When selling your home you have two primary goals – get top dollar and sell quickly. You can achieve these goals by teaming up with a LIFESTYLES realtor. We will work closely with you to develop a sales strategy tailored specifically for your home by going over the following topics:
- prepare your home for selling, see Tips for Sellers
- pricing
- marketing
- negotiating
We have extensive knowledge of real estate in the metro area. Day in and day out we are in homes all over the metro area, comparing property prices, neighborhoods, schools, home marketing, and getting feedback from buyers. We know what works for sellers and what doesn’t work. We also understand how different today’s real estate market is; what an impact the web has made with properties online for all to see. We will make sure your property has an online presence that will get buyers interested in your home. When your home moves to the negotiation phase (initial offer and buyer inspection), we will negotiate on your behalf to get you top dollar. You will benefit from our experience and skillful negotiating during these critical steps in the selling process.
For more details about the steps involved in a real estate transaction – see the Buying Process.
Tips for Sellers
It has been said that one of the most important things for sellers is to stop thinking of their home as their own and start thinking of it as someone else’s – a potential buyer. Why is that important? When you put your house on the market you want it to sell fast. Having your home ready to sell is essential for that.
So, how do you get your home ready to sell? Your LIFESTYLES realtor will work with you to develop a strategy for curb appeal, staging and any other issues that need to be addressed.
Curb Appeal
What is curb appeal? Traditionally, it has been thought of as the condition of your home’s exterior and landscaping. In today’s online world it is more than that. It is also the online representation of your home on MLS – photos, description and other information about your house.
Why is curb appeal so important? It is your potential buyers’ first impression. Studies show that buyers may not even go into the house if they don’t like its curb appeal. The same can be said for the home’s online curb appeal. Buyers may not even request a showing if they don’t like the online curb appeal.
Staging
What is home staging? Home staging is defined as the act of preparing a private residence for sale in the real estate marketplace.
Why is home staging important? The goal of staging is to make a home appealing to the highest number of potential buyers, thereby selling a property more swiftly and for more money. Potential buyers are looking for a home to fulfill their dreams and match their lifestyle. Staging will help your buyer see that in your home.
How do I stage my home? It’s more than just cleaning the home and rearranging some furniture. Here are some suggestions:
Clean
In the kitchen, potential buyers love to see new appliances that come with the home, but if you can’t do that, make the ones you have spotless. Likewise, make sure your bathroom sparkles. Your goal should be to make everything look new.
Declutter
There are two major problems with clutter. One is that it distracts buyers from your home’s features. The other is that it makes it seem like the home doesn’t have enough storage space. Put away knickknacks. Keep in mind that buyers will be interested in your closet space, so tossing everything into the closet to hide it away may not be the best strategy.
Depersonalize
Buyers need to be able to envision themselves in your home, so remove all the family photos, items with family members’ names on them and refrigerator art. Also make sure to put away all the toys and anything else that is highly indicative of the home’s current inhabitants.
Remove Odors
Pets and what you ate for dinner last night are a couple of examples that could cause an odor that will be noticed by your buyer. There are a number of inexpensive tricks for ridding a home of odors and giving it an inviting aroma including burning candles, or throwing some slice-and-bake cookies in the oven.
Define Rooms
For some rooms, a living room for example, you will want to make sure it has a single, defined purpose. Other rooms, for example a great room, may have multiple purposes. In that case you will want to make sure that every space within the room has a purpose so that buyers can visualize how to use the space.
Arrange Furniture
Often you can make a room more appealing by simply rearranging the furniture. You may want to consider removing furniture if the room seems too crowded.
