Last week, I covered a lot of the prep work of listing your home for sale, including such topics as pricing your home correctly, cleaning, staging, and the importance of photographs.
Once you put your home out there on Craigslist, Zilow (or whatever other site you use), the phone should start ringing within a day or two. I will warn you right now. Ninety percent of your initial calls will be from Realtors trying to list your home. You will need to develop your own strategy for dealing with these. I've been told that some Realtors can be very aggressive.
Potential buyers will also contact you. Your job will be to sort out which calls are from investors interested in lowb-balling you and which are from bonafide buyers. When on the phone, answer whatever questions are asked of you - EXCEPT what you will sell your home for. Your standard response to all questions about price should be that you will evaluate all written offers and respond appropriately.
Encourage potential buyers to come see your home. No photo, virtual tour, or description will convey as much as an in-person visit. Before any showings, make sure to open all your window blinds, turn on lights, tidy up, and make the beds. Also, be sure to lock up or remove things like jewelry or cash that are lying around. If you have put together any type of information or listing sheet, you will want to have that on a surface that is easily visible upon entry.
There is absolute value in having a lockbox on your property so that buyer's agents can show the property without you having to be there. Buyers do tend to feel more comfortable evaluating a home when the seller is not present. Also, the easier you can make access to your home, the better. This is a personal preference however, and I encourage you to do what's comfortable for you.
Tomorrow, we will discuss the art of showing a home, what to do, and what to say. For more information about my services, my website is http://1sandiegohomesales.com
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