Seller’s Guide
How to price your property
Prices must be grounded in reality rather than wishful thinking.
Step 1: Abandon your personal point of view. Step out of your shoes and be a shopper. How much would a willing, ready and able buyer be willing to pay for your home? Buyers do not care how much you paid for the home, how much you need from this home to purchase the next home or how much time and money you have invested in hardwood floors or landscaping.
Step 2: Get a CMA (comparable market analysis) with an accurate analysis of the homes that are comparable to your home that have sold in the last 6 months. Active home prices can be considered, but they are not a good gauge for the sales price. They are active and not sold for a reason. Remember that you want an honest opinion; not an agent that will suggest a flatteringly high price in order to get your listing only to demand a price reduction in 30 days. Studies have shown that the most serious buyers will identify your home as a potential purchase within the first 30 days of the listing. An accurate price is important from the beginning.
Step 3: Consider market conditions. Are homes selling quickly in your neighborhood? Are prices rising or declining? Are you selling in a buyer’s market or a seller’s market? Will your home be on the market in the spring home buying season or the dead of winter?
Step 4: Some buyers are looking for more than just the price. Can they move in the home when they need to? Can you the seller finance the home? The more creative and flexible you are in meeting a buyer’s needs, the more success you will have in selling your home.
Marketing your home
We will present your home to a select group of buyers who have been qualified to purchase a home like yours. The most important thing is to get your home sold and at the best price for you!!!
Website Presence: When we market your home for sale online, thousands of potential buyers can preview your home worldwide on our Website. Over 80% of all buyers of real estate surf the Web before buying their next home.
Marketing Brochures: We will present the very best features about your home to inquiring parties using informative and inspiring color email and print brochures of your home.
Direct Mail Campaign: One of the many ways we will market your home is through our sophisticated direct E-mail and print market campaign.
Printed Materials: While a web presence and direct mail campaign are very important in marketing, printed newspapers and magazines are a staple in real estate sales. By utilizing a variety of publications throughout the area, we have been successful in reaching buyers with the homes they are searching for.
Other Real Estate Brokers Working to Sell Your Home: We will present your home to top agents in the area and their numerous clients.
Appreciation and Attention of Quality: We have been involved in the construction of new homes and remodeling of custom homes in the CSRA area for over 15 years. This experience gives us the insight on how to best highlight the quality and unique features your home has to offer and how to convey these special features to prospective purchasers–features about your home that might otherwise go unrepresented by the untrained eye.
Top 10 Seller Mistakes (Click Here)
Sellers are unwilling to depersonalize or declutter the home
Sellers who like to play tour guide for showings
Sellers unwilling to make repairs prior to listing the home
Pets at home during the showing
Difficult to set a showing time
Sellers unwilling to negotiate with buyers
Unpleasant odors in the home
Picking the wrong agent
The home is just plain messy
Bad photos in the MLS
10 Tips to Make Your HOME a Model Home for less than $500
If you are trying to sell your home, it really pays to make the extra effort to impress your buyers.
There have been studies that show it takes buyers only seven seconds to decide whether or not they are going to buy a home once they set foot in a house. That is why it is so crucial to make a good impression and also why setting the stage for a sale is such a fine art.
However, not all of us have the cash on hand, or the time and energy to do things that are really going to flip your home over to the next buyer quickly. For instance, not everybody has the cash on hand to install a brand new flashy Jacuzzi complete with freestanding brass towel warmers and new stone tile floors. However, you might have the money on hand to install designer faucets, paint the walls, and replace the old iron door handles with trendy new crystal knobs.
Here are some quick and easy ways to make your home show like a model home for under $500. These are easy-to-do tips and the type of thing an interior decorator would advise you to do to help set the stage so your property is more attractive to buyers. The goal of this top ten list is to give you hints on how to make your home show better than your competitor’s home on the real estate market!
Clear the Clutter
You can get rid of all of the junk in your home at no cost to you! Simply get rid of anything you don’t need and haul it away in your car to the nearest dump or Goodwill. This means getting rid of “stuff” in the front yard, back yard, hallway, and garage. Studies have shown that people perceive clutter as being indicative of a property that is decrepit or not worth much money. They also associate it with decay and the presence of vermin or bugs.
