Selling a home is not an easy process, especially when you want to do it alone, without the help of a real estate agent. It is totally understandable that you want to save some cash and not pay the fees that are associated with the services of the professionals but you need to realize the fact that sometimes this is the best option. However, if you are interested in maximizing profits when you sell your home, here is what you have to remember.
The first thing that you should do is call the insurer in order to check what coverage you have for eventual DIY projects you may want to start to increase the value of a property. Since it does take a longer time to sell a house now as opposed to a few years ago, it is definitely not a waste of time. For instance, in Great Britain, one year ago, a wait time of 71 days was necessary while now the homeowner waits an average of 85 days.
You will be faced with a process that is not at all easy. It does take time to understand how to maximize profits when a house is sold. That is quite normal and that is why we have professional real estate agents. Do try to learn all that you can and only start marketing the property when you feel you are confident that you can handle everything properly.
Properly Appraise Value
Buyers are realistic when referring to property worth but the same thing cannot be said about homeowners looking to sell. Any seller out there has to understand the fact that the buyer is looking for lower prices. It is possible to save some cash while you sell so going down on the asking price can be a very good idea.
One of the really important parts of the entire selling process is making sure that you set the right price. If the asking price is too high, buyers would not even be interested in seeing the property. If the price is too low, you will obviously not get as much as you could. Start your process by comparing estate agent quotes and analyze real estate properties that are comparable to yours. If you get 4 valuations it is a lot easier to see exactly how much to ask. Just do not choose the highest of the valuations since this will bring in lower overall profits as you wait longer to sell the house.
Consider Renting
Although this is definitely not something that you want to consider as your goal is to sell the house, it is an option that should be on your list. We say this due to the fact that there are moments in time when there are simply no buyers that are interested. By renting the house you can easily make more money and increase your overall profits, which is what you surely want at the end of the day.
When Working With A Real Estate Agent
We already said that this may be the best option and we do understand that you may not want to consider the option. However, you should still consider some things. If working with a real estate agent, the idea is to get a low agent fee and a short lock-in period. Most of the agents are going to charge a sale price percentage. That is normal but you have to avoid those agents that want you to commit to a really lengthy lock-in clause. That would only stop you from marketing the house with the use of another agent or alone.
Stick to the 3 best agents that you can find. Get quotes from them and ask about the lock-in period. You should go for a quote of around 1% of the value and a lock-in period of just one week. If the agents do not agree to this, tell them that you will look for someone else. This is usually enough to get them convinced to agree to a new deal.
The other thing you should consider when working with an agent is to use mystery shopping. Judge how your agency promotes the property by simply seeing the process yourself or through a friend. The agents should be able to explain valuations and offer comparable data in order to justify it.
The Exterior Of A House
The very first thing that an interested buyer sees is the house’s outdoor area. You need to be sure that you will make a very good first impression. That can convince the interested buyer to actually look at the inside of a home. With this in mind, make sure that your garden is tidy and that you remove all clutter. Think of it as selling a car. You cannot sell it when it is dirty. With this in mind, the exterior of the house has to be perfect.
Being Proactive
You need to be aware of as much as possible about the value of the house. Carrying out an independent research is always a very good idea. You want to realize what the main selling points are. Learn all that you can about the local schools, the transportation hubs and have that information on hand when you want to make a sale.
Even when working with agents you need to gain feedback. When the agent does not call you, do call them. It is important to realize why a potential buyer did not make offers because of the fact that there are some adjustments that you could make.
Do consider arranging an open day so that more people can see the home at the same time. That helps you to basically see what the interest level is and that can actually make some people make offers.
Make sure that you stop your marketing campaigns when a contract is signed. Unless that contract is signed there is basically no certainty that a sale will be made. Too many end up stopping their marketing campaigns because of the fact that they believe a sale can be made when the truth is that there are only offers available.
Speeding Up The Contract Signing
The seller is interested to reach the contract exchange part as soon as possible but there are various situations in which the buyers make mistakes and do not actually reach that desired point. Make sure that you return the information that is requested by the solicitor and do it as fast as possible. Being in control of the entire process is something that is really important.
The Interior Of The House
Obviously, this is really important. You need to be sure that your home looks as great as it could. Over half of the potential buyers will not like it if the house is untidy. 70 percent of interested buyers are deterred when they see a rude agent or seller and 2 quarters of buyers will not want to buy a home that smells.
You basically have to create a setting that is neutral. If you want to increase the possibility of making a sale, you want the potential buyer to see himself living there. This means that you need to remove absolutely all clutter in order to make the home look larger and you need to also remove signs of your family. This includes pictures and awards. You can even remove doors and cupboards in order to create the sensation of more space. Beds have to be made and it is a really good idea to paint the walls in a neutral color. By doing all this the interested buyer will be able to create his/her own design idea with the use of imagination while visiting.
We should also mention the fact that all that is inside the home needs to work properly. Too many homeowners want to sell a property that has problems with the plumbing system or that do not have all the electrical elements working properly. Even one lightbulb that is not working can cause huge problems. Do spend some money on making sure that all works properly and you will be able to ask for a higher price.
Conclusions
Selling a home for maximum profits is related to both patience and hurrying. This can be quite overwhelming and you can so easily end up faced with various things that you do not actually understand about the process. Try to learn all that you can about how to make your home more appealing and see how you can properly value it.
The most important part of the selling process is almost always the face-to-face meeting with the interested buyer. You need to be respectful and highlight the main selling points of the property. At the same time, do answer all questions in an honest manner. Maximizing profits means hurrying the sales process but only agreeing to the deals that are appropriate. The faster you sell the home, the less you will spend on maintenance. Patience is basically needed in order to be sure that you properly understand home value.