14 Critical Steps To Getting Your Home Sold FAST And For The TOP PRICE!

Make it easy for them to see your home When selling your home, you are only looking for the one buyer who is willing to pay the most for your home. To get the best results, it is essential that you make your home available to every qualified buyer who wants to see it. You never know just which one will be the buyer who will pay the most! Put Yourself In The Buyer’s Shoes Before putting your home on the market and every day while your home is being marketed, you must be willing to step back and objectively look at your home through the eyes of a buyer. Is it clean? Is it picked up? Are there any problems with the property that are showing and could scare off any potential buyers? These are the questions you must ask yourself. When buyers shop they are looking for the “best” home and will quickly eliminate your home from consideration if you give them a reason. Use Bold, Eye-Catching, Color Brochures It’s important to use full color, eye-catching property brochures – preferably with several attractive pictures of the property! The brochure needs to be bigger, brighter and bolder than the competition. It’s got to be noticed and looked at! Then the buyers will remember your home – not someone else’s! Price Your Home Right! Price is one of the single most important aspects in getting a home sold. The price incorporates all aspects of a home including location, condition, special features, amenities and even the seller’s motivation! You know how it works. If a home has spectacular views or is in great condition – the price is higher. If the seller is desperate to sell – the price becomes a bargain. When setting your price be sure to consider the other properties on the market – they’re your competition! Are there similar homes priced for less? If you need to sell quickly, you should price just below the competition. If you have time to wait until the other homes sell first, you can price the home higher than the other similar homes on the market. To properly analyze the right price for your home, ask your agent for both a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) and a Total Market Analysis (TMO). In today’s active market, buyer’s shop broad areas of the city. A CMA only tells the story of what’s happening close to your home. The TMO, on the other hand, will give you a clear picture of what your competition is outside your sub-division. Using just a CMA without a TMO is kind of like driving a car with only one eye open. You’re more likely to crash! Let Everyone Know You’re Selling! To get the top price it is essential that as many buyers as possible know about your home. Your home must get good exposure in the MLS system (make sure the agent writes up a good ad) and you must make sure the property is being advertised in several prominent locations (some with color) and is getting lots of exposure on the internet. You should make sure you’re letting your neighbors, friends, family and co- workers know it is on the market! We recommend using color “property business cards”. Call THE RON ELSTON TEAM for a FREE sample. Understand Your Motivation to Sell – And Keep It To Yourself! You must evaluate the reasons you are selling and have a clear picture of both what you have to gain by selling and, more importantly, what you have to lose if you don’t. This will make sure you make the best decision when an offer comes in. When talking with buyers or other agents besides your own, don’t let them know how anxious you may be to get your home sold. Refer questions about the property, your situation, etc. to your agent. Make Sure You Use A Great Agent – one who Guarantees Success! When you select an agent, find out what they are going to do to get your home sold. Ask for a written marketing plan that is custom designed to sell your particular property. If your agent is confident they can get your home sold, they should be willing to guarantee their results! If you would like a copy of our FREE report entitled “10 Important Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Agent” just call THE RON ELSTON TEAM!. Stage Your Home to SELL! Ever wonder why new home models look so good? A lot of it has to do with the professional ‘staging’ done to the home. You’ll notice there is not a lot of clutter. The closets are empty and feel big and the furniture has been placed to make the home look as spacious as possible. There are many tricks and techniques to staging a home to sell for the highest price. Let us know if you would like your own copy of our FREE report entitled “24 Techniques to Stage Your Home Like A Model!”. Stay Out of the Way! Buyers will buy the home that feels the most comfortable to them. You want to help them feel as “at home” as possible. This will help make sure they buy your house rather than one of your competitor’s. Most buyers feel uncomfortable when the seller is in the house with them and, so, one of best ways to make people feel at ease in your home is simply for you to leave. We recommend you take a walk around the block or go visit one of your neighbors while they are at your home. It’s a great time to run errands or take the kids to the park nearby. Make it Easy for Buyers to get Information You should have plenty of high quality, color property brochures for both inside your home and for the box on the yard sign (having property brochures on the yard sign is incredibly important – make sure you do!). Providing FREE pre-recorded information that can be reached 24 hours per day, 7 days per week by simply calling an ‘800’ number – and it really does need to be an ‘800‘ number, not just a regular local number. Since most buyers today shop on the internet before making a buying decision, it is important to have the information available on the internet as well. One suggestion. Don’t provide too much information. Too much detail can easily chase off prospective buyers before they have a chance to see your home. Pre-Inspect Your home There are actually two negotiations that will occur during the sale of your home. The first is when the buyers makes an offer to buy your house. At that time, you’ll negotiate the price and terms of the contract. The second negotiation occurs once the buyer has inspected the property. At that time, they will probably ask you to fix a few things or reduce the price to compensate for any problems they may have found. You can take control of this second negotiation in advance by simply having your home pre-inspected. Not only will you have the chance to fix any potential problems before they are discovered by the buyer but you will also make your home more appealing by marketing the fact that it has been pre- inspected! Pre-Appraise Your Home One way to virtually guarantee you will sell your home for full price or more is to have it pre-appraised. Not only will it make it almost impossible for the buyer to try to negotiate down the price, it works as a good marketing too since the buyer can save money using your appraisal!

Offer a Home Warranty This is particularly valuable if you are selling an older home or if there are a lot of other competitive homes on the market near you. Buyer’s will feel they are getting something more with your house than they would with one of the others. Something important too! Protection from expensive and unexpected home repairs in the near future! This is a great marketing tool! Avoid Vacancies When a buyer sees a home is vacant they immediately think the seller is desperate. This, naturally, leads to a lower offer and a tougher negotiation. Whenever possible, live in the home until it goes under contract or leave some of your furniture in the home to make it looked lived in. This will make you look less desperate and will likely help you make thousands more on your sale!

Should you, or someone you know, have any questions about the process of selling a home, give us a call. Remember to ask for Ron Elston or a member of THE RON ELSTON TEAM!.