How to Sell

There was a time in our real estate market when homes sold for above their asking price, within 30 days, and sellers could find a buyer to meet their requirements without much effort. According to most indicators and anecdotal evidence from builders, real estate agents and consumers, our market has returned to a more normal, sane state. The one person who may be disappointed by all this is you, the seller.

So you’re selling your home in a buyer’s market and wonder what to do? Even in a so-called buyers market you can sell your home and get a good price for it. However, you may have to work a little harder and plan your home selling strategy carefully.

What's going on in the potential buyer's mind?
You’d like to sell your home and of course, sell it quickly for a good price. According to Century 21’s Real Estate Update, you can sell your home faster and for more money when you understand the buyer’s mindset. The three buying triggers for most people are emotional experiences, money and timing. It starts with a feeling. Just as you form a first impression when you meet someone for the first time, buyers get a feeling the moment they set foot inside your house.

Before you list your house, get prepared
Have it inspected. Yes this is something that will cost you some money, but it’s a good idea to have the inspection done before the house is put on the market. That way you know what is going to show up when the potential buyer does an inspection and weigh the costs vs. benefits of fixing those problems before an offer is made.

Old advice is good advice: first and foremost, increase your “curb appeal” by making sure your yard and home’s exterior are well-maintained, get rid of the clutter in your home and clean your home like it’s never been cleaned before.

Consider hiring a professional stager as part of your de-cluttering process or if you have to move out before your home is sold. A home that is filled with knickknacks and furniture is just as bad as an empty house – it’s difficult for a prospective buyer to see themselves living there. Your agent may be able to help you or recommend a professional stager. The stager can suggest ways to reduce the amount of furniture in each room to just a few pieces. This will make the rooms appear large and inviting. If you have a lot of big, heavy furniture, consider renting a storage unit and moving that furniture out of your home. Don’t fill up your garage with items you’ve stored. You want every area of the home to look large and open. Any sign of clutter feels disorganized and is off-putting to prospective buyers. Professional stagers also have warehouses of small, interesting furniture to take its place. Also, if your home has oddly shaped rooms, is very small, or has other challenges, a professional stager may be able to bring a fresh perspective in how to camouflage some of the challenges and make every room in your home seem appealing. The goal is to create warm, open and airy spaces that can serve as a fresh canvas so the buyer paints their own picture of living in your home. Not only will a properly staged home sell more quickly, it can also sell for more.

Depending on the age and condition of your home, you may want to repaint, resurface or even remodel. Here’s where it gets tricky. There’s a fine line between updates that makes your home seem current or modern and a remodel job that costs you more than it will return in value when you sell your house. Remodeling magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value Report offers some excellent information on which projects will increase the value of your home relative to their cost. You can see the full report or the Seattle-area data by clicking here.

Pricing your home
This can be a difficult decision for many people, especially in our local market where sale prices have been escalating for several years only to slow or decrease in the last year. Pricing any home for sale is both a science and an art, and it doesn’t really matter how much money you think your home is worth or even how much your agent thinks it's worth. In the end, it’s worth what a buyer will pay. Depending on your circumstances, you may need to be flexible on the final price and terms of sale.

The right asking price is a combination of comparing similar properties: checking assessed value, tracking market values and present inventory of homes on the market and taking into account special features your home may have that add to its value. The process is really very similar to the way an appraiser evaluates a home. However, your real estate agent should check how many homes similar to yours in nearby neighborhoods have sold, how quickly and for how much. This will help you develop some realistic expectations for how long your home will be on the market and the final sales price. Never select an agent based on a suggested sales price or a promise that they can sell your home unreasonably quickly.

Is your asking price too low? According to real estate experts, if a home is priced too low and priced under the competition, it is very likely you will receive multiple offers, which will drive up the price to market value, so there is little danger of pricing your home too low. Many experts agree that this is a better position to be in than having started out with an unrealistically high asking price.

Is your asking price too high? Why is overpricing your home dangerous? If your agent is out of touch with local conditions, or if you insist on a price higher than what your agent feels is competitive in the marketplace, you run the risk of the home sitting on the market too long. In addition to being frustrating for you and possibly costing you money in extra mortgage payments and money spent keeping your home spotless, listings do go stale. Buyers wonder what’s wrong with a home that’s been on the market too long.

Marketing your home
You’ve gotten rid of the clutter, the yard looks great and the carpet has never been cleaner. That should be enough, right? In many cases it is. But consider this: everyone who is listing their home has done everything you’ve just described. How will your house stand apart from everyone else’s? The next thing you're thinking is, “Shouldn’t my real estate agent be thinking about this?” Yes she should, and she is. A good real estate agent will have a marketing plan tailored to your home and your needs. However, there are things you can do, either with the help of your real estate agent or on your own, to generate interest in your house.

For starters, tell your neighbors when you list your home for sale. Statistics indicate there are a high percentage of friends, relatives and neighbors who buy in the same area. In fact, don’t miss any opportunity to get the word out that you’ve listed your home. Neighbors, friends and relatives are a great network, spreading the word to hundreds of people who might be looking for a house just like yours.

Another great reason to let your neighbors know is so that they can tell potential buyers what a nice person you are. Since you’ve told the neighbors about your plans, they won’t feel you are trying to hide something and will wish you well as you move on.

Don’t forget to take advantage of the Puget Sound area being one of the most wired and Internet-savvy parts of the country. Are you a working professional who uses LinkedIn? Great! Use those contacts to get the word out about your fabulous house for sale. Most people will pass on information they receive for a trusted source. Craigslist has a real estate section. If you don’t have a Facebook or MySpace account already, you could create one and talk about your home. Both Facebook and MySpace were created to be social networking sites — a fancy phrase that means they are designed for you to talk to others in your area (or others with the same interests, profession, educational background, etc.) about you and what matters to you. And right now that means selling your house as quickly as possible for the best price.

And there’s YouTube. This recent web phenomenon has successfully allowed people to publish short videos online. Why not a quick video walk through of your home? Remember: a potential buyer wants an emotional experience and wants to see themselves in your home. Don’t go on and on about the exotic hardwoods and coved moldings. Talk about what the home has meant to you and what it could mean to a buyer. Where in the home did you open your Christmas presents? How did you celebrate birthdays? Try and create an experience for the potential buyer to say, “Yes! I want that too.” If they can envision their family making cherished memories in your home, you’re more likely to get an offer from them.

Above all remember, most people are visual buyers and as the saying goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression.

The timing of trying to sell one house and buy another
This is can be one of the trickiest parts of your process — how do I sail smoothly from one house to the other without owning both of them (and paying two mortgages) at the same time? Be honest with yourself. Do your homework and set realistic expectations about how long it will take to sell your house (including closing time). See our advice above in the “Pricing your home” section. Prioritize your list of “must have” features of your new home. Are you looking for a very specific type of property or location or will any newer house with three or more bedrooms in your school district do? Do you have firm deadlines (e.g. your new job starts on the first of the next fiscal quarter) for moving in or moving out?

Answering these questions will help you get started but remember that buying and selling a house is a negotiation. You can always try and negotiate more time with a later closing date or via a rent back of your home from the new owners if you need it.