How To Improve Your Chances of Selling Your Home

The real estate market is quite volatile these days.  There is much more supply than there is demand. Buyers are picky, and market conditions allow them to be.  How can you improve your chances of a sale?  Follow these simple tips, and you’ll gain a leg up on the competition…..

·         Be realistic about your home’s value.  Your Realtor is trained to determine what your home is worth.  Listen to his/her opinion and allow it to carry more weight than any other factor. 

·         Keep your home “showable”.  Those last minute callers wanting to look at your home are the most likely of candidates to put in an offer.  They are in a hurry to see it, they’ll probably be quicker to put in an offer.  Putting your Realtor off until tomorrow, or the weekend, may put your home out of the running.

·         Make sure your chosen Realtor is making the most of his/her marketing tools.  Ask to see a list of places your home will appear.  If buyers can’t see your home, they can’t buy your home.

·         Consider neutralizing your home.  Colors, scents and large collections of items placed in your home may overpower the marketable points of your home.  Allergies to air fresheners can overpower a buyer as they walk through your home.  Bright purple rooms can leave an impression that you may not want.  Your son’s bug collection covering the walls in his room may turn buyers off.  These are easily changed after the sale, but if the home next door is also for sale without obstacles, it will sell first.

·         Keep your curb appeal consistent.  Buyers often drive by before they request a showing.  If your home looks unkempt, cluttered, dark and dreary from the outside, no one will want to overlook those issues to see the inside.

·         Know when to fight for that extra dollar.  If a buyer submits an offer, know that once you give them a counteroffer, they are off the hook.  They are no longer contractually obligated to you.  Fighting for that extra little bit that you could really do without may cost you the sale.  Pick your battles.

In the end, your Realtor should give you competent, relevant information to make sure your property has the best chance of getting to the closing table.  Choose your Realtor wisely and let them guide you through the selling process.  Make them earn that commission.