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How to Sell Your Home Quickly & For Top DollarSelling your home is one of the most important steps in your life. This 9-step system will give you the tools you need to maximize your profits, maintain control, and reduce the stress that comes with the home-selling process.
The reasons behind your decision to sell affect everything from setting a price to deciding how much time and money to invest in getting your home ready for sale. What’s more important to you: the money you walk away with, or the length of time your property is on the market? Different goals will dictate different strategies. However, don’t reveal your motivations to anyone else or they may be used against you at the negotiating table. When asked, simply say that your housing needs have changed.
Settling on an offering price shouldn’t be done lightly. Once you have set your price, you’ve told buyers the absolute maximum they have to pay for your home, but pricing too high is as dangerous as pricing too low. Remember that the average buyer is looking at 15-20 homes at the same time they are considering yours. This means that they have a basis of comparison and if your home doesn’t compare favourably with others in the price range you’ve set, you won’t be taken seriously by prospects or agents. As a result, your home will sit on the market for a long time and, knowing this, new buyers on the market will think there must be something wrong with your home. Do your homework (in fact, your agent should do this for you). Find out what homes in your neighbourhood have sold for in the past year and research what current homes are listed for. That’s certainly how prospective buyers will assess the worth of your home.
Nearly three quarters of homeowners claim that they wouldn’t reuse the Realtor who sold their last home. Dissatisfaction boils down to poor communication which results in not enough feedback, lower pricing, and strained relations. When choosing an agent, make sure they guarantee their service and performance in writing. This way, if things don’t work out, you won’t be locked into a lengthy contract. Also, have the agent explain their detailed marketing plan in full. Finally, ask the agent what they can do for you that no other agent can.
Each year, corporate North America spends billions on product and packaging design. Appearance is critical, and it would be foolish to ignore this when selling your home. You may not be able to change your home’s location or floor plan, but you can do a lot to improve its appearance. The look and feel of your home generates a greater emotional response than any other factor. Clean like you’ve never cleaned before. Pick up, straighten, unclutter, scrub, scour, and dust. Fix everything, no matter how insignificant it may appear. Present your home to get a "wow" response from prospective buyers.
The decision to buy a home is based on emotion, not logic. Prospective buyers want to try on your home just like they would a new suit of clothes. If you follow them around pointing out this improvement and that, or if your decor is so different that it’s difficult for a buyer to strip it away in his or her mind, you make it difficult for them to feel comfortable enough to imagine themselves an owner.
You may be surprised to know that the two marketing tools that most agents use to sell homes (open houses and classified ads) are actually not very effective at all. In fact, less than 3% of people purchase their home as a result of calling on a classified ad, and less than 1% of homes are sold at an open house. Furthermore, the prospects calling for information on your home probably value their time as much as you do. The last thing they want to be subjected to is either a game of telephone tag with an agent, or an unwanted sales pitch. Make sure the ad your agent places for your home includes an Internet site where prospects can view a Virtual Tour which gives buyers access to detailed information about your property day or night, 7 days a week. I have found that a greater number of buyers are willing to view a Virtual Tour on their computer than play telephone tag with an agent. And remember, the more buyers you have competing for your home the better, because it sets up an auction-like atmosphere that puts you in the driver’s seat.
In the negotiation process, your objective is to control the pace and set the duration. What is your buyer’s motivation? Do they need to move quickly? Do they have enough money to pay you your asking price? Knowing this information gives you the upper hand in the negotiations because you know how far you can push to get what you want.
For your part as a seller, make sure you disclose everything. Smart sellers proactively go above and beyond the laws to disclose all known defects to their buyers—in writing. If the buyer knows about a problem, they can’t come back with a lawsuit later on. Make sure all terms, costs, and responsibilities are spelled out in the contract of sale, and resist the temptation to diverge from the contract. For example, if the buyer requests a move-in prior to closing, just say no. Now is not the time to take any chances of the deal falling through.
Studies have shown that it is more difficult to sell a home, which is vacant—it looks forlorn, forgotten, and simply unappealing. It could even cost you thousands. If you move, you’re also telling buyers that you have a new home and are probably highly motivated to sell it in a hurry. This, of course, will give them the advantage at the negotiating table.
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