How to Avoid 7 Costly Mistakes when Selling Your Home

How To Sell Your Home For The Most Money The Market Will Pay!

The decision to place your home on the market can involve a number of stresses and strains. Many home sales are motivated by circumstances outside your control: Job relocation, family problems, financial issues, divorce, and more. Others are related to family issues: The need for a bigger home, a better neighborhood, schools, etc.

Whether you’ve lived in your home two years or twenty, you know it’s not just a shelter, or even another investment. It’s the place where your dreams come to life like in your flower gardens, family rooms, backyard barbecues and home-cooked Sunday dinners. It’s the place we raise our children. The nest we nudge them out of, and welcome them back to again and again. And for some, it’s even our place of business.

But there comes a day when it’s time to move on. Time to reflect on old memories, and prepare to build new ones. Time to leave the past behind for a new future. It’s no wonder why buying or selling a home is often emotionally charged and potentially overwhelming.

That’s why we created this report. Regardless of your reasons for selling, your goal is to sell your home for the most money, and in the shortest amount of time…and with the least amount of hassles and distractions.

Unfortunately, The Way Many Sellers Go About Selling Their Home Leaves Them Wide Open To The Very Problems They’re Trying To Avoid. When you’re getting ready to put your property on the market, there are a number of things to think about, to prepare for, and to organize.

Here’s a list of seven costly pitfalls to look out for when selling your home:

Mistake #1: Failing to DRESS Your Property For Sale

Buyers look for H0MES, not houses.

They buy homes in which they FEEL they would like to live. One of the major factors in getting your home to sell quickly is very simple: MAKE IT FEEL LIKE “HOME”. Most buyers select their home based on EMOTIONS. Once their decision is made to buy, they justify their purchase with LOGICAL reasons: facts and features.

So, it’s most important to make your home appeal to all senses. Your property is NOT the only home the buyers will see. You are competing with other homes in the market, and some of them have been professionally decorated. The Way You LIVE in a Home and the Way You SELL a Home are TWO Very Different Things! When you’re showcasing your home for sale, it’s going to look very different from the way it looks when you’re living there.

Here are a few tips for showcasing your home for sale:

• First impressions set the tone for a buyer visit, and they’re LASTING! First, approach your home in your car like any buyer would. Examine the outside as you’re approaching. How does it look? Are shrubs away from the home? Oil in the driveway? How does the grass and landscaping look? Cluttered looks detract from the architecture of the home. A clean, polished landscape says your home is valuable and well-maintained!
• Take a look at your actual home. Is the paint fading or chipping? Is the color outdated or impersonal? How does the roof look? As you drive up to or away from your home, what do you see first?
• Now go inside just like a buyer would. You want to be aware of four senses: smell, touch, sight and hearing. Go through room by room and test all four senses. Check flooring and carpet for stains and odors.
• Most importantly: Put away unused appliances and excessive counter top items, get rid of excess furniture, and make your home neat and orderly. If you’ve ever visited a model home, you’ll notice it’s clean and uncluttered. You have to move anyway, so you might as well pack early, and make your home more appealing. Go to the garage and make sure it’s neat.
• Hire someone to professionally clean your home. Top to bottom! Cleaning and cosmetic fix-ups, especially in the kitchen, bathrooms, and master bedroom can many times yield you up to $10 in extra sale price for every $1 you invest.
• Pets should he out of sight (and smell!). Get rid of pet odors for showings. Remember the four senses. Also, some people are uneasy around pets, and they may distract attention from the features of your home.
• Pay particular attention to lighting. During the day, open all your blinds and curtains. If it’s cloudy out, turn on all lights for showings. At dusk, leave your front drapes open and turn on all the lamps and lights.
• At night, do the same, but close your blinds and curtains. When showing your home, turn off all appliances, television, radio, and anything that will distract attention from your home. You might want to play a little light music to enhance the emotional experience for your buyer.

Mistake #2: Pricing Your Home Incorrectly

Every seller wants to realize as much money as possible when selling their home. The natural inclination is to price the home high, thinking you can always come down in the future.

But a listing price that is too high frequently nets the seller LESS money than an original price at market value. Why is this? Because people looking for homes in your price range will reject your home in favor of other homes in a reasonable price range.

And here’s the real clincher: Agents who would readily bring buyers through your home may automatically cross it off their showing schedule because it’s priced too high. They’re typically motivated to show homes with the highest probability of selling. Agents and buyers may not view overpriced homes as they feel the seller is unrealistic on price and the likelihood of negotiating a satisfactory price is unlikely. They know market values because it’s their job to know. And they don’t want to waste their time.

