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10 Helpful Tips for Selling your Property
1. Trying to sell your home FSBO (for sale by owner) with no activity?
Many sellers try to sell FSBO to save the most money. After months have passed, many realize that they still have no takers and have had to deal with the bargain hunters, looky loos, and nosey neighbors. You may have gotten an offer from a "bargain hunter" for less than you are asking (since they know you are saving on the commission already) only to find out that they don't even qualify for a loan and then you have to start all over again. Isn't your time worth money? Do you really have the time to waste with unqualified buyers and time-wasters? Selling your home "For Sale BY Owner" used to the only way to avoid paying the listing agent commissions. Now you have a choice! By listing through us for only $279, you will get more qualified showings!
2. Open houses. Not what you think!
When you ask most home owners what they think is important when selling a house, they usually include holding an "open house". The fact is, holding an open house really won't do much for selling your home. Open houses are a great way for your realtor to get more listings and clients by talking to people and handing out business cards, but they rarely sell your house.
You can't control who comes to an open house. Most visitors are either home buyers who are not really ready to buy yet but were just driving around on a sunny Saturday and saw your open house sign, or perhaps the "bargain hunter" who knows you are saving on the commission and makes a low ball offer, or your nosey neighbor who has nothing better to do, or even criminals who don't care about your house for sale but rather the contents as they walk through scoping it out for a late night robbery.
3. Advertising, does it really work?
Classified ads, free information fliers, and real estate booklets, are kind of like holding open houses. They might go a long way to promote the real estate agent image, but do little for you. You may think, "look how successful that real estate agent is! Her name is on flyers, in newspaper ads, on benches, and on full listings in full color realty magazines. She must be great! I will use her when we want to sell our home"
This might work out great for that realtor, getting more and more listings for 3% each so she can sit back and wait for another realtor to search the MLS and bring a qualified buyer! It usually does nothing for the seller . The National Association of Realtors (NAR) states that approximately 80% of home sales are generated through just listing in the MLS!
I know I have driven past a real estate sign with a flier box full of brochures and stopped to grab one just out of curiosity. What are they asking? What does the inside look like? Unfortunately, most of your fliers will end up this same way. The neighbors take them, looky loos take them, but rarely a qualified buyer will take one. Many times you will see the flier box empty, showing lost interest in restocking it anymore and showing lost interest in selling the house.You will find that putting out fliers is generally a waste of time and money.
4. Unqualified buyers. Time waster?
If you should happen to accept an offer from an unqualified buyer, be ready for a long and very frustrating experience. Don't waste your time on a buyer that is not "pre-approved". If you do, you could be wasting your time and also passing up other qualified buyers that may have made an offer, but did not since the house was under contract.
A pre-qualified buyer means the buyer has talked to a loan officer and they have reviewed their credit score, income and debt, and come up with a price range they should be able to buy in. They should also be able to produce a pre-qualification letter to you to show they are serious and able to perform.
As you can see, there are many situations you need to be careful of when selling a house. Now we will tell you of some of the positive points when selling a house for the most money in the shortest amount of time.
5. Pay a fair commission to the agent who brings you a buyer, even if selling "by owner".
Most realtors admit that they would rather be a listing agent than a buyers agent. They know listing a house is much less work than just listing it and you get paid the same! To list it you just put it in the MLS, run a couple ads, maybe have an open house and print some fliers. This is much easier than taking a buyer and driving them all over town looking at one house after another, week after week and holding their hands through the negotiating and closing process. Clearly, being a buyers agent is much more time consuming and harder work. Given this information, it makes sense to pay the 3% commission for a realtor to bring you a qualified buyer. This saves you time and trouble and still maximizes your bottom line. You are still paying as little as possible to sell your house ( by way of our flat fee MLS listing) but reducing many many headaches by paying a realtor to bring a buyer. You are still saving thousands!
6. Sell your house faster. "Stage" it for showings.
You want to make a long lasting first impression when showing your home to prospective buyers. Remember, they are looking at many homes and usually narrow their search down to their "top 3" choices. Which house will they remember the most? Of course, you want it to be yours!
When a buyer first pulls up, they have already driven past other houses in the neighborhood and are comparing them to yours. Make sure your house has good "curb appeal" by keeping the lawn mowed, edged, and watered. Have the bushes trimmed, no clutter around the outside, no toys lying around, and fresh mulch around the border areas. It helps to paint the front door and install new shiny fixtures (knocker, door knob, and kick plate). You may even want to add some cheap Home Depot vinyl shutters on the front windows. They don't cost much and add a lot of curb appeal.
For the inside, it must be very clean and most importantly clutter free. In the kitchen, don't leave all the pictures and magnets on the fridge, clean off the counters, scrub the counter tops and sink. Go through all the rooms and try and make them look as big as possible. Wash the windows. Take all the extra "stuff" out and put in storage or sell at a garage sale. Don't have a bunch of posters on the walls, nail holes, packed with ugly stereo equipment and chairs, etc. You want the closets and living areas to appear as spacious and bright as possible. Your potential buyer will be walking through imagining their belongings in your house.
7. In addition to a thorough cleaning ( like a spring cleaning), if the walls have "rings " where the posters used to be, or the walls are painted some strange color like yellow or blue, you may want to think about a fresh coat of paint. This can go a long way when selling a house. If you do paint, remember to keep it neutral with whites or beiges. A good cleaning and fresh paint almost look like a remodel to a new buyer.
Finally, right before a showing, make sure you open all the curtains, turn on all lights, and put some potpourri or something pleasant on the stove to create an ambiance when they first enter. If it is chilly and you have a fireplace, light a fire. If you have pets and there is an odor you are used to but a buyer will probably notice, try to mask it with a subtle fragrance like cinnamon or vanilla (scented candles, simmering potpourri, or making baked goods like cookies prior to a showing).
8. How do you set the right price for your home?
Setting the right price is vital to selling quickly and profitablily. The National Association of Realtors states that the 2 most important factors that sell a home quickly are (1) price and (2) listing in the MLS. You need to set the right price from the start.
To first step in pricing your house is to check "comparables". These are homes that have sold within a mile of yours within the past six months. You should also pick up fliers of houses for sale in the area and compare prices. Be cautious of fliers of "for sale by owners" since they are often overpriced and have been sitting on the market for some time. If you overprice your home by as little as 10%, you could lose the interest of up to 50% of potential buyers!
9. Sell your house fast with proper marketing!
Do you want to sell your house fast and for the best price? You need a steady stream of interested and qualified buyers . Nothing can supply you with potential buyers better than the MLS! Listing your home in the MLS and pricing it correctly will ensure that your home sells quickly and for top dollar. Listing in the MLS is a way of announcing to all realtors in the area (usually thousands) that your home is up for sale and you are willing to pay them a commission to bring you a buyer. The MLS is simply the best way for you to advertise that your home is for sale!
The key is to get listed in the MLS for the least amount of money as possible. With MorePropertyByOwner.com, you can have your home listed in the MLS, getting the advertising you need, for one low flat rate of $279! There is no listing agent commission involved! This will save you over $7000 on a $275,000 home!
10. In the past, sellers sold their home one of two ways:
1. Try and sell their home on their own and deal with low-ball offers, pesky realtors trying to get them to list for full commission, and unqualified buyers wasting their time.
2. List with a traditional full service realtor and pay the 3% commission to list the house in the MLS plus another 3% buyers agent commission.
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