3 Proven Tips for Getting a Higher Price for Your Home

Now that you’ve decided to sell your own home, you’re probably wondering what you can do to make the most money possible at closing. The good news is, it’s not as hard as you might think. With the right focus, you’ll be well on your way to getting top dollar offers. Here are three proven tips for getting a higher price for your home.

• Step One – Determine Your Home’s True Value:
  This might sound obvious. However, if you don’t go about pricing your home in a systematic way, you could be undervaluing or overvaluing your property, and either one can hurt your final sale price. Before you try to determine how much to list your home for, you need to research your local market. Your goal should be to see what similar homes in your area are listed for and what they’re ultimately selling for. To gather even more in-depth intel, you can go to local open houses to see how neighboring homes compare to yours.
  
  Simplify the process with our free seller pricing worksheet: download it here
  
  If you want the guidance of an expert opinion, you can also hire a professional appraiser, who can provide you with an official assessment of what your home is worth in today’s market. This will give you a good starting point for accurately setting a sale price for your home.

• Step 2 – De-clutter, Clean, Repair, Replace & Stage:
  Before you list, you should de-clutter and clean your home from top to bottom – both inside and out. Pack up everything you don’t need to get through the next few weeks or months and remove any personal effects that could keep a potential buyer from picturing themselves living in your home (like family photos).
  
  Once you’ve de-cluttered and depersonalized, it’s time to deep clean your entire house, including the yard, garage, closets, drawers and inside of the cabinets. Don’t forget to address any odor issues that might exist. It’s always a good idea to ask a friend to help you with this because you might be a bit nose blind.
  
  Next, go over your home with a fine toothed comb in search of anything that might need to be repaired or replaced and do some handywork. Replace your rusty shower curtain rod, hang nice towels in the bathrooms and fix your leaky kitchen faucet. Making little fixes like these is easy and inexpensive. It’s also an effective way to show buyers that you take excellent care of your home.
  
  Now, it’s time to stage your home. Don’t worry – you don’t have to hire an expensive professional. Simply follow some basic DIY staging guidelines to transform your space. Try to use furniture and decor that highlight your home’s strong points and set up spaces that evoke a certain feeling or emotion, such as a family room with big comfortable couches or an outdoor living space perfect for entertaining. Doing so will help you make your home feel inviting and welcoming. It will also help you make a great first impression on buyers, which will increase the odds that your home will sell more quickly, for a higher price.

• Step 3 – Get All Your Ducks in a Row:
  Here are a few things you should prepare before you list your home:

  • Learn about what your state requires for selling a home. For example, most states require that you provide your buyer with a seller’s disclosure packet.
  • Consider hiring a transaction coordinator to help you through escrow and through the legal responsibilities you have as a seller. You can also enlist Home Bay’s help for comprehensive seller support.
  • Set up an email and voicemail account that you can use to field buyer inquiries and download our free buyer log to simplify the process of tracking the status of various potential buyers you interact with.
  • Compile a list of questions to ask your buyers to determine whether or not they are qualified to buy your home before you spend too much time with them.
  • Look into Home Bay’s comprehensive seller service package (free listing, ongoing support – it’s the best option out there).

With a little preparation and focus on the right details, you can set the stage for a successful sale and can capture the best possible return on your real estate investment.

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Posted in Preparing to Sell