Also, if you price your home too high, thinking you can come down, the savvy agent and buyer community just see it as an overpriced home. After a few months go by, open houses, signs, agent tours...and not a nibble. So you decide to lower your price again. But it’s too late...your home has already been “branded” by the agent community. So you reduce your home a little more. And little happens.

Finally, in order to attract attention back to your home, you’ve reduced your home price more than you ever thought you would, and you’re now netting much less than if you had priced it correctly in the beginning. And think about this: The money you lost is not just the lower sales price, but all the extra interest you paid on your mortgage… all the extra property taxes and other carrying costs that accrue while your home is waiting to sell. We’ve seen it happen time and again!

Real Estate Fact: The Seller plays a strong role in How Much and How Quickly Their Home Sells!

Overpricing almost always increases time to sell, and adds to your carrying costs. That’s why we provide a complete, no obligation evaluation of your home. We call it our “Maximum Home Value Audit.”

Unlike many agents who will give you an inflated value just to seduce you to give them your listing, We’ll give you a real world home value analysis…based on verifiable facts and figures. We’ll also physically inspect your home to identify those areas where spending small amounts of money may yield many times return in sales price.

We’ll be straight with you, and tell you precisely why it’s worth what it’s worth. We’ll also show you how to net more money in your home sale. Here are a few more areas our exclusive “Home Marketing Plan” can help you sell your home:

• How to set the asking price to maximize exposure and a profitable sale.
• How do you really define and compare market value between homes?
• How current market conditions may affect your home sale - positive or negative.
• How to handle buyers during a showing to help yield the highest price.
• Plus we'll review our unique marketing program.

Once you understand these important issues, you’ll know how to price and sell your home for the fastest, most profitable sale. Also, with this information, you’ll never pay too much for any home you buy for the rest of your life.

Mistake #3: Limiting The Marketing Exposure of Your Property

The most obvious marketing tools everyone uses (Open houses and classified ads) are only moderately effective. Successfully marketing your home (getting the highest price, at the right time, and with no hassles and problems) requires much more.

Surprisingly, less than 1% of homes are sold at an open house. And advertising studies show that less than 3% of people purchased their home because they saw it in an printed ad.

That’s why the most competent agent will have a broad spectrum of marketing activities, emphasizing the specific strategies that will work best for YOUR particular property or area. In fact, we use an unparalleled cutting-edge “Exclusive Home Marketing Plan” in selling your home. If you like, we would be happy to share every one of those unique strategies with you at your convenience.

ONE MORE THING...

Did you know that most home inquiry calls come in during business hours when agents are away from their offices?

That’s why, we utilize a 24 hour recorded information hotline, so buyers can instantly receive information on your home. Their phone number will be logged so we can follow up with them once we're available. This way, your home is NEVER put “On Hold’ or a showing is delayed for a single minute when a hot inquiry surfaces.

Mistake #4: Thinking Your Appraisal Is The Market Value Of Your Home

An appraisal is an opinion of value for an entirely different purpose than selling your home. Usually an appraisal is to provide a bank or mortgage institution information to fund a loan. If a lender is motivated to loan you money, his appraisal may come in higher than the true market value of your property. The appraiser might ignore other issues in his analysis, such as the market or distressed sales.

When a buyer looks at a home, they look at all the factors: distressed sales, bankruptcies, divorces, and area fluctuations. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the “appraisal” value of your home is what a diligent buyer would pay. If you like, we will provide you with ALL or the information you need to make a competent, reliable market value for your home. We’ll research your area, gather specifics on recently sold homes, discuss trends, and answer questions you have about the value of your home with market facts, not opinions.

Mistake #5: Not Understanding Your Rights and Obligations

Real estate law and regulations can he very complex. When you sign a contract for the sale of your property, it’s a legally binding document. An improperly written contract can create many problems for you; a sale could fall through, cost you thousands in forced repairs, inspections and remedies for items included or excluded in the purchase offer. You must understand what repairs and closing costs you are responsible for in a contract. And you must know whether the property can legally be sold “as is,” or how local zoning will affect your transaction. You also need competent review of your title, and whether or not your property is in conflict with local restrictions or laws. If you have to remedy these items yourself, you can spend thousands on legal bills, fines, contractors, and other costs. Using a competent Realtor up front can help you identify and avoid these issues before they become “problems.”

Mistake #6: Not Tracking Buyers

It's important to document all the contact details of each buyer or agent who contacts you regarding your home. This will allow us to follow up with them, request viewing feedback, and invite them for a second viewing.

And most importantly, if you receive an offer, it also allows us to contact all the interested buyers to see if they'd also like to submit an offer. This will allow you to obtain a better offer price or more desirable terms.

