Selling Tips and Questions

The Keys: Price, Location, Condition & Exposure (and Agent-intangibles)

Price and Location:
When it comes to pricing, you want to lead the pack, not follow. Many factors affect price, including location (street location, neighborhood and community), style, condition and updating, supply and demand ratio, and time of year. IF THE PRICE IS TOO HIGH, NOTHING ELSE WILL MATTER.

Condition:
Home staging in essential. It includes:

  • Good lighting, keeping the house clean and tiday, leaving shades open, and eliminating odors. BUYING IS EMOTIONAL.
  • Taking care of deferred maintenance will cost you less to fix now—broken locks, door handles, hinges, cracks on the front steps, blown window seals, damaged blinds/drapes, etc. BUYING IS EMOTIONAL.
  • New, inexpensive carpet and paint can often gain you more on an offer than the initial expense. BUYING IS EMOTIONAL
  • Curb appeal and first impressions: Keep the yard mowed, trimmed and picked up. Be quick with shoveling and laying down salt in the winter. Your front door should be in great condition, with locks and handles that work with ease. It can be a great idea to have a front step light on a timer for evening showings. You should try to remove your dog from the house during showings, even if he/she is very friendly. Some people just aren’t "dog people". (See "You’ve Listed Your Home With Kricket and Mike. Now What?" for more tips.)

Exposure and Agent-Intangibles:

  • Truth in Housing Inspections are required in many communities, sometimes before any showings take place. An inspection may also result in work orders that need to be handled.
  • Availability, ease of showings and previews is very important. If you or the listing office are slow in responding to requests or reschedule showings, potential buyers may find something else before they ever get to see your home.
  • People are busy. The responsiveness of your agent to inquiries from other agents and potential buyers will make a difference. These people will continue to look at other homes while they wait for a response to their questions.
  • Take nothing for granted. Your agent should try to get feedback, give clarifications and explore possibilities with the agents who have seen your property. Maybe there is a simple misunderstanding that is standing in the way of an offer! Find out if there is potential for a deal!
  • Networking is very important. Your agent should promote your property at sales meetings, via Realtor Tours, in e-mails to other offices and past clients, and by distributing flyers to local offices of other real estate companies.
  • It’s a good idea to inform the agents who have shown your listing, as well as other agents who operate in the area, of any price reductions or other changes. They may have clients who have been waiting for an announcement like this.
  • Quality marketing materials are essential. Professional-looking, color books, brochures and community-information binders will help add perceived quality and value to your home. BUYING IS EMOTIONAL.
  • Marketing Outside the Box: What is your target market? How can you reach it? Marketing your home on E-Bay or craigslist can create great exposure, to name just a couple of non-traditional ideas.
  • The accuracy and completeness of your MLS information is FAR more important than you might realize.
    1. Property photos (most peoples’ very first impression of your home):
      1. The MLS allows for 18 photos of your home. Use them all!
      2. Make them as bright and sunny as possible.
      3. Take extra photos, and pick the best shots.
      4. Designate the order the photos will be displayed —primary, secondary, etc.
      5. Update the pictures with the change of seasons.
    2. Are the ‘Public Remarks’ filled out, and do they describe your home’s best features?
    3. If an agent or potential buyer can’t find your listing on the MLS, then nothing else will even matter. MLS searches are done using any number of different “search fields.” If any of them are entered incorrectly, you might get overlooked.
      1. Is the address spelled correctly?
      2. Has the correct number for ‘mls area’ been used?
      3. Are the map page and coordinates entered correctly?
      4. Is the legal description and complex/development filled out?
      5. Are the directions clear and correct, and do they suggest the most direct route?
      6. Is the price correct? What about the number of beds, baths, garage stalls, etc.?