Too much furniture and too much
clutter make the rooms look small. I would say about 50% of the house I
see have way too much clutter. Consider taking out one or two pieces
of furniture out of every room to create a sense of spaciousness.
If your house is full with your own
clutter, buyers will not be able to visualize putting their things in
your home.
Here are some of tips you can follow:
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De clutter all cabinets and closets by packing away
things you are not currently using.
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Throw out or file stacks of newspapers and
magazines.
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Store out-of-seasoning clothing to make closets seem
roomier.
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Clean out the garage.
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Put away unnecessary lamps, end tables, and chairs
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In the kitchen remove everything from the counter
top.
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Put away kitchen appliances and personal bathroom
items to give the illusion of more counter space.
3) CLEAN THE HOME-SPIC AND SPAN
A clean house makes a better first impression and convinces buyers that the home has been well cared for. If you’re a busy professional, consider hiring a cleaning service. A spotlessly clean home is essential; dirt will turn off a prospect faster than anything.
Clean all your counter tops, including both kitchen, and bathrooms, clean the refrigerator and stove inside and out, and put away unnecessary items. Vacuum the carpet and keep all floors dust free. Mop and Wax floors. Clean all windows inside and out.
4) ODORS
Talk about a deal killer – Odors Must Go. You may not realize how odd smells like traces of food, pets and smoking odors can kill deals quickly.
Clean carpeting and drapes to eliminate cooking odors, smoke, and pet smells.
Consider boiling a pot of spices on the stove or set our potpourri when buyers come to look at the house. This gives the home a pleasant aroma. However, if there is a real odor problem it should be disclosed or resolved.
5) PAINT IN A NEUTRAL COLOR
Real estate agents know that homes that are light and bright sell faster and for more money than dark, dreary homes. Light colors reflect light, where dark colors tend to absorb it.
Light, bright homes feel bigger to buyers than do darker homes, and space is, next to location, the primary consideration. If there is any painting needed, paint your home in a light, neutral color.
6) ADD SOME BRIGHTNESS
As I stated above, a home that is light and bright shows better and sells for more money, so make sure all your lights bulbs are working properly. If needed, increase the bulb wattage in your existing fixture, but make sure not to put in bulbs that exceed the recommended wattage. When the home is being shown, turn on all lights in your home and open up the drapes and shades to let light in.
7) MAKE MINOR REPAIRS WHERE NEEDED
There is a big difference between making minor and inexpensive repairs and doing major extensive and costly renovations. Seldom do homeowners get their money back from major renovations, but minor repairs make a big difference. Small problems such as sticky doors, torn screens, cracked caulking, or a dripping faucet may seem trivial, but they’ll give buyers the impression that the house isn’t well maintained.
8) CLEAN OR REPLACE OLD CARPET
If the carpet does not look in fairly good shape try steam cleaning it first. If it still does not look decent, then try to replace it, at least, replace the rooms that are the most visible. If you replace any carpet use a neutral color. In addition, get rid of any cheap area rugs.
9) DECORATE YOUR HOME LIKE A MODEL HOME
Homebuilders usually have their model homes professionally decorate to appeal to the most buyers’ possible. If you want to know how your home should be decorated, take some time out, and visit some of the new homes for sale, usually they are beautifully decorated with the dining room table set with the best dishes and candles. Take pictures and use all those great ideas in your own home.
10) ASK OUTSIDERS FOR THEIR OPINION
It is difficult for a Seller to evaluate their own home. So my finally suggestion, is to ask friends and family for their honest opinion. Ask them what if anything they would change about your home if they were the buyer.
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3) Marketing–Maximize Your Exposure
In order to sell your home fast and for Top Dollar you must get the most showings possible. In order to get the most showings, expert marketing of your home and having your home constantly available for showings is required. As you read the marketing we perform in order to sell your home, I think you will agree that our Premier Full Service Package (1.5% Listing Broker fee) offers more marketing than the listing agents who charge a 3% Listing Fee. Below are my Top Ten Tips to maximize your home marketing and get the most showings possible:
1) MULTIPLE LIST YOUR PROPERTY
The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) computerized list of homes currently for sale. This is an exclusive tool, only available to the 700,000 members of the NAR. The MLS is the primary tool used by Realtors® to find homes for their buyers. Realtors® search the MLS daily to find potential matches for their buyers, thus when new listings are entered, they are immediately evaluated by thousands of Realtors® with prospective buyers, making your house rapidly popular.
