Help For Sellers
-Home Selling Process
There are really two phases when it comes to preparing your home. The first phase is getting it ready for the market and the second phase is getting it ready for showing. We'll start with the first phase - getting it ready for the market. Take as much time as necessary but as little money as possible to maximize appeal. The best way to do this is to walk around your entire home with a notepad- paying careful attention to everything; check the walls for chips, holes or uneven paint. Fix all leaky faucets and make sure they shine- and consider replacing them if they don't. I've included some helpful tips on the home's interior and exterior with checklists to print out to make sure you cover everything from top to bottom.
Now on to the second phase - Once your home is officially "For Sale", you need to make your home sparkle. This is an area where you can't overdo it. Be sure to concentrate on your kitchen and bathrooms. Your buyer will be expecting a used home- but the brighter your home shines, the easier your buyers can 'see' themselves purchasing and moving into your property. It's a good idea to box up any items that haven't been used for a while. By boxing up your possessions you will add visual square footage to your home- thus increasing its perceived value. Ask a friend or relative to help you out with this - or even consider renting a storage space to keep your belongings until you sell.
Un-cluttering the home is the toughest thing for sellers because they have built so much intrinsic value in the house. After years of living in a home, clutter collects without the owner even realizing it. But unfortunately the buyer does notice it and is affected drastically by it. Clutter collects on shelves, counter tops, drawers, closets, garages, attics, and basements. Pretend you are walking into your home for the very first time. Or better yet - get an outsider's opinion. Ask a friend to point out clutter. Notice all areas of clutter and begin eliminating it by boxing it and putting it into a storage unit until you move. Now might be a good time for a garage sale. If you were going to get rid of anything before your move anyway, do it now before the house is even shown.
House Showing Basics
- Be Available Your house should always be available for showings, even though it may sometimes be inconvenient for you.
- Leave the house. Prospective buyers will feel like intruders if you are at home when they visit and will have a difficult time visualizing themselves in it.
- Lighting Turn on all the indoor and outdoor lights for all showings. Consider replacing lower wattage bulbs with brighter ones where the fixture safety permits. This makes the home more appealing and appears larger.
- Fragrances You want the house to smell pleasant but your aim is not to hide the odors. Instead try a potpourri pot or something natural. Or place a small drop of vanilla extract before you turn them on.
- Pet Control Another concern is pet control. If you have pets it is best to keep dogs in a penned area in the back yard or take them with you if possible. Cats should be kept in a specific room and the door should be labeled.
- Trash Disposal Dont forget the kitchen trash. Empty iit every time someone comes to look at your home. Even if your trash is kept under the sink.
- Keep a Tidy House Keep the house tidy. When selling your home it is recommended that you pick up everything, dont leave anything out of place and vacuum and dust everyday.
Curb Appeal
Pricing
The first step is to be
sure you establish a good price for your home. Improper pricing is the most
common mistake that costs home sellers thousands of dollars.
If the price is too high- it will sit unsold and become stigmatized as
"shop-worn." On the other hand, price it too low and you may give away
thousands in profit to a total stranger. Either way you lose. Finding the
appropriate price sets the right stage for the entire selling process. A great
benefit to you is to get in the right frame of mind for the sale.
Be objective and remember that selling your home is a business transaction,
and you need to put your personal feelings and attachments to your home
completely out of the equation. This is critical! Keep in mind that potential
buyers are not looking to buy your home - they are looking to find a house
that they can make into their home.
Establishing a Price
The next step is to arm
yourself with the facts. By not establishing a realistic price from the
beginning, many home sellers end up costing themselves thousands of dollars.
The value of a home is determined by supply and demand. If there are a lot of
sellers and few buyers, prices tend to go down and homes take longer to sell.
This is referred to as a "Buyers market".
But when the opposite is true, and there are many buyers but few homes for
sale, prices will rise and homes will sell very quickly- this is known as a
"Seller's market." So how do you know which market you are currently in? It is
best to access the knowledge of a professional - but don't spend money on a
formal appraisal we will provide a market analysis for you. We will then
determine which type of market you are closer to; then study your neighborhood
to compare your home to others based on style, size, number of bedrooms,
baths, garage, basement, view, and lot size.
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A Successful Sale
There are many variables
that can help your home sell faster. These variables can range in scope,
target and value- but the key point to keep in mind is to make your home stand
apart from the competition. This is the time to get creative. The more
incentives you offer, and the more people you offer them to, the better the
odds of selling your home get.
For example; if there are two comparable homes on the market directly
competing with yours, you can bet that anyone who sees your home will see
those homes as well. So you need to be very familiar with what it is, exactly,
you are competing with - and make your home as attractive to prospective
buyers as possible. In this section you will learn ways to make buyers choose
your home over the rest.
How We Can Help
As you can see- selling
your home involves much more than just placing a 'For Sale' sign in your yard
and going to the closing. This is why sellers have hired real estate agents to
handle the details for them for the last 200 years.
We can help determine the correct price range for your home, and point out
things you should do to your home to make it more appealing to buyers, and
devise the most effective plan of action.
Be sure to write down any questions you may have. Hope this helps you be
better equipped to decide which step to take next.
Spinnaker Realty
P.O. Box 151
6 Boynton
Street
Eastport,
Maine 04631
207-853-2777