Big Questions to Ask Before Listing Your Home
Putting Your Team Together
Selling your home can be very challenging in a buyer’s market. In this type of market, it’s been more important than ever to make a really good choice when hiring a professional to go to bat for you. A couple of things to ponder...
- Do the candidates have a strong sense of what homes like yours are selling at?
- Are they working full time?
- Will they not only look after you and your home but also make sure to expose it to thousands of potential buyers (and people who don’t even know they are looking yet)?!
Before I became a REALTOR®, I didn’t really know what to look for. After watching the performance of different marketing strategies from the inside (we get to see which homes sell and which don’t, for example), here’s my…
Top FOUR Things to Look For
#1 It must be a good fit. You must be able to trust your REALTOR®, have faith in them to sell your home, and know that they are looking after your best interests.
#2 Time, money and energy! It takes a lot of all three to make certain that all of Fort McMurray will see that your home is for sale, right away. Putting a “For Sale” sign up on your front lawn is no longer enough. In fact, it’s no way near enough.
#3 It’s crucial that your agent prices your home with precision so selling feels more like ripping a bandaid off than the turning of a knife.
#4 Your REALTOR® needs to keep you up to date with what is happening in the market. Do they know the absorption rate for your price range and housing type? Has the stock of foreclosures peaked yet?
Be Really Honest With Yourself
Consider: “Do I really want to sell my home or am I just testing the waters?” Answering this in advance of preparations, showings, etc. can save you and yours a lot of time and stress.
In today’s market, well over 50% of listings won’t sell. This makes it even more important to pick the right agent, but it also makes it more important than ever to answer the question “Do I want to sell?”. This is huge.
Doing Your Homework on Price
If you think your home is worth a certain amount, are you being biased because it’s your home? Remember, no matter how much we love our homes and the memories that they hold...a person looking to buy your home doesn’t have that same attachment.
Stepping back and looking at your home from a buyer’s point of view will help you to see clearly. The price that a great REALTOR® suggests you list your home for is the best price to actually SELL your home.
Preparing for the Sale
In a buyer’s market, we need to remember buyers have the option of many homes on the market. We need to ensure that your home is exciting, that it has something that will stand out to a buyer and make them want to buy your home.
So, what will that be? It depends on what your home has to offer. Is it a big backyard, a garage that is to die for? Is there room to build a second garage? For a lot of women (myself included!), it is all about the kitchen or the ensuite bathroom. Remember why you bought your home; what was it that made you say “This is the one!”?
On the flip side, if home values are adjusting downwards over time in your price range (they are), it is easy to get into the trap of trying to do too much (home improvements take time).
The best advice I can give on this is to reach out to your professional before making any large renovation commitments. You might actually get more out by not doing reno’s, instead just limiting preparations before listing, and doing staging* only (and leaving minor improvements until after your home is listed for sale).
Whatever you do, please keep costs to a minimum.
Conclusion
When you choose the best REALTOR® that suits you, your experience should be amazing.
If you like guarantees (that you’ll sell, that your experience is amazing), then when your time comes to move, think of The A-Team.
We are the experts.
We love marketing, and...
We LOVE giving second opinions and a little healthy competition. ;)
*See other blogs (past and future) for staging tips.