Every week I see homes or photos of homes that are for sale, and have been sitting on the market for 3, 6, 9 months or longer causing frustration and financial burden to their owners. Often, these homes have potential, but are in desperate need of some TLC, and have become a liability to their owners who just want to move on. So, after a few months of showings with no decent offers, the listing agent will convince the owner to reduce the price, and the disappointed owner will concede. Consider this; an 8% price reduction on a $600,000 home, means the homeowner sucks up $48,000, and the realtor loses only $1450. Does that seem a little unfair?
Now hold on… I know lots of wonderful realtors, many are my friends, (or they were before this blog) and I admire them for the long hours they work on weekends and week nights, away from their families when the rest of us are relaxing… or at least, not working. My intention is NOT to criticize these folks or their profession! Instead, I hope to encourage homeowners to take some responsibility for the sale of their homes by providing a better product, which ultimately makes the listing agent’s job easier, (AND may help to rid the real estate market of atrociously under-loved homes.)
I’m not a realtor, but I’m a realist. And what I know for sure is:
- 10% of society has vision, for everybody else, you have to clean up your crap.
- No one wants to take on your problems, they have enough of their own.
- Real estate agents are not magicians.
With that in mind, here is my step by step plan for selling your home quickly, at a fair price:
Step 1. Don’t call a realtor… yet! The first thing a realtor does is gather comps in your neighborhood and tell you how to price your house. Housing sales are public record and are available for you to obtain yourself. So gather your comps (get ready for a buzz kill) and based on the maintenance, upkeep, and renovations of YOUR home, evaluate it’s worth and determine your asking price. Do your homework, know your market, and don’t be a “doe in the headlights.”
Step 2. Depersonalize, declutter, deodorize, and decide that by making improvements and updates now, your home is going to sell quickly at the fair asking price YOU decide. Rid yourself of everything you don’t need and don’t want to move to your new home. You’ll trim your moving expenses and feel like you lost 10 lbs.
Step 3. Call a Certified Real Estate Staging Professional. (That’s right. Do you cut your own hair?) You may have an idea of what needs fixing, painting, replacing, moving, removing, and updating, but there’s an art and science to preparing a house for re-sale. and it’s not just about making every room look vanilla. The Real Estate Staging Association reports that professionally staged homes sell at a 5-7% higher price and in 50% less time than unstaged homes. Remember, the investment you make in a complete home staging is a fraction of the cost of your first price reduction.
Step 4. Call a realtor. Tell her that your beautifully staged home is ready to be photographed and listed to sell at a well-researched, fair market price.
Step 5. Put your shoes on and go house hunting because very soon, you’re going to need new digs.
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