Selling your home is a major financial event in a person's life. It is extremely important to be an informed seller and understand the market in order to maximize your home's value and sell in the most efficient and effective manner possible.
HIRE A PROFESSIONAL REALTOR
While it is true that you can sell your house yourself, most people who try find it overwhelming, waste a lot of valuable time and finally end up hiring a Realtor. So let that be your first step! Having a professional, competent Realtor in the home selling process who is acting as your advisor and consultant will not only protect your investment, it will greatly reduce your stress level, ensure the process runs smoothly and maximize your proceeds. Don't feel obligated to work with a family member, friend or neighbor who may not have the experience and expertise you need to represent you and protect your financial position in this very large transaction.
AVOID GETTING TOO THE EMOTIONAL
You may have lived in your home for over 20 years but when you decide to sell it is no longer your home, it is a large financial asset you wish to transition to a new owner. The best course of action is to de-personalize in order to maximize your value. Maybe you’re moving for a reason that’s inherently emotional or difficult. Maybe you just feel the heightened stress of selling a home and let your emotions into the mix. Do your best to put your emotions on the shelf and be as pragmatic as possible about selling your home.
SET A REALISTIC PRICE
The true value of a home is what a willing, able buyer will pay! Pricing your home too high will result in your home sitting on the market for a longer period of time and and often not selling at all! Selling to low will result in a lost of revenue for you. To find your value a Realtor will look at the prices of similar homes that have sold near you in the past 60-90 days. The Realtor will compare your home to the sold homes and take into consideration any improvements you have made to determine a suitable price range for you to consider. This is commonly known as a comparative market analysis or CMA. Pricing your home is one of the first, and most important, decisions you’ll make when listing your home for sale.
FIX ISSUES AND DON'T HIDE MAJOR PROBLEMS
The longer you live in a home, the easier it is to overlook all the little things that need work. Fixing these little issues is one of the smartest things you can do to make your home more appealing to buyers without breaking the bank. Don't hide major problems, A good home inspector will find out all of the issues with your home. Not being forthcoming about known issues will slow the whole process down. You don’t want to have an offer on the table that doesn’t work out because you’ve failed to disclose something or because inspection uncovered something huge.
DE-CLUTTER AND CLEAN
The longer you live in your home, the more likely it is to be filled up! Clutter is not a good selling point for a home. You may not see it as clutter, but most buyers will! Excessive clutter makes a home look dirty and small. If you have a significant amount of things with nowhere to put them, consider getting a storage unit for your stuff until the sale is complete. Your garage, basement and attic are not appropriate places to store clutter. Buyers want space in all areas of the home. when you are trying to sell you need to get serious about cleaning and staying tidy. Dirty homes are not appealing to buyers. It may be worth the money to hire some professionals to deep clean before putting your home on the market.
LISTEN TO YOUR REALTOR
The most important asset you can have on your side when selling your home is a Realtor. She will share these and many other tips with you while guiding you smoothly through the home selling process. Contact me for more details.
