10 Steps to a Successful and Profitable Home Sale

This time of year I have customers who ask “What should I do before I list my home for sale?”  I came across the below “10 Steps to a Successful and Profitable Home Sale” compiled by the National Association of Realtors.  I am proud to say that all of us here at Mountain Dreams Realty of WNC, Inc. are members of the National Association of Realtors, the North Carolina Association of Realtors, and our local Haywood Board of Realtors.

1. Price your home with the competition. Don’t price your home too high for your neighborhood. Buyers are looking in your area and they could see homes that are comparable to your home for less money. If your home is too high for the area, buyers will not even come to look at your home.

2. Get a home inspection before putting your home on the market. Review the inspection carefully and fix everything that needs repair! If buyers see too many things wrong with your home, they will walk away. Buyers want homes that are in move-in ready condition. By doing your own home inspection and fixing up your home before you start showing it, you will greatly reduce the odds of losing the sale of your home during the due-diligence period (or “look-see” period), which is when the buyer has time investigate the property’s condition and see if they remain satisfied with it before finalizing the purchase.

3. Get a consulting appraisal of your home. This way, you will know even before you put your home on the market what an appraiser thinks it is worth. When you sell your home, you and your agent will have a defendable fair market value. If you get a lowball offer, your agent can show comparables to the buyer’s agent that justifies your sale price.

4. Curb appeal is extremely important. It is the window to your home! You want your home to make an emotional appeal at first sight. Some buyers won’t even enter a home if they are not attracted to its exterior. It should be neat, freshly painted and nicely landscaped, begging you to come in for a closer look. Discuss with your real estate agent the best ways to make the outside of your home the most appealing.

5. Dress up the inside of your home. A fresh paint job will get buyers excited. It gives a fresh and lively look to your home. Always use light colors such as off-white, pale blue, tan and light grey for interior walls and carpeting. Have your carpeting professionally cleaned and replace any carpeting that is stained or worn. If the walls and floors look immaculate, buyers will assume that you also took very good care of the rest of the less obvious places of your home. De-clutter so your home looks spacious.

6. Make potential buyers feel at home. Do not be at home during showings. You don’t want to distract buyers from feeling like this could be their home. Remove all personal photos and collections. Work with your real estate agent and/or a professional stager to place furniture to best utilize the space in your home. This will put your home at its best advantage and put it a step above all others in your neighborhood.

7. Don’t overspend on improvements to your home. Do improvements that will keep you up with the rest of the neighborhood so you can get fair market value or above for your home. However, system replacements are essential so do keep current with air conditioning, heating, roofs and other major systems.

8. Be prepared to make a deal to sell your home. Be ready to compromise if necessary on price and terms. Your real estate agent will help you work with reasonable offers. Generally, your first offer is your best. Do what you can to make it work. Keep in mind that you want this process to be a win-win situation. The process from offer to closing can be a reasonable and mutually beneficial situation for both the sellers and the buyers.

9. Always go into the negotiating process with a positive attitude! Your real estate agent has been in this situation many times before and can best advise you how to proceed in any given situation. Remember that you, the buyers and both agents all want this deal to work.

10. Hire a professional real estate agent. Hiring a professional agent can help identify comparative homes in your area so you can list your home for a competitive price. An agent will advertise your home with internet marketing to the public in ways that are only available to a professional. Finally, an agent understands comprehensive agreements and can best negotiate with the buyer’s agent to sell your home for the highest price.