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    Flint Foley Real Estate Blog

    7 Helpful Tips for First-Time Home Sellers

    1/25/2017

    13 Comments

     
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    A number of economists are forecasting an increase in home sales this year, and some are predicting that more first-time buyers will be in the mix.

    That’s great news for sellers, particularly first-time sellers most likely to have the kind of starter homes these buyers will want. Below are some tips for those selling a home for the first time.
    Prepare for your own purchase
    Before selling your home, give some careful thought about where you will live next, said Hedda Parashos, owner of Palisade Realty in Spring Valley, Calif. “Planning ahead will save the time and money associated with moving multiple times or trying to get out of a deal after you sign a purchase agreement,” she said. “Your Realtor can help you locate a new home or rental before you close escrow or negotiate a lease back.”

    If your plan is to buy another home and finance it, get pre-approved for a mortgage. That way, you’ll know what you will be able to afford—and can eliminate surprises, she added.

    It’s also getting more common these days—in certain markets—to purchase a home contingent on the sale of your existing one, said Christina Esala, associate broker and team leader with Tierra Antigua Realty, in Tucson, Ariz.

    Get the home move-in ready
    If you can afford it, do whatever you can to make your home move-in ready. That means replacing ripped screens, broken baseboards, leaky faucets and making cosmetic repairs, as well as updating landscaping. Your house needs to be in showing condition all the time, she added.
    At this point, start looking at your home as a house—stripping all sentimental value from the place, since your buyer won’t care about the tree you planted or the kitchen tile you installed yourself.

    Enlist the help of a good real-estate agent
    Many people choose real-estate agents based on referrals from family and friends, but look beyond that to make sure you’re working with someone who does a lot of business in your particular neighborhood. While sales information for individual agents often isn’t publicly available, you could check with your local Realtor association group for the data, call the local multiple-listing service or ask a brokerage about their top sellers.

    Online reviews of real-estate agents can also be helpful. At the very least, get statistics from the agent, asking him or her how many homes they’ve sold recently, where the homes have been located and what the average sales prices have been. 

    Price it right
    A good real estate agent will help you price the home right—from the start. “Nothing will attract more buyers than making the right choice when pricing your home and nothing will deter buyers more than overpricing,” Parashos said. Overpricing often means a longer stay on the market as well as future price cuts—which often makes a home listing look stale and less desirable.

    Market the home appropriately
    In addition to getting on the multiple-listing service, or MLS, as well as home listing sites online, your real-estate agent might recommend other methods of advertising, including open houses and direct mail postcards. Ask the agent how he or she plans on marketing the property before hiring the agent.

    Quality photography of the home is also important. Those who use professional real-estate photos sell listed homes 32% faster than all other listings, according to VHT Studios, a real-estate photography network for homes and businesses. Take it for what it’s worth, a statistic from a company in the photography industry. But also think about the homes that you spend the most time looking at online; chances are they’re the ones with a variety of clear, quality pictures.

    Make the house available
    Some sellers create restrictions on when their home can be shown, but being inflexible on this point can hurt you. “People, if they want to see it now…they’re going to contact that agent and going to want to see it immediately,” Esala said. “Make your home available for all of the daylight hours,” she said. Otherwise, within two days, prospective buyers will find another home and forget yours.

    Plan your negotiation
    Know what you will and won’t give up when it comes to your sale, from price to closing date, repairs to closing costs. “Knowing what outcome you want in advance will help you avoid haggling over minor items that could cost you the sale,” Parashos said.

    Finally, don’t focus as much on the final sales price as on the final net price. Many first-time buyers ask for sellers to help with closing costs, for example, which affects the net cost.

    Curated from: MarketWatch
    13 Comments
    Jordan link
    5/7/2018 10:42:01 am

    We've been wanting to get some help with selling our home. I'm glad you mentioned that getting the right pricing to sell your home is something that is important to do. I'm going to have to look for a good home sales service and see what we can find!

    Reply
    Tiffany Locke link
    5/15/2018 08:18:18 pm

    Your advice to find a good real estate agent by looking online and getting referrals from people you like is a good idea. Doing this could give you the chance to ask questions about the real estate market and the buying and selling process so that you understand what you need to do. Once you've researched the different agents, it would probably be a good idea to meet with the best ones in order to ask questions and make sure that they'll help you understand.

    Reply
    Rosie Beckett link
    10/4/2018 12:12:13 pm

    My husband recently got a promotion at work and that means that we need to move, so we need to sell our home. This is our first time selling a home and I appreciate your advice that you should find a quality real estate agent to help with the process. It makes sense that you should ask them about homes they have sold recently because this way I can see if they have been successful with homes similar to ours. Also, I think that having an agent to market our home and negotiate for us on the price would give me peace of mind and help me to not be stressed during the process.

    Reply
    Raymond Cooper link
    10/8/2018 09:17:18 am

    It's good to know that homes with quality photos on their listings are likely to sell faster than other home listings. This is helpful to know since I'm thinking of selling my home in the near future. Do you recommend I have a professional take photos of my home to ensure they are high-quality?

    Reply
    Mark Murphy link
    11/6/2018 11:11:06 am

    I really appreciate your tip to read online reviews so you can find the best realtor in your area. My wife and I have been thinking of getting a new house, and we want to make sure that we have a really good realtor so we get the best house. I will be sure to tell my wife that we should find a realtor who has good online reviews!

    Reply
    Mark Murphy link
    11/6/2018 12:18:45 pm

    I really appreciate your tip to check reviews online when you want to find a realtor. My wife and I are moving across the country, and we don't know where to start to find a realtor in our new neighborhood. I will be sure to tell my wife that we can look online to find the best one in our area!

    Reply
    Gillian Babcock link
    4/15/2019 05:20:52 pm

    My brother is planning to buy his wife a house as a gift for their anniversary but he doesn't anything about the buying process. It was suggested here that he should enlist a good real estate agent when looking for a home. Moreover, it's recommended to hire a professional real estate agent for quality services.

    Reply
    Stefan Bradley link
    9/19/2019 09:51:30 am

    It makes sense that you should find an agent who has experience working in your neighborhood. My wife need to find a real estate agent that can help us sell our house. We'll find someone who understands how to sell a house in our neighborhood.

    Reply
    David Johnson link
    10/7/2019 04:47:36 pm

    Thank you for explaining that you need to price your house right. My apartment is now too small for my family. We're going to have to find homes for sale.

    Reply
    Bob link
    10/12/2019 12:55:10 pm

    I love your photography tips. My house needs some pictures taken. We'll have to hire a photographer.

    Reply
    megan adler link
    10/15/2019 06:56:02 am

    When you said that when selling a house you should have your home move-in ready I thought about my mother since she's selling her house. My father recently passed away and my mother doesn't feel like staying in a house that reminds her of him every day. I'll make sure she removes all the sentimental items so that the potential buyer imagines the house with his family instead of ours.

    Reply
    rachel frampton link
    10/16/2019 08:12:28 am

    My husband and I plan to sell our house located in West Palm beach. I'm glad you shared how important it is to enlist a good real estate agent through checking the local realtor association group for the data and asking the brokerage regarding their top sellers. I better start looking for an agent or agency that would make this whole process easier.

    Reply
    Ellie Davis link
    10/31/2019 06:52:47 am

    I liked that you mentioned a good real estate agent will help you to price your home right. My mother is thinking about selling her house, and we are looking for advice. I will let her know about the importance of hiring a real estate agent to help her.

    Reply



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