Top 7 Home Selling Tips & Advice

These home selling tips and advice can be very useful since selling a home can be twice as difficult as buying a home. If you are planning on selling your home it’s probably because of a job relocation or other change of lifestyle. That means that in addition to selling your current home you are also looking to buy your next home. With two transactions looming in your future you want to do everything you can to minimize delays and headaches in selling your current home. Below are some home selling tips and advice to help you along.

Home Selling Tips & Advice 1 : Get Assistance From A Real Estate Agent!

• Ask the real estate agent how long have they been in the real estate business.
• Ask the real estate agent how long have they worked in the you are selling your home.
• Ask the real estate agent how many homes have they sold in the past year.
• Find out what commission the real estate agent charges.
• Find out how the real estate agent will market your home.
• Determine if you will be working directly with the real estate agent or an assistant.
• Get references from the real estate agent.
• Get a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) from the real estate agent. This will tell you what the selling price is for comparable homes in your area.
• Watch out for an overly optimistic selling price for your home. It’s not common, but some real estate agents will tell you what you want to hear just to get you to hire them. Over-pricing your home will seriously hurt its marketability. After wasting time waiting for it to sell, you’ll probably end up dropping the price to the level (if not lower) of the other estimates.
• You will be signing a listing contract with the real estate agent you choose. Find out the length of the contract and the terms before you sign.

Home Selling Tips & Advice 2 : Consider All Factors When Pricing Your Home

• Start with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to find out the selling price for similar homes in your area.
• Consider appliances and fixtures that stay with the home and those that you plan to take with you.
• Consider the economic conditions in your area.
• Consider the supply and demand conditions in the real estate market in your area.
• Consider amenities your home has that others in your area do not. Evaluate the impact of your homes amenities. These could be negative, positive or neutral. A pool may be nice to have, but there are maintenance and insurance issues that may concern potential buyers.
• Consider amenities of your neighborhood and association fees to pay for these amenities.
• Consider area school rankings.
• Consider proximity to power lines or other utilities that may concern potential buyers.
• Consider any easements or right-of-ways on your property.
• Consider the overall condition of your home and any repair or replacement issues.

Home Selling Tips & Advice 3 : Get Your Home Ready To Sell

• Remove clutter and personal items (photos, trophies, mementos, etc.) from around the house. Potential buyers will be making mental notes on where they would put their belongings. If your home feels “claustrophobic”, they may feel it’s too small for their needs. You don’t want them to feel they are displacing your items. Make your home neutral ground so that a visitor feels like they are viewing their future home and not trespassing on someone else’s.
• Don’t put clutter or personal belongings in drawers or closets. In fact, clean out those areas as much as possible and put your stuff in storage. Visitors will be opening these areas. If they don’t think there’s enough room for your belongings, then they won’t think there’s enough room for theirs.
• Spend money on needed repairs but not on expensive remodeling. You won’t recoup your investment and you don’t want large purchases showing up on your credit cards when you go to apply for a loan on your next home.
• Make sure your home is free of pet or cigarette odors. Be careful of strong scents such as potpourris since some people are allergic and it may appear too obvious that you’re trying to cover up odors.
• Make sure everything is clean, shiny and in good working order. Visitors will poke into everything; dirty wall switches, squeaky doors and stuck cabinet drawers will detract from your home’s appeal.
• Keep your lawn mowed and trimmed. Lawn mowers and yard tools should be neatly stored in your garage or storage shed.

