The 9 Step System to Get Your Home Sold Fast and For Top
Dollar
The Real Estate Market Has Changed . . .
"Buyers are far more discriminating, and a large
percentage of the homes listed for sale don?t sell the first time. It?s more
critical than ever to learn what you need to know to avoid costly seller
mistakes in order to sell your home fast and for the most amount of money.?
| Remember not so long ago, when you could make your fortune
in real estate. It was nothing then to buy a home, wait a short while, and
then sell it at a tidy profit.
And then do it all over again.
Well, as you probably know, times have changed. As good as the market
is right now, home prices are still below what they were at their peak.
Buyers are far more discriminating, and a large percentage of the homes
listed for sale never sell. It?s more critical than ever to learn what
you need to know to avoid costly seller mistakes in order to sell your
home fast and for the most amount of money. |
The 7 Deadly Mistakes Most Home Sellers Make
- Failing to analyze why they are selling.
- Not preparing their home for the buyer?s eye.
- Pricing their homes incorrectly.
- Selling too hard during showings.
- Signing a long-term listing agreement without a written
performance guarantee.
- Making it difficult for buyers to get information on their home.
- Failing to obtain a pre-approved mortgage for one's next home.
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The 9 Step System to Get Your Home Sold Fast and For Top Dollar
Selling your home is one of the most important steps in your life. This
9 step system will give you the tools you need to maximize your profits,
maintain control, and reduce the stress that comes with the home selling
process:
1. Know why you?re selling, and keep it to yourself.
The reasons behind your decision to sell affect everything from setting a
price to deciding how much time and money to invest in getting your home ready
for sale. What?s more important to you: the money you walk away with, or the
length of time your property is on the market? Different goals will dictate
different strategies.
However, don?t reveal your motivation to anyone else or they may use it
against you at the negotiating table. When asked, simply say that your housing
needs have changed.
2. Do your homework before setting a price.
Settling on an offering price shouldn?t be done lightly. Once you?ve set
your price, you?ve told buyers the absolute maximum they have to pay for your
home, but pricing too high is as dangerous as pricing too low. Remember that the
average buyer is looking at 15-20 homes at the same time they are considering
yours. This means that they have a basis of comparison, and if your home doesn?t
compare favorably with others in the price range you?ve set, you won?t be
taken seriously by prospects or agents. As a result, your home will sit on the
market for a long time and, knowing this, new buyers on the market will think
there must be something wrong with your home.
3. Do your homework.
(In fact, your agent should do this for you). Find out what homes in your own
and similar neighborhoods have sold for in the past 6-12 months, and research
what current homes are listed for. That?s certainly how prospective buyers
will assess the worth of your home.
4. Find a good real estate agent to represent your needs.
Nearly three-quarters of homeowners claim that they wouldn?t use the same
realtor who sold their last home. Dissatisfaction boils down to poor
communication which results in not enough feedback, lower pricing and strained
relations. Another FREE report entitled, "10 Questions to Ask Before You Hire
an Agent? gives you the straight, to-the-point questions you should be asking
when you interview agents who want to list your home. You can obtain a
FREE copy of this report from my website.
5. Maximize your home?s sales potential.
Each year, corporate North America spends billions on product and packaging
design. Appearance is critical, and it would be foolish to ignore this when
selling your home.
You may not be able to change your home?s location or floor plan, but you
can do a lot to improve its appearance. The look and feel of your home generates
a greater emotional response than any other factor. Clean like you?ve never
cleaned before. Pick up, straighten, unclutter, scrub, scour and dust. Fix
everything, no matter how insignificant it may appear. Present your home to get
a "wow" response from prospective buyers.
Allow the buyers to imagine themselves living in your home. The decision to
buy a home is based on emotion, not logic. Prospective buyers want to try on
your home just like they would a new suit of clothes. If you follow them around
pointing out improvements or if your decor is so different that it?s difficult
for a buyer to strip it away in his or her mind, you make it difficult for them
to feel comfortable enough to imagine themselves an owner.
6. Make it easy for prospects to get information on your home.
You may be surprised to know that some marketing tools that most agents use
to sell homes (e.g. traditional open houses) are actually not very effective. In
fact only 1% of homes are sold at an open house.
Furthermore, the prospects calling for information on your home probably
value their time as much as you do. The last thing they want to be subjected to
is either a game of telephone tag with an agent, or an unwanted sales pitch.
Make sure the ads your agent places for your home are attached to a 24 hour
prerecorded hotline with a specific ID# for your home which gives buyers access
to detailed information about your property day or night 7 days a week without
having to talk to anyone. It?s been proven that 3 times as many buyers call
for information on your home under this system. And remember, the more buyers
you have competing for your home the better, because it sets up an auction-like
atmosphere that puts you in the driver?s seat.
7. Know your buyer.
In the negotiation process, your objective is to control the pace and set the
duration. What is your buyer?s motivation? Does s/he need to move quickly?
Does s/he have enough money to pay you your asking price? Knowing this
information gives you the upper hand in the negotiation because you know how far
you can push to get what you want.
8. Make sure the contract is complete.
For your part as a seller, make sure you disclose everything. Smart sellers
proactively go above and beyond the laws to disclose all known defects to their
buyers in writing. If the buyer knows about a problem, s/he can?t come back
with a lawsuit later on.
Make sure all terms, costs and responsibilities are spelled out in the
contract of sale, and resist the temptation to diverge from the contract. For
example, if the buyer requests a move-in prior to closing, just say no. Now is
not the time to take any chances of the deal falling through.
9. Don?t move out before you sell.
Studies have shown that it is more difficult to sell a home that is vacant
because it looks forlorn, forgotten, simply not appealing. It could even cost
you thousands. If you move, you?re also telling buyers that you have a new
home and are probably highly motivated to sell fast. This, of course, will give
them the advantage at the negotiating table.
For more information about any of our innovative homeowners programs,
give us a call.
