TEN CRITICAL TIPS for Selling Your Home in Today's Somewhat-Challenging Real Estate Market!

EEY - How you doin'?  (That's "Chicago shorthand" for "How are you doing this evening?")

Over the last few Weekly Status Meetings for our Team, we put together a list of Ten Critical Tips for Getting Your Home Sold in Today's Real Estate Market. 

For the sake of brevity, here are the Top Five.  Feel free to append, modify, and share as you would like.

Click to our post today via BlogChicagoHomes.com for the complete list.

Indeed, it is likely that the year 2008 will go down as one most friendly to home buyers with good credit and solid down payment funds. 

Here in and around Chicago, and in many parts of the U.S., it will also be remembered as the year that home market values fell for many, equity slipped, and selling your home meant long waits, fewer showings, lower offers, and numerous after-the-contract issues.

Where does that leave home sellers today?  Is it possible to sell your home, make a little profit, and move up to your next home, in a reasonable marketing time frame?

The answer is absolutely "YES!"  But you need to follow these Critical Tips -

1.  HOW STRONG IS YOUR MOTIVATION TO MOVE?  For those "just thinking" about moving to a nicer, larger home, tremendous discount opportunities await most buyers.  However, most home sellers today face long market times, repeated price reductions, possible lowball offers, issues raised during the Home Inspection Period immediately after the contract is negotiated, and a bevy of Buyer Loan Qualification Requirements.  If you don't have the patience for these potholes in the road, or don't want the headaches, you may wish to consider delaying your moving decision until the Real Estate Market stabilizes.

2,  HOW MUCH EQUITY DO YOU TRULY HAVE IN YOUR HOME TODAY?     If your Projected Home Equity is low, and you have little additional savings for your new home, you might not be able to gather together enough of a down payment on your new home to qualify for a new home mortgage loan.   It's important here to be true to yourself here - and trust the candid advice of your real estate and lending professionals.

3.  PRICE YOUR HOME CORRECTLY - RIGHT FROM THE START!  We often plead with our clients - despite what your friends, family, and elder parents might advise you - today, do not "test the waters" with a higher than market price, thinking you can "always come down" in negotiation.  Take a close look at the SOLD prices (not the ASKING prices) of comparable properties within a tight, three-month maximum time frame, and include the comparable data of houses in historically-more-expensive neighborhoods a little further away.  Use these guidelines as your ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM PRICE.  Depending on your timing, the condition of your home, and your specific needs, it might be prudent to set your asking price SOMEWHAT LOWER than these comparable properties, to ensure a faster sale, for close to your asking price.  Remember, online, automated home pricing sites, such as Zillow.com, often OVER ESTIMATE your value - without even seeing your house, and without experience or knowledge of your neighborhood!

4.  STAGE YOUR HOUSE PROPERLY!  Home Staging involves preparing your house for sale so it creates an instant positive impression.  It involves a number of steps.  First, furniture must be selected and arranged to make the rooms appear big.  Room lighting is CRITICAL - brightly-lit rooms appear much larger than those lit dimly.  Also, TOOTHBRUSH CLEAN is an absolute imperative!  Homes with less-than-pristine housekeeping will generate a "Let's move on" response from potential buyers.

5.  HAVE YOUR PROPERTY AVAILABLE TO SHOW AT ALL TIMES, AND WITH SHORT NOTICE!  Today, with scheduled showings fewer in number, and qualified home buyers at a premium, you will never know if that showing you refused because "you're tired," or "it's inconvenient might have been the perfect buyer that you threw away.  Use Secure Agent Lock Boxes, if your Real Estate Professional advises you to do so.

Hungry for the rest of the list?  Click to our Dean's Team Chicago Outside Blog - BlogChicagoHomes.com.

Got additional suggestions or comments?  Please share, and let us know!

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO