This is the second of 12 Tips on How to Sell Your Home Fast which can be downloaded from our free eBook library.
When your agent has fully prepared for a listing appointment with you, they will be ready to help you sell your home fast. Before this meeting, your real estate agent will research comparable home sales in the area. They will look at homes similar in age, size, features, and price in your neighborhood to create a report that will give an educated “best guess” of your home’s fair market value.
The most important piece of data that your agent should be preparing for you is the Average Number of Days on Market for comparable homes. This will give you an excellent benchmark for how quickly you can sell your house – and at what price.
Your listing appointment may last anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours. The agent will be taking pictures of your home & explaining contractual details. Ask in advance if you need extra time to prepare or if your schedule is especially busy.
When the agent arrives, you should be prepared to give them a full tour of your home. As the agent goes through your home with you, make sure you point out anything you’ve done to improve the home, additions, extras, etc. In addition, the agent should be giving you some tips on staging your home to sell. (Download the eBook to learn more about “home staging” in Tip #6.)
During the listing appointment, your real estate agent should also ask questions about what your goals are with selling your home. For example, perhaps you are considering:
- Growing your family
- Downsizing
- Moving to another city
- Retiring
Or, maybe you have a price point that you need to be at in order to meet your goals. Whatever the case, your agent should be aware of your situation.
Once the agent understands your goals, he or she will discuss the current housing market conditions with you. They will probably give you a broad overview of the whole area, before zooming in on data that applies only to comparable properties. Feel free to stop and ask questions during this part of the agent’s presentation. For instance, you might disagree that a home is comparable to yours. Ask your agent why they chose to include it in the report.
Being an active participant in this conversation will help you educate yourself. With my agency, AJ Ackerman and Associates, we definitely want you to be a part of the team! Your agent should never make you feel rushed or that your questions aren’t important. If you get any of those feelings, please show them the door and consider another agent. Selling your home quickly does NOT mean just going with the flow and letting someone boss you around.
After reviewing all of the data with you, the real estate agent will offer a suggestion for a pricing strategy that will help to sell your home quickly. He or she should also offer to share the marketing plan with you. What strategies is your agent ready to deploy? What will your agent use to promote your home, besides the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)?
If you have already interviewed multiple agents and are ready to “seal the deal” with the one who best fits your needs and personality, then you’ll move on to signing the Listing Contract.
Again,do not feel pressured to commit before you’re ready. Every agent’s job is to convince you to list your house with them, but be sure to make a thoughtful choice.
For additional tips, be sure to download the rest of my eBook by clicking the books icon on the right.
If you’re ready to sell your home. Simply call me at (239) 565-7867, find me on Facebook, or contact me online.
-AJ
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