If you have listed your home for sale, you are in the homestretch. There are still some outstanding tasks that need to be done in order to seal the deal. But you don’t just want to sell your home -- you want to get the best price you can get. In order to do that, it takes a little bit of work. With a great agent on your team, you should be able to market your property to the right buyers, make it looks great, and snag that perfect offer.
Have LOTS of photos on your listing.
And good ones. They should be professional, shot with a wide-angle lens and with lots of light. Utilize lots of angles so buyers can see the room from not just the entrance but from inside. Make the space feel large. The more angles you have, the more buyers can visualize themselves inside the space. You can’t do that with only 10 pictures of an entire house. Take a look at some listings in your area and compare the good to the bad. It is immediately apparent which agents used professional photos versus which use photos they took themselves.
Disclose problem areas.
Once you get to the inspection, those dirty little secrets will come to light so it’s best to be forthcoming before you lose an offer because of it. If it is something small, go ahead and fix it. If it is something significant, price your home accordingly to reflect any repairs that might be needed. Just know in advance that lots of buyers are looking for a turn-key home and pending repairs might turn them off.
Be prepared for showings.
This is no simple feat, but if you have decluttered properly, you should be in a better position to prep for showings. It is always best to have a professional come in and do a thorough cleaning before you have your first showing. Professionals will be able to address the items that you would ordinarily miss. Once the details have been handled, it’s a matter of you maintaining rather than starting from scratch before each subsequent visit. And that means getting your house to post-professional cleaning condition before EVERY showing. Nothing will turn off a buyer faster than walking into a cluttered and dirty house.
Be accommodating to potential buyers.
If someone wants to view the listing, do your absolute best to make sure they can. Yes, it will be inconvenient. You will have to clean, again, and get a pet sitter, again. But the payoff will be great when you get an offer.
Don’t sign a purchase contract with an unqualified buyer.
If you have gotten a great offer, make sure that you know they have the funds available. There is nothing worse than going through the process of accepting an offer, starting the contingency period, and then the buyer doesn’t have the funds locked in with their lender. Especially if you have a specific date that you need to close by, make sure that your buyer has all their finances in order.
Preparing your home before a showing is like preparing for a test: you might pass without studying, but you will get a much better grade if you do. When you sell your home, you should have the same mentality. Do your homework, know the problem areas, clean often, and don’t accept less than stellar photos. Some houses will sell even with poor quality photos and untidy interiors but they are just passing. With all of your preparation, you will get an A. For more on how to get your home ready to list, read our blog Preparing to Sell Your Home.
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