Preliminary real estate stats for this spring is showing Old Farm is a HOT market. (Update: view spring statistics for Old Farm here.) But even in a hot market, not all sales that are taking place are for top dollar. Sometimes sellers are leaving money on the table unknowingly. Here are some hints to help you get the best possible sold price.
1. Have an experienced agent represent you up front. Good pricing, coaching and strong negotiating skills go a long way toward making sure you get the most for your home.
2. Put yourself in the buyers shoes and look at your house with a truly critical eye. If you don’t think something is right, likely neither will they. So fix it! You’ll make it possible for buyers to pay top dollar knowing they won’t have to save much cash for fixes after the closing. Counseling what things to fix is part of what your agent should be doing for you. Consider a pre-inspection if you think you may have issues that only a home inspector would find.
3. Clean and stage so that your home shines for the photos. I provide a staging video to my sellers. In some instances we need to go an extra step and pull in a professional stager, but in most cases, just following some simple staging instructions works great. Quality photos are very important in getting the attention – and showings – your home needs.
4. Plan a short trip. This may sound crazy, but showing activity on my listings has been so intense, I am now asking my sellers to consider leaving for 3 days when we first go on the market. It allows as many showings as possible in that all-important initial period, without them having to keep leaving and be disrupted. It can take a day or two for the offers to trickle in, so being gone and letting people know when you will be looking at offers avoids the temptation to take the first one that comes along. Sometimes it is the best one, but these days we are often seeing that the first offer is not nearly as strong as the 3rd or 4th. You have to give these additional offers a little time to get in.
For more information on this important issue, please call me at 719-331-7675 and let’s discuss your particular questions and situation.