Mistake #7: Selecting The WRONG Agent

Do you remember the old riddle that goes, “What do call the person who graduated dead-last in their medical school class?” Answer: “DOCTOR!”

Well, it’s the same with real estate professionals. Someone with vast experience and extraordinary professionalism usually costs the same as someone with little or no experience, or with compromising standards. You need to know how to tell the difference up front.

Bringing competence and experience into your transaction may mean the difference between a higher negotiated sales price and losing money, selling in less time or in more time (costing you potentially thousands in added interest), and experiencing problems and hassles or a problem-free transaction.

Our community is loaded with Realtors who are WRONG for you, your area, and your home. Some agents are in business part-time for a little extra cash. Others are subsidizing other businesses or careers. And then there’s your “cousin Harry,” who you may feel obligated to because he “really needs the business.”

Selling your home is probably the most important financial transaction you will ever make. That’s why we take our business so seriously. It’s also why we have developed customized home marketing programs meant specifically for your situation.

So, Why Use Us to Market Your Home?

We're Members of these Professional Real Estate Associations - More than the average agent

                            

Unique & Extensive Marketing Program

We have a unique and extensive marketing program which achieves great results. Our customized plan incorporates traditional marketing with new innovative methods, such as paid online advertising, social media campaigns and a truly mobile online presence. Contact Us for our complete marketing plan.

We invest more money in our advertising which generates more exposure for your listing, and thus results in more money for you.

We’re not telling you these things to impress you, but to impress UPON YOU the difference between agents who simply “sell” real estate, and those who COMMIT to whatever it takes to serve a client beyond their expectations!

Marketing with Global Reach

In addition to our extensive local advertising program, we also provide a unique global marketing campaign which reaches out to all international buyers.

Long Career in Real Estate

We've been in real estate since 2008. Alan also has Strata Property Management experience, and an extensive I.T. computer background. We have helped countless number of people like yourself. We're intimately familiar with your area, and well-versed selling all types of properties, in all price ranges.

Full-Time REALTORS®

We are both full-time REALTORS® who are well-educated. We make it a priority to educate YOU on every aspect of your transaction.

List of Trusted Service Providers

We have a list of trusted service providers such as reliable mortgage providers, insurance companies, inspectors, lawyers, contractors and many others. If you choose to use any of them, you won’t be dealing with arbitrary people. These are professionals we have used personally in other transactions. 

We'll Help Prepare Your Home so You Achieve Top Dollar

We will help you prepare your home to ensure it sells for top dollar and looks fantastic in our professional photos, videos, virtual tour and professionally designed glossy 4 page property brochure. View one of our listings to see how we'll represent your home.

We will advise you on the market value of your home and develop a strategy to attain the best terms, dates and sale price possible in today’s market.

If you are purchasing, we will help you co-ordinate the sale and purchase to make the transition easy.  Wondering if you should buy first or sell first?  Not a problem, we can help with that too.

We're Always Present

We never us a lockbox and a team member is present for all viewings. We work extremely hard to sell your home.

Expert Negotiators

We'll negotiate expertly on your behalf.

Our attention to detail ensures you're protected. Our custom checklists make it easy. And our sense of humor and positive attitude, make it fun!

Clients Love Us!

We have a list of references, past clients, and professional associations you can call at any time to discuss the quality of service we have provided to other people just like YOU. 

Buyer Showings on Your Schedule

We schedule showings around your schedule, and to respect your personal and family time. This requires special planning and forethought most agents do not consider.

Provide Constant Feedback

You will receive updates on our marketing efforts, buyer feedback, quantity of viewings, open house updates and anything else important to you and your listing.

All Real Estate Agents Are NOT the Same

it may seem there are many Realtors from which to choose. But just because there are lots of Realtors out there doesn’t mean they can all do the same job for you. All Real Estate Professionals Are NOT The Same!

Contact Us to get started.

We’ll share our exclusive “Maximum Home Value Audit” with you. Here’s what you’ll get, absolutely FREE and without any obligation whatsoever:

 We’ll conduct a careful, thorough valuation of your home, based on real world facts, in an EASY to understand format. You won’t get any inflated values just to pressure you into listing with us. And you won’t get anything like, “We have a buyer right now who’s interested in your specific home, and if you list with us right now.”

Instead, you’ll receive an honest, fact-filled analysis; without any pressure.

 We’ll tour your home to identify items that could negatively affect your selling price. By the end of our tour, you’ll have a checklist of strategies designed to “position” your home to sell for the most money possible.

 We’ll share with you our “Exclusive Home Marketing Plan”. Our plan will give you insider secrets on how to promote your home properly, how to handle buyers, and much more.

Contact Us to get started. We look forward to serving all your real estate needs!