12 Ways to ensure you are homeless as quickly as possible.
#1)Price the home right.
The biggest mistake that most sellers make is that they don’t price their home correctly. This can be pricing too low or too high. The drawback of pricing a home too low is obvious. However, pricing your home too high could actually net you a lower contract price than pricing a home too low. A home priced low can attract many buyers and they can bid the price up.
A home that is priced too high will attract no one. The four week window after a home is listed is the best time to attract buyers. It is when a house gets the most interest. If you are priced above the market, you miss out on this.
Many homeowners want to ‘try’ to get a higher price. They think that someone can always make an offer. And, of course they can. But, they will usually make an offer on a properly priced home. By listing your home higher than market value, you make the other listings at market value look like deals. You end up helping your neighbors sell their homes. If the point is to help your neighbors sell their homes, feel free to price your home above market value. If the point is to actually sell your home, then price the home right.
Bonus Pricing tip: Price on a hard price point. For example, 200,000.00, 225,000.00, 250,000.00, 275,000.00, 300,000.00 whenever possible. If that isn't appropriate, then price on the 10k price points, suck as: 260,000, 270,000, etc. No matter what, do not price just under a mark, and have the home priced at 199,900, or 199,999. This is an old trick, that's time is long gone. With today's real estate search engines, most are starting with hard price points as their top amount and their lower amount. So, one person may be searching from 260k-270k and another searching from 270k-280k. Pricing your home at 269,900 only puts it in one of those searches.
#2) Keep the house clean.
One of the biggest hassles of selling your home is that it is no longer your ‘home’. It is a showcase, or a storefront. (This is another reason to price your home right) When you get up in the morning, make the beds, put the dirty dishes away and always, always make sure the house is free of any bad odors.
For the time that your home is on the market, you should be Mr and/or Mrs Clean. Your home could be called on to be shown at any time, and not having it ready to show could cost you an opportunity to sell your home.
#3) De-clutter your home.
A very large room can be made to look very small by overloading it with furniture. Expansive countertops can look too small if stuff is allowed to pile up on them.
If you are planning on moving anyway (which IS the goal here right?), go ahead and start packing up the clutter in the home. The more you can pack away and put in the garage or the basement, or even a storage container, the better.
You want your home to appear as large and open as possible. If you don’t have an agent to help advise you, then you can hire a staging specialist to help you get an eye for trouble areas.
#4)De-personalize your home.
As mentioned above, you are planning on moving. So, start by packing up family photos and religious décor. A buyer wants to see the house they would when it is theirs. Items that make your home uniquely yours makes this more difficult.
#5)Condition is key.
There are two markets in most areas. One market is for investors and the absolute bargain shoppers. The key here is they want a deal.
The other is for owner occupants that want to be able to move in without the hassle of completing repairs.
The difference is condition. If your home does not show well, and is not in good condition, then do not expect to get full market value for the property. If your walls are dingy, paint them, and paint them a neutral color. If your carpets are worn or stained, then consider replacing them. And, of course, replace them with a neutral color.
A decorating allowance sounds great, but it does not take away a buyer’s first impression of your home.
#6) Be realistic about the value contribution of upgrades.
Upgrades can make your home sell quicker and for full market value. However, they will not cause your home to sell above market value. And, not all upgrades are created equal. For example, you can spend the same amount to expand your deck or put in granite counter tops. Most of the time, the granite counter tops will help you sell your home quicker than a larger deck.
#7) Multi-faceted marketing is a must.
The days of taking a couple of pictures, putting a sign in the yard, and putting the home on the MLS are over.
Marketing your home should be a multi pronged approach. Obviously, the home should have a sign for passing traffic and for interested parties to easily identify the property.
Your sign should feature a call capture system that allows anyone driving by to get information about your home 24 hours a day. In return, you, or your agent, gets a phone number to follow up with them.
Professional photography is a must. Yes, smart phones have great cameras on them these days, however, these are not marketing quality photographs. Your home needs to be photographed by a professional. You need to be putting its best foot forward everywhere you can.
