Tips to increase the chances of a fast closing at your desired price.
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Declutter & Clean
Let’s face it- we’ve all got a lot of stuff– stuff that’s been collected over the many years of making amazing memories in your current home. Prospective buyers want to be able to envision themselves in your space. They want to see how they can fit into your home and make it their home. If your rooms are overcrowded and filled to the brim with all of your stuff, it becomes very difficult for buyers to picture themselves in your space.
How your home is presented when it’s shown to prospective buyers can mean the difference between getting an offer or having your home sit on the market. Clutter and cleanliness are so important that they can sometimes increase (or decrease) the apparent value of your home to buyers. If a home is presented well it can spark more interest among buyers and encourage them to put in higher offers. It can be as impactful as a buyer saying “I love this home” or turning around once they enter the front door saying “this isn’t for me”. (Yes! I’ve seen this happen!)
Take the time before you invite buyers to declutter. Clear off surfaces, go through closets, throw things out, and make the space feel inviting and welcoming. Wipe down countertops, vacuum, and present your home in a way that says to buyers “This is the one. Picture yourself living here and making your own memories in this home.”
Be Flexible
The next of our Home Seller Etiquette Tips is about flexibility. Homes that aren’t shown don’t sell. It’s that simple. If you want to sell your home fast, you need to be flexible. Let your home be shown. Let agents schedule showings. Do the best you can to accommodate showing requests. Inflexibility is like the kiss of death of a listing.
You might be saying to yourself, “Well, Rick, if a buyer wants my home bad enough, they’ll make my schedule work for them”. Wrong. The truth is, buyers are busy too (especially if they’re coming from out of state!). If a buyer or agent can’t get into your property to show your home, the buyer will most likely move on. They’ll end up seeing other homes with sellers who can accommodate their schedules and ultimately end up purchasing another home without skipping a beat. While it might be tough to hear, it’s a fact!
So, if you want to sell your home fast, be flexible. Keep that end goal of selling your home in mind and remember the temporary discomfort will have a great reward.
Leave During Showings
Maybe you’re excited for buyers to see your home or you want to show the buyers all of the great things your home has to offer. Whatever the reason you’re thinking of staying while your home is being shown, don’t. The next of our Home Seller Etiquette Tips is a must! Almost all agents would agree that being there while your home is shown is not the best way to get your home sold fast.
It’s nothing personal! Buyers just don’t feel as comfortable seeing a home when they feel the sellers are watching them under a microscope. If you want buyers to be able to picture themselves living in your home, make sure you leave during showings. Get out of their way and let the professional agent do their job by showcasing all of the great things about your home.
In my professional experience, homes, where owners have stayed during showings, were not as well received by clients and generally spent more time on the market than homes where the owner left while buyers are viewing the property.
So, when your agent calls you to schedule a showing, make a plan to be away during that time. Go grab a coffee, get some errands done, go for a walk with your dog Fido, or simply drive down the street and wait for 20-30 minutes. Wherever you go, don’t be home! You’ll thank me when your home sells fast.
Lay Out an FAQ Sheet
The next of our Home Seller Etiquette Tips is something your agent can help you with. Buyers ask questions, lots of questions when viewing a home. (and they should! We’ve got a whole post about it: “Top Questions to Ask When Buying a Home”.)
The best buyer’s agents will ask the listing agent the most asked questions prior to showing your home or provide the buyers with an MLS Hotsheet full of all the specs of the home. For example: What kind of heat does the home have? When was the kitchen updated? Is there central AC? What year was the home built? And the list goes on.
It’s great selling etiquette to have an FAQ sheet available in a central location featuring all of the buyer’s questions answered in one place. Not only does this save the buyer’s time but it also means they can put their offer in that much quicker. It’s definitely a nice touch and can set the offer process off on a good note. You can choose to include any information you’d like! Here is some information you could include in your FAQ Sheet:
Monthly Bill Information (Gas, Electric, Heat)
Update/ Repair Information (Ex: The roof was replaced in 2019)
Home Warranty Information
Oil Tank Removal Date
This is an optional Home Seller Etiquette Tip but I’ve seen that it really helps buyers make up their minds if they’re deciding to put an offer in on a home.
Paint your interior if it needs it.
Dark, dreary colors can shrink the perception of space. Old, stained paint makes rooms look decrepit. By painting with contemporary colors and ideally with a little insight from a knowledgeable Real Estate agent or interior designer, you can change the whole feel of your home.
There is not another home improvement that will give you more bang for your buck than a fresh coat of paint. From a selling standpoint, it is important to stick with neutral colors.
Remember selling your home is not about personal preferences but appealing to the masses. Stick with off white and light creamy colors for maximum benefit. Sherwin-Williams offers some excellent interior home painting tips that are worth a look.
Hire a great Real Estate agent.
If you are noticing a trend here, that’s because there is one. Working with a professional to sell your home has many benefits and takes a lot of the heavy lifting off of your shoulders.
An experienced Realtor can often sell your home faster and for a better price than you can on your own. This, in fact, is one of the most valuable tips for selling a home. Just make sure you hire the right agent!
Before a real estate agent even begins their work of selling a home, they can be a great source of knowledge in pricing your home correctly. Without the right price, everything else you do will be meaningless! Don’t be like so many other sellers who put a pie in the sky price tag on their home. This is a sure recipe for failure.
An exceptional local real estate agent who knows the market like the back of their hand is worth having in your corner.
Here are some great tips on how to pick a real estate agent worth checking out. The article addresses what you should be thinking about when hiring a Real Estate agent, including important interview questions.
Keep in mind that pricing a home properly is vital to your success, and some agents will intentionally mislead you just to get your business.
Avoid this kind of agent at all costs! Nothing will prevent you from getting top dollar faster than hiring a real estate agent who overprices your home!
Make sure you are marketing using all channels – particularly online.
Old school Real Estate agents can sometimes be slow to adopt new marketing channels, which is why you should hire someone who has a demonstrated ability to utilize the web.
A Realtor with a website is great, but you also want to use someone who has a complete understanding of how to make your home shine online.
Real Estate agents who have command of their online presence understand the importance of making your home “stand out” from the competition. Again it all starts with your photography.
Without good photos, you can be all over the internet, and it won’t matter because your presentation will be lousy.
Real Estate agents who really have a solid command of their advertising are also using social media to enhance their Real Estate marketing efforts further. Nearly everyone owns a smartphone today.
An exponential number of these people use one of the major social media channels, including Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin, and Twitter.
If they are looking for a home and you have an agent marketing in these channels, you could see an increase in showing activity.
Consider a professional cleaning.
A clean home is inviting to buyers, whereas a dirty home can turn them away faster than just about anything. The easiest way to know your home is spotless and looking its best is to hire a professional cleaning company.
Make sure your kitchen and baths are spotless. Buyers will pay closer attention to these areas. Also, make sure your carpets are as clean as possible. If need be, consider having your carpets professionally cleaned. This is one of those things where spending a few hundred dollars can save you thousands by preventing the buyer from thinking they need to replace the carpets immediately.
In fact, just last week, I had a client in Grafton, Massachusetts, who wanted me to list their home. After viewing the property, it was clear that it needed a professional cleaning before anyone set foot inside. A tenant had just moved out, and the owner did not realize it was not up to snuff.
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