Listing Your Home

Setting the Right Price

The best activity occurs during the first few weeks a home is on the market. Setting the right price right from the start ensures your home is being compared favourably with the competition. 

Don't help someone else sell their home by pricing yours too high and making your neighbour's home look like a bargain. 

Setting the price too high because you are  "not in a hurry, want room to negotiate, want to test the market first" may sound like a good strategy but……. Statistics show, the longer a home sits on the market unsold……. the bigger the drop from the asking price when it is finally sold.

Buyers are usually well informed about recent sales. They select homes by comparison shopping and are aware of differences in features and value. In their eyes, your price must be justified in comparison to other available homes.

There are a number of factors that influence the value of your property including:

• Prior Sales
• Location
• Condition
• Improvements
• Market Conditions

A house realistically priced from day one offers the best opportunity for you to sell quickly and obtain the best price.

Buyers and their agents may have been looking in your area and waiting for a suitable house at an appropriate price to come on the market. If reasonably priced, it is possible your property will sell quickly to waiting buyers.

Competitively priced properties encourage reasonable offers, pleasant negotiations and a smooth closing.

An over-priced property can go stale after the important first few weeks when the home is new on the market.  Later, when the price is adjusted, the house is often overlooked.

If your house is priced correctly you may be lucky and get an offer quickly. Often sellers believe that the first offer received will be one of many to come. There is a tendency to not take it seriously, and to hold out for a higher price. This is especially true if the offer comes in soon after the home is placed on the market. Experienced Realtors know that more often than not the first buyer ends up being the best buyer, because often that buyer has been waiting for a suitable house to come on the market.   Many sellers have had to accept far less money than the initial offer later in the selling process. The home is at it's most saleable early in the marketing period, and the amount buyers are willing to pay diminishes with the length of time a property has been on the market.

Showing your home

Whenever possible allow a showing when requested.  Allowing buyers into your home at a time they choose is one of the key reasons a house sells quickly. Buyers are working on their own schedule, if they can't see your home at their convenience, they may buy something else before they get a chance to see it all.   The greatest way to encourage showings on your property is to make access readily available.  If possible ask you agent to put a lock box on the property so that agents can show the property easily and at short notice.  Try to keep your house tidy and ready for showings but do not refuse a showing because the you have not had time to tidy up.   Remember, buyers may buy your house if they see it when it is untidy, they will not buy your house they have never seen it at all. 

When your home is being shown, it is important to do the following:

• Keep all lights on
• Keep all drapes and shutters open
• Keep all doors unlocked
• Leave soft music playing
• Keep children and pets well out of the way while the house is being shown.     
• Do not follow the buyers and agents around offer information only when asked.

Curb Appeal
The front exposure, yard and setting reflects the overall desirability of your house to most buyers and is also an indication of how well cared for the house is.   First impressions are critical. Make certain that the front yard, front of the home and entry look as neat and clean as possible. 

Clean
Most people are turned off by even the smallest amount of uncleanliness or odour. A vendor can lose thousands of dollars by not presenting the property in a clean and fresh condition.

If your house is squeaky clean, you will be able to sell it faster and net more in the process. If you are planning on moving, why not get rid of that old junk now so that your house will appear larger?Pack up some of the things you will not need till after your move Make more space,allow prospective purchasers to see the house without too many personal things to distract them from the house itself.

After you sign the listing agreement your house your agent should tour the house with you and offer suggestions to make the house as appealing as possible. Please don't take offense if he or she suggests small changes or points out a pet or smoke odour.  You may not notice things you live with every day but it is an agents job to observe your home with a critical eye and suggest changes which may make a difference to how fast you sell the house and how much you can get for it. Odors must be eliminated especially if you have dogs, cats, or if you are a smoker. You may not notice the smell, but buyers who are not smokers or pet owners will!

Paint and Carpet
Nothing improves a property more than fresh paint and clean broadloom.
Paint makes the whole house smell clean and look crisp. If your house has chipped paint, exposed wood, or the paint looks faded ... repaint.

If your carpet is dirty have it cleaned.  If it is worn, outdated, or an unusual color, you may need to seriously consider replacing it. Don't think that buyers have more money than you have to replace carpet. They don't. They simply buy elsewhere.