You’ve decided it’s time to move on to a new nest and put your current abode up for sale. Here are a few steps you’ll want to cover in order to maximize the visibility and profit of your home.
Setting a realistic price point is vital? set it too high and you’ll have a hard time selling, price is too low and you leave money on the table. Avoid those scenarios by arming yourself with information. Find out your home’s value by seeking a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) and a property appraisal. You can request a CMA from a real estate office in your area, usually for free.
Prior to accepting viewings, “stage” your home to highlight its attractiveness. Make your property look as bright and spacious as possible. Get rid of clutter in the garage and basement, put in brighter light bulbs, wash the roof and throw a fresh coat of paint on the walls. Once the viewings begin, try to remove your emotional attachment. Some may not like the décor, or the size, or the way your beloved neighbor keeps her yard. Ultimately, you only need one person to fall in love with it.
If you decide to work with an agent, make sure you have a good rapport with them. You’ll want an agent with plenty of experience selling homes, possessing a good understanding of marketing and a committed attitude. Keep the lines of communication open? if viewings are slow to come along, ask how aggressively it’s being marketed. If offers are few, inquire about what type of work might make it more attractive to prospective buyers. If you’re selling it yourself as an FSBO (For Sale By Owner), market it in places where potential homebuyers are looking, i.e. realty sites, newspaper classifieds, real estate publications. Some online realtors accept listings from owners selling their own property. Consider who your home would be most attractive to (Large families? Empty nesters? Single, young professionals?), and place your home on websites and in publications that cater to those crowds.
Mistakes to avoid when selling a house
Many sellers today are looking to sell their homes to free cash that’s tied up in their property. If you’re trying to sell as quickly as possible, here are a few common mistakes you should avoid in order to able to successfully sell your house.
#1. Incrementally dropping your home’s price
The first mistake to avoid is incrementally dropping your home’s price. When you slowly decrease the price of your house you are signaling your desperation to the market, which will either lead most potential buyers to hold off, waiting for further drops, or to be wary of hidden costs, leading them to avoid your home altogether. The best way to handle pricing is to see how much a similar house is selling for, and price your own closely but below that value. Buyers will be excited to see a great house at a good price, and are likely to make an offer. Follow the advice of your broker, and make sure to get a good Comparative Market Analysis to base your judgment on.
#2. Too much clutter
Another mistake to avoid when selling your house is leaving around too much clutter. Before you show your house to any potential buyers, remove all your trash, put all your personal things away neatly, clear all tables and surfaces, and hide large objects that detract from your home’s appearance. Real estate agents will often advise you that the buyer wants to see a clean and inviting house and to be able to immediately feel comfortable in the house that they may buy. When a house is cluttered with random household knickknacks, personal effects, and miscellaneous items, it distracts home buyers from seeing the house’s natural beauty, and if severe, will lead the buyer to think that the house has been poorly maintained.
#3. Strong odor
One of the biggest turnoffs to homebuyers is a smelly house. This one is especially important because no matter how beautiful the features are in your home, if a potential buyer is put off by a smell somewhere in your house, that displeasure will cloud all of their judgments about your home in a negative way, sending them to search for a house somewhere else. While preparing your home for selling, de-clutter and also de-odorize.
#4. Over-decorating
Similar to leaving too much clutter around your house, a common mistake in selling your house is putting too many style-specific decorations or personal touches throughout the home. Even though these decor choices are easy to change, they make an incredibly strong impression on homebuyers and make an otherwise great home less attractive to those who don’t share the same taste. To be sure your personal style is not deterring homebuyers, lose the red walls, floral wallpaper, and retro-modern swivel chair, and opt for warm, neutral tones like brown, beige, grey, white, and wood tones.
#5. Bad listing photos (or none at all)
A bad mistake to make when selling your house would be to place a listing with poorly taken photos, or no photos at all. Unless your house gets a lot of foot traffic on its own, the listing is the first and sometimes only thing potential homebuyers can use to see into your home and to decide if it is something worth taking a look at. Photos that don’t highlight positive aspects of the home, and that have poor lighting and poor resolution, sends a message that the house is actually in poor condition and is not worth taking a look at. The lack of any photos at all in a listing sends the message that you, the seller, is either hiding something about the condition of the home or are not serious about putting the house for sale. Take the time to place several well-lit photos of both the exterior and interior of your house in the home listing to improve your chances of successfully selling your house.
