What To Know Before
You List Your Home
home selling articles and tips
Being a first time home seller can be stressful if you don't know what to expect. Being prepared before you even list your house on the market can help make the process much easier, and help you maximize your profit. If you're planning to sell your first home in the near future, use the following tips:
Choose Your Real Estate Agent Carefully
As a first time home seller, one of your greatest resources is an experienced real estate agent. Ideally, you should work with someone who specializes in acting as a sellers agent, as he or she will understand how to effectively market a home and advise you on what you can do to make your house more appealing to potential buyers. During the selling process you will most likely be in contact with your real estate agent often, so interview several agents and find the one you feel the most comfortable with before you sign a contract.
Price Your Home Right
One of the biggest mistakes first time home sellers make is pricing their home too high. In most cases, a home receives the most interest from potential buyers in the first few weeks it is on the market. If your home is priced too high, you will miss out on that valuable window, and your home may languish on the market. You will then have to start making price reductions, and you run the risk of receiving low-ball offers when people see how long your house has been listed for sale.
Though many online services, like Castline Properties LLC, offer free home valuation calculators, these should be used just to get a ballpark figure. It is in your best interest to take your real estate agent's advice when it comes to pricing your house. He or she will do a cost analysis that looks at what comparable homes in your area have recently sold for, so you will be able to price your house competitively.
Create a "Model Home"
Prior to listing your home for sale, it is essential to make your house as appealing to buyers as possible. Spend some time de-cluttering and clean your home from top to bottom; if you have boxes of belongings or large furniture that you are not using, consider putting them in storage. It is also a good idea to take down family photos and put away personal keepsakes-- you want potential buyers to be able to imagine what it would be like living in your home, not picturing your family living in it.
When it comes to selling a home, preparation is more than half the battle. Make sure your home is ready to be viewed by potential buyers, and don't be afraid to consult your real estate agent if you have any questions or concerns.
Home Selling Tools
