'll also clear things out of the house. So if there are things like in that house for example, it was right after Helene, we're what? Week 10 now in Helene. Is that right, randy? Are we in week 10 or week? I'm losing, yeah that's pretty close.

Speaker 3:

I think you're right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, I think it's week 10. So we closed about two weeks after that, so about eight weeks ago. Obviously, there were a lot of contractors that were kind of busy after that happened, so it took us a moment to fix everything. We had to get it re-inspected because of the hurricane. That's what happens, we've learned. It's never happened in Asheville before, so it's all a learning process. But anyway, we got everything fixed from the inspection everything painted new countertops, new handles on the doors, all kinds of things done, and then it gets prepped and ready for sale. Obviously, obviously, a house in that condition it's going to sell way better. I also said yes, go ahead and leave your paint cans and some furniture. You know, again, it was after the hurricane, so people were supposed to come and pick up things in the garage. They didn't get them, so we cleared all that out too. So if you have a lot of stuff to clear out, we can take all of that off your plate. So you know, uh, does. Does that answer your your questions?

Speaker 4:

thank you so much. I think that covers everything. Listen to you every week, by the way oh, that's so nice.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, that's always sweet thank you so much I have listeners that are in there.

Speaker 2:

So thank you so much for that. So let's talk about prepping your home. You know you reflect in the holidays, you decide to sell in the new year it's so common. So the first steps are decluttering we talked about that a little bit Deep cleaning, small repairs. So think about what you want to improve. You're all going. You know what, if we remodeled the kitchen we could make a bit more money. You know, when we make conventional offers, we make and this is everybody in the CashCPO network. If you want to just find an agent on yourself, you can go cashcpocom these are agents who are trained to a higher level and click on find an agent. So you can find an agent anywhere in the country or as well in Canada at this point. So you can do that yourself. Often when we go in, we present these three offers Right.

Speaker 2:

So we're doing an old fashioned, regular, old listing where you are prepping your house. You are, you know you are getting everything ready, sorting through your things, figuring out the little repairs you need to do. Do you need to do a minor kitchen remodel? So let's look at some stats on those. So if you do a minor kitchen remodel, your return on investment there is 71%. So if you spend $10,000, your cabinet's being painted properly will cost you $3,000 or $4,000. That's where they're, you know, sprayed and they're not going to chip and everything else. So if you, $10,000 is nothing right, maybe you're putting some new appliances in. You're only going to get $7,000 back. So think about whether that's worth it or not. So your garage door replacement that's a big one. Actually your return on investment is 94%. So if it's all broken down and rotting and you know it really lets your house down, maybe you have one of those garages that face the street that one might be worth doing. Landscaping is actually one of the few that. If you do a minor landscaping two or three thousand dollars, maybe you can do it yourself. Then that is something you get most of your money, if not even more, back, because it's that curb appeal.

Speaker 2:

So avoid those large scale renovations. You know as cash CPO agents we're set up to do it for you. That means we've got crews on hand. That means we can get people in quickly. So I'd imagine if Susan and Dennis had done all those renovations it would have taken longer than it's been listed for a week. So that took six and a half weeks, and that was right after the hurricane. It would have been a nightmare for them to do it and probably would have. The average time is six months to do your renovations and I would tell you that you probably don't have the time to do that now, or it's best not to, because the market is flattened. It doesn't matter about elections or anything else.

Speaker 2:

That gave us a pause for a minute in showings. It's not about that. It's all about the, you know economic cycles Clermont-Jouglar, 1816, nothing much has changed. So just think about that. We're probably entering a period of three and a half to five and a half years. We're already in it. Quite frankly, most areas in the market are already in it. We've been in it in Western North Carolina for about two years as the markets flattened and we started to see price reductions. Zillow, for example, has downgraded both Texas and Florida by 10 to 20% in values.

