10 Spruce-Up Tips in 10 Days. Get More Added Value to Your Home Before You Put it on the Market!!

Getting Ready for the OPEN HOUSE!!!

This is one that I have mixed emotions about.  I've had a lot of sellers that insist on having an open house for their home.  Very rarely, it's how you sell your home.  It's really a tool that the real estate agents typically use to get more clientele.  Regardless, I want to give you some tips on how to make your open house a successful one.

First, make sure your agent is on top of it.  This means that they are sending out invites to their fellow real estate community, including other agents, mortgage bankers and brokers, home inspectors, etc., not to mention their own client base.  YOU also have a responsibility to be proactive in getting the word out about the Open House.  Make sure that everyone knows that your house is on the market, when the Open House is, and what time it will happen.  

Second, make sure that your house is show-place looking, sparkly clean, absolutely perfect both inside and out.  ZERO excuses.  I don't care how tired you are.  How long your week was.  This is completely your responsibility.  

Third, make sure that your agent is bringing snacks and drinks.  This is one of the draws for people to come!  Seriously!!!!  If your agent isn't planning on bringing anything, either fire your agent and find one that will do it right, or make your own snacks.  And don't complain if you make your own snacks.  If you won't find an agent that will do the job right and you refuse to fire them, that's on YOU!  So don't complain if you aren't doing what's necessary as far as holding your agent's feet to the fire!

Finally, LEAVE and let your agent do their job!  It's not comfortable for perspective buyers to come into your home while you're there and openly discuss how they truly feel about your home.  They will say a lot more to the agent (it's even better if your agent has feedback cards for them to fill out) than they will to you.

Make sure that you sit down with your agent, go over the feedback, and do what you can to fix any issues that seem to be cropping up constantly with more than just one or two potential buyers.  (You will not please everyone.)  Take your emotions OUT of what the people are saying, and focus on what you can fix within reason!  Don't worry about what's out of your control.

Good luck and Happy Selling!!

10 Spruce-Up Tips in 10 Days. Get More Added Value to Your Home Before You Put it on the Market!!

Fix What's Broken!

Okay, folks.  This one seems so simple, but I cannot begin to tell you how many times that I've heard a seller tell me, "Well it's functioned just fine for me, so it will be just fine for the next person."  If you want a "just fine" price, maybe that's a good attitude to have.  However, people that don't care to fix the issues typically think that they will get more money by not putting anything into their home to get it sold.  

 

I hate to be there bearer of bad news, but no.  That's so not how it works.  Every little detail that a buyer can negotiate on, you'd best believe that they're going to do whatever they can do in order to get the best price they can get on your home.  If there's a huge list that has to be completed, I can almost promise you that, at the negotiation table, every little item will start to add up quickly.  Now, if you're handy, there may be several items that you can take care of on your own.  However, when in doubt, hire it out!!  The advantage to you taking care of this list ahead of time is that it not only makes less time and room for negotiations, but your home will typically sell quicker. 

 

One thing that you can do that will help you with your list of things that you can and can't see is to go ahead and get a home inspection done.  Depending on your area, that can start around $450, but in the listing your agent does of your home, the agent can state that the inspection was already completed and every item was taken care of.  (It's even better if there are no items, but I haven't seen that yet!)  Once you get the inspection taken care of, use the report to go through and take care of everything on that list.  Also, share with your agent that you've done this if they didn't already know.  

 

Now, if you're financially able to take care of some of these changes on your own, then do it!  If not, take time and talk to your agent about how to price your house appropriately with the market and the needed repairs.  Unfortunately, you can't base the price on what you paid for it 5 years ago, or how much of a down payment you need for your next home purchase.  The market, quite frankly, doesn't really care about any of that stuff!

 

Again, doing these repairs before you put your home on the market will help in the negotiation process, and will potentially help you get more money for your current home!

 

Good luck and happy selling!!