The More You Know: Top 4 Tips for Home Sellers

Tip 1: In strong markets, where demand outstrips supply, home sellers can hold out for top dollar. In weak markets the reverse is true—there are many homes on the market and unless you price your home very competitively you'll be very unlikely to attract any buyers. Whatever the current market conditions you will be most likely to get the highest possible price if you are willing to take the time to understand each of the components of a successful home sales campaign so you can assure that you, or a real estate service provider who may be assisting you, are doing everything possible to maximize the effectiveness of the home marketing effort.

Tip 2: A good time to sell is during a period of low mortgage interest rates, because with lower interest rates more buyers will be qualified to buy your home. Low rates benefit buyers and sellers alike, and if you plan to purchase another home after selling yours, you will be both a seller and a buyer. A “sellers market”, where there are more buyers than homes available for sale, is also helpful. However, if you plan to purchase another home in the same area after selling yours, this competitive advantage will work against you when you become a buyer. The same principle applies in reverse to buyers markets, so if you plan to purchase another home in the same area after selling yours, it really makes little difference in the end whether it’s a buyers or a sellers market.

Tip 3: Shine Your Apple. Make your home look as nice as it can look. Have a presale yard sale and get rid of as much clutter as possible. Keep only a minimal amount of furniture in each room – it will make the room look bigger. Store any extra furniture. Clean up and repaint with neutral colors if necessary. Open blinds and replace light bulbs with brighter substitutes. If important parts of your home are outdated consider cost effective updates. If your kitchen or bath is old or in bad shape a prudent remodel can often return over 100% of the investment and help you sell the home faster. But don’t over improve. There’s not much point in adding a fourth bathroom to a home that is already worth more than most of the others in the neighborhood.

Tip 4: Study. More money hangs in the balance in the selling of your home than in most financial transactions in your life. It therefore makes sense to learn as much as you can about selling your home. There are many excellent books on the subject in libraries and bookstores. The real estate sections of local newspapers are great sources of information about your local marketplace. The difference between understanding the process as well as your local market, versus not understanding it, can be many thousands of dollars in the eventual selling price.

Courtesy of the American Homeowners Foundation and the American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance, www.AmericanHomeowners.com.