Speaker 2:

It's happening quickly. We go down to the bottom, but don't worry, it's like it's been since 1860. It goes back up and in 10 years time your house is going to be worth more than it's worth last year at the peak or two years ago at the peak. Well, many of you don't want to wait 10 years, so I get it. That's why it's important. That's why the timing is important. Get it out as quickly as possible, right? So just think about that when you're getting out there and ready to go. So that's option.

Speaker 2:

One is an old school listing. Right? No worries at all. But think about your remodeling, think about prepping it, think about what you're going to do with the doggies. Or maybe you know grandma lives in the basement, or grandpa lives in the basement, or your kids live in the basement. That's a really common one these days as well. So, you know, think about all of that that you've got to get in place with the old school listing.

Speaker 2:

And, of course, you can skip all the hassle and get a full market value cash offer at cashcpocom. If you're thinking about selling next year, which is only a couple of weeks away, even if you're thinking about the spring, if I were you, I would put it in for a cash offer. See what comes back at cashcpocom. You'll be pleasantly surprised. It's a full market value cash offer. At least then you can learn the process. You can at least make that connection with the agent that knows how to do it for you, because we've got one pretty much everywhere in the States now and in Canada, and you know, at least start that process. They're not going to bug you all the time or anything like that. At least you'll get an offer back and understand a bit more about your value.

Speaker 2:

Once you understand more about your value, that agent is really the one best placed to you know, look at your home and go. You know what you don't need to do that large scale renovation. You don't need to do the minor kitchen remodel, whatever it is you feel like you need to do. You don't need to paint the house. And then how are you going to paint the house when you're living in it? That's not fun, you know, and very often painting the house is a major win, especially on the inside. It just freshens it up and gets rid of all those lime greens that you've had forever in a day. So probably worth doing. So that's your old school listing.

Speaker 2:

Let's look at a certified pre-owned listing. This is not the cash CPO this. Is you doing a CPO listing or your agent helping you do that? Again, find an agent at cashcpocom. Click on find an agent. Or you can just give us a call at 828-333-4483. Give us your address. They'll ask you for your address. We've got agents standing by 24-7 and they will help you with that. Of course, this is Rowena Patton at All Star Powerhouse. We would love to help you.

Speaker 2:

So what is a CPO listing? So you, as the seller, pay for a pre-inspection and sometimes an appraisal up front. So that transparency of you having the pre-inspection. Maybe you fix things, maybe you haven't. You don't have to fix things. We can just as agents, we can say hey, you know, this thing over here needs fixing, this needs fixing, here's the inspection. I like to do that always before we go into contract. I'll tell you why in a second. Because it builds that transparency. Everybody goes in eyes wide open. The buyers tend to trust you more and the buyer's agent tends to trust you more. And it's going to cost you anywhere in the country between $300 and $600. It tends to be more expensive in California if you're listing in California. So again, you don't have to fix anything. You can if you want to. And of course you can get, you know, Bob the Handyman down the street in most places to fix it before you list. Get Bob the Handyman down the street in most places to fix it before you list.

Speaker 2:

Once you're under contract, they usually ask that you and sometimes it's a legality you have to use a licensed contractor. So you can get it done a lot more inexpensively the little things at least, right? I mean, obviously, if it's health and safety, like electrical or plumbing, you want somebody licensed anyway. But now you've got time. You've got time to get three plumbing quotes.

Speaker 2:

If you find something bigger, like the roof and it's got, you know they say it's got two years of life expectation. You don't need to change it. However, let's get some quotes. Why? Because when we list it, we present the estimates with it. Because guess what, half the time they're still going to do their own inspection, they're going to find the issue with the roof and then they're going to ask you for $20,000 off the price. However, we do the homework for you. When you do a CPO listing, we get those estimates for the roof and we say, listen, we know it's only got two years left. We've already taken that into account in the pricing on the listing. And here's five thousand in escrow towards the twelve thousand dollars or six thousand dollars of the estimate that we've got here and present them with the estimate. It saves you so much money because you're going to get a lot of surprises.

