Home Selling Advice

There are so many aspects one needs to consider when selling their home. You, of course, are the seller but you should try your best to put yourself in the buyers’ shoes. Think about things that a buyer would like to see, smell, hear, etc. But to get your started here is some advice for selling your home:

First, you should always be an informative seller. When you have put your “For Sale” sign in the front yard, or you put brochures out for people don’t EVER forget to put your phone number. I know it sounds silly, but it’s very stressful when you are selling your home and you have a lot of things to think about and take care of and it’s very easy to forget something so simple as a phone number.

Second, you should ask a reasonable price for your home, based on the physical appearance of your home, environment and location. The better location where your home is placed, the better price you can get. And the better physical condition of your home, a better price should be granted. The best way to find out what your home is worth is to have at least 3 licensed real estate agents do a comparable market analysis on your home. You can also search the tax records in your area to find homes that have sold and for how much. But keep in mind, you won’t have as much detail that is needed to really compare those homes to yours. And don’t forget that a buyer needs an achievable price. So the process of the negotiation will determine it. It’s hard for sellers to understand that no matter how much research they do in regards to pricing their home that the BUYERS have the ultimate say in saying what they think your home is worth. Your home is actually worth the price that you and a qualified buyer actually AGREE ON. It’s as simple as that.

Third, speaking of physical condition of your home, your homes curb appeal is the most important thing. Why? Well because it’s the very first thing people see when they come to your home. And you want to make a great first impression! You can do some simple work to improve the appeal of your homes exterior. Such as; clean up the kids’ toys, their bikes, your grill, etc. Just little things to make it beautiful, tidy, and fresh. The color of your homes exterior should be considered as well.

Fourth, get your buyer in the right mood by creating a cozy environment in your home. What do I mean by “cozy environment”? The following are very important; fresh air, a clean environment, fresh odors, and the most important is a homelike situation. Just make a buyer feel like they are in their own home sweet home. This also means to depersonalize your home. Depersonalizing your home means that if you have a wall full of family pictures and they are all over your coffee tables, etc. you will want to get rid of them. They are awesome for you and your family, but the truth is, the buyer isn’t going to feel like it’s their home sweet home if all they see is YOUR family all over the place. So try to make your home feel comfy, cozy and very homey, but without all of your family pictures. Declutter as well. Remove all unnecessary clutter, even take it out of the garage and closets. Rent a storage unit while your home is for sale if you have to or borrow a family members garage. Just get it out of your home.

Fifth, when you get down to the negotiations, you should learn how to make a great offer. In order to make the absolute best offer, you should be a great win-win negotiator. Remember, the buyer wants to get what they want and you want to get what you want, but when you can actually figure out the perfect win-win scenario for both parties, well they you have a great offer that will most likely go to the settlement table. You can find plenty of articles and books on the internet and in bookstores that can help you become a great communicator and negotiator.

There is a little advice that should help you get ready to sell your home.

For more home selling advice and to receive your FREE report “How to Sell Your Pennsylvania House Fast (in 7 days even!)” then simply fill out this form.

Getting Your House Ready to Sell

How can a buyer get interest in purchasing your house? Impression is the keyword. You just need to get your house ready to sell by doing some preparations so that you can make an awesome first impression. To get the best results we suggest you pay for a home inspection by a licensed professional home inspector. Remember your buyer will most likely get one, so why not have everything fixed that a home inspector will find before your buyer gets it! If you can’t afford to pay for a home inspection, usually around $300 to $400 or so, then there are other first impression type of things that you can do yourself.

So, what are a few things you can do to give your house a great first impression? These are the steps for getting your house ready to sell quickly to a buyer.

Beautify your Exterior (also known as curb appeal)
Make the outside look appealing. The goal is to make your exterior look pretty and fresh to impress your buyer. Remember, the exterior is the FIRST thing that your buyer sees when they go to look at your house. There are two sensory organs of a buyer you must impress. Those are eyes and nose. So make the outside LOOK presentable and SMELL presentable. Here are some steps you can take:- Get the grass, trees, flowers, and plants tidy and fresh by mowing and watering them- Clean up the curb and walkway; some potted flowers on the sides can help as well.- Freshen up the smells around your exterior by adding flowers and by getting rid of any pet waste, etc.- Clean all of the windows and doors.- Get rid of ALL clutter outside. This includes moving your grill to the shed, putting bikes in the garage, etc. etc.

Make the Interior Look Cozy
Make the inside of your house feel homelike to a buyer. Try to put your own personal feelings aside, remember, it’s not about YOU anymore, it’s about appealing to a new buyer. These are some steps you can take:
- Clean up the tile floors; scrub it if there are some bad spots.
- Get rid of spider webs on your ceilings and walls.
- Wash the carpets with a fragrant soap.
- Get your furniture placed tidily and do not OVERCLUTTER your house with unnecessary furniture pieces.
- Clean out your closets. Don’t jam pack them with stuff. Allow the buyer to see the available closet space.
- Clean the garage, basement, and attic
- Get the windows opened and clean, it will bring freshness to your house inside
- If you have pets, bathe them.
- Put some fresh fragrance in air conditioner.
- Purchase some of those plug-in air freshners (glade, airwick, etc.)
- DePersonalize your house. This is VERY important. Don’t have too many family pictures all over the place, don’t have too many knick knacks, etc. DeClutter/DePersonalize.

Repairing and Replacing
Some Repairing and replacement is necessary to do, if there is some broken furniture, equipment, or appliances. Just check out:
- broken or missing doors
- cabinet handles
- ceilings
- ventilation filters
- broken tiles in bathroom and kitchen
- faucet
- wallpaper
- some furniture

Get your friends’ opinion
Ask your friends to judge your house HONESTLY. Tell them that the truth will help you more then them just saying something positive so they don’t hurt your feelings about something. Ask them to judge your house on SMELL, LOOK and FEEL. Ask them what they feel are positive features of your house and what are some negative features….and when they tell you these things LISTEN TO THEM.

For more information on getting your house ready to sell and to receive your FREE report “How to Sell Your Pennsylvania House Fast (in 7 days even!)” then simply fill out this form.

Real Estate Agent vs. Realtor??

Many, many people use the terms real estate agent and Realtor interchangeably. But the reality is there IS a difference between the two terms.

A real estate agent is ANYONE who takes the required real estate classes and then passes the Pennsylvania real estate licensing exam.

A REALTOR is a real estate agent that is a member of the National Association of Realtors. Realtors subscribe to a strict code of ETHICS and STANDARDS OF PRACTICE.

So in a nutshell; all Realtors are real estate agents that subscribe to the National Association of Realtors stict code of ethics and standards of practice, but all real estate agents are NOT Realtors.

If you have any questions in regards to this difference, please feel free to ask.