Some Mistakes Sellers Make when Selling their Homes
Here we are more than halfway through October and the real estate market is continuing to do well. I want to ensure you do everything possible to sell your home as quickly as possible, so let’s take a look at some things that can help increase the potential sale of your home:
1. Make sure the outside of your home is clean and inviting.
The way to turn Buyers away is to not have the outside of the home looking clean and fresh and clutter free. Let’s take a closer look at what this could include: Driveways clean (power washing can make them sparkle.) Cars parked inside the garage and not in the driveway. Landscape trimmed and neat which includes lawn, hedges, flower beds and trees. Too many untrimmed trees give the appearance that the home is neglected. Clean windows and clean paint. Clutter free including garbage cans out of sight.
2. Make sure you have professional grade photos of your property.
These will most likely end up all over the internet as well as in print and since you only get one chance for a first impression, make it the very best first impression possible!
3. A very good strategy for selling your home is to have a professional inspection done prior to putting your home on the market.
This way you can address and take care of any issues that come up. That way when you go under contract there are no surprises and you should have a much smoother and possibly shorter inspection period because you have already taken care of any issues that could have prevented a sale.
4. Keep a folder with record of all the repairs and upgrades.
Ensure you keep track of everything that you do with all the receipts from contractors, handymen and things you buy yourself so that if a question comes up as to when something was done, it can easily be found in the folder. Some people like to keep this on a computer which makes access quicker and more efficient.
5. It’s time to de-clutter.
And this can be a wonderful thing because you could be holding onto many things that you have had for years that possibly are no longer needed. Grab all your old photos and take them to a place that will convert them to discs that you can keep on your computer or on a digital photo display. Have an estate sale and get rid of more and finally donate any unsold items to charity. The idea is to make your house not so personalized to you, but to a Buyer that could envision himself or herself living there.
6. Make it easy for Buyers to see your home.
When you put too many restrictions, you lose valuable Showings: 24 hour advance notice or seller’s agent must accompany makes it harder for Buyers to see the property. Maybe they are only in town for a day and will miss the opportunity to see your home if they have to give 24 hour advance notice. I know this makes it harder on the sellers but believe me it will be worth it. You have no idea how many times I have had Buyers pass on a property only to buy something else because the one they wanted to see had too many restrictions making it impossible for them to see it.
7. Don’t be present at the Showings.
Potential Buyers cannot talk freely when the sellers are around and many times Buyers will talk about how this could go here or that could go there or changes they would make and having the sellers there makes it difficult for them to speak freely.
8. Finally, take your pets with you whenever there is a Showing as it makes it easier to show the house when there are no pets around.
Some potential Buyers have pet allergies and are turned away by the presence of a cat or a dog. Don’t miss an opportunity to sell your house because you left your animals at home. I understand it is not always easy to take them with you, but it makes for a better Showing with the animals gone.
We at Lauren Michaels Real Estate Partners specialize in bringing Sellers and Buyers together and with our unique and creative marketing plans, we make selling turn to SOLD! If you would like to discuss selling your home, give us a call at 727-298-8888 or email us at terriLMREP@gmail.com.