Speaker 2:

You may be sitting in your home that's only four years old that you think, oh, this is perfect, we've maintained it well. It may be built in the 60s and you've had it fully renovated and you're like we maintain it really well and we even have a home warranty and it's all fantastic. Okay, I get it and I can tell you there's an average of 40 to 50 items on every inspection report. Remember, we're going into a shifting market. It's a buyer's market. They're already nervous. Their interest rates are higher. They may be moving from somewhere else in the country this is anywhere in the country and Canada, right? So the interest rates are higher and you know they're a little nervous. They may be moving to an area they don't know very well In the mountains. They may be moving to an area that has had some devastation and they're worried about it happening again. There's a lot of nervousness.

Speaker 2:

The more of that you can take out when you list your house, the better off you are. It's a really great thing to do so. Why it works. Why does CPO work? Certified pre-owned. If you know about CPO cars certified pre-owned cars every dealership has them, and even non-dealerships like CarMax have it too. That's their business model Certified, pre-owned, pre-inspection dealership warranty and a black book value. That's what we're doing with houses.

Speaker 2:

I set this up back in 2007 when I first got into real estate. I started CPO Experts. I was teaching it. I thought why do these deals all fall out? 33% of an old school or traditional conventional listing they fall out when they're under contract. That's terrifying guys. Traditional conventional listing they fall out when they're under contract. That's terrifying guys.

Speaker 2:

So I started asking questions why are these all falling out? Everybody said it was normal. You know most agents won't tell you that. Everybody said it was normal and that normal was just horrific. For me, that didn't make any sense at all. You know how stressful that is.

Speaker 2:

You're selling your house it drops out. You're buying a house it drops out. You've got maybe you've got children, you've got the school set up, you've got the mover set up. What a nightmare. A third of the time, that's pretty good odds. If I said to you do mega millions and a third of the time you're going to win, you'd think that was pretty good odds, right? So hours go down to 7%. I wish we could make it 0% fall out. We can't. Why else is that important? Because when it falls out, you end up with what's called a stigmatized listing. That means that everybody and their dog calls me as the listing agent and says what's wrong with it, why didn't they want it Right? It's a stigmatized listing that drives your price down. Don't do that.

Speaker 2:

Just go ahead and do a CPO listing. If you're listed now, ask your agent to do it for you. If they're not familiar with it, I will help them, get them to call me Again. I've been coaching and training agents all over the country for many years now All different agencies. I'm more than happy to help.

Speaker 2:

This is my legacy piece. It's something I'm very passionate about. It changes the way real estate is done and it takes a lot of the stress away for you. I'm here to solve that problem, which is the biggest problem in selling your house, especially if you want to move on to be by the grandkids, or maybe you've got your call from your senior living community that your space is opened up and now your contract falls out. That's horrible. So you know, just make sure you go ahead and do that, and CPO listings are just a proven way to sell faster and with fewer headaches, or you can get a cash offer instantly at cashcpocom. That's a full market value cash offer.

Speaker 2:

And remember, if you're thinking about listing your home anywhere in the USA or Canada, call us at 828-333-4483. We've got agents standing by 24-7. This is Rowena Patton at All Star Powerhouse, and next we're going to talk about the shifting market in 2025. That's really important. We've touched on it a little bit already and we have a caller in, randy from Charlotte. This is Glenn. Okay, glenn. Good morning, glenn. How are you doing?

Speaker 5:

Thanks for taking my call. This is Glenn from Charlotte. My wife and I are moving to the mountains but are struggling to sell and find a new home at the same time. We don't want to rent or move multiple times. What do you suggest?

Speaker 2:

So, glenn, you're moving from Charlotte. You don't want to keep moving. This is a really really common question and I understand it. So you're in your home and you'll move. It's a very common thing to move to the mountains. I'm one of them myself. We're called halfbacks, so you move from the north.

