We all know how hard it is to sell in a down market but
knowing the common elements is key for selling your home in any market.
Knowing your market,
staying on track, setting your goals and staying focused are all very important
to getting your home sold. Here are some tips for selling in any market.
1.
Choosing
whether to list your home with a Realtor or sell it yourself. Huge decision
given the hunk of commission you’ll be giving up to a Realtor usually 5% to 6%
of the sale price. But the advantages of
working with a Realtor are numerous. Your
agent will be marketing your home on the MLS a national data base of homes for
sale. They also list your property online with varies websites like, Realtor.com… Zillow.com
and others. They are also experts at negotiation and know contracts and real
estate law in your state. They will guide you through the process of escrow and
closing. Handle all your inspections and advise you along the way. They are a
great partner to have and in most cases well worth the 5% to 6% commission they
earn. You could list it online too using FSBO sites for a fee, Craigslist and
other free sites. If you decide to go it alone I strongly suggest you get some
legal advice from an attorney and have an attorney review your purchase
contract when you get one.
2.
If you
decide to go with a Realtor choosing the right one is not rocket science.
But follow your gut and do some due diligent before you decide. Ask a friend
for a referral. First check their resume not literally of course but ask for
reference, speck to their current broker and maybe call one they use to work
for. Ask if they are a top producer. Go online and check their marketing skills, find
their listings, see how they market their current listings. This is the best
way to see how your home will be marketed. What do the pictures look like or
are there any pictures. What’s sites do they market on. How many hits do their
homes get on those sites… ask the questions. 93% of homebuyers start their
search online and if your ad online has no pics or bad pics it will not get viewed
let alone ever called on. If a Realtor can’t take the time to upload more than
1 picture in the MLS he’s not your Realtor. If he/she has no talent for taking pictures, to small, dark, no imagination and they don't use a professional to do it for them. You probably want to move on. I am not trying to be mean but your paying for a professional, getting professional work is what you should be getting. That includes photography too. "A picture says a 1000 words" and you can't sell a house without good photos. Remember
marketing and advertising is their business! If they are not putting 110%
effort into it then you don’t need them. There are too many great Realtors out
there doing a phenomenal job find one and hire them.
3. Videos; can help you or your Realtor
sell your home. Either have it Professional done or do it yourself. Either way get it done. Then get it
out there .. Social media is key! Facebook, YouTube
Don’t make this harder than it
has to be for heaven sakes use your iphone or smart phone. Walk through your
home, your yard and even your neighborhood talking of course and tell your
prospective buyer all about your home, your yard and your neighborhood. Take
them to your favorite shopping area or restaurant/coffee shop that is close to
home. Impress on them how much you have enjoyed living in your home and
neighborhood. I personally think one done by the homeowner is BEST! Give it to
your Realtor and ask him/her to post it wherever they have it online.
4. Website; Your Realtor may have his/her
own website or webpage use it for your listing or link to another site that has
your listing information, pictures, video and anything else you and your
Realtor think might be useful. Some
free sites where you can build a website with no coding skills are; weebly… yola
my personal favorite and wix . This is really
very easy and all you need for your website is 1 or 2 pages.
5. Social Media; Facebook
is a powerful sharing your listing, website or video with your friends and then
asking them to share and help you spread the word can be a great way to connect
and possibly bring in a buyer, who knows where your buyer will come from. Twitter, YouTube
are also great networking sources.
6. Staging your home; Let’s face it first
impression are everything! Cleaning and clearing out the clutter is very
important. Getting organized will make your house feel airy and spacious. For
some great tips go to Simply
Organized or for online tips and great tools visit flylady she has a great newsletter you can
sign up for too. You may want to call in
a professional stager. Again whether you do this yourself or have a
professional do it, don’t skip this step or think your house doesn’t need it,
we all have clutter we just grow immune to it or have simple put on our
blinders to it but trust me it’s there. Remember good Chi makes potential
buyers feel better and more welcome. Learn
more about Feng shui
7. Repairs and Inspections; Make sure you
have repaired anything that is broken or unfinished. No one wants to come into
a new purchase and have to do what should have been done already. Go ahead and
get your termite report done and complete any work on section 1 of that report. You can save yourself a lot of money
by hiring your own contractor. Waiting until after you are under contract could
cost you more money or the deal altogether. Knowing upfront yourself if you
have a problem is best anyway so you can deal with any issues before hand.
