Advice for Selling a Home: My Top Tips

When people learn that I’m a Realtor, they often ask what my best advice is for selling a home. In my 25+ years selling real estate, I’ve learned a thing or two about selling a home quickly and for top dollar. So here is my best, tried and true, advice for selling a home. Follow these tips and you will have success!

Neutralize, Declutter and Depersonalize It

As much as you love your family photos and personal mementos, remove them from your home while it’s on the market (click here for more on getting your home listing ready). You may receive lots of compliments on your red kitchen walls but they very likely won’t appeal to a broad range of buyers. You want potential buyers to envision themselves and their things in your home (not you!)

Stage It

We cannot stress the importance of staging enough. Whether it’s a quick fluff staging or bringing furniture and accessories into a vacant home, properly staging your home is essential to selling it quickly. In today’s digital world, sellers only have a matter of seconds to capture buyers’ interest before they click or swipe to the next listing.

Price It Right

Know the market and listen to your agent when it comes to pricing your home. Try not to “own” the listing price of your home. Buyers ultimately determine the value of your home. If your home has not sold after 30 days, revisit the price. Time is not on your side when you’re selling.

Maximize Showings

Have your home “show ready” at all times. Respond quickly to showing requests. Make your home as available as possible for showings. The more people through the door, the quicker your home will sell. Read our recent case study on this topic.

Say Goodbye to Fido (for now)

Get your pet out of the picture (and house!) as much as possible while your home is on the market. Here’s why.

 Communicate with your Realtor

Let your agent know about any issues or concerns you are having. It’s very important to let your Realtor know about any changes in your thinking or plans. Also, let your agent know about all showings in a timely fashion so she can follow up.

Your agent will do the same for you by sharing the feedback she receives from other agents and buyers on how the home shows, its price, and more. She will suggest improvements along the way to keep your home looking its best.

Keep Your Buyers Happy

Even with a ratified contract, it can be a long road to a successful settlement. You’ll want to be as accommodating as possible through the home inspection and subsequent negotiations and working through any other contingencies (appraisal, financing, home sale, etc.). Once again, an experienced agent will help you navigate the way to a successful closing.

Use a Professional

This is the most important tip of all. As tempting as it may be to try to sell your home yourself (especially in a hot market), hire an experienced Realtor or team. As the saying goes, “You don’t know what you don’t know!” Make sure your agent knows and works in your neighborhood and has a strong network of fellow local agents. You’d be surprised how many homes are sold before they even go on the market thanks to “behind the scenes” agent networking.

So there you have it – my advice for selling a home quickly and for top dollar.

If we can be of help to you in selling your home, please reach out. We’ve helped hundreds of happy clients achieve their real estate goals and would love to help you with our advice for selling a home.

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