John and Kristi Horton’s homes sell faster and get more money than other agents.

One reason our homes sell faster than most and typically get more money than most is because we invest our time and our money into your home to make it show at its best. When you hire us to sell your house, you’ll be working with a team that is devoted to helping you earn as much money as possible in the shortest amount of time on the market. We know the homes that are selling quickly and for the most money are the two extremes – Diamonds and Deals.

Contrary to what many agents will tell you (price, price, price), the three elements that will sell a house are actually location, price, and condition. While location cannot be changed, price and condition are ultimately up to the seller. Any house can sell if it is priced low enough, but that is usually not the goal.

Sometimes sellers do not improve the condition of their home because they feel it will be too expensive or time-consuming and they don’t know where to start, what to do, or who to even call.

Most agents are too eager to just get the home on the market and will worry about condition later based on showing feedback which ultimately costs you time and money. You only get one first impression.

The investment in cleaning, de-cluttering, repairing, staging, and updating your home is far less expensive than a price reduction, staying on the market longer, or worse not selling. While some updates may make you a little more (and sell faster) than you would otherwise, some will double or even triple the investment costs.

There are a certain number of buyers – the buyers that we both want – who are willing to pay top dollar but want updated, ready to move-in homes with nothing they have to do. Homes that are Diamonds sell for more money and with less hassle. Deals may sell just as fast as diamonds, but net the seller with less money. Investors and bargain hunters that don’t mind doing updates and repairs are looking to buy at wholesale prices.

Since the larger pool of buyers want Diamonds, it is best that we get involved in helping you upgrade your home in order to sell for top value and to ensure the most buyers see your home.

It seems like such a simple thing, yet we’re surprised most agents don’t do it. It’s worth it to us to invest that extra money on the front-end to ensure that your home makes a great first impression and sells fast while saving marketing dollars and time on the market while netting you with more money. It is a better experience all around for you as the seller, as well as for the buyer and both agents – a win-win!

This is where John and Kristi of the Horton Team come in.

Here’s basically how it works…

We have a generous budget allotted for every home we sell. The budget varies based on the price of the home; and, that money is available to help cover costs on anything needed to help you and make sure your home shows the best. For example, you might need landscaping in the front yard to give it a beautiful curb appeal – we can help with the costs. You might need some rooms painted – no problem, we can help on those costs, too. You might have watermarks in the ceiling from a leaky shower that needs to be repaired – no problem, we’ll help cover those costs as well. Or, you might just need to change out some outdated light fixtures and make your home look more modern – again, we can help.

Also, many times sellers don’t really know what they need. We typically help sellers by walking through their home and identifying things needing to be fixed, painted, repaired, or updated. We even have a list of trusted contractors who work with many of our clients. We not only provide recommendations, but can even help coordinate the work and take that burden off of you, if you desire.

So, if you’re planning to sell, give us a call at (812) 518-0411. Let’s talk about how we can help cover costs to get your home on the market so it sells for most money.

First, we need to schedule a 10-15 minute walk-through. At that time, we will leave you with our 48 page marketing book and schedule an appointment back at our office or we can schedule a Zoom conference to go over numbers and the suggested pricing of your home as-is and what it could sell for with a little staging and possible updates to the home.

If we decide it would be mutually beneficial to work together and you would like to hire us, we can start working for you immediately, possibly long before your home is actually ready for the market.

In most cases, we would suggest having a pre-inspection. We have relationships with
most of the areas home inspectors and will pay for your home inspection
ourselves out of pocket… NO COST to you!

When was the last time you thoroughly examined your entire attic, crawlspace, or even your roof? If you want to ensure a smooth, easy transaction and avoid any unwelcome, last-minute surprises, we strongly recommend that you take us up on our offer by ordering a pre-inspection.

You’ll become aware of unknown issues and potential problems that you would’ve otherwise overlooked, but you’ll also maintain the upper hand when it comes to negotiation later on. Whenever a buyer is the one who has to bring defects and safety issues to the seller’s attention, you can bet the seller will be settling for a lower offer or find themselves in negotiations again.

It’s also important to note that once you become aware of these issues, a handyman can mend the issues rather than a buyer dictate that they want the work to be completed by a licensed contractor. Plus, we can use the pre-inspection in all of our marketing efforts, stating that the home has been pre-inspected and offering the home inspection as a lead magnet, while at the same time disclosing any defects or minor safety items that you do not have to repair going forward.