The MLS provides the biggest marketing advantage in selling homes. This kind of exposure to buyers is not available anywhere else. You maximize your chances of selling your property quickly and at a better price when it is listed in the MLS.
Bottom Line- Being listed on the Realtors® MLS enables you to take advantage of the power of thousands of Realtors® in your area. That means more exposure for your home.
2) TAKE MORE THAN ONE HOUSE PHOTO!
Too often a house will be listed (even by 3% Listing agents) with only 1 default photo. Buyers that are searching online want to see more than the front of your house. A house with multiple photos will stand out over a house with just 1 photo. We take multiple photos of your home, which are displayed on the MLS and at Realtor.com.
3) USE LISTING ENHACEMENT TO MAKE YOUR LISTING STAND OUT AND CATCH THE BUYER'S EYE
In order to maximize your on-line exposure, DollarsBack Realty.com will list your property in multiple Websites and we will Showcase your home at the Realtor.com website. Realtor.com is the number one website used by buyers to search for homes. As a Showcased home, your home will stand out over the other listings; thus catching the buyer’s eye and driving them to your detailed listing. And as a Showcased home, I will add a custom description to promote the best features of your home.
Below is a PDF document that provides details about the online marketing that we will do for your home. You will not get this level of online marketing even when you pay a 3% listing fee.
Click Here for details about our On-Line Marketing.
4) OFFER A 3% BUYER AGENT COMMISSION
Don't skimp on the Buyer Agent's commissions. These are the agents that are going to decide whether or not to bring their client to view your home.
Refer to my article "How Commissions are Divided up" for a detailed explanation of why it is important to offer as much incentive as possible to show your home.
5) USE A PROFESSION WOOD POST REAL ESTATE BROKER'S SIGN
Yes you can buy a FSBO sign and put it in your front yard, however a few things occur:
It doesn't look professional,
It might scare a buyer agent that isn't sure if you are going to offer them the 3%. IF they have a client in their car, they won't risk it by showing the house to find out later, you are one of those FSBOs that give only 1 or 2% or NOTHING, and
It screams "low ball me" since the FSBO is not using an agent, they must be willing to come down another 3%... at least.
6) DEVELOP A PROFESSIONAL HOME BOOK AND USE AN OUTSIDE BROCHURE BOX
Buyers are not only interested in your home, but they are also interested in finding out information on the neighborhood they are moving into. As part of our Premier Full Service Package we develop a 35 page Home Book that not only has pictures of the home, but also includes colorful charts and graphs containing all the following information:
Aerial photograph of your Neighborhood
Neighborhood Demographic Information,
Neighborhood Employment Statistics,
Information on the Local Public and Private Schools, and
Information about the County such as Population.
Request us to send an example of the Home Book via E-mail
In addition, to the Home Book discussed above, we develop a 3 to 4 page marketing brochure with pictures and descriptions of the home and make it available to potential buyers by placing them in an outdoor Brochure Box.
These are the kind of services that makes DollarsBack Realty.com stand out from its competition.
7) BE AVAILABLE-ANSWER YOUR PHONE!
I can not tell you how many times Buyer’s Agents have called me to complain that they can not get a hold of FSBO.
This seems obvious, but way too often the FSBO can't be reached and the Buyer Agent Realtor® is stuck with a question and a buyer eager to have immediate answers or access to your home. Make sure you get a cell phone and have it on at all times. If the Buyer Agent cannot get a hold of you they will scratch your home off the list and go on to the next home.
