9 Tips to Prepare Your Home for Sale
Written by Wena Roeloffze I Realtor and Home Sale Coordinator I Realty Club 74 I Brokerage by Coldwell Banker Realty
Whether you are a Seller working with a Realtor or a For Sale By Owner, it is always good to know more about the process of selling your home and what you can do to prepare for the sale. As technology is increasing in the real estate industry, it is getting easier by the day to know market trends and have all the available tools at your disposal. These are the tips we give our Sellers and the consulting we provide to For Sale By Owners. These tips are easy-to-follow and will make your transaction very successful and effortless.
We took our years of experience and coupled that with the feedback from Buyers to provide you with 9 best tips on getting your home sold for top dollar:
1) Declutter your home
You may not think twice about the kids’ toys lying around, the messy teenage room or the basement that looks like a jumble sale gone wrong. 95% of Buyers however, interpret the clutter as a way for a Seller to hide things that are wrong in the home, or that no care has been given in maintaining the home. A messy basement may be the way you live, but a Buyer who cannot get near to the furnace or have easy access or a view to everything, will rather not make that offer or see it in the first place.
Spend the necessary time to:
Clear away junk – all of it
Pack away everything neatly or start packing into moving boxes and store them out of sight
Clear around all mechanicals, laundry areas, walls, etc.
2) Make repairs and disclose conditions
Every house needs repairs. Don’t fool yourself. There is something in every house that needs fixing and/or disclosing. Buyers know this and expect to see something. As a Homeowner and prospective Seller, you should not only fix those things before listing your home, but also disclose those repairs to prospective Buyers too.
Try your best not to do any DIY repairs or work, unless you are a contractor or qualified professional. What is saving you a few bucks now, might end up costing you more to close on the deal. If you plan to list your home in an as-is condition, you are disclosing to Buyers that you will not be repairing anything. It does not, however, automatically exempt you from making repairs. Put yourself in a Buyer’s shoes and think of how you would like to be informed of everything when you make your biggest purchase of your life.
Do unto others as you would want others to do unto you. This is a golden rule in life. Don’t mess with karma!
3) Take great photos
If you or your Realtor are not going to spend money on a professional photographer, at least showcase each room and feature of the house. Show the house as it is on the inside and outside at this moment in time. If your roof is snow covered, show that on the picture, next to the most recent summer or spring picture. If there are stains on the carpet and you have no intention of cleaning or replacing it, show it on the photo.
Total transparency is key to having Buyers getting excited about seeing your home and setting the right expectations. So many Buyers get disappointed in seeing a home because the pictures are not a true reflection of the real house. In their mind, you are already lying about some aspect of your home and they will not hang around to get any other surprises.
4) Describe your home with facts
When describing your home in your marketing blurb or reviewing your Realtor’s description, include the facts of the home and refrain from making personal comments about the friendly neighbors, the quiet street or the things you fell in love with when you first bought the house. The new Buyers might not perceive the neighbors as friendly or that the street is quiet.
A factual representation of your home is by far the most important and legally safe thing to do. Include the age of the roof, age of the mechanicals and year of remodeling to make your home stand out from the rest. Give Buyers information that is useful and factual and let them decide on the area, neighbors and street by themselves.
5) Price your home strategic
Pricing a home is almost always a challenging task. All Sellers want top dollar for their home and assumes that pricing it high would tell prospective Buyers what they want. However, know this: price does not equal value. Value is what a Buyer places on your home, which means they can overpay for your home if they value it. Your sentimental value means something to you alone. The fact that you saved a year to install the jetted tub, should make no difference to the listing price. Trying to recoup money spent on remodeling your kitchen? Get the facts on how much your remodeling is really worth.
Think of pricing as a net thrown into the ocean to catch a lot of fish. If you overprice, your net is super small and you might not get any fish. The bigger the net, the more fish, the more opportunity and the more choice. The price you list a home for is not the value of it, it is the range where you will find the most opportune and ready Buyers. Would you prefer maybe one fish making an offer or would you prefer having loads of fish competing for your home?
Listing price does not equal selling price either. What is more important to you: the price at what you list the house for or the money you net from the proceeds?
When you know the difference between an assessed and appraised value, and understand the difference between a listing price and a sold price, you are light years ahead of most Sellers.
