Monday, October 9, 2017 / by Marsha Westling
Tips to Get the Most Money From Your Home Sale
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Today we’re going to talk about tips to get sellers the largest sum of money when they sell their home.
We would be happy to share all seven tips we have, but for now, here are the first four, plus a bonus tip.
- Do not over-upgrade your home. If you haven’t seen the inside of your neighbor’s home or don’t know what upgrades they’ve done, hold off on your own upgrades until you have. We don’t want you to put too much money into your home, only then to have buyers and appraisers look at your home and decide that it is over-built. If you want to get paid back when you make upgrades, don’t sink too much money into those projects up front.
- Make sure your home is available for showings. Keep your home clean and ready to be shown with a couple hours’ notice. One of the top things a seller can do other than pricing it correctly is having it consistently available for showings. Limiting showings can limit buyers, which means fewer people see it, and you could end up with less money.
- You need to be able to trust your agent. Of these tips, most of them will come from advice your agent gives you. If you don’t trust your agent 100% to be working for you and to give you the best advice for your situation, you’re not giving yourself the best shot at getting the largest sum of money for your home.
- Price your home correctly. Pricing a home to sell can be more of an art than a science initially, but most of us are pretty good consumers and can go online or talk to our neighbors and get the price close to what it should be. The smallest differences in pricing can mean the world at the end of the transaction. If you trust your agent and the market, don’t try to feel it out at a high price, and obviously don’t go too low either. Get a great CMA (comparative market analysis) from an agent.
A question I’m asked often is, “Why would I list with an agent who will charge commission?”
This one is simple: An agent can get you more money with more exposure and more interest from buyers. Someone who is trying to sell their home on their own may only get one offer, and they negotiate with that person, not knowing that there are five other potential buyers. Listing with an agent will generate more competition for your home and a more favorable setting for negotiation, which can help get you more money.
If you’d like the rest of the seven tips, shoot me an email and I’d be happy to send them to you.
