By Sue McNamara, Realtor
You are finally ready to put your home on the market. You hire a realtor, the sign goes in the ground and now you wait. For a Seller this can be excruciating. As sellers there are things you can do to make sure you sell quickly. On average within 21 days your home should sell – if not then you need to make some changes and fast.
- Price. If you are trying out a price (maybe a little more aggressive than your agent recommended) and it hasn’t sold – reduce the price – and don’t wait. 10 showings or 21 days – no offers = reduce. The market is telling you its too high. Don’t delude yourself that you haven’t found the “right buyer”. You have, they just don’t like it enough at the price.
- Too much of you in a home = no sale. If you love those large decorative urns so much you have 10 in a room – get rid of 9 of them. If you love wallpaper and have it everywhere including the ceiling – remove it. Hot pink carpet in the living room – pull it up. It might cost you some money up front but will be worth it when you get more money and a faster sale.
- Bad smells = no sale. Pet smells, cigarette smells, heavy food smells – these are all problems when trying to sell. Do everything you can to get rid of them. But lighting a stinky candle isn’t one of them. Any buyer will tell you that you are masking a problem even if you aren’t. You need to get carpets cleaned, drapes cleaned, any type of fabric items cleaned… in other words – clean your home better than you ever would normally. And have a friend do a sniff test. If it still smells – do it all over again.
- You don’t allow showings when a buyer wants to see your home. This might be the most important thing you can control. Let the buyers in when they want to see it. Every time you say no you are losing the buyer. Showings are annoying and time consuming but important and of course necessary. Do everything you can to make them happen. And remember, the buyer really doesn’t want to see you or your agent. On higher priced homes it is customary for an agent to meet the buyer and buyers agent but most buyers feel awkward and uncomfortable with you or your agent there. Just keep that in mind when putting your home on the market.
Buyers can be picky and opinionated but they will pay your price if the value is there. Do everything you can to make sure they see the value. There are many other things I recommend to sellers – these are just a few.
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