8.
Depersonalize;
This is an important step, remove your family pictures if you didn’t do it in
step 6. You don’t want buyers getting distracted looking at your pictures
instead of your home. Remove toys, baby swings, and items that tend to fill up
a room. Remove RX Medicine in your bathroom. Make sure your office is clear of
all personal papers and pictures. Remove all magnets, papers and picture from
your refrig.
9.
Setting
your Price; This is probably THE most important thing you will do! I haven’t
met a homeowner that didn’t think his property was worth more than it really is,
but over the last couple of years I think we’ve all been knocked down a few
times when it comes to our home values. So most of us get that our values are
getting more and more difficult to determine even for the Realtors, appraiser
and financial institutions. As a seller however you have to depend on your
Realtor to run you a Certified Market
Analysis (CMA) they do this by pulling several sold and several listed like
properties in your area preferable within 1 mile of your home to compare to
your home and come up with a value. Even this is not easy anymore with all the foreclosure
and REO but this is still the best tool used to find value.
There
are some online sources that can be used to determine property values too. But
these are not as reliable so take the values with a grain of salt and then call
your Realtor.
Kstreet appraiser is once again Zillow. It’s important you listen to your
Realtor about the value of your home. Don’t go with a Realtor just because they
are willing to list your home for what you think it worth, this is a mistake
many seller’s make and find themselves unable to sell because they are priced
to high. Get real and price your house smart!
10.
HELP your
Buyers; Thinking ahead of time about how you can help your buyers is very
important, that way when you get an offer you don’t have to sit around and
debate it for days because you’ve already discussed it with your better half
and your Realtor.. you may even want to have your Realtor list this added
benefit to buyers in the MLS or online advertisements. This added help could
be; seller financing of the down payment up to 5% - 50% this is something to think
about and has many pros and cons. As an investor/lender you could see a return
of 6 to 8% in this market for a private second maybe even more depending on the
circumstances. That’s a pro, a con of course and worst case scenario would be you would have to
foreclose on your borrower at sometime in the future. Other help could be with
closing costs, lenders will normally allow seller contributions of 6% of the
loan amount but more customary is 3%. This helps the buyer pay for their
closing costs and to buy their rate down with points. Leasing with Option to
buy at a later date is another alternative in a slow market. Your Realtor won’t
like this option but don’t count it out. A short term 2 or 3 year lease option
is better than having a house sit empty while you pay the mortgage if you have
to relocate. Everyone's situation is different just keep an open mind to
different possibilities and don’t rule anything out until you know and
understand all the options.
11. OPEN HOUSE; Open house or open house
party! I’d say do it all! Times have changed, the days when you could bake some
brownies or cookies and light some candles or put out some fresh flowers just
don’t cut the mustard anymore. Today it’s a party ! Invite the neighbors,
brokers, agents, family, every friend and associate your ever known, but get
them in the front door. Have it catered, live music and dancing if you have the
room. Show your house off and let them know your house knows how to have a good
time. Make this party and more importantly your home memorable get a buzz going
about your home. Make sure during the party they know why they are there… to
help you sell your home and to have fun.
12. Last but certainly not Least Have Some
Faith; Thousand of sellers all across the US have resorted to some extreme
measure to selling their homes. To the power of prayer to burying statues of
St. Joseph in the back yard people of faith are doing it all. I believe any help we can get is welcome even
divine. Stay positive, say a prayer and
listen to your gut and your Realtor, with all that power working for you how
can you go wrong.
Roxy Redenbaugh
ACMC Loan Consultant
Branch Manager
808-637-0011
NMLS #269926
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