Selling your home can be a stressful and emotional experience. There is a lot of pressure to make sure you get the most out of your biggest life investment. But if you make sure you’re educated, prepared, and realistic about your sale, you can take a lot of the uncertainty and anxiety out of selling your home.
Here are nine steps to ensure your home is ready to sell and that you get the best return on investment on your property.
1. Choose a Listing Agent
You might be tempted to forgo an agent and sell your property on your own. Why pay an agent’s commission when you can do it yourself, right? While an FSBO (for sale by owner) sounds like a good idea, sellers often end up losing money when they sell without an agent. Not only do you have to invest the time and money to prepare, market, and sell by yourself, the final sale price is often lower than what you could have received with the help of an agent. If your answer is “no” to any of these questions, you should not do an FSBO:
- Do I know how much my house is worth?
- Do I know about the current trends in my market?
- Do I know how to market my property?
- Do I have the time to do the work necessary to market my property?
- Do I know how to screen potential buyers?
- Do I know how to negotiate with a buyer’s agent?
A listing agent not only represents your home and looks out for your best interests, but they also bring their wealth of experience, market knowledge, connections, and negotiating power. These are things you wouldn’t be able to leverage if you did an FSBO.
A good way to start your agent search is to ask friends and family who have bought or sold a home in the past for recommendations. Expand your options by searching for top seller agents in your area on Movoto. Once you have a shortlist of agents you’re considering, be picky. Interview at least three agents to see if you like their style. Check to see what training they’ve had, how long they have been in the business, and the licenses and certifications they hold.
Look at each agent’s current and past listings to gauge whether they have experience selling similar homes and how well they market their listings before you choose the one who is right for you.
2. Get a Pre-Inspection
A diligent seller will have their home pre-inspected before they put it on the market. Not only will it offer additional peace of mind to any buyers that your listing is forthcoming about issues, but it’ll also alert you to any problems that you can address before you list.
When you find a buyer, they will inspect the home, so any hidden issues will come up regardless. Therefore, it’s a good idea to inspect the property beforehand and make repairs that could greatly increase the value of your home before you list it. You don’t want to have to negotiate unexpected contingencies right before you close.
A good inspection will include appliances, plumbing, septic, electrical, heating and air systems, the roof, and the foundation. Make any necessary repairs suggested by your inspector before putting your home up for sale and before having it appraised.
3. Make Renovations
Things that are easy to fix should be fixed before selling a home because they will increase the value of the house. But what about big remodeling projects? What is worth it and what should you sell as is? In general, buyers want a home that is move-in ready and up to date. They don’t want to be plagued with maintenance issues when they are handed the keys. Here are some upgrades to consider that are usually worth the time and money:
- Floors: If your home has hardwood floors covered by carpet, have the carpet removed and the hardwood refinished. If you don’t have hardwood, replace the carpeting with a neutral color, which is best for resale. Replace any chipped or cracked tile flooring and scrub or redo the grout.
- Ceilings: Potential buyers look at ceilings to see if there are any signs of leaks or bad plumbing. If you have any cracks or stains, repaint your ceilings.
- Walls: Fresh paint is a very cost-effective improvement. Always paint the walls in a neutral color. If you have wallpaper, take it down and repaint it, and remove any outdated wood paneling.
- Kitchen: Be sure that your counters are stain-free and your sinks and faucets look shiny and new. Cabinets and appliances are expensive to replace, so don’t do this if you don’t have to. But keep in mind that kitchens can make or break a sale, and a minor kitchen remodel can have serious returns on your home value. If you can’t afford new cabinets, consider resurfacing them and replacing the hardware.
- Bathrooms: Just as with a kitchen, bathroom remodels have a very high return on investment. If your bathroom is looking dingy, new floors, fixtures, and lights will help you sell your home for more.
- Roof: If your roof needs to be fixed, do it before you try to sell. Buyers shy away from buying a home with a bad roof.
