Top Ten Tips for Home Selling
The Top Ten Tips for Home Selling are a guide for
the home seller and answer many questions about real
estate and home buying.
1. Commit to the Process -
The smart home seller makes a conscious decision
and commitment to sell, plans carefully what to do
when the sale occurs, chooses the timing carefully
when possible, prices the home in accordance with
recent comparable sales, keeps emotions in check and
out of the way, listens to the advice of and lists
the home with a professional and allocates adequate
time off from work to handle all of the above.
In any market there are homes that go up for sale
and just don't sell. Believe it or not, the number
of homes not selling (called expired listings in the
trade) can be as high as 40-60%. How could this be?
The reason is simple - commitment on behalf of the
seller. Too often homes are listed for sale to "test
the market", or to "see if we can get our price". At
other times, the homes are just not in condition to
be sold - at any price. Seller commitment, not to a
listing, but to a sale, is critical.
2.
Hire a Seller's Agent (Listing Agent) to Represent You
-
Industry estimates vary but it is generally
thought that over 90% of homes are sold with the
assistance of a real estate agent. Unless you have
significant home selling experience and current
knowledge of applicable laws, regulations and market
conditions it just makes good sense to hire a
professional. After all, you would go to the Dentist
for a toothache and visit an Attorney for your will.
Why would you try a home remedy for a significant
financial transaction like selling real estate?
Most homebuyers today are choosing to be
represented in the purchase transaction by a Buyer's
Agent. This means that they are choosing to have
someone on their side in the hope that it keeps the
playing field level or perhaps tilts it in their
direction. The prudent home seller will also choose
to obtain professional assistance and
representation. Visit the Seller's Page for further
information on how to choose a Seller's Agent.
3.
Clean Up / Fix Up / Inspect -
When selling a car or boat most people will fix it
up, clean it up, wax and polish it, buy new tires
for it, etc., etc. However, those same people often
set out to sell their home with the idea that they
should just be able to put a sign in their front
yard and get ready to move. On the other hand, most
people that buy homes want a clean well-kept place
to live. Buyers don't welcome taking on the task of
correcting someone else's problems and neglect.
It also pays the prudent home seller to arrange
for a home inspection prior to listing the home for
sale. A licensed home inspector will turn up many
issues which merit correction in the areas of
structural integrity, repair & maintenance or
safety. Since the home buyer will be sure to have
his own inspection done prior to finalizing the deal
it just makes good sense to find out these things
early and take care of them up front. The result is
a faster sale for more money.
4. Price It Right - The First Time -
If the first rule of real estate is location the
second rule is price. One of the principle reasons
homes do not sell in a reasonable period of time is
because they are priced incorrectly - usually too
high. Problem is, after a home has been on the
market for a while without selling buyers become
wary. . . "it has been for sale forever, there must
be something wrong with it."
"But we can always come down on the price" say
the sellers. Yes, you can - and should. The problem
is that homes that are priced too high to begin with
usually don't receive a price reduction soon enough
(for the same reasons they were priced too high to
begin with) and eventually they sell for less than
they would have had they been priced properly to
begin with. Solution: Hire an honest, competent
Seller's Broker and follow his advice on pricing.
5.
Time It Right -
Granted, not everyone has the luxury of being able
to plan their move around the "selling season" and
there is no doubt that homes are sold all year long.
Problem is, too often discretionary sellers wait to
get motivated until the season has passed them by.
Then they spend time and effort getting the home
fixed up, price it at (or usually above) the level
where homes were selling during the "active time of
year", put it on the market during the worst time of
year and - wait, wait, wait.
If the timing cannot be controlled, other things
can. The astute seller will seek counsel with a
trusted Seller's Broker as to market conditions and
timing - and then act accordingly.
6.
Show It Right -
It just makes common sense. If you want to sell a
property it must be available to be seen by the
prospective buyers - when they want to see it. Often
this means short notice on showings. It also means
that all agents need to have the easiest access
possible to get their buyers in the door. In most
markets this means a key box or lock box on the
property.
There is a general belief that advertising is the
principle key in obtaining showings of homes for
sale. Advertising is needed. In fact, the most
effective advertisement is the professional For Sale
sign in the yard. But, what is not well known is
that the next best advertising is that not readily
seen by the general public. It is the Multiple
Listing System. MLS is seen by those who actually
sell real estate, Realtors / brokers / agents.
Unless MLS does not exist in a given market the
seller should depend on his Seller's Broker to
properly display the home in MLS.
7. Know Where You Are Going -
If you are selling it usually means that you will be
moving. Not only will you be moving but the buyers
will want to move in once the transaction is closed.
Sounds easy enough. Problem is that sometimes
sellers think that they can sell but there should be
no urgency on their move out. Wrong. Buyers almost
always want Possession at Closing and buyers usually
expect to close within in a reasonable period of
time following an agreed Contract to Purchase -
typically 30 to 45 days.
There are many options for the seller, the
easiest of which is already having another home
purchased. If this is not feasible there are other
possibilities to be explored but this needs to be
done prior to beginning the selling process. An
experienced Seller's Broker can assist the home
seller in evaluating these options and can usually
represent the seller as a Buyer's Broker for the
purchase or rental of the new property.
8.
Insist on Pre Approved Buyers Only
-
When a home seller receive an offer to purchase
there should be one primary factor that is always
considered first - and it is not price. The primary
factor is whether or not the prospective buyer is
financially able to conclude the transaction. As a
seller you have limited knowledge about who the
buyer is or how reliable they may be. However, you
do have the ability to insist that they demonstrate
their financial ability.
Many buyers require financing when they make a
home purchase and the financing approval process is
quite intense. When a homebuyer has made the effort
up front to get pre approved a statement from the
prospective lender regarding the buyer's pre
approval status can be provided.
9. Negotiate Smart -
So, you did most everything right and now have a
written purchase offer in hand. What now? A lot
depends on the price, terms and conditions of the
offer and the strength of the buyer. There is no pat
formula as to how to respond to an offer but some
general negotiating principles usually apply.
Try to understand the buyer's needs and
reasoning. For example: Is the offer low because the
buyer thinks excessive repairs will be needed? If
so, does the buyer have a valid point? Now's the
time to get realistic if you haven't already.
Try to response to the offer so that a Win/Win
agreement can be reached. For example: It might be
foolish in a strong seller's market to be relentless
in extracting every possible dollar and concession
from the buyer in the negotiation. After all,
without this buyer there might not be a sale at all
and the worst thing that can happen is "buyer's
remorse" at the last minute and refusal to close.
Sometimes an offer is just not acceptable or even
worthy of a response and sometimes multiple offers
are received at the same time. Your agent sees a lot
more offers than you do and should be a key player
in helping you make the right decisions in handling
negotiations. If you haven't gotten a Seller's
Broker yet please see the Seller's Page.
10. Be Pro-Active -
This may seem to be a given to most people but it is truly amazing
how many home sellers think that all they have to do
is sign the contract and everything else will
magically occur without their participation. The
fact is that there are many details that only the
seller can resolve to assure a timely, trouble free
sale and closing. The Seller's agent will counsel
and assist throughout the process but the seller
will have the best overall result by being fully
aware of all aspects of the process and asking as
many questions as possible along the way.
