Sell Your Home Easily With These 6 Tips

People don’t just roll out of bed and sell their homes. Selling your home is a process: it takes time, planning, and expertise. If you’re getting ready to sell your home, here are a few tips to help make the process as smooth as possible:

Work With an Experienced Agent to Sell Your Home

This is key. Your agent is your partner, someone you’ll be working closely with until we put the “sold” sign in your yard. It’s important that he or she knows the market and has demonstrated selling success, but it’s equally important that you trust the person and generally enjoy working with him or her.

Change Your Mindset

As soon as you decide to sell, stop thinking of it as “your” home. It’s important to look at it the way your potential buyers will see it. They don’t have the memories and emotional ties you do, so you need to think like a buyer. What do they want in a home? And what do they see in yours?

Before You Sell Your Home, Fix It Up

Going strong with your new seller’s mindset, it’s time to make little fixes and upgrades that will make your home more appealing. For major upgrades, like new countertops or backyard landscaping, it’s important to weigh the costs and benefits before starting an expensive project. However, small projects, like fixing broken handles or leaky faucets, repainting, or deep cleaning, help you leave a good first impression with potential buyers. If they see a lot of small items in disrepair, they’ll think you’ve left some big ones that way, too.

Stage Your Home

In an ideal world, you’ll be able to move out before we start showing your home. Clutter and personal effects can make it more difficult for potential buyers to imagine themselves in your home. If that’s not possible, try to remove as many belongings as possible and keep the home neat and clean. 

In some cases, it may be advisable to have your home professionally staged; you and your real estate agent can discuss this to see if it’s worth the cost. More often, you’ll simply want to clean it thoroughly, remove as many personal items as you can, and repaint certain rooms, particularly if the walls look dingy or if you have brightly colored walls that could be painted a neutral color instead.

Price Your Home Appropriately

You don’t have to figure this out alone: your real estate agent knows the market inside and out and can give you the information you need to help you choose an appropriate asking price based on the current situation. Asking too much can leave your house languishing on the market for too long, while asking too little means leaving your well-deserved money on the table. 

Though it can be difficult depending on your financial situation, try not to get attached to an amount you “need” to get for the home. The selling price could depend on a variety of factors, and insisting on a certain price may leave your house on the market for longer than you can afford. Your agent will help you entertain offers and give suggestions based on what’s fair and what you might be able to expect.

On that note: don’t be surprised by low-ball offers. It’s not personal, and you don’t have to accept them! Plus, it demonstrates interest in your home, which is always good.

Take a Step Back

This is where your agent goes to work for you! Of course, it’s important to stay involved in the process and receive regular updates from your agent, and you should always feel encouraged to reach out and ask questions when you need to. However, it won’t help the selling process (or your nerves!) if you’re obsessing over the details or worrying if it’s been a couple of days without any interest from buyers. If you chose a real estate agent carefully in the first place, you can trust he or she is doing everything possible to sell your home.

Let it happen and look forward! You’ve got an exciting future ahead of you in a new home. If you have any questions about selling your home, please contact us! We’d be honored to work with you.