Consult with a Professional Real Estate Agent

Selling your home on your own is virtually impossible.  A realtor will know your area.  They will consult with you on the pros and cons of your property.  An experienced agent will provide you a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) to give you an idea of your home’s value, based on current sales in your area.  They will educate you on what to expect, how to get the best value for your home, market your home and negotiate with multiple buyers.  It is also their fiduciary duty, to make sure that you have disclosed everything you need to disclose on your property, so your liability is minimal.  The selling experience can be smooth and profitable if done correctly.  If not, it can be a stressful and possible legal nightmare, if you don’t have the right guidance.

 

 

Staging Your Home

Which car would you buy?  The one that is dirty, dinged up, with all kinds of personal effects, such as bumper stickers and decorations hanging off of the rear view mirror?  Or the car that has been cleaned and detailed, with no personal affects that have nothing to do with you?  Of course the latter.  Why would anyone feel different about buying a home in the same thought process?  A house is typically the biggest investment of a person’s life and more importantly, where they will make it full of new memories with their family.  Help them see that dream and paint that picture.  Before allowing the property to be viewed, have the house look kept up and clean.  Try and repair as many issues the house may have, as possible.  Remove any personal effects and format the property, so the potential buyers can envision what it will be like for their family to live there.  It will be difficult for them to envision this if they see too many family pictures, religious items or political beliefs plastered all over the walls.  If there is cosmetic damage, as little as it may be, in the minds of the buyers it will seem like a lot of work.  A little extra detail and planning can go a long way on getting you a bidding war vs. little to no offers.  A good real estate professional can help guide you on how to stage properly.

 

 

Cross Qualify Every Offer Made by Potential Buyers

One thing that can affect how much money you can get for your property is how many days your property has been on the market.  If your property has been sitting there without multiple offers, it is one of a few things:  1). You don’t have a realtor that is effectively marketing your property.  2). Your property needs a lot of TLC.  3). You have a buyer fall out of escrow, due to not qualifying properly for their loan.  The first two will depend on your consultation with your realtor and most importantly, choosing the right realtor, but the third can be easily avoided by having a loan officer cross qualify all your potential buyers.  Don’t just take the buyer’s agent’s word for it with just a pre-approval letter.  What if their loan officer lacks experience or is incompetent.  It’s good to have a listing agent that has a trusted loan officer looking out for your best interests, cross qualifying every client.  They will make sure that whichever offer you choose, they will be solid, and will very unlikely have fallout.  This will avoid your property going back on the market, wasting 30 days in escrow and all the initial potential buyers the property could have had.  In that event, now realtors see your property on the market longer than others, assuming you are desperate or have some issues with the property, expecting their clients to get a better price and less competition to deal with.

 

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Have a Realtor Give You a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) or Better Yet, Get Your Property Appraised

The biggest mistake a seller can make is making emotional decisions on what the prices should be on their home vs. actual data of what the property is worth.  We understand that you may have put a lot of work into your home and have some items that you feel should justify a higher value, but most buyers obtain financing.  When financing is involved, lenders will send an appraiser to your property that will not consider emotional factors of the property, but purely statistical data on the neighboring properties value to determine yours.  This will put your mind at ease on what to expect, but more importantly, will let potential buyers know that you have done your research and know what your property is worth.