There is only one reason your home hasn’t sold; the price is too high. Price overcomes all obstacles. If your home is not in a good location, it will sell at the right price. If the condition of your home isn’t ideal, it will sell at the right price. When the price of your home is too high for its location and condition, potential buyers are finding better deals online. A good Realtor will guide you in preparing your home for sale in the most cost-effective way. If your home has lime green walls, your Realtor should have suggested painting them to a neutral color before putting it on the market. There are so many things that can be done to make a home more appealing, but not all Realtors have the knowledge and experience to know these important tips.
Selling your home rarely goes as smoothly as you’d like. Even the most desirable properties are usually up against a lot of competition, and if everything about your property isn’t exactly right, it may take months or even years to sell.
However, there’s plenty you can do to stack the odds in your favor. Here’s an eight-step route toward better home-selling success.
1) Get Your Home in Shape
Before you even think about listing your home, it’s important to address all minor repairs. From leaking faucets to creaking floorboards, your home needs to be in sale-ready condition before putting it on the market. A small but very important task is to replace ALL burned out lightbulbs and make sure to use the highest wattage your fixture allows. The brighter each room is the better! If you need to add additional lamps, then do so. A positive first impression can take a hit if the showing agent has a hard time unlocking your front door for potential buyers, so if your lock has any issues, get it fixed. The last thing you want is for potential buyers to think you haven’t maintained your home properly over the years.
2) Consider Updates and Upgrades
If parts of your home are looking a little outdated or worn, consider updating them. If you can cheaply replace obsolete appliances or fixtures, then do so. There’s no need to go overboard but try and give the impression that your home is modern, clean, and has been well looked after.
3) Refresh Decor
This especially important. A fresh coat of paint or a layer of wood varnish can make a huge difference to the feel of a home without costing a fortune. If you have brightly colored paint, or paint that makes a room look darker, you may want to seriously consider re-painting to a brighter, neutral tone.
4) Deep Clean
Once all repairs and updates have been completed, hire a domestic cleaning service to give your home a deep clean from top to bottom. You may think you can save money by doing this yourself but hiring professionals will provide much better results.
Your home will be left looking fresh and new, but even more importantly, any lingering odors that you may not even notice yourself will be dealt with. It will also be easier to keep your home in this condition after a thorough professional cleaning. It’s a fact that clean homes sell faster, so be sure your home sparkles until it is sold.
5) Price it Correctly
And speaking of price, don’t be tempted to value your home too high from the start. Of course, you’ll want to get the best price you can, but pricing mistakes made at listing get the sales process off to a bad start. This can be difficult to recover from, so listen to your Realtor’s advice on this issue. A good Realtor will explore the prices of homes comparable to yours and what they have sold for in your area and taking into consideration the unique features of your home, will suggest a listing price in tune with the current market. Homes priced too high will take much longer to sell. A home that sells quickly is priced right!
6) Get Ready for Viewing
Home staging is an essential part of the selling process. You need your home to appear ready to move into, and you should use every trick in the book to make it look bigger, more comfortable, and more attractive. An experienced Realtor can be a great help with this and will guide you in staging your home for sale. The very first suggestion will be to declutter! Leave tasteful decorations in place but pack up and remove all excess items from your home. Many people rent a small storage space for this purpose. If your living room is jam packed with furniture, remove some of it. You will also want to remove personal photos, hide personal items such as toothbrushes and used towels in the bathrooms, tidy up the laundry room, put away all those kitchen gadgets and appliances on your kitchen counters and in general get your home cleaned up and organized.
7) Stay Alert and Ready
And lastly, after all your hard work, don’t let things slide. It’s not easy keeping your home in viewable condition while still carrying on with everyday life. However, you need to be ready for potential buyers visiting at a moment’s notice. Turn interested viewers away even once and they likely won’t come back.
8) Hire an experienced Realtor with a great track record
Although you have the option to market your home independently, it’s still a sensible idea to hire a Realtor. Yes, you’ll have to pay fees, but a real estate agent’s expertise and experience will make the whole process go much more smoothly. You’ll also usually more than make up the commission costs by realizing a higher sale price. Just as important, you will avoid the nasty the surprises many people selling on their own encounter.
But you don’t want to hire just any Realtor. It’s important to make sure you do your research upfront and find an agent with a successful track record in selling homes. Don’t hire an agent because you you’re related to them or they are a friend. You need to dig deeper and make sure they have the skill and experience to get you real results. Choosing the wrong Realtor can cost you thousands of dollars and more headaches than you want to endure.
The Pamela Walters Group can help you sell your home faster and for a better price. Our listing agent, Pamela Walters, has more than 35 years of experience selling homes in and around Tyler. We strive to provide 5 Star service, and most importantly – we always put you first!
Contact us today to learn more about selling your home with The Pamela Walters Group.