Speaker 2:

I'm counting DC as the north, which a lot of people don't do. I count it because it gets freezing in the winter and really really hot in the summer. So a lot of people move from Pennsylvania, from New York, from Washington DC, really all over the Northeast and California and Texas. We have a lot of people coming in from different places. Charlotte's only two hours away, so that's an interesting one there.

Speaker 2:

I know I've talked to Glenn before, so he and his wife are actually looking to buy a house in the mountains and as a second home to move back and forward because it's only a two hour trip. It's kind of fun in the mountains and a little bit cooler in the winter. A lot of people move from the north down to Florida, realize that they want seasons and it's really hot in Florida in the summer. So they move to Asheville and we call them halfbacks. I'm a halfback myself because they moved halfway back. They like the seasons, they like the more temperate climate in the summer and it really doesn't get that cold, although it's a little chilly right now, but it is December.

Speaker 2:

So, yeah, it makes sense. You don't want to sell your house and then have to rent somewhere, because how do you dovetail those things? So I can tell you that first of all, if you're going to list it, I've got a great agent in Charlotte for you. Actually make sure that you get that pre-inspection. That's something you can do now. Someone comes in for two or three hours. It doesn't matter what your house looks like. The inspectors really do not care. It's not about cosmetics, it's about the workings. That's the difference between an appraiser and an inspector. The inspector's checking your dishwasher. Does it work? Do you have any drips in your faucets? They're looking at the roof. They're looking in the attic. It would be great guys to get that done now.

Speaker 2:

Any of our CPO experts agents around the country can help you with that. They've got trusted inspectors. You actually want one that will find everything right, because you don't want surprises to come up when you list it. So the nice thing is, when you do this now, if you're thinking about listing in February or March, you know you're waiting till the spring, like a lot of people do. Please don't do that. That's a whole other conversation.

Speaker 2:

It's worthwhile getting your inspection now. They really don't care whether you've got Christmas decorations or the family in town or anything else, and we can normally get them in in the next few days. You at least want to get it set up, even if you set it up for January 2nd or something you know. Sometimes they're weeks out, depending where you are in the country. So go find your agent. The steps are cpoexpertscom, cpoexpertscom or cashcpocom. It'll take you to the same place. Click on find agent at the top, cpoexpertscom. So that's going to help you there, because you want that agent to help you find the right inspector. If you know one already or you are an inspector, get it done. That way we can get estimates on any of the bigger things that come up and I know you're thinking there won't be any and unfortunately are.

Speaker 2:

The second thing is, if you so you know, don't just do a regular conventional listing. Second thing is, if you, if you so or you know, don't, don't just do a regular conventional listing, this is not the market for that do a cpo listing. That's where you get it inspected. Sometimes you get it appraised. Um, we'll set up an appointment to come look at your house and, uh, just to you know, see what that looks like and um yeah, just just get it prepped properly.

Speaker 2:

You can also do a cash CPO offer. You could put that in now. You can use that offer forever. Basically, we might have to reappraise it if it goes on too far, but just put it in now. Cashcpocom, cashcpocom, put it in, put your address in and you'll have an offer back in no time at all. Nobody's going to pressure you to take it. At least you'll know the value. And that's a full market value cash offer. That means you can get your money as quickly as 14 days, stay in the house for 90, come up to Asheville, find the house you want and everything dovetails, and you don't have to worry about renting something in between.

Speaker 5:

Thanks Ro. That makes a lot of sense and gives us a clear path forward. I really appreciate your advice. Thanks again. Thanks Ro.

Speaker 2:

No problem at all. That's what I'm here for. It's just the best way to do it, I promise. So let's look at the shifting market in 2025. So the market is slowing in almost every area. The average days to sell now are 60 days. You add in that 45 closing and you're looking at an average of 105 days from listing to closing. And thanks for stacking.

