Real Estate Selling Best Practices
Home selling can be a demanding and intimidating process, especially for someone who’s just stepping into the field. From prepping the property to listing it in the real estate market, anything can go wrong and you might end up selling the house at a throw-away price.
For that reason, many people choose to employ a real estate agent to take care of the process. Because of their experience, it’ll be easier to get genuine buyers and the whole process will take a shorter time. Though the recent pandemic emergency has expedited that process, you can still expect the time involved to be somewhere between one month and three months. In smaller towns where there isn’t a lot of “traffic”, this process can take over a year.
If you’re going to move your property at the right price in a reasonable amount of time, it’s going to take a little work. There are a lot of different options for proper outcomes. Apart from a real estate agent mentioned earlier, you can opt to go the ‘For Sale By Owner’ route if you feel confident. You can also go for home buying companies like Your Trusted Home Buyer where you can sell your house in as-is condition. In this article we’ll briefly explore five tips that tend to apply to most properties. At a minimum, you will probably want to consider the following best practices to optimize property sales.
1. Maximize Curb Appeal
The front area of your home is the first thing a seller sees when they come for an inspection. So even if everything is perfect inside the house, a poorly kept curb appeal is a dealbreaker for many prospective homeowners. So, there is no denying the fact that if your home looks beautiful from the outside, it’s a lot more likely to be sold. Curb appeal at the right level can make a home that looks terrible on the inside sell within a matter of weeks. Similarly, a lack of curb appeal can make it so a fine property remains on the market much longer than it should.
Landscaping is one of your most important details when it comes to curb appeal—at least in terms of enhancing both property value and curb appeal. Ripping up sod and putting down rock or wood chips can be a great idea if the lawn isn’t doing so well.
Alternatively, watering day and night after spraying liquid seed can do much to make the lawn look good. Which tactics work best for your particular situation will depend on associated time frames.
2. Finish The Honey-Do’s, Perhaps Stage The Interior
The interior of the house is another important area that you must consider in your preparation stage. You would want to capture the attention of prospective buyers with a clean and well-designed interior.
Paint walls, put up new wallpaper maybe, fix holes in the sheetrock, replace lightbulbs, change the socket covers for the power outlets, fix chips on the exterior finish, replace tiles, vacuum and shampoo the carpets, and put a layer of polyurethane down on wood floors after sanding away the scuffs. Make a list of “honey-do’s” and knock them out one at a time.
Also, you might stage the interior with varying furniture arrangements such as those available through Salon Designs. These can add a lot of appeal to potential buyers.
3. Do Your Research
Check local real estate listings to see what’s on the market, what it’s going for, and why. If you’re in Colorado, you can click here for an insight into local real estate. If you’re nowhere near Colorado, think of the site as a template to be mindful of concerning your locality as you seek real estate listings near where your property is.
You need to know what properties average as regards price in your market, how it compares to adjacent local markets, what level of increase defines localized listing presently—or, conversely, what levels of value diminution are in play. What are values in your neighborhood looking like? And what sort of buyers can you expect?
All these questions can be answered through the internet in only a few hours’ time, and understanding the truth behind such questions can help you determine what the best course of action will be in terms of pricing.
4. Consider Selling Without A Realtor, But Only When Appropriate
Realtors aren’t always the most appropriate vector for sales; especially when you’re in a “seller’s market”. However, in a “buyer’s market”, going with realtors makes a lot of sense. Since eviction moratoriums have ended, there is going to be an upset in the market. Or, there might not be. Watch it close. If things shift, you may need a realtor where before you didn’t.
5. Complete All Remodel Or Refurbishment Prior Listing
Refurbishing, remodeling, or reimagining properties makes a lot of sense before you sell. However, you don’t want to sell in the middle of a remodeling effort, or buyers are going to “low ball” you as much as they’re able to. Here’s what makes the most sense: get everything finished then list your property.
Selling Property For The Value It’s Worth
Remodel and refurbishment can increase property value, but they’ll work against you if you don’t get the work done before listing the said property. Selling with a realtor makes sense in a buyer’s market, but not a seller’s market. Doing your research is key to maximizing outcomes, so also is finishing little chores in the home or “Honey-Do’s”, as they’re colloquially called.
Lastly, the curb appeal of your property is very important, and will definitely benefit through landscaping. For just about any property, these points are going to make sense. If you’re selling, now is an excellent time—but if you don’t put due diligence in beforehand, you likely won’t get the value you would have been able to otherwise.
