- Maximize your home's sale potential.
Make your property as attractive as possible. Make sure EVERYTHING is cleaner than it's ever been, fix any and all things that need fixing, repaint the walls, clean the carpets and so on. It's important that the buyer can imagine what it would be like to live there themselves, and a dirty/ broken home just takes away from this.
Have some high-quality photos taken of the property. Hire a professional real estate photographer, someone who is familiar with what works in the real estate world. You want your property to excite the people who are looking at the pictures, and professional real estate photography is the best way to do this.
2.
Do your homework on the price and know why you're selling. Make sure you or your realtor is well-informed about the market and where your home stands. It's important not to price too high or too low. You want the price to emit the value of the property.
It's also important to know why you're selling but even more important to keep it to yourself. You don't want your reason to be used against you in the bidding process.
3.
Market your property. Technology is key. Do anything and everything you can think of. Put your listing in the newspaper, tell your neighbors, send out emails, and most importantly, advertise on common home-buying platforms such as
Craigslist,
Zillow,
Trulia, and Google. Technology and the internet are now fully-integrated parts of the homebuying process.
4.
Make your home easily accessible. Make sure that your home is readily available. Provide a lockbox to your realtor so that you can avoid scheduling conflicts and promote more viewings of your property. Also make sure that it's easy for prospects to get information on your property. Ask your realtor to attach your home to a 24 hour pre-recorded hotline that provides important information on your home. This allows the buyer to access information on your property at any time, while optimizing everyone's time and ultimately resulting in more leads.
5.
Know your buyer. Relate to them on a personal level. Why are they buying? Is it urgent? What can you learn about the buyer to leverage it in your favor?
6.
Make sure to negotiate professionally and have a completed contract. It's important to maintain a professional relationship and look for the win-win. The negotiation is not a competition or an attack, but rather a situation looking to benefit both parties.
Having a completed contract is key in making sure that things run smoothly and that you also avoid any potential conflicts in the future by not disclosing something.