Speaker 2:

We've got so many questions on the show right now. Randy's in the background recording your questions so we can play them as we come in, as we can fit them in. Today We've got a busy, packed schedule. So thank you there, randy, record recorded so you can call in. Randy, we'll record your question and then, um play it live on air if we can fit you in. If it's anything specific that you know is pertinent to what we're talking about, feel free to call in 240-9962, 828-240-9962. Or if you're just thinking about selling and you want us to help you as agents, we've got agents standing by 24-7. Maybe also you're listening to the podcast, to this later on 828-333-4483. We've got agents 24-7 standing by to take your calls and we will get back to you. Obviously, I'm live on the air right now if you're listening live, so I won't be talking to you on that number, but they'll take all the details. Make sure you give them their address so you know I can actually do a little research beforehand. That would be helpful. So we're looking at an average of 105 days from listing to closing Let that sink in for a minute.

Speaker 2:

So it's about three and a half months. So people think the best time to list is the spring. But that's the problem. Everyone thinks the best time to list is the spring. So the problem with that is it brings you a lot more competition, especially in this market where it becomes a buyer's market. So you've got a lot of competition as a seller. I would get it on now.

Speaker 2:

It doesn't matter that your Christmas decorations are up. Often that can make it feel really cozy. But what have you got to lose? You know, the other thing is in most markets that family comes home for Christmas and sometimes the family is thinking about living close by, so that can actually up our showings. So it's worth doing. I actually I moved to Miami years ago and we bought. We bought a condo on New Year's Day. Thank you so much to that agent. We still all work together. It's the two me's in Miami and his mom I think he's retired now, this is many years ago took us in on New Year's Day as an agent. Now, I wasn't an agent then. I still can't believe that she did that. So you know we're in a slower market.

Speaker 2:

What are the strategies? Price it right so important. If you do a cash CPO offer then we're going to get an appraisal. So that's always the best way to price it right. You don't have to fund anything up front. So our funding partner up fronts the money to do all of this. You know we do the appraisal, we do the inspection. They up front the money to put anything right and they up front the money to maybe paint the interior. Maybe it doesn't need it, it just needs a deep clean. When you've moved out, we'll take care of that for you. Maybe you've left some things behind that you don't know what to do with. We'll take care of that for you. So if you don't want to wait, get your cash offer at cashcpocom and eliminate the guesswork.

Speaker 2:

And remember if you're thinking about listing your home anywhere in the USA or Canada. And remember, if you're thinking about listing your home anywhere in the USA or Canada, give us a call 828-333-4483. We've got agents standing by. Yes, you knew it. What am I going to say? 24-7.

Speaker 2:

This is Rowena Patton at All Star Powerhouse. By the way, look up Smart Home Choices on Facebook for all kinds of tips on improvements. I set that page up for you so you could find the pictures that we talked about on the radio show. Or you know, if I'm suggesting new handles or hardware in the kitchen, I've done over 40 remodels myself so I know where to get. I'm kind of champagne taste on a beer budget. So if you'd like some of those for example your hardware and do all the hardware in your kitchen for about 100 bucks I can change out all of your door handles around the house. That's another common one. Maybe you've got an older house, maybe some are brass, some are silver, you know, some don't work very well. About 100 bucks, they're all on there, smart Home Choices. Just look up Smart Home Choices on Facebook. Yeah, I couldn't believe I got that name either.

Speaker 2:

So let's talk about choosing the right agent, key questions to ask your agent and again, go to. You know, let's talk about some of the niches for a second so you can these niches or kind of reasons why you're thinking about selling your home. That's what I mean by that. So, for example, if you see they all end in CPO to make it easy. So senior living CPO if you go to senior living CPO, we have the whole package for you. We've got a big map of senior living communities. We've been in about 160 now around the country and just the whole process of this is fantastic for senior living.

Speaker 2:

You can go to realestatenewsradiocom and see the podcast shows. We podcast this show as well as Broadcasting it Live for 12 years around what that looks like, because we clear out the home for you. Often the kids who are in their 50s and 60s, and sometimes 70s, go home for christmas and they're helping mom or dad. One in seven is is male. That goes into a senior living community. Did you? You know that, randy? Can you believe that it's only one in seven is male?

