Sellers

We are excited and pleased to help with the sale of your home. Here are a few ideas and perspectives on a successful sale. As always if you have any other questions, please Ask a Realtor® today!

Selling Price

The successful sale of your home comes down to one thing, pricing it to sell. You obviously want to get the most out of selling your home, but there are many factors involved. To be honest, a home is only worth what a qualified buyer will pay for it. Also, the market in your area, local climate, features of the home, and many other factors can impact the offers that you receive for the home. Below we will shed some light on some things to consider and how to benefit the most from your home sale.

Now obviously there are other “values” that are given to your home including appraisals, insurance replacement value, tax value, etc. However the truth is that these are not set in stone when it comes down to what someone will offer you to purchase the property. Obviously, the buyer is going to make their offer benefit them after seeing your asking price. The question at hand is how long are you willing to keep your house on the market at the price you want or can you move the price a bit to get it sold without losing out. The biggest factor in this scenario is time. If you are also looking for a house while selling your own, then you have an idea what your buyer is going through, which should give you a good idea of what needs done. Taking on this perspective can be one of the most beneficial things to do during this process.

The bottom line is, don’t be afraid to negotiate, but never cut yourself short.

Transformation from Home to House

This step can often be the hardest to do. Photos, Heirlooms, and much more make the house yours and should be packed away. If you are truly selling the house and ready to make the next steps needed, this is a necessary thing to do. Try to set up things in the home as if anyone could walk in the door and have a functional home without seeing all of your personal belongings. Some people even like to say goodbye to every room in the house before they get it ready to sell. You just have to keep in the back of your mind what your goals are, and if that means a bigger, newer, or nicer house then keep picturing the day you own one. Taking this painful step now is going to work out later, and our team is going to help you on the way.

A good example of a functional but non-personal environment would be a hotel room. Many people will come and go, but when you are there it’s yours for whatever length of time you stay. Things are in a common place and ready for use at all times and you have room for your possessions as well. Getting a buyer to feel this way is the ultimate goal and you will be more successful if your personal things are not staring them in the face. When a prospective buyer can look and say: “Well that wall would look great with my pictures right there!” or “My plants would go great right there!”, you are on your way to a Sale!

Also when it comes to specific personal items that you want to keep like a piece of art, or a chandelier, an old mirror from a relative, etc., be sure to remove it from the home before the buyer comes. If the buyer never sees the item they obviously cannot grow to want it as part of the house purchase. It may not seem that important, but something like this can result in an unsold house.

A Little Housekeeping

You are most likely used to your home looking the way you’d like, but when you are trying to sell it you must cater to others to get the sale. This all goes back to the Functional/Non-personal tips mentioned above. If you make the house appealing to anyone who walks in you will obviously be more successful in getting the sale. Take a walk through and just try to be non-biased, or you could even have a friend or neighbor walk through and have them critique what would make the house more appealing.

Some ideas are to go through and organize all closets, counters, and cabinets. While all of your clothes are obviously still there because you live there, everything should be in order, neat, and clean. Any additional stuff like collectors items, excess shoes/clothing, etc. should be stored outside of the home (We will talk more about this later). In the kitchen and bathroom, make sure all cabinets are clean and in order. Wipe down all counter-tops and other surfaces with disinfectant cleaners and leave everything smelling and looking fresh and clean. Also, in the kitchen please be sure to eliminate excess pots and pans, or other cooking equipment to the point that nothing falls out of any drawer or cabinet if opened. If they see that things are clean and organized, they will feel much better about buying your old house.

Tying up the loose ends

The less work that your house needs, the easier it will be to sell. We understand that new buyers want to make the house their own, but leaving behind repair work that you did not want to complete is a bad idea. New owners want to come in and paint or change a light fixture, not finish some wiring that is sticking out or be stuck with a leaky roof. Leaking faucets, cracked floor tiles, small holes in walls, doors that stick, and rooms that are extreme colors are all things that need to be straightened out before selling the house.

Being that there are many points to consider when selling your home, please Ask a Realtor® or give us a call today for further information.