Get Your Home Sold Fast and For Top Dollar

WHY ARE YOU SELLING YOUR HOME?

What’s more important to you: the money you walk away with, or the length of time your property is on the market? Don’t reveal your motivation to anyone else or they may use it against you at the negotiating table. When asked, simply say that your housing needs have changed.

HOW TO SET YOUR HOME PRICE
First, you must do your homework before setting a price. Setting your offering price shouldn’t be done lightly. The average buyer is looking at 15-20 homes at the same time they are considering yours, giving them a basis of comparison.  If your home doesn’t compare favorably with others in the price range you’ve set, you won’t be taken seriously by prospects or agents. Once you’ve set your price, you’ve told buyers the absolute maximum they have to pay for your home, but pricing too high is as dangerous as pricing too low.  Oftentimes, if your home sits on the market for a long time new buyers on the market may think there must be something wrong with your home.

LET ME DO SOME HOMEWORK FOR YOU
I will research what homes in your own and similar neighborhoods have sold for in the past 6-12 months, and research what current homes are listed for. That’s certainly how prospective buyers will assess the worth of your home.

FIND A GOOD REALTOR TO REPRESENT YOUR NEEDS
Nearly three-quarters of homeowners claim that they wouldn’t use the same realtor who sold their last home. Dissatisfaction boils down to poor communication which results in not enough feedback, lower pricing and strained relations.   My pledge to you is exemplary communication! 

PRODUCT PACKAGING

While you may not be able to change your home’s location or floor plan, you can do a lot to improve its appearance. The look and feel of your home generates a greater emotional response than any other factor. Clean like you’ve never cleaned before. Pick up, straighten, unclutter, scrub, scour and dust. Fix everything, no matter how insignificant it may appear. The buyers must be able to imagine themselves living in your home. The decision to buy a home is based on emotion, not logic. Prospective buyers want to try on your home just like they would a new suit of clothes. Don't follow them around pointing out improvements.  Make sure your decor is not so different that it’s difficult for a buyer to strip it away in his or her mind, you make it difficult for them to feel comfortable enough to imagine themselves an owner.

ADVERTISING YOUR HOME

Make sure the ads your agent places for your home are attached to a 24 hour prerecorded hotline with a specific ID# for your home which gives buyers access to detailed information about your property day or night 7 days a week without having to talk to anyone. It’s been proven that 3 times as many buyers call for information on your home under this system. And remember, the more buyers you have competing for your home the better, because it sets up an auction-like atmosphere that puts you in the driver’s seat.

ONCE YOU HAVE AN OFFER

Know your buyer.  In the negotiation process, your objective is to control the pace and set the duration. What is your buyer’s motivation? Does s/he need to move quickly? Does s/he have enough money to pay you your asking price? Knowing this information gives you the upper hand in the negotiation because you know how far you can push to get what you want.

FULL DISCLOSURE

Make sure the contract is complete.  For your part as a seller, make sure you disclose everything. Smart sellers proactively go above and beyond the laws to disclose all known defects to their buyers in writing. If the buyer knows about a problem, s/he can’t come back with a lawsuit later on.  Make sure all terms, costs and responsibilities are spelled out in the contract of sale, and resist the temptation to diverge from the contract. For example, if the buyer requests a move-in prior to closing, just say no. Now is not the time to take any chances of the deal falling through.

WHEN TO MOVE

Don’t move out before you sell!  Studies have shown that it is more difficult to sell a home that is vacant because it looks forlorn, forgotten, simply not appealing. It could even cost you thousands. If you move, you’re also telling buyers that you have a new home and are probably highly motivated to sell fast. This, of course, will give them the advantage at the negotiating table.