Seller's Guide
Selling a home these days is quite difficult. With the increasing number of markets favoring buyers, sellers find themselves struggling against each other to catch a good offer. But selling a home in general need not be hard. Even in a tight market, there is still an excellent way to sell a home. And though the basics still apply, adding your own extra flair to the process will help you reel in interested buyers.
1. Adding up the costs
Selling homes is like buying houses insofar as there are still costs involved in the process. Before you reach the endpoint and get the money from the sale, you first need to invest in the sale process.
There are a lot of expenses involved in selling homes. In a nutshell, what you need to focus on are the costs of repairs and renovations, that is, if you're planning to improve your home or add extensions. Marketing funds are also necessary. Especially now that the selling market is in a crunch, you need to spend considerable amount of cash for advertising. While there is absolutely no need to take out all the coins from your coffer, adding up all the expenses of a home sale firsthand can help you determine areas which you can cut and save money from.
2. Stage
Home staging is still an integral part of any home sale, but extravagance is only an option: You need not focus on high-end renovations. What you must concentrate on, though, are the repairs.
Some homeowners, in order to cut costs from home-staging without skipping it altogether, put their money on repairs and simple cosmetic retouches, i.e. repainting the walls, re-grouting the tiles, cleaning, lawn work, and others. Furthermore, you will find it immensely helpful to get your home pre-inspected at this point before the buyer finds out anything egregious later.
3. Develop marketing savvy
In the past, putting up a “For Sale” sign in the front yard is enough to bring in potential buyers. While that is still important for sellers, ameliorating that home-sale de-rigueur is now a necessity. Traditional advertising techniques are still useful to market your home. However, it is estimated that 90% of buyers are using the internet for their preliminary home-search. So it is only obvious to also take your marketing efforts to the online realm.
4. Open the table for negotiation
After visits and walkthroughs and you finally get the offer, remember that even in a buyer’s market, you can still negotiate, but know your motivation: Are you meeting a deadline? Is money more important than time? Nevertheless, you have to keep in mind that a win-win negotiation scenario is only possible with an open channel of communication. Wisely acknowledge your buyer’s request and make a reasonable counteroffer. Repeat until both of you reach a healthy agreement.
5. Close
Never forget to make a contingency that will provide you enough time to buy another home before the sale completes. And when you are waiting to close, get ready to pack up and move in to your new home. Congratulations!
