When is the best time to list your home?
I truly believe that the only time worth living for is the present. I can’t tell you what is going to happen tomorrow, but I can tell you what is happening right now. I know the market right now, so if you were to ask me when you should list, chances are, I would tell you right now. Given I wouldn’t recommend you list your home on Christmas day, the day after the Super Bowl, or the first day of school, but I think you should take action now. The very first thing you need to do once you have decided to sell your home is call a honest and educated Realtor®.
If and when you decide to hire me, I will guide you through the following steps..
Once you have decided you want to list..
You need to prepare your home!
What they say is true: you will never get a second chance to a make a first impression. The first impression will happen when your home hits the market, and it will obtained through the professional photographs displayed online. So preparing your home for sale before it is listed is one of the most important steps. The potential buyer will decide if they like your home within the first three photographs or 8 seconds, which ever comes first. Preparing your home will be hard work, but if you do it right, you will reap the rewards of your efforts by an increased sale price.
Step One – Remove the clutter and depersonalize.
Having too much stuff in a room or space can distract the buyer. If they can’t focus or see themselves in that room, because all they see if you, they will be turned off. Neutralize the space and pack away your family photos.
Step Two – Clean.
If you aren’t a fan of cleaning, hire someone to wash the baseboards, remove any cobwebs, deep clean inside your fridge and oven, clean inside your closets and kitchen cupboards, dust all surfaces and have the carpets professionally cleaned. It is important to spot clean every day, as well as, make the beds, do the dishes, wash the floors and clean up after any messes your children make.
Step Three – Staging.
Staging is going to help get your home sold. You can choose to just work off the advice your Realtor gives you, or you can hire a professional stager. If you only stage one room, consider staging the living room. Staging for a smaller home will cost you around $1500.
- convert your office to a third bedroom
- add, remove, or re-arrange your furniture
- paint the walls (a shade of white is typically recommended)
- replace old light of faucet fixtures
- invest in some fluffy towels for the guest bathroom
- the options and ideas are endless
Step Four – Repairs and/or Renovations
Now this isn’t very common in today’s market, but I recommend hiring an inspector to perform a pre-listing inspection on your house. This puts you in control of how the deficiencies in your house will affect the price you get for the house. You can then price the home accordingly and let the buyer aware of issues upfront.
Other common repairs might be a leaky faucet, peeling wallpaper, a dent in the kitchen cabinets, loose gutters, scuffs along a wall, squeaky doors, or a broken fence board.
When it comes to renovations, and you are in an older home, I personally recommend upgrading the flooring, painting all the walls in the home, replacing updating fixtures, and replacing the roof through your insurance company, if there is any damage.
Marketing & Pricing
For a complete guide to my marketing and how hiring me will provide a different experience, please request a copy of my free seller’s guide here.
Let’s Be a Team
If you are looking for frank advice, low days on the market, and to get the top dollar you deserve on the sell of your home, let’s be a team!