Speaker 3:

That is, that's kind of amazing.

Speaker 2:

So that's why they have Mom's House and all those places that exist for a place for mom, for example. They're a referral agency, so they have lots of details on there where you can find it and then they charge the senior living community a referral fee. That's their business model. So they'll pay anywhere between four and six thousand dollars on average that the senior living community will for the placement of that person. We do it for free, so that's why the community is like us, obviously, and we're helping their senior get their money within. So what happens as a senior, for example and this is seniorlivingcpocom for all the details you can also find your agent there. We're talking about choosing the right agent right now. It doesn't matter if you're senior living. We've got divorce CPO, we've got estate CPO, you name it. We've got a CPO. That's where you find the certified pre-owned agent for you, right? So you just click on find the agent. When you find that agent, you're going to ask them how will you market my home? How do you handle pricing strategies? Do you recommend pre-listing inspections, which is CPO, because you really want them to help you with that. Yes, it's going to cost you anywhere between $300 and $600. I'm telling you. That's the best $300 to $600 you'll ever spend, because it will save it dropping out for over 30% of the time. Ours is 7% when that agent knows how to do it. So you know, go ahead, find your agent on there. I will put that on Smart Home Choices as well. Smart Home Choices on Facebook. That's where you can find all of these details. I'll do it after the show, so in about 15 minutes. I can't believe there's only 15 minutes left.

Speaker 2:

Be upfront. So when you're talking to your agent, be upfront about your goals. Do you want a quick sale? Do you want to wait it out for top dollar? The issue is, as the market's declining now, we think for the next three and a half, five and a half years, if history, you know, reigns true, then your top waiting out for top dollar as the price is going down is not. You probably want to price it right out of the gate. Get it gone. So you know, get your home in the right condition so it competes really well.

Speaker 2:

So discuss any concerns like timing. You know, maybe your grandkids are four already and you've been talking about moving to be by them as they're growing up for the last four years, and now it's time you need to be out and make as much money as possible. Maybe you're on a list for a senior maybe independent senior living community you're on a list. You know that phone call is going to come in in the next six months or so and you know you'll need your money in 14 days. Once you get that call Some are even faster, but most will give you that 14 days we can get you out, get most of your money, move into the senior living community or move on from your divorce or split up your parents' money.

Speaker 2:

If you've got an estate sale or if you just don't want showings in that sign outside, maybe you're private we can get most of your money within 14 days. You can stay in the house up to 90 if you want to, or even longer than that. There is no rent back fee or anything like that, and then we spruce it up. Maybe it doesn't need sprucing up, that's fine too. We relist and sell it. Maybe we've just painted the walls or done a deep clean or you're not there so we can show it really rapidly. There's no agreeing with you what time all the logistics that go into showing. There's no taking your little dog out or making sure grandpa's not in place.

Speaker 2:

It makes it really easy. We sell it. We normally make enough money, whereby two-thirds of our sellers make more money. Let me let that sink in Two-thirds of our sellers make more money than with an old school sale. If you want an old school sale, all of us in the program will do that too.

Speaker 2:

It's just. This is so compelling, such a great way to sell your house, so many of our clients choose the cash CPO offer. So all of the agents familiar with CPO and the shifting market can provide tailored advice in your market. Don't listen to these people that say in the USA the average price is blah, blah, blah or the average. You know. Sale time is this. It doesn't matter, it is literally. It's not even block to block, it's street to street. Everything in real estate is very much localized. So it's okay. Not sure where to start? Go straight to cashcpocom for a full market value cash offer and if you're thinking about listing your home anywhere in the USA or Canada, give us a call 828-333-4483. We've got agents standing by. Wait for it 24-7. This is Rowena Patton at All Star Powerhouse. I think you've got Bob holding there, randy.

