How I Can Help You Sell A Home

Helping find a buyer for your home is only one facet of a real estate professional’s job. There are many more aspects including explaining the basic real estate practices and principles and all the related paperwork, Performing a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to help determine your home’s value, helping to prepare your home for sale, listing your home, marketing your home, keeping you informed throughout the process.

When the sale begins, it’s important to work with someone who will assist you with the paperwork, negotiate on your behalf, make sure deadlines are met, and work with the escrow company.

By working with me, you will:

  • Be more likely to realize the highest return on the sale of your home
  • Reduce the number of days your home is on the market
  • Become familiar with all the terms, processes and paperwork involved in selling your home
  • Have confidence that your home will enjoy exposure to more buyers and agents with qualified buyers
  • Receive regularly updated market information that will enable you to make informed decisions
  • Have a skilled negotiator working on your behalf
  • Have peace of mind knowing that all the details of your sale are being handled properly by a licensed and trained professional

Home Selling To-Do List

  • First and foremost, price correctly from the get-go. More about that below.
  • Looks do matter. The first step - remove the clutter. Although the things we accumulate are what makes your home yours, it can be distracting to buyers. The goal is to help a potential buyer visualize the property as theirs, so store away collections of family photos, kids toys, and other collectibles that fill up a room.
  • Pay particular attention to the kitchen. Be sure the space under your sink is organized and provides access for buyers to look at the pipes for evidence of leaks. Overstuffed cabinets will give the impression of a small kitchen, so start using up those food stuffs.
  • Store away counter-top appliances you don't use on a regular basis.
  • The same principle applies to the rest of the house. Bedroom closets and other storage areas should be neat and orderly. Place laundry in laundry baskets and keep tables neat and free of clutter.
  • Don't make expensive repairs, but be sure everything is in working order. Make sure all light switches work and burnt-out light bulbs are replaced. Repair leaky faucets and remove water stains from sinks and toilets. Repair rattling bathroom exhaust fans and replace worn shower curtains.
  • Check your ceilings for water stains. If you identify stains be sure to properly fix the cause of the stain and not just the evidence.
  • If your ceilings and walls are scuffed or dirty, consider repainting them but select neutral colors that appeal to the broadest spectrum of buyers and not necessarily your preferred color palette. Painting is one lowest-cost but highest-return do-it-yourself projects you can undertake . . . but be sure you do a neat and tidy job.
  • Steam clean dirty carpets but replace them only if they are torn or in some other state of disrepair.
  • Use some WD40 on squeaky door hinges and use silicon spray on the edge of doors or windows that are difficult to open or close. Replace torn window screens or cracked/broken glass panes.
  • Examine the exterior of windows and doors and use color-matched caulking where necessary.
  • Control odors from smoking, pets and garbage while your house is on the market. Move smoking outside, use deodorizing powders on the carpet and empty litter pans frequently. However, don't use room sprays just before a showing because some visitors may be allergic.
  • Evaluate the "curb appeal" of your home. Keep lawns neat, trim shrubbery, remove dead tree limbs, store outside kids toys.
  • If your home is clad in wood, look for evidence of wood-boring bees or woodpeckers and caulk the holes they may have created. These are normal occurances, but you want to present your home as a well-maintained property.
  • If your roof leaks, fix it. Otherwise you are obligated to disclose the leak to potential buyers. If the roof doesn't leak but is near or at the end of its useful life, wait to see what a buyer's home inspector has to say and be prepared to negotiate.
  • Work with one of our Realtors® to identify a reasonable listing price. Price should be determined by comparable sales that occurred within the past 12 months. Your Realtor will know what other properties sold for as opposed to the price the seller was asking. The sold price is all that matters.
  • If you can't reach agreement with your agent on a reasonable asking price, consider hiring an appraiser. Most likely a potential buyer will require a loan, and a lender will require an appaisal before providing the loan. You don't want a deal to fall apart at the end of this process because your listing price was unreasonably high . . . even if you found a buyer willing to pay it! Not only will the sale have been lost but you will have lost time on the market as well.
  • Try not to be home when a showing takes place, and take large animals with you. Buyers tend to become uneasy when the owner is present, and you want them to feel relaxed and free to visualize themselves living in the home.
  • Keep your agent informed of your whereabouts throughout the listing period. You never know when an offer to purchase will come in, and depending on the terms of the offer a quick response may be required.
  • Don't "panic sell." Unless you owe more than what your home is worth or face a job change, relocation or a divorce, health crisis or other major negative life event, then wait until next year or even the year after, if at all possible. Current conditions are not permanent.