PREPARING YOUR HOME FOR SALE

So you’ve decided that you want to sell your home.  The first question is WHEN should you sell?  The prime months for selling vary year-to-year, but in good years and bad, generally the “peak” times are from March 1^st through Memorial Day and from mid-August until the week before Thanksgiving (conversely, the “slow” periods are typically the summer & winter vacation months, and the holiday lull extends through February).

But also remember that there are ALWAYS buyers out there.  Even in our “slow” months there are buyers ~ and there’s less inventory.  So although it may seem counterintuitive, if your home comes on the market in a “slow” month it may actually help your chances of selling.  In times of limited inventory, the listing is king!

Regardless of your target date for putting the house on the market, your preparation for selling should begin months before.  It is never too early to contact an agent and start getting your home prepared.  Your agent or your agent’s stager will give you a list of things to do to get your home ready, and the earlier you start on them the better.

And please do not be insulted by the list of things your agent or stager tells you to do in order to sell.  All of us start to overlook the little quirks that a home develops and the clutter that accumulates once you live in a place for a while.  To sell your home at top dollar, you want your home in great condition and looking its best.  That means putting aside a little pride and listening to what the professionals ask you to do.  It really does pay off!

If you want to get started NOW, here are some general guidelines we give clients:

GENERAL STAGING GUIDELINES:
1. Gather packing supplies; boxes and tape or plastic bins.  Also gather boxes and bags for those items you want to donate to charity.
2. Take everything off the floor of every closet and find another place for it if you can – ideally, nothing is on the floor of any closet.
3. Pack up half of what is in every closet.  Half of your clothes, half of everything else – make sure every closet looks SPACIOUS and incredibly neat. 
4. Clear as much stuff off every horizontal surface as you can.
5. In one place, have any staging “extras” that you may have – extra pictures, vases, pillows, towels, etc.  Your agent or stager may be able to use them in getting your home ready..
6. Make sure all lights work and no lightbulbs are out.
7. Fix anything you know needs to be fixed; that icemaker that stopped working, the siding boards that need to be replaced, and the faucet that is dripping.
8. Take down all of your personal pictures, then just put back out one or two on each floor (minimal personal pictures, but enough to personalize and let the buyer know that you are a “real” person).

Those should get you started.  And who knows, after you clear some clutter and fix up things you may decide you want to stay.  If not, it is time to call in your Realtor.

HIRING AN AGENT

So you have decided that it is time to sell your home and move on to a smaller home, a larger home, or just greener pastures.  How do you find an agent?  You might ask your friends and colleagues who they recommend; you might decide to hire the “neighborhood expert”; or you might already know a great agent you would like to use. 

If you are not certain who you want to use, it is time to call in several agents, meet with them and have them look at your home, and then decide who you are most comfortable with.  There are many factors to consider and questions to ask: 

• Is the Realtor a FULL TIME agent?  You do not want to hire anyone who only does real estate part time – they cannot give your home the attention it deserves.
• Is the Realtor with a reputable company, and are they well connected/well liked among other Realtors?
• Does the Realtor have an assistant to help with marketing efforts so that if the Realtor is very busy someone is still marketing your home full time? 

Hire who you are most comfortable with, not necessarily the agent who gives you the highest suggested list price.  Some agents will give you an inflated price to entice you to list with them.  Overpricing your home can be deadly, since the longer a home sits on the market the less desirable it is to buyers and the less you will ultimately get for the home.  Go for the agent who is the most knowledgeable and realistic about your home’s value over the one who gives you a high price just to get you to sign the agreement. 

Ask what services the agent offers as part of the listing – among the things a great agent may offer are professional photography, staging services, full color professional brochures, agent caravans, and videography.  Let the agent know what you expect from them – some sellers like to be contacted by the agent as much as possible, while others just want a phone call when an offer comes in.  Let your agent know what works best for you. 

And as the listing moves forward, let the agent know whenever you are unhappy about anything and give them the opportunity to rectify it.  Most of us will bend over backwards to make a seller happy, and to sell the home.