6) Offer and negotiate compensation
Most Sellers overlook this. There is no set amount or percentage for compensation to Realtors. Make the calculations and do not focus on the percentage alone. In some cases a 7% commission to a Realtor can actually leave you with a higher net profit. Focus on your net profit to decide on a compensation.
When a Seller is trying to save on commission by selling on their own, make sure to offer compensation as part of your marketing to agents who have access to Buyers. If you skip this step, you are missing a golden opportunity.
Most agents have more than 1 Buyer they are working with and all the Buyers they are working with, are already pre-qualified and pre-approved to purchase a home in your price range. The agent will be doing the work and you still have a great advantage of earning more money for your home. Also, a lot of Buyers would rather have an agent assisting them in a purchase and helping them through the process.
You have full benefit from offering compensation because that agent will assist you to close on the deal successfully.
7) Comply with State and legal regulations
Fill out your Seller Real Estate Condition Report as best you can. That form is your friend! Only a Homeowner can fill it out and is an informative sheet Buyers rely on. There are very few exceptions to not providing a condition report. Short rule: if you live or lived in your home, you need to fill it out. Read tip no 2 again to see how disclosure of all details is a benefit to all parties.
If your home is built prior to 1978, complete a Lead Paint Disclosure (Addendum S) form. This is true for any Homeowner and For Sale By Owner in Wisconsin. If you are FSBO, also provide an EPA packet to prospective Buyers. If you are working with a Realtor, make sure they are providing those documents.
Other documents you will have to have on hand:
Title Insurance Policy: if you are not working with a Realtor, do a search and hold to identify liens and encumbrances;
Mortgage/(s) account details to know exactly how much you need to settle to the lender/(s);
Power of Attorney, Trust agreements, LLC or Corporation resolutions, if any is applicable. If the home is in a Trust or LLC, make sure that you have the authority to sign all the documents;
Copy of the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange report on the property, if applicable. This is a document only a Homeowner can request, whether or not you work with a Realtor.
8) Be prepared to negotiate
Negotiation is part of any transaction process. Sometimes you give and sometimes you take. If you are properly prepared and followed good advice, negotiation can be minimized. For example, if some appliances are old, maybe offer a home warranty as an incentive. You can also have a reliable contractor/(s) already do some work or have transferable warranties on work completed.
In any circumstance, be prepared prior to receiving a list of repairs or requests from a Buyer after a home inspection. Luck favors preparation!
9) Great communication
Provide your Realtor or prospective Buyers your preferred method of communication and if there are certain times you are not available. Answer questions and requests promptly. This will set the tone for the rest of the transaction where dates and deadlines will be crucial.
Buyers have choices and they have no reason to buy from someone who is not responding in good time or in good faith. Period.
If you sold a home and you want to add a comment, please get in touch. See also more on FSBO Consulting and go to our resources page to find document links and reliable contractors to help you with the preparation for selling your home. If you cannot find what you are looking for, contact us here.
Testimonial
“As a hobby flipper and with some transience in my residence for employment as well, I have sold over a dozen homes FSBO. Without question, Wena's approach as the buyers representative was the best and most amicable interaction and transaction of my home sales. She was easy to work with and honest with her buyer's needs and hopes. So much so that in a situation where multiple bids were offered, her bid was selected over higher bids because of her open and genuine approach. With her representing her buyers, I felt we could work through any possible issues rather than facing contention which often occurs through the home sale process. Wena also provided and assisted in the completion of the steps and paperwork toward the closing. Through my experience, and with realtor family members reviewing the interaction, everything Wena assisted with was top-notch. I would gladly work with Wena again in the future.” - Adam K.
Additional Services and Resources
We also offer selected services to Sellers and FSBO’s, like professional photography, pre-listing home inspections, repair estimates, appraisal services, floor plans and title companies, to name a few.
Realtors won’t tell you this - you do not need to sign an exclusive right to sell with them. You can ask for an agency agreement. Other services that could be money saving options are the RealVitalize program to renovate a home with no upfront payments.
We are a full-service brokerage through Coldwell Banker Realty and have plenty of solutions to help you get more money for your home.
You can schedule your 30 minute call here to ask questions and get more detailed information.