4 EASY STEPS TO SELLING YOUR HOME

Thursday, February 26th, 2015 at 12:00pm.

Selling your home requires a lot of effort, but if you follow these four simple steps, you will be able to sell your home right away.

Step 1: Get Your Home Move-In Ready

A fixer-upper can be an enticing prospect for do-it-yourselfers who like to roll up their sleeves and create the home of their dreams. However, most homebuyers want to forgo the hammer and nails and find something that is as close to move-in ready as possible. The first thing to do is an extensive and thorough cleaning of the home. Then, you may want to hire a home inspector. Yes, your potential buyer will probably hire one as well later on in the process, but hiring one early on allows you to get a clear idea of any structural challenges. Once you have the evaluation from the inspector, you can choose the most cost-effective repairs and renovations to best increase the value of the home. Plus, by being proactive you will avoid surprises found by a home inspector late in the process that can place time stress on the requested work. Hiring a home inspector before your home is on the market allows you the time to shop for a quality contractor and a good price.

Step 2: Stage Your Home Inside and Out

Staging your home isn't isolated to the inside – curb appeal counts! Staging is an easy way to give your home a selling advantage. A successfully staged home will make a potential buyer feel comfortable, confident and will elicit a positive emotional response. Two key facts to know; 1) staged homes sell an average of 88% faster than non-staged homes 2) On average, a staged home will sell for 17% more than a non-staged home.

Beginning inside, clear the home of clutter. Remove excess wall decoration, counter decoration, and any extraneous furniture. You want your home to seem as clean and spacious as possible. Make sure to remove personal photos, religious iconography, and loud design elements. You want potential buyers to envision themselves in your home with their own family, beliefs, and taste. If you really want to create a mood that sells, adorn the couch with a comfy throw blanket. Place a bird book and binoculars on a windowsill. Or place fresh fruit in a kitchen bowl. These small touches really get the buyer’s imagination going. Ask your realtor about a professional staging consultation and take advantage of that service. And don’t forget the outside! Your home’s exterior is its first impression and it sets the tone for the entire showing. Replace old mulch with new, plant fresh flowers and shrubs, paint faded or cracking shutters, and do what’s needed to make your property come alive.

Step 3: Research Your Neighborhood

At what price you sell your home should never be left to assumptions and emotions. While you may have dripped gallons of sweat in home improvement projects and created a lifetime of memories in your home, your buyer will never share your personal value of the home. They are coming in cold and see a blank slate to create their own life. Find out the recent home sales trends in your neighborhood.  If selling now is what you want to do, price your home in line with comparable homes in your neighborhood. If you price your home too high, it will languish in real estate listings, eliciting few views and even fewer offers. Your REALTOR® can offer valuable insight and provide you with an analysis.

Step 4: Show Your Home Off

The final step is simply to get your home in front of as many people as possible. Make sure your real estate agent understands all of the selling points you feel your home and neighborhood have. Your agent should know about the local schools and hospitals, but what about local festivals, social clubs, volunteer opportunities, hidden parks, bicycle trails, and other selling points only a member of the community would know? Make sure your agent includes these selling points in your listing as well. Partner with your agent, and be an active participant in selling your home. Promote it on the internet via the many home listing sites and on every social media platform you can. Today, nearly all home sales begin with an internet search, with 92% of buyers using the internet in some way in their search process, according to Realtor.org. You may also want to consider an open house.  With the resources of a good real estate agent there are even more advertising opportunities to put your home in front of interested homebuyers. Lastly, make sure to be fully available when potential buyers want to view your home. Have your home always ready to show, even on weekday evenings and weekend mornings. In the end when you have earned the sale, it'll be all worth it.

Posted by Northrop Realty on
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