How To Sell Your Home For Top Dollar In 10 Steps

1^st impressions count!     

1. Price Right
2. De-clutter
3. De-personalize
4. Organized Closets & Garage Space
5. Optimize Space
6. Stage If Necessary
7. Replace Outdated Items
8. Fresh Paint Can Never Hurt
9. Landscape & Outdoor Repairs
10. Take Advice From Your Agent

Price Right: As an agent who prides herself on knowing her marketplace well, I always tell my clients that price is # 1. If the listing price is at FMV (Fair Market Value) or what someone is willing to pay for the property and priced this way from the beginning, it is more likely to sell fast.  I do intelligent test pricing for my clients as part of my marketing plan to ensure the price is right. There’s no guessing here!

De-clutter: Most homes have clutter. This is just a fact! Even if you believe there is no clutter, look again. When a buyer steps into your home they become distracted very easily by the roller blades by the back door and the 50 lb. bag of dog food that is peeking out behind the garbage can. Please don’t try to hide things in plain sight sellers! Yes, buyers may know that you are moving because you are running out of space in your current home, however we don’t need to point this out to them.

De-Personalize: All of those things that are on your wish list to put into bins and in the garage or into storage; now is the time. Before you think about selling your home, sell the things you don’t need any longer or give items to charity.

Take the time to label a few bags or boxes:

1. Charity

2. Sell

3. Garbage

4. Moving

Take the all the pictures off the walls that you will take to your new home and wrap them up to go into the moving box.  You get the point. The time you take to do this will pay you back in dollars you receive at the closing table.

 Organize The Closets & Garage: While you are cleaning out, de-cluttering and de-personalizing your property to get ready to sell, why not organize as you go? Go grab some containers or boxes that are stackable that will look nice and help you move too. If all is organized, it looks nice to the potential buyers and you are also ready to move as soon as the buyer falls in love your property.

Optimize Space: Moving furniture around can make a huge difference. Most buyers these days want an open concept kitchen, living area, and dining. If you have this already; great.  If not, you can try to maximize the space you do have by moving the furniture to create a more open feel in a room.

Staging: Staging is usually done if the home is vacant. If you live in the home staging may not be the best option. However, you still may be able to stage in a way in which is still functional for you and your family. I suggest talking about this in more detail, as a staged home gets faster results of sale and higher dollar. You may be surprised just how much you like the staging after it’s completed and you may want to use the different approach in your next home!

Replace Outdated Items:  Replacing carpets, rugs, shower curtains, and any other potentially smelly household item is a good idea.

Fresh Paint Never Hurts:  Fresh paint smells like fresh paint. I would say pretty much everyone knows this aroma. However, did you know that fresh paint does a pretty good job at masking odors in the home? A nice neutral coat of primer and paint will brighten up any outdated bathroom or bedroom. This will also make the home have a fresh paint smell, rather than lasagna you cooked the night before the showing. Also showing a property as move in ready in a neutral color palette, will always help to sell the property.

 Landscape & Outdoor Repairs: If you live in a single family home or you have to take care of the outside items of your property, you should check on items such as; doors, windows, screens, sidewalks, and shrubbery.  Anything that needs a touch-up or repair should be attended to with care.

Take Advice From Your Agent:  You hired an agent because you felt confident that he or she would be honest with you every step of the way, or at least you should have.  If the time comes that something would require a change because there was feedback provided by potential buyers, please take the advice. I know from experience that buyers will usually tell the listing agent the truth about a property and that feedback is priceless to the seller. If you listen to the feedback your agent provides you, it can potentially sell your home faster, which in turns saves you money.

–          Michelle Chicago