If you’re selling, don’t do these things - take some notes from the video!
1. Don’t Sell Before The House Is Ready.
If it doesn’t present well, it won’t sell well.
2. Don’t Over-Improve
People buy houses in neighborhoods.
If yours is so “improved” that it sticks out you’re hurting your chances at selling.
3. Hire Wrong
Make your agent choice for business reasons.
Personal relationships matter, but experience and expertise will determine financial success in your sale.
4. Don’t Hide Anything
Covering up or ‘failing to mention’ real problems doesn’t work.
State disclosure laws are strict and you can be sued after the sale for anything that should have been made clear.
5. Don’t Rush
You should know about your mortgage, including pre-payment penalties your market conditions and trends and your options for your next home before jumping on the market.
6. Don’t Get Too Emotional
Your attachment to your house and your own financial needs
don’t really matter in the transaction.
If you can’t set them aside the sale won’t go as you’d like it to.
Remember - it was your home but to the buyer it’s as a house.
As this video explains, a signed sales contract doesn’t mean your house is sold. There are still financial, contractual and legal steps for both sides.
The buyer has to get financing to meet the contract terms - which includes credit checks.
The property is inspected and appraised; title insurance and escrow accounts are set up while you locate new housing, pack and move. And take care of any obligations like painting or repairs. After the contract is signed, it can take a month or more of closing steps to reach the closing meeting.
So plan on that when you plan to sell.
The video puts this in more visual terms, but basically, a seller can respond to a buyer’s offer with changes - a “counter” - that improves the terms.
You need to put yourself in their shoes and construct a modified offer that you think they might take that meets more of your needs. Then it’s their turn - accept, reject, or construct yet another counter.
It’s an efficient market process, but beware: clauses and costs matter. Your broker should be closely involved in constructing a counter. Successful bargaining is best done with a win/win approach where each side is meeting their biggest needs and compromising others to reach an agreement.
Remember that outside conditions like interest rates, and supply and demand, will keep evolving so you’ll need to be patient but decisive to craft an counter-offer that works for both sides.
Well, as this story shows, there’s more to an offer than the price tag. Factors you should consider:
Remember every month you’re probably still paying mortgage, taxes and insurance. If you have several offers... remember that an offer isn’t a completed sale.
Compare the risk and likelihood of a completed sale for each buyer including things like “contingencies”, where your sale depends on their sale. and whether they’re pre-approved for the offer they’re making.
Remember you have three options for an offer - accept it reject it or prepare a counter-offer that improves the terms for you in some way.
Professional “staging” may include the exterior, but if you’re doing it all yourself, try the five things outlined in this video.
1 - Landscape & lawn.
That’s the first impression; make it a good one.
Mow, prune, edge and get rid of junk!
2 - Paint And Clean!
You don’t have to do the whole house, but the front door and lintels should either be painted or cleaned.
3 - Leaks & Repairs
Small visible problems can become large mental objections and change how someone feels about your house.
Fix ‘em beforehand.
4 - Pets
Some people have allergies and concerns.
Time for Fido to visit a friend.
You weren’t including him with the house anyway.
5 - Get Fresh Eyes
Have your realtor or a friend who’s willing to be candid tell you what you missed. Or pay a staging professional for a report.
We don’t really see familiar things well - so let them be your
‘test buyer’ so you can present the best first impression to the real ones.
For many homes and markets, professional help from someone in “staging” makes good financial sense. Like this video say, check your staging options first.
If you are doing it yourself, here are 5 key tips.
One - Depersonalize.
You want the buyer to envision this house being their home?
Remove the things that make it YOUR home - photos, awards, collections, and STUFF.
Two - MOVE the stuff.
It’s tempting to shove things in closets and attics but your prospective buyer will see a much smaller house if those spaces are full.
Move it to a storage space or a friend’s garage.
Three - Warm it up.
Baking bread or cookies
adding fresh flowers
and colorful pillows and throws
are touches used by professional stagers to make a place warm without your stuff.
Four - Light it up!
Five - Go Away.
Don’t hover - leave.
Pack for a day trip and have your realtor tell you when to return
Buyers won’t envision themselves buying if you’re around.
Depersonalize and move stuff out;
Warm it up and light it up.
Then leave and let your realtor do their job.
Today, your first “showing” will be on the Internet - you're watching this on the Internet, right?
Your price, listing description and PHOTOS determine whether someone will visit in person. Consider professional staging advice or help.
Prep for photos and video just as carefully as real visits.
Ask your realtor if they use a professional photographer. If they do look at prior photos and pick someone who understands the job.
Photos should make the most of your home’s features and give prospective buyers an emotional connection that invites them to visit in person.
Help them envision their lifestyle in the house not just the counters and walls.
If your realtor recommends video, just as with photography stage it carefully and hire a professional it will pay off.
And look over your listing when it goes live on a computer AND a mobile device to make sure it’s accurate, pleasant and compels people to show up.
Remember - your first showing these days will be on a screen.
As we show you in this video, start several months before the property is made available. Look through the eyes of a buyer
Ask yourself - or a friend, If you were buying this house what would you want to see?
The goal is to show a home that looks good makes the most of its assets like space and location and attracts as many buyers and as much demand as possible.
Allow yourself enough lead time - not just a day or two - to make the most of the sale. And get help from a real estate agent - early.
Every house is unique; appraisers are trained and licensed for expertise in putting a value on properties.
Appraisers don’t work for the buyer or the seller; their primary mission is actually to protect the lender who’s risking money against the home’s value.
Appraisers have to weigh factors about the property and location - including size, condition and comparable properties - to appraise its current value.
They know how to focus on conditions that affect value; dishes in the sink don’t; damage and neglect do.
Appraisals lower than the proposed purchase price can affect transaction details. The seller might have to lower the price or the buyer might have to increase down payment or fund additional escrow.
Appraisal seems a lot like inspection, but they’re not the same.
You can think of it this way:
So - expect both appraisal & inspection in your transaction.
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