1) Price your home accurately from Day One. Everyone enjoys a honeymoon period when a listing is brand new and gets some attention. However, if you are overpriced for the market the buyers will not even come to look at your property. Closed sale prices are available to the public and buyers are coming equipped with more knowledge than ever before, thanks to the internet. The savvy buyer is just going to move on to a properly priced property or wait until you have reduced your price down the road. If your list price is exaggerated, you will end up getting less than the market would give you and waiting too long for a contract. Get good advice from your agent based on facts, set your price to the current market conditions and stick to your guns.
2) Demand professional photographs from your listing agent. We’ve seen it all and continue to just shake our heads – dark pictures without any interior lights turned on, photos of bathrooms with the Realtor (acting as photographer) reflected in the mirror, the toilet seat in the up position and totally uninspiring photos of empty bedrooms. Those very same photos that appear in the MLS system are multiplied a thousand times over on every real estate related website around the world. This is not the global exposure that helps to sell your home.
3) Make the best first impression. Seems like common sense and you’ve heard the advice since you were a child. Don’t ever underestimate what a potential buyer sees when first approaching your property – curb appeal, landscaping, paint color and condition, clutter and cleanliness when you first step inside. You only get one shot at a first impression.
4) Make repairs before you go on the market for sale. Put your home in the most pristine condition possible or you are begging for a laundry list of items in a home inspection report. If the overall impression is perfection for the age and type of home, then you won’t be nit-picked by the contract buyers.
5) Make your property easy for agents to show. Especially during the busy season, the buyer agents are scouring the MLS system for properties that meet the buyers criteria and are easy to scheduling a showing appointment. Many times they will have a buyer customer just for the weekend and there is pressure to show them the perfect house in a very short period of time. Don’t be bumped off the list for a showing appointment because you have friends or family in town, the listing agent must accompany all showings or the time period is inconvenient. Be flexible to accommodate showings and make yourself scarce – give the buyers the freedom to take their time walking around and speaking freely.
6) Be motivated to sell and willing to negotiate. There are terms to be negotiated aside from the sales price. In the final analysis, both the buyer and the seller want a deal that they feel is fair and each party might have to give and take a little bit to make it happen. Don’t be insulted by a low offer if you are priced correctly – the buyer is just trying to get the best possible number but might not be using an effective strategy. Counter the offer with a number that you can live with and has terms that make good sense to you including the settlement date, the down payments, inspection periods and items that may or may not convey with the property.
7) Choose the right Realtor to represent the sale of your home. Base your decision on a combination of facts and instinct. Listen and look for the actual facts that are the basis for a suggested list price that would encourage an actual sale in a reasonable amount of time on the market. Ignore an exaggerated number that is meant solely to acquire a signed listing agreement. Listen and look for the marketing plan to get maximum exposure for your home – especially the internet emphasis as this is where all of the buyers are searching for their purchase. Listen to your own instincts…….do you like the Realtor? Do you believe that the agent cares about selling your home? Selling your home is a team effort and there has to be good communication through a working relationship.
Call us today for a market update on your own neighborhood and property. Ellie Penaranda at 239-776-5077 or Tim Cranch at 239-272-4848
Some of the Naples, FL Communities We Serve:
Aqualane Shores (Boating) – Olde Naples (Beach Cottages & Luxury Estates) – Coquina Sands (Beach & Bay) – The Moorings (Beach & Bay) – Park Shore (Beach & Bay) – Seagate – Pelican Bay (Beach & Golf) – Pelican Marsh – Vanderbilt Beach (Beach Front) – Connors (Boating) – Naples Park (Walk to Beach) – Monterey – Autumn Woods – The Dunes (Resort Style) – Pelican Isle Yacht Club Condominiums (Boating) – Tarpon Cove – Audubon Country Club (Golf) – Vineyards – Riverstone –Olde Cypress – Saturnia Lakes – Longshore Lake – Marbella Lakes – Pine Ridge – Kensington –Stonebridge
Some of the Bonita Springs FL Communities We Serve:
Barefoot Beach (Beach & Boating) – Bonita Beach (Beach Front Homes & Condos) – Highland Woods (Bundled Golf) – Spanish Wells (Golf) – Vanderbilt Lakes (Lake View Homes)
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