It is crucial in today’s real estate market to properly prepare your home for sale. The day’s of just calling your Real Estate agent and listing your home on the multiple listing are long over. Properties have been languishing on the marketing for months and the property prices are plummeting.
You do not have control over the economic climate that our country is facing. The Case-Schiller price index for your region is also well beyond your control. After you have purchased your home you do not have control over the location of the property either.
As a seller you should focus on what you can control. There are a few things you can control, the local listing price, and your property conditions are within your control. You can also decide what the final terms and conditions of the purchase and sale are.
The following are some pricing strategies that you want to consider. You need to be aware of your local towns sold homes prices and property inventory. Prior to calling a real estate agent to come out to your home to conduct a comparative market analysis (CMA) for your home, do your property research on line.
Here in New England you can look at the Bankers and Tradesman on line magazine listings. That magazine keeps records of recently sold homes, and mortgages that either were a refinance or a purchase of the home. The Bankers and Tradesman will cover the Mass, RI, and Conn areas. You can also look up on Zillow.com what the sold homes have gone for. Contact your Registry of Deeds, to view the sold homes that closed in the past 6 months. Also review your local newspapers real estate section under sold homes.
After you have completed your on line research, contact your local real estate agent and have those agents do a free comparative market analysis (CMA) for your property. Compare your on line research with the results of the (CMA). You can get a pretty good idea of what price range your home should be in.
Property condition is also crucial to your success in the selling of your home. Your properties condition can either increase the value of your home or it can dramatically decrease the value of your home. The property condition can also cause a purchase and sale to collapse due to findings in the buyers home inspection report. It would be a wise thing for a seller to consider hiring their own home inspection prior to listing the home for sale.
That home inspector could discover major hidden defects in the property that were not visible to the home owner. Some major areas to be concerned with are the electrical systems. Make sure that you are up to your local code standards for GFE protectors in your kitchen and bathroom areas. Also check your heating and air conditioner systems and other major kitchen appliances. As a home owner you want to address those issues prior to your listing your home.
As a former real estate agent my self, I still keep my Real estate sales license active and up to date with continuing real estate education classes. I have witnessed many a deal fall apart due to home Inspection results. Better to be safe than be pound foolish. You do not want to loose a purchase and sale over something that can be easily prevented.
In addition to having a home inspection done, a home owner should focus on the landscaping and exterior of their home. What I am referring to is of course called “Curb appeal”. As a home owner you have the control over how your home appears. Keep your front lawn cut and trimmed. Ensure that there are no brown spots that are visible. If you need to hire a professional landscaping crew to keep your front lawn in good shape and your bushes trimmed and neat.
You should also focus on the side walks and your walkway entrance to your home. Make sure that those areas are fixed and kept cleaned and neat. Also look at your roof to see if it needs to be fixed. Keep your trim painted. Power cleans your homes exterior.
When your potential buyers and their real estate agents enter your home, when of the first impressions will be your entrance way. You want to keep that entrance way free of clutter as well as clean and in good working order.
As a home owner you want to keep your kitchen clean, uniformed and as up to date as possible. You also want to clear out the clutter in the kitchen cabinets as well. Your kitchen appliances need to be energy efficient as possible. If your appliances, washers and dryers, and heating and air conditioning systems are old; consider offering a 1 year home warranty. This will provide the buyer some piece of mind when they are considering your home versus another home.
Another thing that a home owner should consider is to hire a professional home design stage person. That way you can put a shine to your home. One of the free advice that I can offer is to keep your home and closets, free of clutter, and keep your home clean and painted with a neutral color.
Those cost of home repairs, the hiring of your home inspector, the home designer, the commissions from your real estate agent are all tax deductible items. Always consult with your tax adviser for the latest updates and tax rules.
One of the secrets to selling your home is for the home owner to be flexible with scheduling appointments to show their home to buyers. A seller also has to be flexible with the terms and conditions of the sale of their home. Property condition is a priority now days in determining the successful outcome of the sale of your home. It is the one thing that a home owner has full control over. Your pricing strategy is the second thing that is important as well.
