Sell Your Home Quickly
at Maximum Return

When you’re ready to sell, you want to sell your home quickly for maximum return. In order to accomplish this, you need to create a good plan and follow it. There are four major factors that will impact the sale of your home. These are price, condition, location and marketing.

Before we discuss the factors for selling your home quickly at maximum return, there is one very important point to discuss. You must have a clear picture of why you are selling. This one factor alone will impact every other aspect of your home sale. Do you need to sell quickly? What will you ask? How much money will you be willing to spend to get your home ready for the market?

Once you’ve got your purpose for selling clearly in mind, keep it private. You don’t want to share too much information with potential buyers. This could hurt you when the final negotiations arrive. If anyone asks you why you want to sell, simply say your home needs have changed.

Setting the Price

Be very careful about setting the asking price of your home. It is strongly recommended that you consult with a full time reputable listing agent. Your objective is to sell your home as close to the listing price as possible. If you price your home too high, it may sit on the market far too long. Then, people may begin to think there is a problem with the home. On the other hand, if you price your home too low, you may be leaving thousands of dollars of profit on the table.

A good listing agent will help you review the current market trends in your neighborhood. You can compare what homes like yours have sold for in the past three to six months. You can also review the current competition on the market.  This information is very important in arriving at the asking price of your home.

An appraisal could help your marketing efforts. It lets your potential buyers know what your home may be financed for. However, there are two things about appraisals you need to be aware of. First, an appraisal is an estimate of the value of your home. You home may or may not sell for that amount. Second, you may not like the appraised value for your home. Remember, when two appraisers look at your home, they could easily come up with a different value.

Study your local tax assessment procedures. Many people do not understand exactly what a tax assessment is. Although it is a means of evaluating a home’s value, it does not necessarily represent the market value of your home. It is based upon multiple criteria. Some of these criteria have nothing to do with the value of your home. So just remember, a tax assessment is not necessarily the value of your home.

One final note… When setting your asking price, leave a little room for negotiation. Negotiation is a major part of the home selling process. Buyers are more likely to make full price offers on homes that are properly priced. They tend to make low offers (or no offers) on an over-priced home.

Marketing, Communicating and Negotiating

After determining the selling price of your home, the next most important factor is the selecting a reputable real estate agent that is knowledgeable in marketing. Unfortunately, 75% of home sellers report they would not work with their real estate agent again. When pressed for additional details, home owners indicated they were disappointed by poor marketing and communication. Take time to find a reputable full time real estate agent that will communicate with you regularly and offers a detailed marketing plan.

If you get a low price offer, don’t take it personally. Many buyers will try to see how much you will discount the home when they begin negotiating. Buyers almost always pay more than they initially offer. So, don’t get upset. Evaluate their offer and make a counter offer. This is merely a beginning point for negotiations.

Don’t reject a low offer… counter. Don’t try to go half way on the price offered. Make a counter offer close to your original price. Many people believe they have to meet an offer half way to be acceptable. That’s simply not true. This shows the buyer you didn’t take their first offer seriously, but does show some flexibility on your part.

If an offer is too low, find out if the buyer is qualified. Sometimes the buyers are not qualified to take out a loan for the asking price of your home. It that is the case, don’t continue negotiations.

Condition of Home

People make decisions about buying very quickly. You’ll never get a second chance to make a good first impression. The appearance and condition of the interior/exterior of your home is very important. It generates an emotional response in the potential buyer. You want that buyer to get as favorable impression as possible when touring your home.

To get your home ready to sell, get some outside opinions. Ask your friends, family and real estate agent what you can do to improve the presentation of your home. You must be objective and not defensive. Take the feedback very seriously. Once you get some good feedback, take action.

You need to do a major cleaning of everything. Make those minor, inexpensive repairs. Many potential buyers will look at your home like a drill sergeant with white gloves. If it passes inspection, then they have justified their reasons for buying your home.

Once you’ve cleaned the home, de-clutter and remove all unnecessary items from your home. Besides being very clean, you want your home to appear as large as possible. Be sure to clear the countertops and floors of all clutter and clothes. Remove dirty dishes from the sink. If you paint, use a neutral color like beige or white.

Remove all pets from the interior and exterior of the home. Make sure there are no lingering pet odors or stains. Pet odors, stains and smoke turn off potential buyers. So don’t take any chances.

Location

The location of your home does impact the price of your home. Is you home on a busy street? Is it close to shopping, banking, etc.?  There is not a lot you can do about the location. Keep in mind that everyone’s needs and desires are different. You will have the ideal location for a potential buyer. You just have to find them.

In summary, the price, marketing, condition and location of your home impact the sales process. Address each of these carefully with your real estate agent to give you maximum advantage. Don’t set up deadlines that put unnecessary pressure on you. For example, don’t try to sell your home by a specific date. That only adds stress and could cost you thousands of dollars. Remember you want to sell your home quickly for maximum return.