SELLERS, THE SEVEN KEYS TO YOUR SUCCESSFUL SALE!!
Selling a house is serious business, and not one to be taken lightly, because of the time and effort needed to be successful. If you truly want to sell, in order to move on with your life in some way, you will want to take the steps necessary to reach your goal.
Here are 7 home selling tips to making your house sale a success story:
COMMITMENT
You must be committed to the selling process! This starts as soon as the decision is made to sell, and doesn’t end until you have closed. If you truly are not serious and committed you are wasting your time, and your agent’s, among others. Your commitment will show in all that you do – from getting your home ready, to pricing, to keeping your house show-ready and being flexible for showings.
Your positive attitude and commitment to this process will make it all so much easier, especially when things get challenging, and will lead to success. Are you 100% sure you want to sell? Think about it.
POSITION YOUR HOME CORRECTLY IN THE MARKET
We are talking about pricing according to the market here! It’s not just about comparables, it’s about the competition!! Buyers will look at all your competition, not necessarily only homes that are comparable to yours. There may be a number of properties buyers could consider in their price range in addition to yours.
You want your home to be seen as the best value among their options, rather than it helping to sell other homes because they are a better value than yours.
SIGNIFICANT ON-LINE PRESENCE
This is your listing Realtor’s job so make sure you hire the right one! In general 90% or more of all buyers are looking online for their home, and they are looking at multiple sites in addition to brokerage and agent sites. Will they see yours? And what will they think (more on that momentarily)? Other marketing can be important too, but being on-line is a must these days!
WRITTEN TARGETED MARKETING PLAN
I don’t know about you but seeing is believing. Listing a home is NOT just sticking a pretty sign in the yard, putting some information on the MLS, and hoping for the best. You really need to know what’s being done to market your home and expose it to as many of the right buyers as possible. How do you know if your Realtor has no written plan? Your home needs to be where the right buyers, and their agents, are looking. If the Realtor you want to hire cannot, or does not, provide a marketing plan, move on!
YOUR FIRST OPEN HOUSE IS ONLINE SO GREAT PHOTOS ARE ESSENTIAL
Like it or not, you are having an open house viewable by hundreds or thousands of potential buyers on the Internet, within seconds of your listing going live. This may determine if buyers even decide to step foot in your door. It’s important that the photos, and any video, encourage buyers to want to take a look and not scare them away.
Some of the listing photos we see on the MLS and on-line are appalling (open toilets, messy rooms, cars and trash bins in the driveway, photos of the front door, and worse) and do nothing to present the clients’ homes in a positive way. Is your house properly prepared for the market, and for photos?
While photos are the responsibility of your Realtor (and you should expect great ones!), it’s your job to make sure your house will show well in those photos, and thus on-line. Trust me – it matters to buyers. A lot!!
DON'T SABOTAGE
Unfortunately some home sales are unknowingly sabotaged by homeowners, and sometimes even by their Realtor. How does this happen?
Well, it can take the form of phone calls not being returned, keys that don’t work, limited access to the property because of unreasonable or very limited showing schedules, incorrect pricing, poor curb appeal, too much stuff, obvious deferred maintenance, ugly photos, and more.
Do you think these issues won’t matter to buyers who are anxious to buy, especially in a market favoring sellers? Think again. They probably have other choices, and they will make them!
HIRE THE RIGHT REALTOR
Listing and selling your house is a team effort – you are already a key part of the team so make sure you hire the right Realtor to help you. A knowledgeable and competent Realtor knows the market conditions, will help you determine how to position your home for sale with the appropriate price, and will be truthful with you about the current value; will have a targeted marketing plan; can provide guidance if needed on the things you must do to prepare your home for the market; will look out for your best interests from start to finish; will negotiate aggressively on your behalf to get you the best price, terms and conditions; will help with problem solving; and will take care of a myriad of issues behind the scenes that you won’t even be aware of, among other matters.
The right Realtor IS the best decision you can make as a seller. The wrong one will jeopardize, and even prevent, your success story from being written.
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You hold the keys to the successful sale of your home. Use them wisely!
Learn more about how to sell a house in my series of short videos on home selling tips and advice.
If you are also going to buy a new home you might find my home buying tips and advce videos very useful.
If you are considering selling your home in Carlsbad or elsewhere in North San Diego County, why not give me a call at (760) 840-1360 so we can sit down and answer all your questions, discuss your needs, and plan the right sales strategy, and get your home sold for the best price, terms and conditions as quickly as possible.
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