One thing in particular you need to get rid of is ashtrays. People consider houses that have been smoked in to be less desirable and also smelly. Even things you are actively using should be tucked out of sight before a house showing. This means clearing your kitchen counter of appliances like George Foreman Grills, or blenders, or anything else that takes up counter space.
Outside, you should make sure that your garden hoses are coiled up, your birdbath is clean of leaves, and that you do not have sports equipment or bikes lying around your front porch.
NO Evidence of Pets
If you have a dog or cat, send them away for the day. Hide the litter box and any evidence of its aroma. Vacuum pet hair from the home daily and keep yard clean and fresh. Houses with more pets are also considered to be less desirable than ones with no pets at all.
Your House, not a Playground
Get rid of strollers on the porch, inflatable kiddie pools in the back yard, and any toys that may be lying around in the hallway. Get rid of baby gates and make sure there are no hand prints or crayon drawings on the wall. Studies have also shown that homes that have kid’s stuff strewn about are considered to be less hygienic or valuable that those that do not.
Clean Up the Front Yard, Porches and Patios
The front yard and porch are very important as that is what your buyer will first see when they approach the home. Make sure that the grass is cut and that the garden is nicely tended.
If you have to, reseed the lawn and plant a few decorative bushes. It also does not hurt to spruce up the front door with a coat of paint and replace the house number plates and the door knocker with new versions.
It also helps a lot to get rid of dead trees or bushes that may be on the property. Many people associate that with a lack of caring for the property.
Walk in Your Front Door
The path to your front door and the driveway are also very important. Most of the time homeowners us the garage entrance and never go in the front door or sidewalk. Make sure that the path is clean and clear; this is a buyer’s first impression of your home and they will be standing and looking around while the agent unlocks the front door.
Paint Rooms That Need It
If you have a wall that looks scratched up, beaten, or damaged, you are well advised to paint it. This can go a long way towards making a home look less shabby. You should also make an attempt to plaster any holes or crumbled parts of walls in your home as well.
Replace Some Fixtures
If your chandelier or light fixtures look dated, then go to some trouble to replace them. You can also make a home look more contemporary and like it is worth more money simply by making a few cosmetic changes like changing the light switch plates or electrical plates to designer versions.
Change the Faucets and Spouts
Sometimes you can make a kitchen or bathroom look really glamorous simply by changing out your old faucets and spouts for glamorous new ones. There are lots of different styles on the market that can instantly transform a sink into a contemporary silver masterpiece of design and many of these fixtures also cost less than $200. Furthermore, it can be quite easy to install these fixtures all by yourself.
A tall spigot on a kitchen sink can make it look suddenly very European and modern. Replacing the shower head in the bathroom with something quite snaky, long and silver with several water flow options can also help it seem more luxurious and expensive.
Provide Flowers, Greenery and Accessories
If you have cleared all the clutter, then you should have a home that looks more simple. One way to augment this air of designer sophistication is to put flowers or vases of tall grasses in several rooms. If you have a dining room table, it is quite a good idea to put a display of fruit or flowers on the center table to make it seem more glamorous or traditional. It is also quite chic to place a small display of flowers or bamboo in the bathroom. Add a decorative accessory or lamp to the mantle, dresser or side table in a bedroom or living area. Remember to keep it simple.
Provide Aromatherapy
It’s been proven that if an item for sale makes some kind of impression on the nose, then people are more likely to buy it. That is true for small ticket items, but it is also true of big things like an entire house.
One of the tricks that professional real estate agents use is to simply bake some cookies in the oven so the scent of cinnamon and vanilla fills the air as potential customers walk in the front door. This gives a place a more homey effect.
It is also nice to have aromatherapy candles burning in places like a downstairs bathroom where things might be a little dark. Soy candles are especially aromatic. You can even buy vanilla, cinnamon, or apple pie scents that mimic the smells of baking if you don’t have time to actually bake. Tropical scents such as pineapple and mango are also used by professional real estate agents and also the owners of clothing stores to encourage people to buy.
Of course, if you do have some money to invest in preparing your home for sale, you can also hire professionals to stage your home for you. The benefits of this are usually a faster sale and more money for your property. Many of these organizations can rent you furniture and accessories that can help make your home look better. A home stager can also offer you an objective perspective on what exactly it is that can make your home look fresh, appealing, and attractive to others.
With an eye for design and just a few hundred dollars, you can usually make small changes to your home so that it is more appealing to buyers all by yourself.
