Top 7 Tips for First Time Home Sellers
Posted Mar 13, 2007 @ 4:36 pm, Viewed by 841 Visitors, Read 849 Times.
Selling your first home can be a nerve-wracking experience. When buying your first home, it’s normal to be a bit scared – but also excited & with plenty of plans for the future. However, when it’s time to finally sell your largest investment, many sellers are filled with questions and doubt. Will my home sell? How should I price it? What do I need to do to make sure it’s in showing condition? When it’s time to sell your largest investment, you need sound guidance & advice. Follow these tips to your first successful sale.
1) What Was Once Your “Home” is Now Your “Property”
It’s normal to be emotional about your home. You’ve celebrated holidays, entertained friends & family, & hopefully have great memories in your home. However, as soon as you’ve made the decision to sell your home, it now becomes a financial asset. It’s no longer your “home,” it’s now your “property.” As hard as it is, try and remove any emotion from the sale of your property.
2) Location, Condition, & Price
How quickly & successfully you can sell your property boils down to location, condition, & price. There’s not much you can do about location. However, you have the perfect opportunity to make sure your home is in great showing condition, and you have full control over the asking price of your property. Make the right decisions over what you can control – condition & price – and you should be able to successfully sell your property in a reasonable time.
3) Forget How Much You Paid For Your Property
What you paid for your property has little to no effect over its present value. The most important factors to your property’s present value are the comparable homes that have sold within the last 6 months. This can be a little hard for some sellers to swallow, because it’s something you have no control over. However, understanding this fact is key to successfully selling your home in a reasonable amount of time.
4) It Doesn’t Matter How Much You Spent on Improvements
Improvements to your home do play a big part in your home’s value, but the amount you spent on those improvements doesn’t mean much. If you spent $1000 on materials for wood floors, and installed them yourself, that doesn’t mean that your home is worth only $1000 more. Conversely, if you significantly overpaid for improvements to your home, it doesn’t mean that your home is worth that amount more. Again, market value plays the biggest factor. If homes with wood floors typically sell for $5000 more in your neighborhood, your home is worth $5000 more than comparable homes without wood floors.
5) Consult a Realtor ASAP – And Focus on Service
Once you’ve made the decision to sell your property, contact a reputable Realtor as soon as possible. Interview Realtors until you find the agent who is right for you – it might take one listing presentation, and it might take many more! While it is important to take note of the marketing fees each agent will charge, focus your attention on the services an agent will provide. Selling your home can be stressful, and you want to make sure that the agent guiding you through the process will provide you exceptional service & communication throughout the transaction.
6) You Get One Chance to Make a First Impression
Property condition can help you immensely when selling your home – and it can also be as big a detriment. Make sure & improve your property as much as possible – within reason. Touch up any necessary paint, de-clutter your home, plant fresh flowers, & make sure your home has a pleasant aroma. Your Realtor should help you with sound advice to get your home in top showing condition.
7) Relax
If you’ve priced your home correctly, made sure it’s in good showing condition, & hired the right agent, you should sell your home in a reasonable amount of time. However, you’re still at the mercy of the market. Relax, maintain your home’s showing condition, & adjust the price if market conditions & feedback call for it. Pay attention to average days on market, but don’t become too distraught if it takes a little longer to sell your property. You’ve done all you can to successfully sell your property, and it surely will!
Eric Bramlett currently manages his Austin Real Estate Guide, his Austin Texas Real Estate company’s website, & his Downtown Austin Condo Guide.
1) What Was Once Your “Home” is Now Your “Property”
It’s normal to be emotional about your home. You’ve celebrated holidays, entertained friends & family, & hopefully have great memories in your home. However, as soon as you’ve made the decision to sell your home, it now becomes a financial asset. It’s no longer your “home,” it’s now your “property.” As hard as it is, try and remove any emotion from the sale of your property.
2) Location, Condition, & Price
How quickly & successfully you can sell your property boils down to location, condition, & price. There’s not much you can do about location. However, you have the perfect opportunity to make sure your home is in great showing condition, and you have full control over the asking price of your property. Make the right decisions over what you can control – condition & price – and you should be able to successfully sell your property in a reasonable time.
3) Forget How Much You Paid For Your Property
What you paid for your property has little to no effect over its present value. The most important factors to your property’s present value are the comparable homes that have sold within the last 6 months. This can be a little hard for some sellers to swallow, because it’s something you have no control over. However, understanding this fact is key to successfully selling your home in a reasonable amount of time.
4) It Doesn’t Matter How Much You Spent on Improvements
Improvements to your home do play a big part in your home’s value, but the amount you spent on those improvements doesn’t mean much. If you spent $1000 on materials for wood floors, and installed them yourself, that doesn’t mean that your home is worth only $1000 more. Conversely, if you significantly overpaid for improvements to your home, it doesn’t mean that your home is worth that amount more. Again, market value plays the biggest factor. If homes with wood floors typically sell for $5000 more in your neighborhood, your home is worth $5000 more than comparable homes without wood floors.
5) Consult a Realtor ASAP – And Focus on Service
Once you’ve made the decision to sell your property, contact a reputable Realtor as soon as possible. Interview Realtors until you find the agent who is right for you – it might take one listing presentation, and it might take many more! While it is important to take note of the marketing fees each agent will charge, focus your attention on the services an agent will provide. Selling your home can be stressful, and you want to make sure that the agent guiding you through the process will provide you exceptional service & communication throughout the transaction.
6) You Get One Chance to Make a First Impression
Property condition can help you immensely when selling your home – and it can also be as big a detriment. Make sure & improve your property as much as possible – within reason. Touch up any necessary paint, de-clutter your home, plant fresh flowers, & make sure your home has a pleasant aroma. Your Realtor should help you with sound advice to get your home in top showing condition.
7) Relax
If you’ve priced your home correctly, made sure it’s in good showing condition, & hired the right agent, you should sell your home in a reasonable amount of time. However, you’re still at the mercy of the market. Relax, maintain your home’s showing condition, & adjust the price if market conditions & feedback call for it. Pay attention to average days on market, but don’t become too distraught if it takes a little longer to sell your property. You’ve done all you can to successfully sell your property, and it surely will!
Eric Bramlett currently manages his Austin Real Estate Guide, his Austin Texas Real Estate company’s website, & his Downtown Austin Condo Guide.
Eric Bramlett is the broker & co-owner of One Source Realty, an Westlake real estate brokerage. Eric has been an active Lake Travis real estate agent since 2003, and an active broker since 2005. Eric specializes in central, west, & downtown Austin, including central Austin condos. Eric considers himself somewhat of an online marketer wannabe, and writes an SEM blog.
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No worries - mistakes happen! I get pretty defensive of my work - I take a lot of pride in it, and when I run google searches for the titles, I often find that people have posted it on their sites w/o properly crediting me. Welcome to the REW blogs!
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Eris, Thanks for the comment. As you can see.. this is my 2nd day at blogging and I am trying to learn it all on my own. I did cut and paste and I was showing someone else what I have been learning. I forgot to erase my work... and YOURS. Please forgive the MISTAKE.