8) BUY A FAX MACHINE
To facilitate contract negotiations, buy a fax machine. You can find inexpensive fax machines online or at Office Max or Staples. The Buyer Agent is going to need to send you the contracts, the contract modification, addendums, home inspection report and other documents. In addition, the settlement company will be sending you documents. When it comes to Real Estate Transactions, I think you’ll find, purchasing an inexpensive fax machine will be a great time saver.
9) GET A LOCKBOX
The lockbox is a metal container that stores your house key and can only be opened with the combination or a special electronic key depending on the type of lockbox. Normally the lockbox is hung on the front door knob.
Realtors® show many homes within a very short period of time and depend on quick access. A Lockbox will increase the accessibility of your house and ability for an agent to show your house, which increases your chances of getting more offers. Also many Realtors® won't even call a house that does not have a lockbox. If the hassle factor is too high, they instead will focus on the other 10 houses they can show easily and immediately.
10) USE DOLLARSBACK REALTY.COM AS YOUR FULL SERVICE AGENT TO MARKET AND SELL YOUR HOME FOR TOP DOLLAR
Yes, I realize I am biased here, and that this is a “Shameless Plug”, but throughout my real estate career, I typically see FSBO homes selling for less than comparable properties being professionally marketed and sold by a Real Estate Company.
I have seen other Flat Fee Realty companies advertise how a FSBO can save the 3% listing agent fee. It looks great on paper, but my experience has been that typically a FSBO property will sell for less than a property sold by an experienced Realtor® who will Market your house, set all Appointments and guide you through the entire house selling process.
According to the National Association of Realtors® only 14 percent of the homes sold in the U.S.A. were successfully sold FSBO. The agent-assisted median sales price was $175,000 while the FSBO median was only $145,000. In other words the average FSBO Seller would have made more money even if they paid 6% in commissions.
One of the biggest problems FSBO properties has is that most Buyers are working with agents to find their home and most agents do not want to got through a transaction with what they perceive to be an inexperienced self-represented seller across the table.
Other complaints I have heard about FSBO by Buyer Agents are:
FSBO are not familiar with the Real Estate laws such as Fair Housing and the Home Owner Association Disclosure Rules.
FSBO are not familiar with the property disclosures requirements. In the state of Maryland the day of Buyer beware are long gone. The law says Seller MUST Disclose all Know Material Facts.
FSBO do not understand the contract and addendums such as the Home Inspection,
FSBO do not understand Escalation Clauses and do not know how to respond to multiple offers.
FSBO are emotional tied to the transaction. Some FSBO (not necessarily you) are very irrational. It can be hard to talk sense to them or they just don’t get the process. A buyer agent would much rather deal directly with another real estate professional than have to deal directly with the Seller.
FSBO do not understand the Buying Process and thus do not order and schedule the Termite Inspection and Appraisal, therefore the Buyer Agent end up not only doing his job, but also ends up doing the Listing Agents job. Buyer’s Agent see FSBO as double work.
All other things being equal, a Buyer Agent will show a property where a Seller’s Agent is representing the seller over a property that they perceive an unsophisticated Seller is self-represented.
Bottom Line- It has been my experience that a FSBO will on average net more money by using our Premier Full Seller Package than if they sell their home themselves. And for the services we provide as part of our Premier Service, we are relatively inexpensive (1.5% Listing Broker Fee).
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4) Asking Price–Price Your Home Appropriately
Don't Overprice your Home.
The more you ask for upfront, might result in you getting LESS!
Everybody wants to sell his or her home for the most money possible. Many people will want to price their house to high. Or they say "It can't hurt" to try this price. Well it CAN HURT! Your first two weeks is where you will get 80% of your activity. If you miss that opportunity to get a buyer since your price is too high, your home will become stale and you will start to drop your price, which is a signal to most buyers to offer an even LOWER price
In this "hot" selling market, many Sellers will NOT bargain in the first 2 weeks, but once your house is stale, the lowball offers might be all you get. Also keep in mind that in a "hot market" IF you do "accidentally" under price the house, you will likely get multiple offers that will bring the price BACK UP to the full market correct price. This is called an "escalation addendum" which can create a bidding war.
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