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Write down the reasons why you are selling your home, and define the goals you
want to accomplish. Knowing those reasons and having those
goals will help you deal with the pressure and emotion later. If you
are moving to another state for a new career opportunity, your pressure comes
from how much time you have until your have to pack and go. If you are
selling your house and buying another at the same time, you feel
the pressure from worrying about the coordination of both
transactions. If your family has grown and your house is too small, you
may be under less pressure when buying a bigger home.
Your reasons and goals will help you and your agent develop a strategy to
best achieve what you expect in the local real estate market within the
expected time frame.
Impression to the buyers is very important, and it will stay in the buyers' head
and eventually affect their decision to buy. There are a few things a
seller can do to deliver the best impression to the buyers.
Uncluttering shelves, counter tops, drawers, closets,
garage, attic, basement, and unnecessary furnitures and
decorations can magically make your house seem more spacious than its
present condition.
Fixing up does not mean remodeling. The goal of fixing up is to make the
house seem well maintained. Small improvements often make positive
visual impact. Cleaning up the house can show the buyers that the house
is well kept and maintained. Things like stains on the faucets,
bathroom and kitchen sinks, and cooktop are easy to clean up. If
there are stains that are hard to get rid of, there are professional cleaning
companies that can take care of them for you. Water stains in
the ceiling are usually caused by plumbing or a faulty roof. This should
be properly taken care of by related professional services. Don't forget
to empty all the trash can, especially kitchen trash.
Most home buyers are likely to check out light switches and faucets,
flush the toilets, turn the door knobs, open and close doors and windows, look
for leakage and defects and make sure everything is in working
condition. As a seller, it is a good idea to do everything necessary to
create a positive impression. Buyers usually don't want to deal with
repairs after moving in.
Odor is a sensitive topic. Cigarette and pet odors are very common to
smokers and pet owners. During the selling period, the odors should be
frequently taken care of by using air freshener and carpet
freshener. A few hours before the open house, leave windows open to allow
fresh air to get in.
The exterior is the most important to the buyers. It is the first
impression to the buyers, and it's called "curb appeal". Many
buyers base their decisions to look at the inside of the house on its
exterior look.
Mature colorful flowers add a splash of vibrancy and color, creating a favorable
impression. Your lawn should be evenly cut, freshly edged, well watered,
and free of brown spots. Loose leaves and grass cuttings should be
removed. The point behind these is to show the buyers that your house is
well maintained, both inside and outside.
The big decision is whether to paint or not. Does your house look tired
and faded from across the street? If so, a paint job may be a good
idea. It is often a very good investment and really spruces up the
appearance of a house, adding dollars to offers from potential home
buyers. When choosing a color, choose a color that fits well in your
neighborhood and matches the style of your house. For some reasons,
different shades of yellow seem to illicit the best response in home buyers.
If you know your roof leaks, repair it. If you do not repair a leaky roof,
you have to disclose it, and that will give the buyer a chance to ask for a
brand new roof. If you know about the leaky roof and do not repair it and
do not disclose it, you might end up being sued by the buyer.
The front door should be especially sharp because it is the entryway into the
house. Polish the door fixture so it gleams. If the door needs
refinishing or repainting, make sure to get that done. Get a new door
mat, too. You can take it with you when you move.
The back yard should be tidy and should appear as spacious as possible. If
you have a pool or spa, keep it freshly maintained and constantly cleaned.
Otherwise, you can wait and see what the home inspector says. Why spend
money unnecessarily?
This is one of the most sensitive and emotional topics for home
sellers. If the asking price is too high, it is likely that the house
will stay on the market for a long time. When that happens, potential
buyers as well as other real estate agents may think that something is wrong
with the property. Reducing the price is generally not as effective as
having it reasonably priced from the start. As a result, you may end up
selling it for less than what you could have gotten if you had started out with
a realistic asking price.
It is beneficial to the seller to meet with a local realtor who knows the local
real estate market. There are many factors that can affect your selling
price - the state of the local market, the condition of your home,
the desirability of the neighborhood, and the sales of comparable homes in the
same neighborhood, etc. Your agent can help you determine the best
possible selling price of your home and establish a
marketing strategy. Having a home reasonably priced will attract
lots of attention and lead to more offers. It is common for
some buyers to raise the offering price when there are multiple
offers for the same property.
