Selling A Home

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Convert your Home from Living condition to Showing condition

A.  Location                 B.  Condition                  C. Price

 

Take a Fresh Look at Your Home

Scrutinize your home as if you were a prospective buyer seeing it for the first time. Consider what's called "street appeal."  Pull into your driveway and take a good, hard look.  Does your home need washing or painting? Does the driveway need repairs? Is the landscaping in good shape?  Is the yard neat and trimmed?  What about the view from the front yard?  Walk inside and size up the interior as though seeing it for the first time. Take a slow tour of each individual room, cabinet & closet.  Imagine what your prospective buyer's will say about each room and every item.  Be very critical because your prospects will.

Clean Out the Clutter Before You Start to Sell

Get rid of all the clutter in every area within your home -- closets, attic storage, kitchen cabinets, drawers, bath vanities, and shelves -- everywhere. This is no time to be sentimental: If you don't use it, lose it. Potential buyers are seriously put off by clutter.  Start packing!  Prospects need to see the home and not all your belongings.  Have a garage sale (check with the Township or Village to see if a permit is required prior) or donate to a local church or good will.

To Sell, Sell, Sell -- Clean, Clean, Clean

After you've cleared out the clutter of your home, it is time to really clean!  Have the carpets professionally cleaned, strip and polish the floors, scour the bathrooms, go over the laundry room, polish the furniture, clean out the cabinets, wash the windows and window coverings, and spiff up the ceiling fans and kitchen appliances. In short, clean everything.  Don't forget the exterior; paint or power-wash everything that needs the work.  Remember, this is a ceiling-to-floor, roof-to-foundation clean-up project. The front entrance is major.  Even polish the front door knob.

Repairs Do Pay Off

After you've cleaned, the next project is making all the necessary repairs.

Patch up the roof, touch up all the paint, repair the screens, spruce up the porch framing, and make your entry area really shine. Don't forget to water the lawn and landscape beds, and take the time to trim, mow, edge and get rid of sick or dying plants. Inside, fix the grout in the bathrooms and on tile floors, adjust any doors that need it, fix any scratches on the walls, cover any stains, and be sure to fix any plumbing problems.  If you have friends that would be willing to be brutally honest, invite them in to assess the fix-up needs.  It?s a good idea to have all this done before getting Wendy to list your home and before the first buyer appears at your door.  Should you decide not pay attention to the above items, it is most likely that a prospective will deduct about twice the amount these fixes would of cost to begin with.

Putting Your Home on the Market:  (Show It to Sell It)

After you have cleaned, shined, mowed, and generally whipped your property into shape, it's time to attract a buyer small daily things also assist with the attraction.  For example, even if it's bright daylight, open the blinds and turn on the lights.  Open all the interior doors to make the home appear roomier.  Be sure to remove all your kids and pets, make sure your pet's litter pan is clean so the home smells clean and fresh, not like air freshener.  Remember, you need to make sure your home is available to be seen by a prospective buyer with as little notice as possible.  That means less than an hour, or even five minutes, if possible.

Where do we go from here?

Small daily things also assist with the attraction.  For example, even if it's bright daylight, open the blinds and turn on the lights.  Open all the interior doors to make the home appear roomier.  Be sure to remove all your kids and pets, make sure your pet's litter pan is clean so the home smells clean and fresh, not like air freshener.  Remember, you need to make sure your home is available to be seen by a prospective buyer with as little notice as possible.  That means less than an hour, or even five minutes, if possible

Get a Sense of the Market

Spend some time with Wendy to check out your direct competition (homes with similar prices and in similar neighborhoods).  Search for listed comparable homes.
 

Familiarize yourself with Forms - Agency Relations, Listing Agreement & Sellers Disclosures

Closing Costs - Some typical seller closing costs include:

?       Broker's commission

?       Transfer taxes

?       Documentary Stamps on the Deed

?       Title insurance

?       Property taxes (prorated)

Negotiating Costs

In addition  to the sales price, buyers and sellers frequently include closing costs in their negotiations. 
For example, the buyer may ask the seller to include:

?       1 year home warranty policy

?       Seller to contribute a % of asking price toward the buyer's closing costs

There are many television programs you can watch for other staging tips as well as on the internet.

                HGTV                More Tips on for Selling your homeI         

Offered by Wendy Valko

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