Joseph D. Federico's Blog
A home showing may play a key role in your ability to sell your house. If a showing is successful, a buyer may submit an offer in the hours or days that follow. On the other hand, if a home fails to impress during a showing, a buyer likely will continue to search for the perfect residence.
It can be easy to ensure that a home showing is successful. Now, let's take a look at three steps that home sellers can follow to increase the likelihood of a successful showing.
1. Clean Your Home
A neat, tidy home is likely to make a positive first impression on potential buyers. Therefore, you should allocate the necessary time and resources to clean your home from top to bottom prior to a showing.
Mow the front lawn, trim the hedges and perform assorted home exterior maintenance. That way, you can instantly boost your house's curb appeal.
Also, wipe down countertops, vacuum carpets and complete various home interior maintenance. By doing so, you can guarantee that potential buyers will like what they see as soon as they walk through your home's front door.
2. Remove Personal Belongings
The goal of a home showing is to help a potential buyer envision what life would be like if he or she purchases your house. As such, you'll want to take down artwork, photographs and any other personal belongings before a home showing. Because if you keep these items on display, it may be tough for a buyer to picture himself or herself as the owner of your home.
Don't forget to eliminate as much clutter from your home as possible too. If you put excess items in storage or sell or donate these items, you can cut down on clutter and show off the true size of your residence.
3. Be Flexible
After you perform extensive home interior and exterior cleaning and remove myriad personal belongings from your residence, it may be only a matter of time before a home showing is scheduled. If you remain flexible, you can boost your chances of hosting as many home showings as possible.
There is no telling when a prospective buyer will want to check out your residence. Thus, if you maintain your flexibility, you'll be ready to leave your house at a moment's notice to accommodate a buyer's request for a showing.
After a home showing, you may receive buyer feedback as well. If a buyer leaves negative feedback about your residence, there is no need to worry. Use this feedback to identify and address problem areas in your house, and you can guarantee that future home showings hit the mark with buyers.
Lastly, if often helps to work with an expert real estate agent when you sell your house. This housing market professional is happy to help you get ready for a home showing and will offer honest, unbiased home selling recommendations. As a result, a real estate agent can help you get the best possible results throughout the home selling process.
For home sellers who want to accomplish the optimal results, it is important to remain open to negotiations with buyers. There are many reasons why home sellers should negotiate with buyers, and these include:
1. You can accelerate the house selling journey.
If your mission is to sell your house as quickly as possible, you should be open to negotiating with a buyer. Because if you can negotiate a home purchase agreement, you can move one step closer to concluding the house selling journey.
As you enter a negotiation with a homebuyer, it is important to keep your house selling goals in mind. At the same time, you should be willing to adjust your goals as needed. If you maintain flexibility throughout a negotiation with a homebuyer, you may be better equipped than ever before to enjoy a fast, profitable house selling experience.
2. You can reach an agreement that works well for both a seller and buyer.
If you find a buyer's initial offer to purchase your house falls short of your expectations, you can open up negotiations with this individual. Then, you and a buyer can work together to come to terms on a home sale agreement that suits both parties.
Of course, a negotiation with a buyer does not guarantee instant success. If you and a buyer cannot reach a home sale agreement, there is no need to worry. Even if negotiations with a buyer fail, you can wait for another offer to purchase your home that falls in line with your expectations.
3. You can get the best price for your house.
As a home seller, it is important to do everything you can to optimize your house sale earnings. If you negotiate with a buyer, you can increase the likelihood of getting the best price for your house.
Furthermore, home sellers should keep in mind that they have options during a negotiation with a buyer. If you are not satisfied with the progress of a negotiation, you can walk away from the negotiating table.
When it comes to negotiating a home sale, you may want to hire a real estate agent, too. A real estate agent understands the ins and outs of home sale negotiations and will do whatever it takes to help you achieve the best-possible results.
Typically, a real estate agent can handle a negotiation with a buyer on your behalf. This housing market professional will continue to provide status updates throughout a negotiation and do what it takes to streamline the house selling cycle. Plus, if you ever have concerns or questions during a home sale negotiation, a real estate agent can instantly respond to them.
Don't stress about negotiating the sale price of your home. If you are open to negotiating your house's sale price with a buyer, you may be able to speed up the home selling journey. Best of all, you could maximize the profit from your home sale.
Being a first-time home seller can be exhausting, especially if you want to maximize your house's purchase price. Fortunately, we're here to help you understand what it takes to succeed as a home seller, regardless of the real estate market's conditions.
Here are three factors that every first-time home seller needs to consider before adding his or her house to the real estate market:
1. Your Home's Condition
You've completed many home improvement projects over the years, and as such, you may have boosted the value of your house. However, despite these improvements, there may be a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure you're able to generate plenty of interest in your residence among prospective homebuyers.
Getting a home appraisal often serves as a great first step on the home selling journey. A home appraiser will be able to give you a better idea about your house's worth as well as potential areas of improvement.
As a home seller, you'll need to consider the value of any repairs you complete. Ultimately, a home improvement project may help you boost the value of your house, but it also may mean that it takes longer for you to add your house to the real estate market.
Consider the pros and cons of home improvement projects. And if you need extra support, be sure to consult with an experienced real estate agent.
2. Your Home's Price
Are you selling your residence in a seller's or buyer's market? Ideally, you'll want to be able to offer your house in a seller's market, i.e. a period in which there are more homebuyers than home sellers.
