Selling your home is most likely one of the biggest deals you are going to make in your lifetime, and some guidance and useful tips can always come in handy. Sure there are tons of articles on the delicate matter of selling your home in order to get top dollar, and in our guide, we are mainly focusing on the latest market tendencies and how you can adjust your offer to your best benefit.
Selling secret # 12. Staged photos should be universal
Make sure the staged photos that will be on your listing are as universal as possible. After all the whole point of staged photos is to help buyers imagine what your house or condo will look like once they move in and bring in their own personality. Multi-purpose rooms require even more attention than others. Is this room going to stay a kid’s room or will it be transformed into a cabinet by a new owner? There is no way of knowing, so it is best to make multiple photos with different scenarios for rooms like that.
Selling secret #11. Set the right price
The first step here is, of course, to estimate how much your home is worth, but it is not the only step, even though many sellers would think it is. After you know the sum, drop 15 to 20% off, which is a fair sacrifice once you see the line of buyers immediately after. After all, your time has a price too, and as buyers will be bidding the price up too, you might find yourself selling it even for more what it’s worth. Since most other sellers are not willing to risk and take their chances with a strategy like that, your chances are increased immediately and even in the worst markets.
Selling secret #10. Pets are more of a distraction than a cute bonus
Keeping your pets or leaving pet accessories lying around on an open house day is probably one of the worst ideas. Not only because not everyone loves animals, but some people or their children might also be allergic to them. It’s best to leave the property’s past behind it and let the new buyers create its story themselves. They probably don’t want to know what the previous owners’ hobbies were, and just like they don’t want to see ashtrays around, they most likely don’t want to bump into your cat at the moment they are renovating the room into their newborn’s bedroom in their head.
Selling secret #9. Clean out the closets and storage spaces
Enough storage space is an absolute must for any successful property on the market. It comes before pools and other commodities. Even if your property has a spacious garage, it’s best to make sure potential buyers see that they can store their belongings in the most convenient ways. Clean out or neatly organize everything you have left in the closets around the house because they are sure to be very popular spots among your visitors.
Selling secret #8. Create the atmosphere
More light makes any product more sellable. Open the curtains, add more light sources, and increase the wattage of the light bulbs. Help people imagine all the happy moments they are going to have at a bright and cheery home like that.
Selling secret #7. The kitchen comes first
It’s impossible to underestimate the importance of kitchens. A really good kitchen might easily sell whole the house. The math also proves this point. A kitchen in poor condition might knock the price down by thousands of dollars, while if you invest enough in its renovation, you will get at least 80% of the money back. The key to the issue is that people are way more likely to pay for ready-made solutions. If they see a kitchen that needs investment they know they will have to invest both their time and money into it.
Selling secret #6. Consider a professional cleaning service
A dirty home might turn away customers, and in the end, you will waste more time. Sure each buyer’s tidiness requirements might vary due to obvious personal reasons. And if you think that you might not have the best judgment, since you know the house too well and view it differently from them, it is probably best to hire a professional cleaning company. Especially make sure that kitchens and baths are spotless as these are the places that will be looked at most and where dirt is as intolerable as it is noticeable.
Selling secret #5. A good first impression closes most deals
Taking care of the landscape around your property is one of the simplest improvements that will increase the value of your home. People will most likely have made their first impression when taking their first step inside the property, so it is important to make them welcome and get them prepared in advance for all the beauty and comfort they are going to see inside.
Selling secret #4. De-personalize your home
Potential buyers take interest in the history of your home, as we mentioned earlier, within certain boundaries. The more personal stuff you leave lying around the less the potential buyers are capable of imagining living there themselves. It is important to not only hide family photos but to maximize the use of space and show the floor plan the best way possible by arranging the furniture.
Selling secret #3. Get a good agent
Finding a good broker is an obvious tip, but there are certain nuances that require additional attention. You want to make sure your broker is tech-savvy and knows and understands the specifics of your property and its neighboring area very well. Constant monitoring of the MLS (multiple listing service) and perfect market knowledge are also very much desired. A real professional must know the market to successfully introduce your property to it, as well as knew how to make it stand out among other listings.
Selling secret #2. Don’t over-upgrade
Be mindful of the improvements you make and their costs. The key here is to be level-headed and set the priorities right. Kitchen and bathroom improvement are definitely worth the spendings within reasonable limits, the same goes for good security systems, while installing energy-efficient lights and other green home features – not so much, as it is still a quite subjective feature that not everyone puts ahead of everything else.
Small improvements count too, such as replacing old curtains or fixing leaky faucets. Make these small steps count too, they are worth the effort!
Selling secret #1. The house should be show-ready at all times
You never know when your buyer will walk through the door, so you need to make sure the house always looks picture-perfect. Time is very important and you need to make sure you don’t lose or reschedule meetings with potential customers because there are some dishes in the sink.
