The following is based on 30 years of helping people sell their homes. I hope it helps you sell your house.
1. The urban landscape is essential. People may not make the decision to buy your house when they stop in front of it, but they will make the decision NOT to buy it if the curb appeal is not good.
2. When you focus on the cityscape, DON’T, REPEAT, DON’T forget about the backyard and its view. The front will draw the buyer to the door, but the back is what they see every minute they are in the house.
3. Get rid of indoor clutter. You might love those 5,000 photos of Elvis you’ve collected over the years, but it detracts from the people viewing the house. Also clean out the garage and any other areas where you store “stuff.” This includes the attic and storage rooms.
4. If it’s broken, fix it, if it needs painting, paint it, if it needs cleaning, clean it. Whatever makes your home show better, get it done and get it done before you start showing it.
5. Eliminate surprises. Get a home inspection. This will eliminate any surprises later that may delay or cost you a sale. Needless to say, it fixes any problems found. You’ll end up having to do it anyway. The buyer will do their own inspection and ask you to make the repairs or lower the price in order to do it and most buyers don’t want to deal with their problems.
6. Make your home available for showing on the potential buyer’s schedule. Your schedule is not important to buyers. Accommodate them.
7. Ask your agent to prepare a “Financing Options” sheet to give to people who view your home.
8. Prepare a cost sheet that you have each month and year. Things like taxes, monthly electric, water/sewer, association dues, etc. Anything you have to pay, they will have to pay and they will want to know. Add any transfer fees associated with the sale.
9. Go over a sales contract until you know it backwards and forwards. This will help you when you receive an offer. It will allow you to get back to the buyer much faster.
10. When your home needs to be shown, turn on all the lights and open all the shades. The more light, the better. Increase the wattage of the bulbs you use.
11. Before showing, boil cinnamon sticks or bake some cookies. Put that “grandma’s kitchen smell” in the house. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT SPRAY any fruity-smelling air freshener around. This makes people think that you are hiding some scent that you are not telling them about.
12. If you smoke, try to air out the house before showing it. Hide all ashtrays, matches, lighters, and cigarettes. Cinnamon sticks or boiled cookies will help.
13. Take your pet for a walk or ride when the house is shown. Not everyone loves Fido or Kitty like you and me. Put away your bowls with your food.
14. Sandboxes must be placed outside and off site during the show.
15. If you must be there when your house is shown, and I don’t suggest it, don’t try to sell your house. Let people walk alone. Do not follow or scroll. Let the agent do his job.
16. Keep a list of recent improvements you’ve made to your home and list any warranties still in place. Purchase a 1- or 2-year home warranty for your home and include it in the price. These cost around $400-$500 per year.
17. Kitchen counters need to be cleaned so you can show how much counter space there is.
18. Time is critical when listing your home. Have all your repairs completed and your home on the market in time to take advantage of the buying season in your area.
19. Get a market analysis so you know how many houses like yours are on the market and what the SALE PRICE has been for recent houses like yours. Do your homework before quoting and listing your home. Half the battle of selling your home is positioning it correctly on the market. They sit expensive houses. The key is what houses like yours SOLD for, not what houses like yours are listed for. Don’t fall into the “I’ll show up tall and people can always make me an offer” trap. People will not only NOT make you an offer, they will not come to see your home and homes that are not shown are not sold.
20. Cleanliness is next to godliness. Make sure your home is always clean, every room, porch, and garage before you show up.
21. Get a copy of a Housing Disclosure Report, fill it out, and have it available to potential buyers.
22. DON’T BE LATE FOR YOUR VISIT APPOINTMENT! Make sure the safe is outside, the door is open, or you are there. They may keep you waiting, but don’t you dare keep them waiting.
23. Review #15.
24. Ladies, DO NOT SHOW YOUR HOUSE ALONE, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT. NEVER BREAK THIS RULE!
25. Take every opportunity to let people know your house is for sale. Network, network, network.
26. List your home with an experienced, full-time agent who has the resources of a large company with a proven track record of getting results in your community. Choose an agent who will do this to support your family. Agents who support their families are motivated to get results by the most powerful motivation in the world: taking care of their family.
27. Raise the curtain. Make your home show its best. Moving a piece of furniture from one wall to another can make all the difference in the world in the way a room is displayed. Flowers, colors, etc. There are people who help with this for very reasonable fees. This is called staging and it is well worth the money.
28. Buyers are looking for a house they can move into. They don’t want to inherit your problems. That’s why you fix it, paint it, clean it, etc. before the buyers arrive. This also helps justify the price in buyers’ minds.
29. Here’s a real shock. Real estate agents are for the most part lazy. They don’t want to show properties that are hard to access, or don’t display well, or are overpriced. They are in this business to make money. They show houses where they are paid the full commission. Especially at times like this. In boom times like 05/04 when inventory was tight they would show anything. Not now. Do not reduce your commission in this market. In the long run, it will only hurt you.
30. Closures. Ask your attorney to provide you with an estimate of your closing cost so you can calculate what your net will be. This may not be exact, but it will give you a good idea. This will really help when negotiating a deal.
31. Choosing the right company to represent you is critical. Find the leading company in your area. When you do this, you are sure that you have a company that focuses on your area. Anyone else is just waiting for someone from that leading company to sell it. The odds are against you if you accept this.
32. Open houses work, but not if you do it every week. Open Houses must be held in conjunction with other Open Houses. The more houses open, the more people will come regularly. Review 10-15.
33. A buyer for your house is as close as next and as far as Europe. Marketing a home is not just a matter of placing ads in a magazine. In fact, very few buyers come from seeing your home in a magazine. New age marketing is more focused and targeted. Make sure your agent is doing more than running ads in newspapers and magazines.
34. Selling your home is your agent’s job. If you have chosen the right company and the right agent, listen to them. They are the experts.
35. Keep in mind that the sale of your home is a partnership between you and your agent. It requires effort from both parties.
36. The hardest part of this process for you as the owner will be understanding the market. Your agent will have no problem as you are treated every day. All a homeowner sees is how nice a house he has, how much he has in it, and how much he wants for it. He must deal with reality when listing his house. The numbers don’t lie, the agents can do it, but the numbers don’t. As cruel as it sounds, the market doesn’t care what you have in your house, how much you want or need to get out of it. The market is what it is. If you can successfully get divorced from the property and consider selling your home a “goal” and focus on achieving this goal, you will sell your home faster.
37. Treat all offers with respect, no matter how insulting they may be. You don’t have to accept an offer, but keep the dialogue open. With all the offers you won’t accept, just ask your agent to say, and you’ll have to tell your agent to say it this way: “Thank you for the offer. While my client cannot accept that offer, he would like to propose what Next .” Again, stay focused on the goal and do the things that will get you there.
Selling a home, especially in this market, takes work. Consider these 37 points as a roadmap to achieve your goal of selling your home.
