Getting your house ready to sell
It was just a couple of years ago that the Sellers held all the cards and were able to choose between multiple offers for their house. Demand was strong and supply was low. Buyers were involved in bidding wars to get the house that they wanted. They were accepting flaws in the house and even waving the home inspection in many cases to make their offer more attractive to the sellers.
All that has changed. Everyone should realize that we are now in a strong Buyers Market. In a buyer's market the buyer holds most of the cards and can dictate the terms (within reason). Buyers now can be (and are) picky about everything in a house that they are about to buy. If they don't find what they are looking for in one house, they will move on to the next one until they find what they want.
As a real estate professional, I walk through houses that are for sale almost every day and I am amazed at the way they are presented by the sellers. Either their agents are not giving them good advice on how to prepare the house for sale or they choose not to follow that advice. Sometimes it is a combination of both. When I see pictures in the listing in the virtual tour of the inside of the house that show junk and clutter everywhere, toilet seats up, dirty dishes on the counter or in the sink, I wonder how they expect to sell the house. Almost worse than that are the listings that have no pictures at all of the interior of the house. When most of the listings today have several exterior and interior pictures, why would a real estate agent or a seller choose not to present the house in the best possible light through multiple pictures? With the vast majority of buyers doing their initial search for a house online, pictures are essential. I personally will often skip over listings where I can't get a preview of what the house looks like through pictures. Buyers searching on their own do the same thing.
With so many houses competing for a few sellers, your house has to stand out.
Is it worthwhile to install new carpet rather than offer a carpet allowance? A note in the remarks section of the house listing saying that a carpet allowance is being offered, is a red flag that the house is not ready to sell. The buyer will conclude that if the carpet needs replacing, there are probably other items that need fixing or replacing and they will move on to the next. In this market it is smart to replace warn carpet. You will get the investment back in being able to attract a wider audience and sell the house faster. You only get one chance to make a good first impression. Have the house ready before you put it on the market. I give all my sellers a checklist of items to clean, repair, replace prior to listing their house.
And don't forget "curb appeal". If the house doesn't look good when the potential buyers drives up, they will never get out of the car.
Time and money spent upfront pays off in faster sales and more money for the house when it sells.
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