Are you ready to sell?
It seems like a pretty easy question to answer, yes I have decided to sell and that is what I am going to do. Well now you have made the clear choice to sell, what is actually involved in the selling process? In my experience it is really important to first analyze the market in order to determine whether we are in a buyer market cycle or a seller market cycle.
Obviously if we are in a buyer market cycle it will be important to accept that you will not receive the same amount of money than that of a seller’s market. Once we determine this, it is very important to do a comparative market analysis. This is an analysis which compares current properties on the market that compare to yours and start to determine a per meter price that is within the market’s range. This comparison should include listed as well as sold properties. This process will determine the listing price of your property, which usually has room for negotiation and also considers the commission to be paid. Make sure that the comparison is logical and realistic in order not to over or under price your home which will make it very difficult to sell or you will be in a position that you didn’t make the money you deserve. There is more risk in over pricing your home which will make it less acceptable to the buyers and also very difficult to sell once you start reducing the Price which also adversely affects the sale in the eyes of other agents and potential buyers that are in the market. At this stage I always recommend a mock closing in order to determine the amount of money you will receive in pocket after commissions and capital gains taxes if they apply. This should be a very important stage for you because this is the stage where we make everything about your sale as transparent as possible and we begin to work on your behalf to make the amount of money you receive as much as possible.
There are various strategies that can be implemented to reduce the amount of capital gains tax. This is a very important stage for us because it determines, whether the sale of your house is the best decision at that particular point or if there are strategies and decisions that can be made or put into action to determine the best time and most income on the sale of your property.
Once you have determined that you are really ready to sell, then we can move into the process where we can stage your house the best way possible to show it off. At this stage we can determine what minor maintenance issues need to be attacked and what additional tweaks can be accomplished at a minimal expense to make it as attractive as possible. Below are some additional tips that will help you detach yourself from your home which should be thought of as a property rather than your home and also to best stage your property for a fruitful and profitable sale.
Insert list of selling tips.
- Be passionate about selling your home but disconnect your emotions in order to Project the fact that you’re selling a house and not your home. This allows the sale or showing to be de personalized and allows the potential buyers to see it as their home and not yours.
- The second step to depersonalizing is that you need your home to have personality but no person, don’t confuse the two. Personality relates to charm, warmth, lighting, colors etc.., and in order to remove the person you need to try to remove as many personal items as you can; photos from walls and desks, clutter, collectables, trophies, etc, anything that has any personal emotional value attached to it. Part of the selling process is moving out of your home and you may begin the process by removing your personal items and any clutter by packing them and moving them to a storage unit. This allows you to depersonalize your home and also to unclutter it and make the spaces in your home as large and inviting as possible. The kitchen and pantry are the best places to start given that most home owners are very concerned about having the appropriate spaces for their own personal items.
Then you can attack other areas like closets, linen closets, laundry area, bathrooms and so on. If your house looks overwhelmed with too much furniture you might think about taking out a few pieces of furniture to make it more spacious and inviting and to allow the potential buyer to visualize himself and his items in the house.
- After the personal items and the clutter are gone then we can consider any other things that we can do to the inside of the home that may help. The first and most important rule to determining if you should do something or not is that if it’s too expensive then definitely don’t do it. Use some money if available to do minor repairs and improvements. Some repairs and improvements can be as simple as having all light fixtures work, all faucets, hinges on doors or cabinets, light switches, handles, showers and toilets. Definitely no leaks in any part of the house. Obviously it goes without saying but definitely needs to be said, the cleaner the better, maybe a onetime cleaning crew to remove hard stains, carpets, draperies, porcelain is a very worthwhile investment.
- Other inexpensive actions that you may take are water stains on ceilings definitely need to be repaired and removed and are a major cause for concern for buyers. This leads us to painting; painting is relatively inexpensive and is the best way to make your home look as clean and crisp as possible. A newly painted home also has a new home smell whether you home be 20 or 2 years old fresh paint impresses. It is always best to use a neutral off White color which is attractive to highest percentage of buyers and also makes the house look bright and clean.
- Odor, believe it or not order is a big turn on or off with buyers. If you smoke or have pets or live in a high humidity area, it is very important to make sure that those odors are gone when you’re showing your home. Some ideas are trying to smoke outside and keep your pet outside as much as possible, especially after you have gone to the trouble of painting and cleaning and deodorizing your house. You have no idea how we can get used to some odors that we live with every day that will turn off a buyer immediately. Carpet freshener, incense, clean litter boxes and air freshener are all good ideas to make your home smell its best when showing.
- The next step is the exterior of the house; it needs to have certain amount of curb appeal. One good way to determine this is to compare your house to that of your neighbors, those things that stand out that don’t stack up to your neighbors is a good place to start. It may be as simple as cutting the grass more often, raking leaves, no need for landscaping but a few shrubs and flowers may spruce up the curb appeal, don’t buy mature plants or trees these are expensive and will only dig into your pocket.
- Another big decision to make is whether to paint your house or not, this is easy if you look at your home and compare it to that of your neighbors and it looks tired or faded then it would be a good decision to make to paint it, this is the best way to add dollars to your offer. Make sure that if you do decide to paint that you use a color that fits in good with the style of your home and also that of the homes in your neighborhood. The front door and entry way should be very important in the process its always needs to be clean and very presentable this is the first impression before you walk into the house, new door mats and some plants always help to make the entry way very presentable.
We hope that these tips help to sell your home in a very efficient and profitable transaction. We will be honored to help you through the whole process and make it as stressless as possible.
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