Thinking About Selling

1. Price your home with the market. Pricing your home higher than comparable homes have sold, or higher that other homes currently on the market, will guarantee your home will stay on the market too long, and help properly priced competitive properties sell quicker. You can take price decreases and lower your price to the market eventually, but this will result in a home too long on the market and will invite low offers.

2. Curb appeal is very important. De-clutter and get your home ready to sell. If you are not the best of housekeepers, and many folks are not, hire a house cleaner to properly clean your home. (especially carpets and windows) If you have peeling paint on the outside, or flower beds with more weeds than flowers, fix these problems before you list your home. Not only will your home sell quicker, but for more money.

3. Spruce up the inside of your home. A fresh coat of paint can do wonders and excite buyers. Just be sure to use neutral colors. (off-white, tan, light grey, etc.) Clean or replace any worn or stained carpets.

4. Don’t overspend on improvements to your home. A $40,000 kitchen remodel may look great, but it will not necessarily make your home worth an additional $40,000. Mechanicals such as heat and air conditioning, hot water heaters, and even the roof must be up-to-date and in good working order. Most all buyers will have inspections to check these items.

5. Do not be home when potential buyers come to see your home. This makes buyers uncomfortable, and they will not spend as much time viewing your home. Also try to display a minimum of personal or family photos. A buyer likes to envision your home as their potential home.

6. Be prepared to negotiate the selling price. In today’s real estate market, almost all homes are sold at a price lower than the listing price. A good Realtor will help answer your questions about negotiations and help you through the process.   You may get a little less than you had hoped, and the buyer may pay a little more than they had planned.  Remember that in a successful negotiation, both parties win.

7. Hire a professional Realtor . That is where we come in. If you attempt to sell your home without a Realtor, potential buyers will not share their honest opinions with you about your home. Potential buyers will almost always complement your home, leaving you with the impression they are interested in your home. We, on the other hand, are able to get buyers’ honest opinions about your home and are trained in the art of overcoming objections, thus being more apt to achieving a successful transaction. Sellers who list with Realtors get an average of 16% more for their homes than sellers who sell their homes themselves. We will explain the process and help you through every step. We take professional photos and do virtual tours on most all of our home listings.   Our virtual tours are all in high-definition. This shows pictures full screen as opposed to the small 3.25 X 2.25 inch photos on most sites. Almost 90% of buyers in today’s market begin their process with looking on the internet. Our photos and virtual tours are not only on our local Multiple Listing Service, but are published on almost 900 real estate websites. We believe a good virtual tour is essential to attracting potential buyers to your home.   As many of the potential buyers for homes in our area live out of our area, we include a multi-media presentation at the end of all our virtual tours showing points of interest in our area. For these out-of-state buyers, we must first sell our area before we can sell your home. To our knowledge, we are the only Realtors in the area who provide this service.