Making the decision to sell your home is a big step! There are probably a thousand things on your mind right now, from packing to organizing your home, setting up your next residence, and so much more. It’s a lot to handle at once.
Selling your home doesn’t have to be anxiety-inducing, though. There are a handful of steps that, if followed properly, will jump-start the home selling process and ensure you get a fair offer faster and with less negotiation. Read these tips thoroughly, and start acting on them today. The sooner you get the process started, the sooner you move out of your current home and onto the next big thing for you and your family.
Know your perfect buyer and cater to them
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Who is the perfect buyer for your home? The type of person or family looking at Brookline real estate isn’t going to be interested in the same styling or home as someone looking at condos in Columbus Park or a family looking for space in Wellesley.
If you can get inside the head of your perfect buyer, tailoring your home to their tastes will be significantly easier. If you can get a buyer to fall in love with your home, they are more likely to place a higher offer, and ultimately you will sell faster! Identifying the perfect buyer for your home should fall to your real estate agent. He or she has years of experience in determining target markets and understanding how to reach those who are most likely to buy your property.
Get your home cleaned and organized before you list
A huge mistake some sellers make is not prepping their home properly before it goes on the market. If you take a look at Boston homes for sale listed now, you’ll notice the nicest homes have a few things in common. None of them are cluttered, have messy closets, or have personalized portraits or memorabilia all over the walls or shelves. Decluttering and depersonalizing are key when it comes to prepping your home.
You also need to make sure your house is thoroughly cleaned. It is worth the extra time to have a professional team deep clean your home from top to bottom. Once everything is cleaned, remove any personal art or pictures on the walls and replace them with neutral art or decor. Your closets should ideally be about 75% full and well organized, so buyers can appreciate the space and visualize their things hanging there without any concern of it being too small.
The goal of this is to make the home feel cozy but not personalized. The perfect buyer should be able to walk into the home and immediately imagine their family living there. If all a buyer notices is your wedding photos or graduation pictures on the wall, it will be harder for them to visualize themselves cooking in your kitchen or watching television in the living room.
Make any repairs before you list
Unless your home is in poor condition, you’re not going to need to overhaul the entire home and make major renovations. However, you should consider making minor repairs while you’re cleaning the home to get it ready for the next owners.
If you have a stuck drawer or a leaky faucet, it’s important to get it fixed. Repair any holes in the walls and add a fresh coat of paint. If you feel your bathroom or kitchen won’t stand up in comparison to other Boston homes for sale, painting the cabinets or changing out a bathroom vanity will make a big difference. Completing these repairs will help reassure buyers that your property has been well taken care of.
Don’t skip the staging
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To make your home as appealing as possible to potential buyers, invest the time and energy into staging it. Staging a home is about more than just moving a few couches or adding a lamp! Staging should improve the general flow of the home, utilize each space best, and help show your buyers the home's full potential.
Some recent data released by the National Association of Realtors suggests that over 80% of buyers find a staged home more appealing compared to one that was not staged. The most important rooms to stage include the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom. Staging will make a major difference in how quickly your home is sold and for what price. The most effective way to stage your home is to hire an expert who can do all the work for you.
A realistic price point will get you a better offer
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The Boston housing market is hot, and many sellers think they can list at nearly any price and have their homes sold quickly. However, that isn’t the best option in most cases.
A price that is fair to slightly below market value is going to help attract more buyers, even if you believe the property could be worth more. The more people who lay eyes on your home, the more likely you are to get a quick offer.
Talk to your agent about what a fair price for your home might be. An experienced agent will perform a comparative market analysis and determine a price that will attract the best offers.
Work with a local agent you can trust
If you want to sell your home fast, you should have confidence in your real estate team. A local real estate agent that knows all the ins and outs of the Boston housing market and has local connections can help you identify your target buyer faster, give you advice on staging your home, and ultimately negotiate with a buyer to get you the best offer possible.
When you’re ready to list, reach out to the Podolsky Tate Real Estate Team. These Boston-area experts know what it takes to sell a home quickly in this market and can help guide you every step of the way. Call today and get the process started so you can concentrate on finding the next home for you and your family.
*Header photo courtesy of Unsplash
*Header photo courtesy of Unsplash
