On today's show, I am interviewing real estate agent Marj Weir, who has a lot of experiences working with investors. I know most of you who are listening are homeowners and you may never want to be an investor, but I think there are a lot of nuggets in there that you will find beneficial. We talked about the typical home selling process for sellers, pricing the listing, how investors approach remodeling and selling a home, and whether you should remodel if you are not an investor. Lots of great information! And DON'T FORGET! Our Free 30-Day Home Staging Challenge is BAAAACK! Sign up here -->> bit.ly/30dayhome and the $99 Winter Promo for Stage Your House Like A Pro, our DIY home staging online course, will be ending soon! Here are what we discussed on the show today: -What is short sale? -What is foreclosure? -As an agent, working with real estate investors -Why bank prefer short sale over foreclosures -Where staging & good listing photos come into play -Listing photos do's and dont's -Setting up the right expectations for buyers to tour homes in person -Why you should hire professional photographers vs. taking photos yourself -How buyers buy houses nowadays -What happens when you show vacant listings -If you can't stage, at least do... -How banks put in effort to make foreclosed listings look more attractive but still fail on... -Buyer psychology -How smell can influence people's buying decisions -Walking homeowners through the home selling process -Making recommendations to sellers during walk-throughs and design decisions -A crucial & important step to get ready for sale -FHA financing -First time home buyers -How to avoid reducing your listing price -How to come up with pricing for the listings -Looking at competing listings -The timing of selling real estate -When to put your home on the market, especially if you have a larger home -Marj's common home staging & prep suggestions for homeowners -Home staging inventory & props -What's over-staging and why it can be a negative thing in selling real estate -The importance of lighting -Working as a buyer's agent -Why you should put size-appropriate furniture into rooms, even rooms that are considered as small -Why staging is so important for buyer's perception -The home selling process for real estate investors -Why appraisers & inspectors are so important in a real estate transaction -Determining the right buyers for the home you are selling -Selecting the right finishes for the right price point -Prioritizing the right to-do to work on to prepare the home for sale -How you can tank or raise the property value in the neighborhood -How to look at budget, profitability to determine how much work you'll do for your home -What type of appliances to choose -What type of work investors usually do -What you need to know when you sell -The moneymakers of your listing! -Why homeowners should think twice before remodeling for selling their home -Picking the right type of countertops for your home -Does what type of appliances (brand) matter for selling a house? -What you should do to get your home ready for sale if you have ZERO budget -Common mistakes that homeowners make -How to lower the chance of buyers' agent making a low-ball buyer -"Every seller wants top dollars and every buyer is cheap" -Common mistakes when homeowners stage the homes themselves -What you should do if you are thinking about selling -Why you shouldn't just meet with one realtor -Ways to vet potential realtor that you will hire -How to work with your real estate agent