Speaker 4:

Okay, Bob. Hey Ro, it's Bob from Austin. I'm ready to list and move on. I guess it's up to you guys. Should I paint my house before putting it on the market?

Speaker 2:

So Bob's in Austin and his question is should he paint his house before he lists it? Absolutely you could. Austin is a market that is one of them in the country where prices have dropped longest time. In the country People were moving in, very familiar with Austin, been there a number of times, and it's a market that got hit very, very hard as we went into this shift, which in most markets was about two years ago. So, bob, honestly, so key thing is make your home as beautiful as possible so that it competes in the beauty contest. So if it needs painting, absolutely paint it. You know, have an agent, come in, go to. I'm thinking which one would be best for you ReloCPOcom. The fun thing is that's R-E-L-O-C-P-Ocom because you're relocating. They all go to the same place. They're different. You know, obviously I want to talk to you as if you're relocating. So it goes to a different what we call in the web page world landing page. So it'll have a bit more about relocating, but the same button to find your agent will be on there. Go find your agent, because that agent I've got a fantastic agent in Austin. Actually she's going to be our chief coach for Texas. In fact, she's amazing. So I'll put you in touch with her and she can come in and just have a conversation or you can have it on the phone if you want. That's fine too, we can talk about.

Speaker 2:

Ok, let's take a look at your house. This is how we do it. We take a look at your house. We say are there any improvements we can make? Let's say your house is $750,000. The house next door we know sold for $950,000. But that's because they've got a hot tub and the kitchen is fully remodeled and yours is a little bit dated. So you know there's a $200,000 spread there. In most houses it's more like $100,000 spread. What do I mean by that? If an investor came into your home and gave you bottom dollar basically it's usually 60 or 70% that's not what we're doing for a lot more money. So by painting it and maybe painting cabinets or replacing them or putting countertops on or refreshing the bathrooms, getting it so it competes at a really high level right, getting it in place they can make more money. So have the agent come in. She'll assess can you make some more money or not? And she'll say, no, don't paint it because it looks great. This is going to compete very well and she'll look at what your strategy is. Do you need to move quickly? You know what's it all about for you, so give us a call 828-333-4483. Offline we've got agents standing by 24-7. This is Rowena Patton at All Star Powerhouse. I can help you around the country.

Speaker 2:

So should you buy this is segment five should you buy and sell simultaneously so you can have an option for a rent back? Let's say, I don't know, you're under contract already or you're about to be. You're already listed. You did not do a certified pre-owned listing. That's not the cash offer. You didn't do where you did the inspection or anything else.

Speaker 2:

Think about a rent back. That's where sometimes it's called seller possession after closing. Often remember it's a buyer's market, so that's harder to do in a buyer's market. But you can ask for that. Ask for it before you go into contract. That means you get seller possession after closing. They usually charge you a rental in the cash CPO program, by the way, you don't pay for that. There is no charge to stay longer. There is no rent back or seller possession after closing. You just get to stay. We agree that.

Speaker 2:

But on a conventional listing you can do a seller possession after closing if the buyers agree to it, now remember, the buyers have probably sold their house closing. If the buyers agree to it, now remember, the buyers have probably sold their house. They don't want to be in this mess in the middle too, you know, they just want to move. That means they've got to put their potential buyers off as well. It really is a mess when you. It can be a mess when you do it the conventional way, unless you've got great, great agents. So relo, cpocom, r-e-l-o. Remember, I'm going to put all these on the Facebook page for you Smart home choices. You're going to love that anyway. If you want to remodel your house, it doesn't matter if you're selling it or not. There's all kinds of goodies on there, smart home choices, and I'm going to put all these links on there in a few minutes At the end of the show. We've got about 10 minutes, not even four or five minutes left. So the cash CPO advantage no showings, quick cash offers and flexibility, and it's a full market value offer.