Home Selling Tips & Advice 4 : Show Your Home Right

• Try to be ready for a viewing at all times. You are usually given advance notice when a buyer will be shown your house but a real estate agent may happen to have a buyer looking at other houses in your area and drop by unexpectedly.
• When you know a buyer is coming, do a quick look around the house and make sure everything is clean and tidy.
• Take out the trash, spray air freshener, and restrain your pets so they don’t frighten or interrupt your visitors.
• A vase or two of fresh flowers or a couple of nice house plants help brighten up your home, but keep them of moderate size and don’t have too many.
• Send children outside to play or visit a friend in the neighborhood to minimize potential distractions.
• Turn on all the lights in the house. If it’s an evening visit turn on all the out side lights. By eliminating shadows you make your home warm and inviting.
• If possible, don’t be home when a buyer is shown your home. You want the buyer to be comfortable when viewing your home and get a chance to really appreciate your home. If you are there, the buyer may feel that they are imposing on you and may rush through the visit. If you are home when a real estate agent is showing a buyer your home, try to stay out of the way.
• Do not volunteer information, only answer questions posed by the real estate agent. A buyer may be probing you for information that will help them find reasons to offer a lower price than you’re seeking.
• Don’t forget the emotional impact of your answers to a buyer’s questions. If they know you’re moving to a larger house because your family is growing, they may feel that your home is too small for their needs as well. Don’t undermine your real estate agent’s negotiating position. Let the real estate agent do the talking.
• Most of the time, you won’t see your real estate agent showing your house. A big part of your real estate agent’s job is to advertise your property to as many other real estate agents as possible to bring in buyers. Talk to your real estate agent on what you should or shouldn’t say to other real estate agents when they bring a buyer to your house.

Home Selling Tips & Advice 5 : Don’t Forget Tax Considerations

• If you’ve lived in the house you are selling for more than two years, you will generally qualify for an exclusion of gains up to $250,000 if single and $500,000 if married and you file tax returns jointly.
• If you haven’t lived in the house for more than two years, you may qualify for a reduced exclusion if the reason you’re selling is a change in your job location, health reasons or other unforeseen circumstance.
• To determine the taxable profit on the sale of your home you’ll need to factor in several things: Did you buy the home or was it a gift or inheritance? Was the home used for business or rental? What was the selling costs of the home? Did you make any improvements to the home?

Home Selling Tips & Advice 6 : Negotiate For Success

• If you do not like the offer, don’t reject it immediately. The buyer is interested in your property, so there may be room for negotiation. Make a counter offer and see where it leads. Remember that this is a business transaction and you need to put aside any emotional attachments you have for your old home.
• If you receive multiple offers, you’ll need to determine what is most beneficial to you. The contingencies will usually be the most important details for you. If one offer has the contingency of selling a current home before closing on your home and the other offer has no contingency, then the latter is less restrictive on the closing date.
• Before accepting an offer, review it with your real estate professional and qualify the buyer. An offer may look good on paper but the buyer may not have really pre-qualified for a loan. Are there any red flags that might indicate that the buyer cannot back up their offer? Your real estate agent can do some investigating with the proposed mortgage lender or with other real estate agents who have dealt with the buyer to see if the offer is credible or not.
• Look at other contingencies that the seller has in the offer and those that you had in the listing agreement, do they conflict? If you have specified a move-out day after the closing date but the buyer wants to move in immediately after . Make sure none of them conflict. If you have specified a move-out day after the closing date and the buyer wants to move in immediately after closing, then you have a conflict and need to resolve this with the help of your real estate agent.
• Keep in mind the local market conditions. If you’re in a buyer’s market, you may have to make concessions if you want your home to sell quickly. In a seller’s market, you probably don’t’ need to make concessions.
• Don’t discuss the offer directly with the buyer or make any oral agreements. Let your real estate agent do the talking. They will get everything in writing so that there’s no misunderstandings that prevent your home from selling on the terms you’ve set.

Home Selling Tips & Advice 7 : Accept The Offer With Due Diligence

• Act quickly! Most offers have a time limit for you to accept or reject it. If you decide to accept it or make a counter offer then do it quickly. Up until you accept an offer or make a counter-offer the buyer can withdraw their offer.
• Once you accept an offer and sign the purchase and sale agreement you will have a binding contract with the buyer. The earnest money put up by the buyer as part of the offer goes into an escrow account until the close of the sale or the sale falls through. Review the purchase and sale agreement; make sure the sales price, closing date and contingencies are exactly as there were on the offer you accepted.
• All parties involved must approve any changes to the contract. Even minor changes can invalidate the contract if not approved by all involved.
• If you have questions on anything in the contract consult your real estate agent for clarification. Or, check with your real estate attorney.
• Between accepting the offer and the closing date unexpected issues may arise. Repairs required by the mortgage company, an unclear title or other problem could delay closing. Rely on the experience of your real estate agent to help you work through these issues.
• Before the closing date there will probably be a professional inspection requested by the buyer to evaluate the overall condition of the property. There will be an appraisal requested by the buyer’s lender to evaluate the properties worth. A title search by the title insurance company will be conducted to make sure there are no liens on your property.

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