1. Preparing Your Home for Sale

A successful sales strategy requires significant effort in prepping your Home.

When presenting your home to prospective buyers, first impressions are crucial. Buyers begin judging your home the moment they see it and, unless they’re looking for a deal on a fixer-upper, they prefer homes that are well maintained, clean and clutter-free.

Here are a few things you need to include in your to-do checklist:

- Get the house deep cleaned. 
- Clean gutters, windows, etc.
- Improve curb appeal
- Repaint walls
- Fix or replace anything damaged or worn
- Schedule your regular HV/AC tune-up maintenance.

 

Sometimes a small investment in time and money can give you a big edge over your competition and generate a faster sale at a higher price.

 

2. Strategically Pricing Your Home

Determining the best asking price for a home is one of the most challenging, and also important, aspects of selling it.

Key Market Factors

 

Condition:

- The property condition will affect price and speed of sale.
- The age of the roof, mechanicals as furnace, AC, etc.

 

Competition:

- Buyers compare your property against others that are for sale in the area /similar neighborhoods

 

Location:

- Location is a primary factor that affects the sale price. 85% of buyers shop by neighborhood, school district, and community

 

Timing:

- Seasonal Markets
- Inventory
- Mortgage Interest

 

3. Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)

 

The comparative market analysis is a document that presents pricing information, property details and photos of homes similar to yours that recently sold, failed to sell, or are currently on the market in your area. I’ve compiled some useful strategies to help you understand the process and importance in creating a correct CMA) or coming up with a list price for your home.

 

For obvious reasons, you will want to avoid under pricing your property with the risk of leaving money on the table.

On the other hand, overpricing a home can have even more adverse financial consequences in the end. Overpriced homes linger on the market and eventually require multiple price drops, as buyers begin to ignore your home or assume there must be something wrong with it.

 

In a purely numbers sense, how you price your home will directly impact how many buyers, showings and offers you attract. However, the practical dynamics of attracting those qualified, motivated buyers who will pay top market value for your home is a little more complex. That’s because experience shows that you’re far more likely to get top market value if you sell your home during a certain “golden window of opportunity” during the listing. In short, timing is crucial.

 

4. Setting the Stage to Sell

Home staging allows buyers to better visualize what it would be like to live in a property for sale. As they walk from room to room, imagining themselves seated on the furniture, eating at the breakfast island or tucking in the kids for the night, their emotions become engaged and their desire to buy intensifies.

 

5. Marketing Your Home

 

Exposure of your home is key to obtaining a quick sale in today’s market. There is a wide range of options for maximizing a property’s exposure to the marketplace, including:

- Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
- Zillow, Trulia, RE/MAX.com, SelectHomeFinder.com,
- Realtor.com, Homes.com and other RE - Brokerage companies.
- Personal website
- Social media: Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, among others
- Direct mail and email campaigns
- Open houses for the public and for realtors
- For Sale sign

 

Such extensive market exposure will not only generate more interest from motivated buyers. It will also ensure that you don’t sell your home to just any buyer, but to the right buyer – the one who fully appreciates what they’re buying and will pay top dollar for it.

 

6. Successfully Negotiating the Deal

- Qualify potential buyers.
- Work closely with other agents.
- Manage offers and counter offers.
- Optimize multiple offer situations
- Negotiate the best price and terms
- Keep the sale moving forward through all contingencies to closing.

7. Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Home

Not hiring an agent or choosing the wrong one to work with

The first costly mistake you can make when selling your home is deciding not to hire a real estate agent.

With an agent by your side, you gain access to relevant market information, expert insights and invaluable advice on how to increase your home’s marketing appeal. You also gain the advantage of strong negotiation skills. Their experience and services are crucial if your goal is to maximize the value of your home.

When you do hire an agent, set a high bar. Your agent must have local area knowledge, years of industry experience, and technological savvy to leverage your marketing efforts. Look for important personal qualities like integrity, passion, personality, and accessibility, as well.

Overpricing your property

Over-priced homes linger on the market and eventually require multiple price drops, as buyers begin to ignore your home or assume there must be something wrong with it.

Ignoring essential repairs

Identify necessary repairs in and around your home and take care of them early. Address even small things like unhinged cabinet doors, leaky faucets, cracked tiles, fresh paint, replace worn carpets, etc.

Don’t be tempted to avoid these types of repairs in an effort to save on costs. Your buyer will have the home inspected before closing, so any deferred maintenance will be revealed eventually. Neglecting repairs can give your buyer more leverage to negotiate for a lower price or worse, such as backing out of the deal.

Underestimating the importance of proper staging. 
Staging a home for sale is not a new concept, but it is a practice that has gained steam with our more challenging market. I see many home sellers confuse staging with decorating and consequently resisting the process and the recommendations of the staging professional. But the reality is that the moment you commit to marketing your home for sale, you need to commit to transforming your home into a place that potential buyers can easily picture as their home. This means that you need to be prepared to emotionally detach.