Selling Your Home - Make Sure it is Ready BEFORE Hitting the Market

Whenever someone calls me to talk about selling their home in Hoover, Alabama or the Greater Birmingham Area, there are 2 main questions that they ask. One is the price and the other is what they need to do to get the house ready to go on the market.

I never know what I will see when I get to my client's house.  Sometimes the sellers have been working hard to have the house in tip top shape.  Some people have been watching HGTV and have picked up several pointers there, or have been reading my blog posts and newsletter and have gotten ideas from them (like you have GOT to get rid of wallaper if you want your home to sell).  Some have sold many homes in the past and have a good idea of what works and what doesn't and others have a helpful friend or contractor who has given LOTS of advice.  Sometimes, we are ready to go and list the home for sale that day when I walk in the door and other times I have to answer lots of should we do this - or that, kind of questions.

Most of the time, however, there are several things that need to be done get the home ready.  Sometimes there are maintenance items (because we are all busy and when we LIVE in the house we begin to not notice things that need attention) and other times some updating is REQUIRED to get the home to sell.  It is the realtor's JOB to be honest with the seller and tell them what needs to be done to make the house sell.  Sometimes these "fix up items" can take 3-6 weeks or longer depending on whether the seller does them himself or hires a contractor.

The key is that when selling your home - make sure it is ready BEFORE the house goes on the market.

The majority of buyers will look at your house in the first three weeks it is on the market.  If you are still working on repairs and upgrades, these buyers will not see your house at its best.  It is better to wait a couple of weeks while you finish so you can make sure it is ready BEFORE Hitting the Market.

If you're planning on Selling Your Home soon and would like to hear some more pointers for sellers, check out the article, "7 Costly Mistakes of Selling Your Home", in January Newsletter.

I have three clients in the process of getting their home ready to sell.  If you would like me to talk to you, let me know Toni@ToniBird.com.  If you want to sell your current home and take advantage of the $6500 tax credit, now is the time to be getting your home ready to sell!