Most people searching for homes for sale aren’t going to be overly excited to find out the house they’ve written an offer on has a list of issues that need repair. If there are several problems with the home, buyers will most likely ask for various contingencies and re-open the negotiation, ultimately giving you less money in your pocket.

Pre-inspection can eliminate any hasty, last-minute repairs during the contract period. When these issues pop up, it’s all too common that closing is pushed back to allow time for repairs to be made. In some unfortunate situations, the buyer may even be scared off and request a mutual release from the purchase contract.

We can offer staging tips about whether your home is vacant or lived in.
We can use items from your home or bring accessories to stage at … NO COST to you!

Did you know that minor differences in the appearance of your home can greatly affect how quickly it will sell? There are some quick and easy steps that we can help you with that will help you sell faster and for more money. The way you live in your house & the way you sell your house are two very different things!

“Home Staging” is completely different from “home decorating” and a home stager is different from an interior designer. The goal is for the buyer to see themselves in the home – the architecture and space, not your furniture, window treatments, and artwork.

We will tell you that the difference is in the accessories. Kitchens and bathrooms sell houses and certainly your countertops should look spacious and de-cluttered but they should not be plain either. Again, as a service to our sellers we can bring in some items to stage your home if needed – not necessarily furniture, but accent pieces at no extra charge to you.

You should de-personalize. Less is more. Perhaps the most damaging offense a home for sale can carry is a messy or cluttered premise. We say “premises” because it’s equally important to clean the exterior of your home as it is the interior, but we’ll get to that later. One of the buyers’ most common desires is that a home is spacious or has ample room for storage.

With this in mind, it’s imperative that you pick up your home before a showing appointment or open house. Doing so will make your rooms appear much larger and create a more spacious environment. Don’t forget to de-clutter the closets—buyers also report that spacious closets are high on their priorities list. You don’t have to empty the closet, but leaving just a few items (e.g. a handful of shirts on hangers, a pair of shoes or two, a few small storage bins) will make the closet appear much larger.

It’s equally as important to clean your home. Buyers don’t want to step into a mess, and most of them will quickly move on from the idea of purchasing your home (both literally and figuratively!) if the first things they see are dirty floors, carpets, bathrooms, and so on.

We have arrangements with storage facilities and cleaning services
that we can pay for to help prepare your home for sale … NO COST to you!

One of the first things buyers notice when they walk into a home for the first time is the smell. Our powerful sense of smell can pick up on many scents right away – one of them being pet odors. We never want to get rid of our four-legged friends, so just eliminate the odor instead! This can be done using various cleaning products that promote “odor-eliminating” elements and ingredients.

Although these home staging tips will help you sell your home faster, this is in no way an exhaustive list. There is so much more you can do to increase selling speed, and home staging is just one piece of that puzzle. For even more on other ways to sell your home faster, call us today at (812) 518-0411 and we’ll help you sell for top dollar. You can check out our online résumé at hortonteam.com

If you are willing to do the work yourself but don’t have the tools or materials
to do the job we can help you by renting or buying them at … NO COST to you!

The first thing potential home buyers will see is the outside of your home! There will be plenty of questions buyers will ask about the inside of your home, but don’t forget to clean up your yard and visible components to your home like windows and walls. Boost your curb appeal with the addition of a birdbath, patio chairs for the front porch, or by landscaping and mulching the front of the house. For windows and walls, consider renting a power-washer from a local store or spend the afternoon hand cleaning with suds and elbow grease. Taking just a few hours to spruce up the exterior of your home can mean the difference between getting buyers into your house and having them drive by shaking their heads.

If you don’t have the time or need more guidance on choosing a landscaping
plan, let us know and we can get you in touch with one of our professional landscapers at
… NO COST to you!

Just like with mowing and maintaining your grass, a little tidying up and regular care will go a long way in adding value to your home. Some of the first tasks you can start with are trimming any pre-planted vegetation like trees, bushes, or shrubs. It’s easy to neglect these plants and let them grow wildly, which usually leads to monstrous greens that can overtake parts of your lawn or home. You don’t need to go full-on Edward Scissorhands, but bi-weekly or monthly trimming can vastly improve the appearance of the outside of your home.