4. Deep Clean Your Home
It should go without saying that your home needs to be spotless before you begin showing it. Focus on the kitchen and bathrooms, as well as windows, floors, and dusty corners. Also, clean areas you usually overlook like baseboards and blinds. Consider hiring a professional—it’s worth the investment.
5. Stage Your Home for Sale
Staging a home might sound like an unnecessary expense, but trends show that staged homes sell faster and can sell for 10 percent more than unstaged homes. A well-staged home can make a huge difference in your sale.
- Increase your curb appeal: Before coming into your home, many buyers will do a quick drive-by. Power wash the siding and sidewalks, wash the exterior windows, stain the front porch, mow the lawn, and plant fresh flowers.
- Declutter the interior: Removing all the clutter from your home may mean that you need to store some of your things off-site. Buyers will open closets and pantries, so don’t hide everything in a closet. Areas to declutter include surfaces, bookshelves, cupboards, and the garage.
- Give each room a clearly defined purpose: Turn your spare room into an office, exercise room, or guest bedroom. If you don’t have furnishings, borrow some from friends, buy something inexpensive, or rent furnishings.
- Depersonalize your home: You want potential buyers to be able to see your home as their own. Takedown any family photos and replace them with generic wall hangings. In the bathroom, always put your personal care items out of sight. Try to make your home feel like a model home for a new community—pretty but impersonal.
- Eliminate pet odors: If you have pets, make sure you steam clean your carpets before putting your home for sale. Keep your pets and their toys out of sight during showings.
- Hire a professional stager: According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 44 percent of buyer’s agents said staging increased the value of offers on a home. Hiring a professional stager may well be worth the price. A professional will look at your home from top to bottom and point out things that you might miss. Additionally, they often have furniture, artwork, and other items to use to enhance your home.
6. Have Your Home Appraised and Set Your Price
When selling your home, your agent will have an idea of how to price your home, but they won’t know for sure unless you have it appraised. Real estate agents usually know several appraisers that they routinely work with.
Make your home appraisal seamless by having the plot plan or survey of your house, the most recent tax bill, your home inspection report, and the title policy ready for them. You will also want to give them a list of the most recent upgrades, like a new roof or updated kitchen, which will increase the price of the home. Your agent should also provide the appraiser with recent sales prices from homes similar to your own in your neighborhood. Once your home has been appraised, work with your real estate agent to determine the right number for your list price.
7. Market Your Home
Now that your home is priced and ready to receive buyers, it’s time to get some eyes on it. Your agent will list it on the MLS, the largent electronic database of real estate for sale. This will make it visible to buyer’s agents and get picked up by all major real estate websites, including Movoto.
To increase the marketability of your home, take professional photos of the interior and exterior and provide a floor plan of the property. Like staging, professional photos have been shown to make homes sell faster and for more money. Once your home is listed, your agent will market it to their network of agents, but you can help your cause by sharing it with friends and family, on social media, and making time to have the home free for open houses and showings.
8. Leave Your Home During Showings
You may be tempted to stick around your house during showings to hear what potential buyers have to say, but the best thing you can do is leave showings to your agent. Much like depersonalizing your home is important to creating a blank slate for buyers, a seller lurking in the background will make it difficult for potential buyers to envision themselves in the home. Plus, it simply makes people feel uncomfortable.
Take an afternoon out with your family. You’ve hired a real estate agent, let them do their job.
9. Consider Offers and Negotiate When Selling Your Home
All this careful research, planning, renovating, and marketing should result in some solid offers on your home. Ideally, you’ll have several buyers bidding in the property, which could drive the price up. However, that is very dependent on the market, so don’t get your hopes too high.
Work with your agent to set a rock bottom price—the price you absolutely will not go below—then take the time to review viable offers. Be realistic, listen to what your agent has to say, and make counter offers to buyers who seem genuinely interested. Ultimately, when selling your home, the final decision is up to you.