Speaker 2:

We had a caller at the beginning. I think it was Ruth with the manufactured home in Candler. Thank you for calling in, ruth. So she was selling her manufactured home and she was asking you, you know, would that be? Could we do that with cash CPO? Absolutely no problem at all. We can do perfect homes. We do new homes. We do homes for builders all the time. Homes needing repairs absolutely. Homes needing no repairs absolutely for all kinds of reasons. It's a little easier to sell when you're not in it and it allows you to move on, or unique properties as well that might take a little longer to sell. So it works for hard to sell homes. It works for perfect homes. Cashcpocom. Go through it, throw it in and skip the hassle and check out Cash CPO for an instant full market value.

Speaker 2:

This is not just any old cash offer. A lot of agents will basically get you in as a prospect by saying we buy homes something like that You've probably seen the billboards We'll buy your home for cash. This is not one of those. This is a full market value cash offer. It's not in most cases. It's not me or the other agents in the program looking to buy your home and make money off you. It's not what it most cases. It's not me or the other agents in the program looking to buy your home and make money off you. It's not what it's about at all. We're basically flipping it for you on your behalf. We're getting you money within 14 days and for two-thirds of you you'll get more than with a conventional sale with no sign, no lockbox, no showings, no having to do anything. You can leave stuff behind. We'll get rid of it for you. We've got a funding partner who up prints the money to do all of this.

Speaker 2:

You're thinking about listing anywhere in the USA or Canada? Call us at 828-333-4483. We've got agents standing by 24-7. So we've got. I just want to give a shout out to Susan and Dennis again. We've got your home listed right now.

Speaker 2:

Go to mountainhomehuntcom. Mountainhomehuntcom. This is an example of what it looks like when we do one of these. We've done many of them at this point. We have them going on all around the country as we speak. And go to mountainhomehuntcom type in 55 Tipperary. It's under 400,000. It's a 3-2. It's got a pool, fenced-in area for the doggy. It's about nine minutes from downtown. So that is a great price on that one 55 Tipperary. So there's big benefits in prepping for sale. Obviously huge benefits in prepping for sale, especially using CPO.

Speaker 2:

Whether you choose the right agent and you have them help you certified, pre-owning your home, why wouldn't you want to buy a CPO home as a buyer. Buyers, look out for a certified pre-owned home. It's a way better bet. It's been inspected, it's been appraised often and you're going to know. Go in eyes wide open. Some of the things won't be fixed. At least you know what they are. If you want to get your own inspection as well, that's great. Do that as well to check up. But you know that most of the agents will share the full inspection with you which you go in eyes wide open. Before you waste your due diligence money or your earnest money or anything else and the money you're going to spend on inspections, you're much better prepared. So buyers, look out for a cpo home and sellers, please never list your home without using cpo. It's a way better to do it, way better way to do it.

Speaker 2:

The agent can help you with the right inspector, the right appraisal, the things you need to fix, the things you don't. You can go to reload cpocom. Or also we've, of course, got the facebook page, smart home choices. Go and have a look there. It's got. It's got lots of links to the best doorknobs on there.

Speaker 2:

I've done over 42 um remodels in my time, in the states actually, and um, I know where to buy things on, um, champagne. You know I've got champagne lakes and a beer budget so I can help you with that. I'm also going to put you know where to find your agent and all that stuff. I'll put it in there as well and you can call us at 828-333-4483. This is Rowena Patton at All Star Powerhouse. We have those agents standing by. Get it prepped. You're all talking about you're getting a little frustrated with yourself. We all do that. All that stuff we have to go through. I can tell you, I've done it myself. It's really Randy will tell you the same thing Really wonderful. When you get out on the other side, you can find things. You don't need all those clothes. A lot of other people need them.

Speaker 1:

Y'all, I'll see you on the radio next week, right before Christmas. Thanks for listening today. This has been the Plain English Real Estate Show with Rowena Patton. Visit Rowena and post your questions at radioashvillecom or call her at 828-210-1648.

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Rowena Patton, NC, FL, DC, CA

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