tips

Home Sellers Tips

Getting Ready to Sell Your House

Disengage Your Emotions

When talking to real estate agents, you will often find that when they talk to you about buying real estate, they will refer to your purchase as a “home.” Yet if you are selling property, they will often refer to it as a “house.” There is a reason for this. Buying real estate is often an emotional decision, but when selling real estate you need to remove emotions.
You need to think of your house as a marketable product. Property. Real estate. Your goal is to get others to see it as their potential home, not yours. You need to de-personalize it. This page will explain the process of selling your house, give you some tips and ideas to get your house sold faster for more.

Preparing the House for Showings

After leaving in a house for a long time, it gets cluttered, and people get used to it, and they are very emotional about all their belongings. To get your house uncluttered might be a very hard thing to do because of the emotional attachment to things. After years of living in the same home, clutter collects in such a way that may not be evident to the homeowner. However, it does affect the way buyers see the home, even if you do not realize it.
Clutter collects on shelves, counter tops, drawers, closets, garages, attics, and basements. You want as much open clear space as possible, so every extra little thing needs to be cleared away. Take a step back and pretend you are a buyer. Let a friend help point out areas of clutter, as long as you can accept their views without getting defensive. Let your agent help you, too

Repairs, Costs of Repairs

Do not do anything expensive, such as remodeling. If possible, use savings to pay for any repairs and improvements do not go charging up credit cards or obtaining new loans. Remember that part of selling a house is also preparing to buy your next home. You do not want to do anything that will affect your credit scores or hurt your ability to qualify for your next mortgage.

Plumbing and Fixtures

When looking at a house, prospective home buyers often do not really know what to do. So they play with things. They flick light switches. They open everything with a handle. They turn on all the faucets and flush all the toilets. Having nice shiny fixtures makes an impression.
All your sink fixtures should look shiny and new. If this cannot be accomplished by cleaning, buy new ones. If you don’t buy something fancy, this can be accomplished inexpensively. Make sure all the hot and cold water knobs are easy to turn and that the faucets do not leak. If they do, replace the washers.
It sounds like hard work, but it’s pretty easy — even for the inexperienced.
Check to make sure you have good water pressure and that there are no stains on any of the porcelain. If you have a difficult stain to remove, one trick is to hire a cleaning crew to go through and clean your home on a one-time basis. They seem to be wonderful at making stains go away

Odor

Make sure it smells pleasant in your house. How would you like to walk into a potentially your next home and find out that it smells horribly. It is an automatic turn-off for most buyers.
For those who smoke, you might want to minimize smoking indoors while trying to sell your home. Actually, it is best to move smoking outside. You could also purchase an ozone spray that helps to remove odors without creating odor.
Apologies to pet owners, but pets come with odors. You may have become used to them, but they are immediately noticeable to those with more finely tuned senses.
For those with cats, be sure to empty kitty litter boxes daily and use plenty of baking soda. For dog owners, keep the dog outdoors as much as possible, even those adorable lovable little dogs. You might also try sprinkling carpet freshener on the carpet on a periodic basis.
You could also buy candles and turn them on right before showings. They spread a very pleasant smell fast throughout the house.

Pricing Your House

Make sure you don’t overprice your house. The first several months are crucial, as your house is going to be fresh on the market, so it is going to attract a lot of new buyers. Agents are always looking for new inventory. So this is the time when you want to do everything right. If you overprice your house to begin with, then after several months, people are going to have different suspicions why your house is still sitting on the market. If your home is initially priced right, you are in the best position to attract the maximum number of buyers. Ask a real estate agent to do a “Comparative Market Analysis” for you. Most agents would do it for you for free. You can request a free Comparative Market Analysis from our site.

Why should you work with a Realtor?

Working with a professional Realtor to sell your house is a good idea for several reasons:

Marketing Your House

Marketing can be extremely expensive. Agents spend thousands of dollars to get houses advertised in different newspapers, magazines, MLS, print advertising, professional brochures and flyers, professional networking, agent tours, targeted direct mail, yard signs, TV exposure, interactive phone information, open houses, and the Internet. The combination of all of these marketing elements working together has helped thousands of sellers to successful sales.

AN OFFER

When you have a home for sale, eventually a prospective buyer will make an offer. As the seller, you basically have three options: you can accept the offer, reject the offer or give a counter offer. A counter offer usually will encourage a buyer to continue their negotiations. You may also receive multiple offers. You may prefer to take slightly less for your property from someone who is willing to pay cash, versus someone who needs to sell their current home first. Contingencies, move-in dates, and financing are all things to consider when weighing an offer. If things seem a bit overwhelming, rely on your experienced real estate professional, who can go over the various points with you, and help you choose the best offer.

Getting to the Closing Table

Once you’ve accepted an offer on your property there’s a number of details that still need to be finished. There will probably be an inspection of your home by a professional who will determine the condition and integrity of your property for the buyer. The contract should state who is paying and up to what amount on the repairs. The buyer’s mortgage company will order an appraisal. The title company will warranty that there are no liens or existing encumbrances which would restrain a transfer of title to the buyer. First time sellers and buyers often feel more comfortable to have the paper work reviewed prior to signing. If you have a real estate agent, she/he will review everything with you. You can always rely on your real estate professional to make sure the entire home selling process goes smoothly.

Got a Question?

You can contact me directly from this website or by phone at: 407-383-8180