Get My Home Sold

The first step in getting your home ready to sell is to “de-personalize” it. 
Buying real estate is often an emotional decision, but when selling real estate you need to remove emotion from the equation. You need to think of your house as a marketable commodity. Your goal is to get others to see it as their potential home, not yours. If you do not consciously make this decision, you can inadvertently create a situation where it takes longer to sell your property. Therefore, put away family photos, sports trophies, collectible items, knick-knacks, and souvenirs.

Remove any clutter
After years of living in the same home, clutter collects in such a way that may not be evident to the homeowner. Clutter collects on shelves, counter tops, drawers, closets, garages, attics, and basements. Take a step back and pretend you are a buyer.

Price Your Home Appropriately
Make appointments with multiple local listing agents and decide which agent knows the market the best and is the best equipped to sell your home. If you and your agent have overpriced, fewer agents will preview your home. Later, when you drop your price, your house is “old news.” You will never be able to recapture that flurry of initial activity you would have had with a realistic price. Your house could take longer to sell.

Marketing Your Home
Although real estate agents can (and do) work with both buyers and sellers, most tend to concentrate more on one than the other. They specialize. After the “for sale” sign goes up and flyers are printed, your agent’s main job is to market your home to other agents, not to homebuyers with preliminary marketing strategies.

Marketing Your House to Other Agents
The Multiple Listing Service – Even before the sign is up and the brochures are ready, your agent should list your property with the local MLS (Multiple Listing Service). The MLS is a database of all the homes listed by local real estate agents who are members of the service, which is practically all of the local agents. Important information about your property is listed here, from general data such as square footage and number of rooms, to such details as whether you have central air conditioning or hard wood flooring.

Marketing Your House to Homebuyers
Every home seller likes to be assured that their listing agent or the real estate company will run ads featuring their home. Newspaper ads could be large display ads with lots of listings or small classified ads featuring just your property. Ads may also appear in local real estate magazines and your listing will also show up on the Internet.

Showing Your House to Home Buyers

• Your house should always be available for show, even though it may occasionally be inconvenient for you.
• You should not be home with potential homebuyers are present. Homebuyers will feel like intruders if you are home when they visit, and they might not be as receptive toward viewing your home.

• When you know someone is coming by to tour your home, turn on all the indoor and outdoor lights – even during the day.

• Do not use scented sprays to prepare for visitors. It is too obvious and many people find the smells of those sprays offensive, not to mention that some may be allergic.

• If you have pets, make sure your listing agent puts a notice with your listing in the multiple listing service. The last thing you want is to have your pet running out the front door and getting lost.

• Remove all kitchen trash and make sure you empty it every time someone comes to look at your home – even if your trash can is kept under the kitchen sink.

• Keeping the house tidy and neat

Be sure to read our Lake Norman and North Charlotte blog for more tips on buying and selling your home!