Establishing a marketing strategy with your real estate agent is a
necessary step. Your agent's job is to expose your home to the most
potential buyers using a marketing plan that will bring the most qualified
buyers. There are many ways to market your house.
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"For Sale" sign and flyers - a sign saying "For Sale" with a
box of flyers
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Multiple Listing Service (MLS) - MLS is an Internet based database system which
holds detailed information about the listings in the area it serves.
Being listed on the MLS, the listing of your home gains exposure to
buyers using the Internet and other real estate agents. Instead of having
only your agent selling your home, now you have hundreds or thousands of local
agents selling your home for you. MLS is a powerful tool.
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Office preview - Other agents in the same office of your agent will preview
your home and get a head start on selling it. They usually look for
anything memorable, different, or unique. Some might return with
buyers.
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Broker preview - Similar to office preview, but it is open to all the members
of the MLS. Office and broker previews are sometimes referred to as
"caravan".
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Flyers to agents - Flyers about your property are sent to agents in other
offices.
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Advertising - Newspaper ads, classified ads, and local real estate magazine
ads.
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Open House - It serves as an invitation to people living in your neighborhood
and people driving by to look at your house. As a result, it gets people
to talk about it and creates more "word of mouth" advertising.
Your house should always be in a ready-to-show condition because once your house
is on the market, there are chances that some agents would bring potential home
buyers to see your property at any time. Your agent would let you know in
advance about any appointment scheduled. If your house is not ready
to be shown, the other agent would simply skip your house and move on to the
next. It is important to get your house as ready as possible for
showing, so you won't miss out any potential buyers.
Try not to be home when your home is being shown. Home buyers will feel
like intruders if the home owner is there when they visit. They might not
be as receptive toward viewing your home.
Before leaving your house, turn on all the lights, indoor and outdoor, even
during the day. Having all the lights turned on prevents harsh shadows
from sunlight, brightens up any dim areas and makes your house look more
homey and cheerful.
Do not use scented sprays to prepare for visitors because some people may find
the smells offensive and some may be allergic to the smells. It is
preferable to use something that smells natural and pleasant.
If you have pets, it is better to bring them with you when your house is being
shown. If you can't, try to keep your pets away from the visitors.
Empty the kitchen trash and other trash cans before showing your house.
Make your house look as tidy and organized as possible. The goal is to do
your best to make your home look and feel like a model home.
When a buy decides to buy your home, an offer will be presented to you.
Reading an offer is as emotional as pricing your home. If the offer is
too low, you would feel insulted and probably ignore the rest of it.
Always try to understand the entire offer before making any decision. If
the buyer is qualified, and you like most of the terms in the offer except the
price and a few things, it is always worthwhile to make a counter offer.
Negotiate until you and the buyer feel comfortable with the price and
terms. Do not reject any offer unless the buyer is not qualifed and the
price and terms in the offer are unacceptable.
Most offers require some level of negotiation to
reach a win-win agreement. Common things people negotiate for
are price, financing, closing costs, repairs, appliances, and occupancy
time frame. If you are moving to another state due to career
change, a cash offer or a short transaction may be more favorable to you. Price is not
always the most important factor.
After accepting an offer, there are a lot
to be done. Your agent will coordinate with the buyer's agent as
well as other vendors to arrange for
appraisal, home and termite inspections, make sure all forms and documents are properly
prepared and delivered to the right parties,
communicate with title, and mortgage companies, and arrange contractors
and handyman to do repairs. A lot of vendors will involve in
this stage of the transaction. Choosing vendors which provide
timely and reliable services is extremely important. You agent will be able to
help you through every step in this process to ensure all necessary actions are
taken, so the transaction can close as planned.
Finally, the ownership of the property is legally transferred to the buyer at
closing. Should any issue arise in the last minute, your agent will be
there to mediate for you.
After changing ownership, you will need to make sure that all of the local
services, such as electricity, gas, landscaping, cable, phone, water, internet
service, have been cancelled. Bank, cellular phone, credit cards,
investment, magazine subscription accounts should have been updated with your
new address. Address forwarding should be set up with your local post
office.
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