The only other maintenance chore you may consider is “edging” your lawn. This process entails trimming the edge of your grass so that it butts up against the edge of your driveway or sidewalk with no overhang. Edging your lawn presents a clean and crisp border that will help make the overall appearance of your lawn stand out from your neighbors’. For finishing touches, be sure to touch up mulch, power wash dirty surfaces, and clean up any cobwebs, dirt from melted snow, or any other seasonal remains.

We encourage most of our sellers to let us help them invest in any needed
updates and home improvements that we pay for which helps sell the home at
… NO COST to you!

The good news is that there are a number of things a seller can do to evolve their home into a Diamond. Home staging is a good start, repairs will save you in the end, but the major value will be found in improvements and updates to the home.

Common examples of updates include installing new carpet and flooring, painting bedrooms or living rooms, removing wallpaper, installing new light fixtures or ceiling fans, and replacing an old appliance – just to name a few.

One of the suggestions that we make to our sellers that have the most bang for the buck is getting rid of the brassy gold accents, if at all possible. It might not be practical to replace all of the doorknobs and hinges on doors, but certainly, it makes sense to spray the front of the fireplace gold (polished brass) grill/trim. A can of high heat spray paint that comes in black, dark rubbed oil bronze, or satin nickel is an instant makeover.

We work with home inspectors, handymen, painters, landscapers, cleaning services, roofers, storage facilities, carpet cleaners, flooring installers, and licensed contractors including electricians, plumbers, and even mold re-mediators who will prepare your home to sell quickly, hassle-free, and for top dollar at … NO COST to you!

Only when your home is presented as a Diamond and priced correctly will you be able to avoid being on the market for a long period of time and help avoid any hassle in negotiations and delay in closing. It can be the difference between getting low-end offers and having several competing offers above your listing price.

John and Kristi of the Horton Team can provide you with a list of suggested improvements, updates, repairs, staging recommendations, and home pre-inspections to get your home ready to sell. If you’d like to learn more about this program or you don’t need extra services but still want to sell and get the best price in the shortest amount of time and with the least amount of hassle, then contact the Horton Team today at (812) 518-0411 and check out our résumé at hortonteam.com

What’s the Catch? How can the Horton Team invest their money
to prepare a home for sale at … NO COST to you!

The best part – there is no catch! Like we mentioned earlier, we have a generous budget allotted for every home we sell. The budget varies based on the price of the home. Unlike some gimmicks or “promises” to sell in so many days or we will buy it*, or sell it for free*, or guaranteed offers in so many hours*. We do not want to make you an empty promise that we know we are not planning on having to keep.

*Those programs with an asterisk have so many disclaimers with so many hoops to jump through that sellers are not usually willing or able to participate. They are just gimmicks to get the agent’s foot in the door. This bait and switch tactic has been around for over 20 years. A Canadian real estate trainer first sold this program to agents across the United States in the ’90s. Our previous brokerage had a “guaranteed plan or we would buy it” and to this day we have not ever heard of a seller actually selling this way or the agent/broker having to buy.

Our program does not have any wild disclaimers or impractical restrictions and unrealistic guidelines. It is designed for sellers wanting to net the most money possible for their home but might not have the resources or desire to take on the project themselves.

Now obviously, we cannot paint your whole house, install new flooring, remediate the mold issue, and put on a new roof before closing on a $150,000 house. There are certain restrictions and we have to stay within budget. It is your house, so price and condition are ultimately up to you as the seller. You will direct us as to where to allocate monies that make the most sense to cover costs to make sure your home shows the best and will get you the most money at closing.

The Horton Team’s marketing and selling process are unmatched. We’re so confident that our aggressive marketing plan and teamwork can sell your home that we are willing to invest our own money to get your home ready to sell. This way, we have skin in the game and you are not on your own in this process.

Remember one thing – this program is designed for you to sell at the highest price possible and not at some ridiculously low offer. We appreciate the fact that you are, in a way, investing in us to help you achieve your goals.

If you still have questions about our program and would like to see our FAQ sheet, we need to schedule a 10-15 minute walkthrough. At that time, we will leave you with our 48-page marketing book and book an appointment back at our office or we can schedule a Zoom conference to go over numbers, suggested pricing of your home as-is and what it could sell for with a little staging, and possible updates to the home.

If you would like more information about the buying or selling process, or are just interested in buying or listing your home, please contact the Horton Team today at (812) 518-0411 and check out our résumé at hortonteam.com