22 Tips Guaranteed to Get Your Home Sold
When it’s time to sell your house, there are some key factors to help you get the most money for your house in the least amount of time. This list should help you get started.
Eliminate Odors
How our sense of smell works with our emotions is one of the mysteries of science, but we know the two work together. One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make when selling their homes is overlooking how important odors are. You live in the house every day so you’ve got a tolerance to how your house smells. Get someone that doesn’t live with you to give your house the “smell test”.
Improve Curb Appeal
First impressions make lasting impressions. Start by walking out to the street in front of your house where buyers would arrive. Walk back to your house like a buyer would and make a list of everything you see that doesn’t look “just right”. Once you’ve got your list, fix what you can. I provide my clients with a checklist to make this task easier. You’ll get a copy of this checklist when we get started.
Give Your House a “Tune-Up”
Are the windows clean inside and out? All the light bulbs working? How about doorknobs and hardware? These are just a few of the items inside your house you should devote some attention to. I’ll give you a checklist to guide you in what to look for before we list it.
Get honest input
It’s always helpful to have someone other than family and friends – a professional – take a look at your house and give you open & honest feedback. Make sure you take this step before putting your house on the market. It’s not worth it to lose prospective buyers over minor oversights that could have easily been addressed.
Disclose Everything – Don’t Get Burned
The law requires that you disclose any material facts about your house and property. Make sure you go through the state required disclosures and make them available to prospective buyers (before they see the house). Hiding material facts about your house and property can result in lawsuits for years after the transaction.
Focus on emotional buyer triggers
Whether they like to admit it or not, buyers frequently make decisions based on emotions first then logic second.Our job when selling your house is to sell it on the emotional aspects first. Then we’ll sell it on the physical characteristics to reinforce their decision with logic.
Make it easy for prospects to see your house as theirs
Many sellers take pride in their homes and want to show of their personal touch to prospective buyers. Don’t make this mistake. Your job when showing your house to prospective buyers is to make it as easy as possible for them to visualize the house as being theirs. A good place to start is putting away family photos and knick-knacks..
Before determining a price, do some research
The most crucial part of selling your house is determining the right price. You don’t want to walk away from the table feeling like you lost out and could have gotten more money for you house, and setting the right price – the first time – is key. It’s important to know the state of your current local market. Before you determine the price and list your house, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got the stats and facts to back up your decision.This will also give you the confidence you need to effectively negotiate contracts when the time comes. Find out how much your home is worth online.
View comparable listings in your area
Check out the houses for sale in your neighborhood and surrounding areas to get an idea for what the competition is. This makes it easier to see the condition of the homes and help you determine a price range for your house accordingly..
Stay as flexible with schedules as possible
One of the key factors in negotiations is timing. The world won’t stand still and wait for your house to sell, but it’s a good idea to not put the horse before the cart. The fewer “hard” time restraints you have for yourself, the better.
Be prepared for low offers
You want as much money for your house as possible & buyers want to get your house for as little as possible. Understand that going into it and don’t let yourself be offended if you get a lowball offer. Keep a clear head and remember that it’s a business transaction and negotiating is a part of the deal.
Avoid double payments you can’t afford
The last thing you want to do is get in over your head with two house payments that you can’t afford. Before you buy another house, make sure your house is sold first (unless you can afford two house payments & don’t mind paying them).
Understand the difference between what you want what you and need
Most sellers want to get as much as possible for their house in as little time as possible, but you should narrow down your own needs & desires early in the process. This will be a good reference point when it comes time to set the price and negotiate contracts.
Keep your motivation close to home
Part of what buyers do is try to figure out why you’re selling and look for an angle to get a better price. You’re better off not talking to others about your motivation for selling so it can’t be used against you later. Your real estate agent is legally bound to maintain confidentiality. Make sure other professionals you share confidential information with understand it’s confidential.
Get more prospects
The more people that are exposed to your house, the more likely you are to get the price you want. It’s important to choose a professional that knows how to find buyers for your house. Not all real estate professionals run their businesses the same way (even within the same company). When you interview agents, make sure you ask about what they’re going to do to get your house more exposure and make it stand out above the noise.
Get ahead of the “value curve”
Many sellers try to get more money for their house than the market will bare and don’t make adjustments to the list price quickly enough and end up losing out in the long run. In declining markets, they end up “chasing the market down” and netting less for their house in the end than they would have if they just priced it aggressively in the beginning. Make sure when you price your house that you’re pricing it to sell, not sit.
Hire the right help
In tough markets, it’s more important than ever to find the right real estate professional, one that’s got the experience to get the job done right – the first time. Don’t make the false assumption that all real estate agents from all the companies are the same.
Ensure the contract works in your best interests
There are frequently dozens of pages and contractual terms that you’ll be agreeing to when you sign the contract agreeing to sell your house. Some terms are more favorable to buyers and some are more favorable to sellers. Make sure you understand the terms of the contract you’re agreeing to.
Get the real story from buyer prospects
Try to avoid direct communications with prospective buyers and agents. Their goal is often to get more information for negotiating purposes. Let your agent deal with the buyers and other agents. A skilled real estate professional can usually find out information about the buyer’s price, timing and motivation that can help you during negotiaions.
Make it a business decision – get emotionally detached
It’s sometimes difficult to get emotionally detached from your house, but it’s an important part of the process. You’ll be more likely to make decisions with confidence that you can feel good about later on if your making decisions with a clear head.
Keep negotiations open
Successful real estate agents understand how important it is to keep the negotiating process open as long as possible until you get the contractual terms that you’re agreeable to. It’s normally a good idea to make counter offers to offers that are unacceptable. There’s no limit to the number of counter offers you can make. If the terms don’t work for you, don’t hesitate to counter them.
Leave yourself room to negotiate
Understand that in a down seller’s market, that buyers are expecting to get a deal. Your house should either be priced aggressively enough to get multiple offers driving up the price or be priced slightly above the anticipated sale price. That way, you can give a little on price to make buyer’s feel more comfortable with the negotiations without losing ground you aren’t prepared for.
