Dos and don'ts of home selling
By: By Dian Hymer
An energetic real estate agent can have your home on the market in a day.
However, to provide the kind of marketing exposure you need to sell in today's
market takes a little longer, unless your home is photo-ready when you list.
Ideally, you should start planning
for your home sale months before you want your home to be on the market. First,
find an agent to represent you. Then, create a game plan together for the
premarketing phase of the process.
Use your agent as a resource. Walk
through your home with your agent to get feedback on work, decluttering, and
rearranging that needs to be done before the house is photographed for
advertising and shown to prospective buyers. If your agent doesn't have a good
eye for design, ask for a recommendation of a staging decorator.
HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Preferably, your
home should not be submitted to the multiple listing service (MLS) or home-sale
Internet sites without photos. Studies have shown that many buyers don't
consider a listing that doesn't have photos.
Some sellers have presale
inspections done to find out if repairs should be made before the property goes
on the market. This wasn't as important several years ago when buyers were
enthusiastic about the prospect of making money in the residential real estate
market. Now buyers are much more cautious, and property condition is a critical
variable. One seller did a beautiful job fixing up her house for sale. She
ordered a termite report and had some of the work done. But she didn't hire a
home inspector to inspect the house. The interior was top-notch. In fact, more
money was spent on this than was necessary. The listing agent was hired after
the work had been done so the seller didn't benefit from the agent's advice
about how much to spend and on what. The house sold with multiple offers.
However, the buyer's home inspection report revealed that the house needed a
new foundation. Fortunately, there was a backup buyer. But, the price was
negotiated down significantly. In hindsight, it would have been better to have
fixed the foundation and done a less expensive redo of the interior.
[Another] couple sold a similar
home. They worked with their agent for months before the house was marketed.
They did presale inspections and got estimates for painting, staging, and
furnace replacement, making necessary structural modifications and fixing
miscellaneous defects referenced in the termite report. Then, they prioritized,
with input from their agent, and had the most critical repairs and enhancements
done before the listing hit the MLS. There was no renegotiation necessary with
the buyers after they completed their inspections.
Make sure buyers receive copies of
proposals and paid invoices for work you did to your home so they know which
items in your presale inspection reports have been repaired. Another couple,
who plan to move in a few years, decided to get their home ready to sell now.
They put in a new master bathroom, refinished floors and plan to replace a
dry-rotted deck. They will enjoy the improvements for the remaining years they
stay in the house. Most sellers wait until the last minute to get their house
ready for sale. It can be very stressful trying to get all the work done in a
short time frame.
Doing work gradually over time is a
saner approach. Sadly, most homes never look as good as they do when they're
sold.
THE CLOSING: Now is a good time to
have work done. A lot of contractors are looking for work. You might receive
more competitive bids and be able to have the work done when you want.
Dian Hymer is a nationally
syndicated real estate columnist
What unwritten etiquette rules
should home sellers follow to show their home to potential buyers? Realtor.com®
recently highlighted a few of these must-follow etiquette tips.
