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25 Seller tips that should help
realize
the maximum value of your home:
Quite often
when you are visiting open houses, the ones that make the most favorable
impression are those the are neat, tidy, and nicely decorated. They are not
necessarily the most functional or the best design but the prospective purchaser
enjoys the way the home is presented often overlooking some of the flaws at the
same time.
Once you
decide to sell, you should look around your home and get all of the small
repairs completed that have been piling up over the years. Who knows, maybe once
its done, you won't want to move! You want the Purchaser to know that you have
cared for and properly maintained the home. Remember that many Purchasers are
spending all of their money and may not have any money left over for repairs,
and in these cases they must rule out any home that requires substantial
repairs, even if it is a great deal. Remember to include your entire family in
the clean up since they will all have to help up until the home is sold.
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Curb Appeal:
Unfortunately, every Realtor®
has had the experience of setting up an appointment with a Seller only to have
the purchaser refuse to even go into the home because they didn't like it from
the outside. Stand on the curb and have an objective look at your home. Is the
lawn properly trimmed, the trees trimmed and the shrubs and gardens
maintained. A few hours and a few flats of annuals can add a lot of curb
appeal.
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Smells Nice:
Air out the home completely particularly if there are strong cooking odors,
smoking odors or pets in the home. You may need to relocate larger pets during
open houses so that every potential purchaser sees your home. Many purchasers
will not buy the home if they feel that there are lingering odors,
particularly if they are hypersensitive or have allergy concerns;
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Let the Sun Shine in:
Wash the windows inside and out to let the sun shine in. This is a perfect
time to check for any window problems or loose panes of glass. Keep the drapes
and blinds open during the day to bath the home in sunlight;;
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Clean the floors:
Clean and vacuum the carpets and touch up any scratches in the hardwood
floors. Often a quart of gloss urethane will cover up most surface scratches
in hardwood floors. If the carpets are at the end of their useful life, you
may need to consider replacing them. It is useful to at least get a quote from
a contractor in case the potential Purchaser over estimates the repair cost
and wants a major price reduction as a result;
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Bright Ideas:
Make sure you have bright light bulbs in all fixtures. Check all of your fuses
and switches to make sure that the electrical system is working properly. If
there are any minor problems, take care of them at once so that your home
looks well maintained;
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Closet Rejuvenation:
Clean out all of the closets. If they are cluttered they appear smaller and
the Purchaser will wonder where they will put all of their property. If you
have not used it in a few years, get rid of it through a garage sale. Box any
off-season clothing and store it in the basement so that the closets look like
they can hold much more. Take everything up off the floor and remove as much
as possible from the shelves above and put it into storage. Proper closets and
storage space is one of the reasons people move out of apartments.
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Make Room:
Remove excess furniture and take to to a mini storage facility if it makes
your home look cluttered. Again, you want to make your home look as spacious
as possible and cluttered homes look small;
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Clean the Galley:
Make sure the kitchens and bathrooms are spotless. Clear off the counters of
any small appliances and check the caulking around the countertops. Clean off
any excess grease or spills including cleaning out the drip pans in the stove
and oven, even if you are taking the appliances with you. Once again, clear
out the kitchen cabinets of anything that you really don't need and put the
excess into storage. Clean around the stove vent.
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Make the Bathroom Sparkle:
Recaulk around the bathtubs if
necessary and repair or replace any leaky faucets. Try to clean any grout in
the kitchen and bath with grout cleaner and replace the shower curtain if it
is torn and tattered. It goes without saying that you should never leave dirty
dishes in the sink when you are trying to sell your home. Fresh towels in the
bathroom is a great idea.
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Everyone Pitches In:
Bedrooms: If you are moving for sure, start removing any posters taped to the
wall and make sure toys are put away. It is critical that you tell your family
to keep the beds made and the clothes picked up while your home is for sale
because you don't know when a showing will take place.
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Anyone for a Dip in the Pool?
Clean out the pool if you have one. Keep it open as long as possible in the
selling season or as early as possible. You should locate some photographs of
the family enjoying the pool. These photos may help sell the benefit of the
pool.
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Get out the Paint Brush:
Painting is probably the best investment you can make. If the exterior trim or
interior walls are tired looking a weekend of work can make all the difference
in the world. Pay particular attention to the front of the home. Remember the
Purchasers will be waiting at your front door for a few minutes while they are
coming to view your home. Put yourself in their shoes and look with a critical
eye then repair any defects that you find.
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Safety Check:
Make sure there are no unsafe hazards such as shoes in the hallway, slippery
rugs on hardwood floors, extension cords in the way. You don't want to injure
the prospective Purchaser.
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Make your home available on
short notice: There will be
occasions when a Realtor® is driving around with an out of town
Purchaser in the car and they may call and want to see the home on short
notice. If your home is always ready to be shown, it will get the maximum
exposure that you want to help it sell.
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Keep the family in the
background: Ideally you should try
to be out of the house during an Open House. You want to allow Purchasers the
opportunity to view your home without them feeling that they are intruding. If
you can not be out, try to keep the television or stereo volume down, and try
to confine the family to one area of the house.
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Let your Realtor®
do the Talking: If a Purchaser
wants to ask you questions about price or terms, ask them to contact your
Realtor®. If they ask you something directly about the house,
always answer truthfully, but you should not volunteer additional information
about your home or personal situation. If they have any objections about the
house, let your Realtor® respond to them.
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Avoid Temptation:
To be on the safe side, keep small valuable out of sight. Don't just put them
in the front of a drawer, make sure they are put away properly. Do not leave
jewelry or money in plain view.
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Decide on a Rock bottom price
in advance: Once the first offer
comes in we should be simply negotiating to a price that is acceptable to you.
You and your family should already know the price based on comparables that I
provide you with.
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Have reasonable expectations:
The property value is determined by comparable prices from similarly appointed
homes. The price is not determined by your needs. We will try to get you as
much as possible, but there is always a limit. The other Realtor®
will advise his client as to what the value is based on the same comparable
information that I will provide you with.
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Make you home easy to show:
While it would be perfect if we could give 24 hours notice for each showing,
however, sometimes the Realtor® is driving through a neighborhood
and the client wants to see the home right there and then. Although it is very
inconvenient, you should try to make your home available even with short
notice.
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Lock Boxes:
The lock box allows prospective purchasers to
see your home with the minimum inconvenience to you and them. They will be
able to view your home even when you are at work.
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Understand current market
conditions: You should make sure
that you know what the current market conditions are. If the market is hot,
you might be able to get a few extra dollars on your home, and if it is dead,
you might want to look seriously at all offers.
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Don't be offended by a low
first offer: Many buyers submit
unreasonably low offers initially, hoping for a miracle. Many of these initial
offers are counter offered until a mutually acceptable price is arrived at.
Sometimes their agent is just trying to "get them on paper" knowing that they
will have to come up in price to buy the home.
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Make sure you have a
contingency plan: What will you do
if the closing dates to not match. You should consider this prior to the offer
so that you can negotiate even if the dates do not match.
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Win Win situation:
Most negotiations result in accepted offers if there is a "win win". Both the
Purchaser and Seller need to feel that the deal is satisfactory or else one
will not sign. If you determine the “must haves” in advance, you will have a
higher likelihood of reaching and completing and acceptable contract.
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