I’m going to keep this simple. We all sell our homes for the same reason, we want the money (equity) to use for some other purpose. The equity we want is all we can get, and in the process of getting the equity we want NO STRESS. Those are reasonable expectations. Every time I’ve sold, I had the same expectations.
If I’ve learned anything in thirty six years of selling homes, to have the most positive experience, let the market work for you. Follow these three steps and you will improve your chances of success.
1) Look at your home critically and repair, touch-up, replace, and freshen-up. Leave nothing for the next buyer to have to do.
2) Work with a professional staging consultant. We provide a paid consultation from experts like Laura Baker of rss-home-staging
It’s my opinion that doing the minimum amount of preparation is a high-risk gamble. I’ve seen enough evidence to know that spending some money and time getting a house ready to appeal to the most finicky buyer on day one is better than waiting to see if you can get away with doing a little and hoping for the best.
3) When homes are selling for more than the asking price, price in line with the asking prices (not the sale prices) of relevant homes that recently sold. Multiple offers in the first week will give you the best terms and prices and to get multiple offers, price where multiple people will make bids. If you price where other homes sold, you will price yourself beyond what most buyers offered on the other houses and those buyers who paid the highest prices already bought. You want to bring in the bigger pool of buyers and from that pool you will get the buyer who is motivated to make the best offer.
The offer to purchase is about 24 pages of ifs and buts. Price is one thing, and the rest of the offer where all the stress and worries live. When you have people competing to own your home you have the opportunity to negotiate the offer to your most favorable advantage. Guiding you to gain the advantage is what I do best and it’s a lot easier for us to get there when your price is precise and your home is prepared.