Selling a Property — Part 2: What to Do When You’ve Found an Agent
Okay, you have decided to sell your house, and you have selected an agent. Now what? With the thousands of homes we have seen for sale, there are three things that almost always are must-do items. If your house is clean, updated, and decluttered, it will most likely sell. If it doesn’t, you probably do not have it priced correctly. Obviously the above two sentences will not replace detailed market analysis, which you will get from one of our network agents. But if you asked us what three basic things are that an owner can do to help their house sell, that’s it—clean, update, declutter!
The most important time of your property’s listing life is the first ten to fourteen days. The first thing almost every agent in town does each morning is open up the local MLS and hit the button that says, “New Listings.” They want to see what new properties are on the market. If it’s a good one, they are going to rush their buyers out to see it before anybody else does.
First impressions are critical. Again, if your house is not clean, updated, and decluttered, those agents will remember that particular house on so-and-so street isn’t worth looking at. They’ll remember that two weeks later, even if you’ve cleaned since then.
Don’t list your house until it’s ready.
Clean
My goodness! You wouldn’t believe the number of listings we go to where people are honestly expecting to sell the house, and it is absolutely filthy. Are you kidding me? Unless the buyer is looking for a fixer-upper and is going to try and steal the property with a lowball offer, this is an absolute showstopper. Clean your home. Hire somebody to clean your home. Don’t list your home until it is clean.
Update
Okay, got to be a little careful here. It is not absolutely critical that you’ve got granite countertops, tile or hardwood floors, or custom mirrors installed throughout your home. Those are luxury items, and although they will help you get top dollar for your house, not having them will not necessarily prevent your house from selling.
We’re more concerned with a house that was obviously built and decorated twenty to thirty years ago. Wood paneling throughout, orange shag carpet, you know what we’re talking about. When considering updating, consult your real estate professional (and read the next chapter). In a nutshell, bathrooms and kitchens normally provide the highest return on your investment.
Declutter
First and foremost, you want potential buyers to be able to picture your home as “their” home. They can’t do that with all of your stuff everywhere. Okay, that was a little harsh, but you get my point. There’s an entire industry that popped up specifically for this—the professional home stager. A few years ago, I hired a stager to help me sell my home on the East Coast. I “donated” almost $700 for her to tell me basically what I already knew.
Remove as many furniture items from each room that you can without it looking funny or taking away functionality. You’ll be surprised at how much cleaner and bigger the rooms look. Also remove the personal items and pictures. They want to visualize their wedding picture on the wall, and it is difficult to do that with an 18″ × 22″ framed picture of some strangers staring at them. We often suggest getting a little storage room or a Pods-type unit. Clients don’t mind seeing that in the driveway because they know it will be leaving.
Any quality agent (all of our network agents) should absolutely tell you the things you need to do to sell your home. You’re hiring them to do just that, not to be your friend. Insist that they be critical. Anything less will end up costing you more money.