If you are trying to market the home yourself, put the listing in as many places as possible online.
If you have an agent, make sure they don't just rely on the MLS to put your home out on the internet. They should be enhancing the listing, paying to promote the listing and adding as many photos as possible on all real estate search engines.
They should market the home to other agents as well, not just on the internet. They should be networking with other agents on a frequent basis and letting them know about your home.
#8) Stage the exterior of your home too.
Curb appeal is very important.
The outside of your home needs to be well maintained, this includes, paint and landscaping. Free the patio or deck of excess clutter.
A buyer’s very first impression of your home will be formed driving up. Make it a good one. Otherwise, they may not ever see how beautiful the rest of the home is.
#9) The fact that you are moving should not be a secret.
Even if you hire an agent to market your home, make sure that everyone knows you are planning on moving and that your home is for sale. Put your listing on Facebook. The more exposure your home gets, the better.
#10) Access to your home is imperative.
Homes that don’t get shown don’t get sold. You won’t have someone drive by your home and write an offer on it. And, there are many vacant foreclosures that they can gain access to at any time. If you are too restrictive about when buyer can see the home, they will probably find something else that suits them in the meantime.
#11) Open houses are a great way to get the word out.
An open house that is well advertised and well promoted can be a great asset to getting your home sold! With most open houses we are able to get 10-20 groups of people through one of our listings in a single afternoon.
#12) Tip for FSBO's: Don't try to cut out the buyer's agent:
Over 86% of all sales in the United States have a real estate agent involved. That includes all of the relative to relative and quit claim deeds. So, when you really look at the number of marketed, arms length sales, a real estate is involved at least 9 out of every 10 times.
Like it or not, most buyers do not want to make what is probably the largest investment of their life without the benefit of professional council and advice.
So, on ALL marketing materials, just put that the agent is protected, also, put down the commission you are willing to pay a buyer's agent. Most agents still won't want to show the home because they would rather work with a professional on the other side of the transaction (just being honest), but at least this way they know that they will get paid for their time.
The biggest mistake that most sellers make is that they don’t price their home correctly. This can be pricing too low or too high. The drawback of pricing a home too low is obvious. However, pricing your home too high could actually net you a lower contract price than pricing a home too low. A home priced low can attract many buyers and they can bid the price up.
A home that is priced too high will attract no one. The four week window after a home is listed is the best time to attract buyers. It is when a house gets the most interest. If you are priced above the market, you miss out on this.
Many homeowners want to ‘try’ to get a higher price. They think that someone can always make an offer. And, of course they can. But, they will usually make an offer on a properly priced home. By listing your home higher than market value, you make the other listings at market value look like deals. You end up helping your neighbors sell their homes. If the point is to help your neighbors sell their homes, feel free to price your home above market value. If the point is to actually sell your home, then price the home right.
Bonus Pricing tip: Price on a hard price point. For example, 200,000.00, 225,000.00, 250,000.00, 275,000.00, 300,000.00 whenever possible. If that isn't appropriate, then price on the 10k price points, suck as: 260,000, 270,000, etc. No matter what, do not price just under a mark, and have the home priced at 199,900, or 199,999. This is an old trick, that's time is long gone. With today's real estate search engines, most are starting with hard price points as their top amount and their lower amount. So, one person may be searching from 260k-270k and another searching from 270k-280k. Pricing your home at 269,900 only puts it in one of those searches.
#2) Keep the house clean.
One of the biggest hassles of selling your home is that it is no longer your ‘home’. It is a showcase, or a storefront. (This is another reason to price your home right) When you get up in the morning, make the beds, put the dirty dishes away and always, always make sure the house is free of any bad odors.
For the time that your home is on the market, you should be Mr and/or Mrs Clean. Your home could be called on to be shown at any time, and not having it ready to show could cost you an opportunity to sell your home.
#3) De-clutter your home.
A very large room can be made to look very small by overloading it with furniture. Expansive countertops can look too small if stuff is allowed to pile up on them.