Conversely, even if you're selling your house in a buyer's market (a market that includes more home sellers than homebuyers), you may be able to make your house more attractive to potential buyers if you offer a competitive price.
Look at what similar homes in your area have sold for over the past few months. Also, be sure to work with a real estate agent who can provide insights into home selling and homebuying trends in your area. By doing so, you'll be better equipped to list your house for a fair price and improve your chances of a fast sale.
3. Your Post-Sale Plans
If a homebuyer makes an offer on your residence that exceeds your expectations, how will you proceed?
You'll need to consider your post-sale plans, as this will ensure that you're ready for any home selling scenario that comes your way.
You may want to de-clutter your home as much as possible to make it easier to finalize a sale and relocate to a new address. In addition, you should try to work with a real estate agent who can help you sell your current home and find a new one that meets your needs going forward.
Just because you're a first-time home seller doesn't mean you can't prepare like a pro. Consider the aforementioned home selling factors, and you may be able to improve your chances of optimizing the price of your home and speeding up the home selling process.
Your home's exterior will be the first thing any prospective homebuyer sees when he or she visits your house. As such, you'll want to do everything possible to help your home's exterior stand out for all the right reasons.
Cracking or fading paint throughout your home's exterior can be problematic, especially for those who want to sell their residences as quickly as possible. Fortunately, painting your home's exterior remains a viable option -- all you'll need to do is find the right color to help your residence impress prospective homebuyers consistently.
For those who want to revamp their home's exterior, there are many factors to consider when choosing a new color, including:
1. Your neighbors' homes
If you decide to paint your home a bright or dark color, how will this make your home look in relation to the rest of the houses in your neighborhood?
Take a walk around the neighborhood to see if you can find a common color palette before you paint your home's exterior. This enables you to consider how your house will look relative to others in your neighborhood prior to painting.
If you notice your neighbors' homes include a mix of light or dark colors, you may want to stay within the same palette. However, try to avoid using the same color as your neighbors' homes – because no homebuyers want to live in a neighborhood filled with cookie-cutter houses that look identical.
2. Your home's style
Do some research to find out what type of home you currently own and how similar residences have been painted in the past. This will allow you to discover a color scheme that matches the style of your home, and ultimately, may help your residence generate interest from homebuyers.
For example, a Victorian-style home may feature distinct features that you should try to showcase using a bright color. On the other hand, a stuccoed Spanish colonial-style residence may appear distinguished if you utilize a neutral color.
Devote the time and resources to learn about the style of your home, and you should have no trouble finding the right color for your residence's exterior.
3. Your home's current color
What did you think of your home's exterior when you initially bought your home? The exterior color may have been one of the standout features that drew you to your house, and restoring your residence's original color may help you transform your home into a must-buy.
When it comes to painting your home's exterior, your best choice may be to leverage the same color. This may help you speed up the process of improving your home's appearance, as you won't need to evaluate numerous color options for your house's exterior.
Painting your residence's exterior is a must for those who want to enhance their home's appearance and value. A new paint job enables you to boost your house's curb appeal as well – something that is exceedingly important for home sellers in a highly competitive real estate market.
Work toward revamping your house's exterior today, and you'll be able to improve your chances of selling your residence.
Let's face it – selling a home in a buyer's market is far from ideal. In this scenario, a home seller likely will compete with many property sellers to promote his or her residence. And despite a home seller's best efforts, there are no guarantees that he or she will be able to maximize the value of a residence.
A buyer's market often is a dream come true for property buyers and a worst nightmare for property sellers. Lucky for you, we're here to help you navigate a buyer's market and ensure you can get the best price for your home.
Now, let's take a look at three tips that every home seller who is operating in a buyer's market needs to know.
1. Complete a Home Appraisal
A home appraisal offers a valuable opportunity for a home seller because it enables this individual to identify a property's strengths and weaknesses. That way, a home seller can find the best ways to enhance a residence and help it stand out from other available properties.
Typically, a home appraiser will inspect a residence both inside and out. After the evaluation is completed, the home appraiser will provide a home seller with a report that describes problem areas that were identified during the assessment.
A home appraisal report can make a world of difference for a home seller, particularly in a buyer's market. With this report in hand, a home seller can work toward enhancing a house's interior and exterior.
2. Establish a Competitive Price for Your Residence
What you paid for your home a few years is unlikely to match the value of your house today. Meanwhile, a home seller should set a competitive price for a residence to ensure that his or her house stirs up plenty of interest from homebuyers.
To determine a competitive price, examine the prices of comparable homes that are currently available in your area. This will help you establish a price range for houses similar to your own.
Furthermore, check out the prices of recently sold homes in your city or town. This housing market data can help you make an informed decision about how to price your residence.
3. Work with an Experienced Real Estate Agent
An experienced real estate agent is unafraid to list a home in a buyer's market. In fact, this housing market professional knows exactly what it takes to sell a residence in any real estate market, at any time.
Thanks to an experienced real estate agent, you can streamline the home selling process. This real estate professional will showcase your house to the right groups of property buyers consistently. He or she also will set up home showings and open houses, negotiate with property buyers on your behalf and do everything possible to help you optimize the value of your residence.
Take the guesswork out of selling a home in a buyer's market. Use these tips, and you can keep things simple as you sell your residence.