In general, when selling your house, it’s important to understand the inherent value of your home, and to understand that that value won’t always speak for itself – you have to put in the effort to ensure that your house is being shown in the best way it possibly can be. Taking note of these mistakes to avoid will put your house in it’s the best light, giving you the best chance at getting your house sold.
Improving Your Curb Appeal
Think about your experiences as a homebuyer. When you were viewing homes, what sort of qualities stood out to you while approaching each doorstep? The yard? The paint scheme? Step across the street and view your home from several angles. Give as honest an assessment of your home as you can. What are its best visual features? What are its worst? Then have a friend or co-worker give the same assessment. Any overlapping negatives should be the first issues you address.
The first step to improving your curb appeal is also the simplest and cheapest. Simply tidy up inside and outside your home, removing toys, emptying trash cans, and mowing the lawn. Make sure your home can be seen in all its glory by trimming down shrubs and unruly tree branches. If you have the time and resources, consider giving your home a fresh coat of paint. Neutral colors are the safest bet in attracting the eyes of passersby. Start with the trim and move to the porch, fence, and front door.
Landscaping is major part of the curb appeal package. A neat, meticulously cared-for yard is a welcoming sight; a messy yard can act as a repellant. Keep the grass well-watered, edged, and mowed. Plant some colorful flowers. Trim any weeds clogging the grass, steps, or driveway. Speaking of the driveway, take steps to remedy any cracks or oil stains on the concrete. The driveway is the largest hard area near your home, and its appearance can hold a lot of weight in the eyes of a potential buyer.
A well-maintained exterior is likely to convince potential buyers that the inside is equally well kept, and thus, more desirable. The investment of “sweat equity” to beautify your home can ultimately pay off with a successful home sale.
Home Additions that Add Value
Home additions can be categorized in two ways. There are the aesthetic ones straight off your personal wish list? marble floors, granite countertops, a Jacuzzi ? and the more practical upgrades? installing windows with better insulation, replacing a leaky roof. And while the price you pay for these additions won’t always correlate with an increase in home value, there are some additions that translate favorably in the long term.
By most measures, kitchens are rated as the most important room for potential buyers viewing a home. Replacing older-model stoves, microwaves, and refrigerators with newer ones can drastically change the kitchen’s appearance. Basic upgrades to floor tiles, countertops, and cabinets also make a big difference.
Adding an extra bathroom or two is on the expensive side, but it’s coveted enough that much of the expenses will come back your way in the added home value. Full bathrooms (with a shower) pay off more than half bathrooms, and bathrooms in the basement and master bedroom (if one wasn’t already present) are also solid investments. Increasing your functional space will hold value longer than making an aesthetic change. Turning a basement or attic into a rec room or bedroom is wise, as is an upgrade that adds functional, living space to your home. Swimming pools, nice as they may be in the summertime, typically don’t add any value and often wind being filled in by new owners. The cost of upkeep and the specter of injuries (and liability) often scare people off.
The trend of going “green” has impacted real estate. Consider “greening” your property with cost and energy-efficient lightbulbs and appliances. One of the more effective upgrades is also one of the simplest. A relatively small investment in a new coat of paint for the entire house can make a difference, especially when showing your home to potential buyers.
Selling Your Home Without an Agent
A home is listed as an FSBO (For Sale By Owner) when the owner elects to sell their property without paying a realtor to coordinate the sale for them. It’s possible to pull off a sale without the assistance of a realtor, but it comes with extra responsibilities usually covered by an agent.
You have to market the home yourself. That could entail spreading word of mouth amongst friends, family, and co-workers, taking out classified ads in papers and on realty websites, or paying a realtor to get the home placed in the online Multiple Listing System (MLS). You’ll want to take good, high-resolution photos of the home at its cleanest. Open houses can be arranged, which you also have to promote on your own.
You also deal upfront with interested buyers and their agents to schedule viewings. When an offer is made, you negotiate on your own with the buyer and/or their agent, reviewing their bid and submitting counters as you see fit.
A good listing agent will typically advise you on the type of repairs or appearance upgrades that might make your home more attractive to a buyer. With an FSBO, it’s wise to replace the agent’s feedback with similar critiques from another party, such as a co-worker or a friend. Try to arrange a mock viewing with a friend who has well trained “real estate eyes”, i.e. they recently bought a home, or they are in the market for one. Getting feedback from others may help you prep your home better.
Successfully selling an your home as an FSBO has a clear benefit ? there’s no commission to pay out to an agent, so that extra 5% stays in your pocket.