Home Selling 101

Selling your home is one of the most important steps in your life. Active Real Estate, Inc will help maximize profits, maintain control, and reduce the stress that comes with the home selling process:

1. Find a good Realtor 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.  At Active Real Estate, Inc., we will work hard for you to ensure you will use us again in the future!!  We are a member of the Tiftarea Board of Realtors.  All of our listings appear on the Multi List so other agents are notified that your house is on the market.   In addition, your listing will appear on Realtor.com and our website.   We encourage other Realtors to show our listings and make it as convenient as possible for them to do so!! 

2. 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. 

3. Set the Right 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.  We will gladly prepare a Fair Market Analysis for you and discuss the best price to list your property.

4. Maximize your home’s sales potential.

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.  We will be glad to do an assessment and help identify potential problems.   We encourage you to ask friends or family members their opinion also. 

5. 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 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.   Remove personal items including family photographs.  Remember, you goal is to SELL the property.  Look at it as marketable property instead of your “home”.   

6. If possible, 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.

7. Deal Killer Odors - Must Go!

You may not realize but odd smells like traces of food, pets and smoking odors can kill deals quickly. If prospective buyers know you have a dog, or that you smoke, they'll start being aware of odors and seeing stains that may not even exist. Don't leave any clues.

8. Be a Smart Seller - Disclose Everything

Smart sellers are proactive in disclosing all known defects to their buyers in writing. This can reduce liability and prevent lawsuits later on.

A couple of things to consider when Selling:

A Low Offer - Don't Take It Personally

Invariably the initial offer is below what both you and the buyer knows he'll pay for your property. Don't be upset, evaluate the offer objectively. Ensure it spells out the offering price, sufficient deposit, amount of down payment, mortgage amount, a closing date and any special requests. This can simply provide a starting point from which you can negotiate.

Turn That Low Offer Around

You can counter a low offer or even an offer that’s just under your asking price. This lets the buyer know that the first offer isn’t seen as being a serious one. Now you’ll be negotiating only with buyers with serious offers.