Selling Your Home - Sell Your Home for More

Originally Posted on 1/15/2019

In a previous post, I concluded that there is no calculable certainty with which you can determine the true value of a home until it has been sold. It is also worth noting that there can be great differences between the seller's assessment of the value of his or her home, the listing price, and the final sales price. So what can I, as a seller, do to try to elicit offers at my listing price, or maybe even above?

There are many things I can do, and while they may seem trivial and of no consequence to the real value of the home, they can each mean thousands of dollars more or less in the offer price or even be the difference between getting no offers at all or getting multiple offers.

It is all in the preparation of the home for sale and keeping the home prepared for sale at all times. The first thing we as sellers should do when putting our homes up for sale is going for a drive and return home pretending to be in the market for our home. In other words, take a look at our home with the eyes of a buyer. 

What is the first thing we see as we drive up? Does this home have curb appeal? Has the lawn been mowed recently, does the home look clean, fresh, and newly painted? Are the screens whole, window frames in good condition, etc, etc. If the first impression of the home is not such that a buyer will love the home before they even step into it, you have already lost half the battle for the buyer's attention.

As you walk in the front door, is the home tidy and clean? Are the walls clean and free of scratches?

There may be things you can't fix, either because you don't have the funds to do it or simply because it is not practical. Well, if you truly can't fix something, then leave it be and concentrate on the things you can fix. The object is to make your home as appealing as possible to as many people as possible.

Some of the things that we all can do to make our home as appealing as possible are:

• Keep your yard tidy and free from debris
• Keep lawns mowed and bushes trimmed
• Sweep away leaves and other items
• Keep the inside clean and tidy
• Remove clutter
• Keep tables and worktops free of clutter and clean
• Remove excessive furniture to show off the true size of each room

Real estate professionals often talk about the need for staging, but in reality, most sellers already have the tools for staging and all it takes is a bit of rearranging the furniture that is already there.