If you are planning on moving anyway (which IS the goal here right?), go ahead and start packing up the clutter in the home. The more you can pack away and put in the garage or the basement, or even a storage container, the better.
You want your home to appear as large and open as possible. If you don’t have an agent to help advise you, then you can hire a staging specialist to help you get an eye for trouble areas.
#4)De-personalize your home.
As mentioned above, you are planning on moving. So, start by packing up family photos and religious décor. A buyer wants to see the house they would when it is theirs. Items that make your home uniquely yours makes this more difficult.
#5)Condition is key.
There are two markets in most areas. One market is for investors and the absolute bargain shoppers. The key here is they want a deal.
The other is for owner occupants that want to be able to move in without the hassle of completing repairs.
The difference is condition. If your home does not show well, and is not in good condition, then do not expect to get full market value for the property. If your walls are dingy, paint them, and paint them a neutral color. If your carpets are worn or stained, then consider replacing them. And, of course, replace them with a neutral color.
A decorating allowance sounds great, but it does not take away a buyer’s first impression of your home.
#6) Be realistic about the value contribution of upgrades.
Upgrades can make your home sell quicker and for full market value. However, they will not cause your home to sell above market value. And, not all upgrades are created equal. For example, you can spend the same amount to expand your deck or put in granite counter tops. Most of the time, the granite counter tops will help you sell your home quicker than a larger deck.
#7) Multi-faceted marketing is a must.
The days of taking a couple of pictures, putting a sign in the yard, and putting the home on the MLS are over.
Marketing your home should be a multi pronged approach. Obviously, the home should have a sign for passing traffic and for interested parties to easily identify the property.
Your sign should feature a call capture system that allows anyone driving by to get information about your home 24 hours a day. In return, you, or your agent, gets a phone number to follow up with them.
Professional photography is a must. Yes, smart phones have great cameras on them these days, however, these are not marketing quality photographs. Your home needs to be photographed by a professional. You need to be putting its best foot forward everywhere you can.
If you are trying to market the home yourself, put the listing in as many places as possible online.
If you have an agent, make sure they don't just rely on the MLS to put your home out on the internet. They should be enhancing the listing, paying to promote the listing and adding as many photos as possible on all real estate search engines.
They should market the home to other agents as well, not just on the internet. They should be networking with other agents on a frequent basis and letting them know about your home.
#8) Stage the exterior of your home too.
Curb appeal is very important.
The outside of your home needs to be well maintained, this includes, paint and landscaping. Free the patio or deck of excess clutter.
A buyer’s very first impression of your home will be formed driving up. Make it a good one. Otherwise, they may not ever see how beautiful the rest of the home is.
#9) The fact that you are moving should not be a secret.
Even if you hire an agent to market your home, make sure that everyone knows you are planning on moving and that your home is for sale. Put your listing on Facebook. The more exposure your home gets, the better.
#10) Access to your home is imperative.
Homes that don’t get shown don’t get sold. You won’t have someone drive by your home and write an offer on it. And, there are many vacant foreclosures that they can gain access to at any time. If you are too restrictive about when buyer can see the home, they will probably find something else that suits them in the meantime.
#11) Open houses are a great way to get the word out.
An open house that is well advertised and well promoted can be a great asset to getting your home sold! With most open houses we are able to get 10-20 groups of people through one of our listings in a single afternoon.
#12) Tip for FSBO's: Don't try to cut out the buyer's agent:
Over 86% of all sales in the United States have a real estate agent involved. That includes all of the relative to relative and quit claim deeds. So, when you really look at the number of marketed, arms length sales, a real estate is involved at least 9 out of every 10 times.
Like it or not, most buyers do not want to make what is probably the largest investment of their life without the benefit of professional council and advice.
So, on ALL marketing materials, just put that the agent is protected, also, put down the commission you are willing to pay a buyer's agent. Most agents still won't want to show the home because they would rather work with a professional on the other side of the transaction (just being honest), but at least this way they know that they will get paid for their time.
