Free Sellers Guide
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If you are looking to sell your home in The Woodlands, Conroe, Spring or any of the communities in the Greater Houston area, let us help you start your sale off on the right foot. After all, you never get a 2nd chance to make a good first impression! Check out these Home Seller Tips and click HERE to view our Pre-Listing Package to help get you started on the right track!
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Here’s what you need to do:
Declutter your home
Get rid of as much clutter as possible. Stuffed closets, extraneous furniture, exercise equipment in living quarters, crowded countertops, overflowing cabinets, and endless knickknacks make homes seem smaller than they are. Consider putting some things in storage. The goal is to reduce or eliminate objections a buyer might have. Proper staging neutralizes a space, allowing buyers to imagine their new lifestyle.
Remember
Don’t discount the importance of a good first impression from the street. Trim hedges, reseed the lawn, plant some flowers, wash the windows, scrape and repaint the front door and windowsills, and put some oversized potted plants at the entrance. Click here for more home improvement project to improve curb appeal that lead to a sale.
Aim for light and bright
Because home buyers are nearly unanimously looking for a light, bright house as opposed to a dark, dreary one, do what you can to make that happen. Ditch the heavy drapes, take down dark wallpaper, put in high-wattage light bulbs, and get rid of wood paneling.
Hide your pets
Hide all evidence that you own animals. Just because your potential buyer loves his own pets doesn’t mean he wants a house that reeks of yours. Get rid of pet stains and odors (pay a professional if you have to) and send the four-legged family members to a neighbor’s house when you show your home.
Don’t discount the first offer
Think carefully before you reject the first offer on your home; studies show it is usually the highest bid you get. And the longer you hold out for a better offer, the lower your chances are of getting it, because people start to think that something must be wrong with a house that’s been on the market for so long.
Always negotiate
Don’t take lowball offers personally, or you’ll lose a lot of potential buyers. Instead of viewing them as insults, look at them as starting points for negotiation.
To attract the most buyers, list your home at or below price increments used on websites such as HAR, Zillow, Realtor.com and more. If you’re hoping to get about $500,000, for example, list it at that amount, not $505,000. You don’t want to miss out on buyers who have set $500,000 as their cutoff point.
Out with the old
Toss or change anything that makes your home look tired – worn carpeting, old throw rugs, dirty light switch covers. Give every room a fresh coat of paint in a neutral color. Don’t let cost deter you; this is truly a case where you’ve got to spend money to make money
Depersonalize
Rid your home of all your treasured personal touches – family photos, the kids’ artwork on the fridge, bowling trophies, your ceramic pig collection, the shrine to Elvis. They will only make it more difficult for potential buyers to imagine themselves in your home.
Fix anything that’s broken
Fix whatever is broken before you list your home. It’s almost always cheaper to do it yourself than to let the buyer use it to bring down the price.
Price your home to be the next one sold
It’s important to understand the market trends to get a fair price for the house as you move to the next stage of your life.
Choose an experienced agent who understands marketing and staging
Select an agent that can produce quality photographs and videos to help sell your home. View and compare agent’s current listings on the internet for quality marketing materials.