Many of us are wanting to sell our home to make a tidy profit now that the market is so hot.  We’ve seen it slowing just a tiny bit in the last couple of months so if you’re going to do it, now is the time to get going. Many people believe that since it’s a strong seller’s market, you can sell your home yourself without a real estate agent and while this may get the job done, the question is, will it get the job done the right way and will you get the most out of your investment.  The answer is likely to be no.  A professional collects a fee to sell your home for a reason.  They are the best as what they do, which means they know the laws, they know what to do and more importantly, what not to do.  And they have the negotiating skills to help sway the sale in your favor.  Getting the most money for your home during a sale is the goal and a professional knows how to do that.  But make sure you choose wisely.  You want someone who has the skills, experience and has a good rapport with you.  Having your home professionally marketed by a real estate agent is the key to getting everything you can when you sell your home.

Professional Assessment of Your Home

An objective third party assessment of your home is going to be the one of the most valuable things about having a professional working with you.  You live in your home, and you most likely have an emotional attachment to it.  Plus, you’re there all the time and can’t always see the things that need to be repaired, replaced, or remodeled.  Or you may not fully understand the value of a small investment like new paint or carpet cleaning.  A first impression may be the only opportunity you get to make a good impression.  Your agent will help you to identify items that need to be addressed and have some vendor connection to help you get the work done.

Staging

Decluttering, adding decorative elements, putting furniture in the right places, and removing bulky furniture are all things to consider when you’re selling your home.  You’ll want it to look spacious and neat and it should appeal to the masses, not just a small group of people.  Making your home universal so-to-speak is the best way to visually market it, especially before you have professional photos taken.

Professional Measurements and Photography

You may be an excellent amateur photographer, but do you know how to take real estate pictures. Photographers familiar with home photos know how to take them from the best and most appealing angles and how to take advantage of the best lighting. There are better times of the day to snap a photo like during the twilight hours so that the home looks more dramatic and more flawless.  Also, the pros have drones to take photos from higher angles which will show the entire property including a pool, professional landscaping or a beautiful outdoor patio that should be highlighted.  And now that I mention highlighting, they also know what features to highlight in the home like vaulted ceilings, feature fireplaces, high end appliances, etc.

How to Correctly Price Your Home

This is the trickiest one of all.  Even in the hottest market, if your home is not priced right, your doomed to have one of several different issues.  If your home is priced too high, it may languish out on the market for long enough that potential buyers will start to think there’s something wrong with it.  Then you’ll have to decide when to lower the price, which is also key, and by how much to lower it. Price your home too low and you will simply be missing out on potential profits.  A professional agent will conduct a market analysis on your home and the surrounding area helping you to determine the correct price to list the home by looking at comparable home sales in the area.  They not only have access to this data but know how to apply it to your sale and make a solid recommendation for the price you should be listing your home for.  If for some reason you must lower the price, a professional will know when to do so and by how much.

Marketing Copy

You can probably write a description of your home for advertising purposes, but do you know exactly what to highlight about your home and what words to use in order to do so?  Just because you say your home is “amazing” doesn’t mean you will attract buyers.  You need to back that up by stating what is amazing about your home and include things that are commonly most appealing to people like open concept, high end appliances, big back yard and short travel time to city areas or what’s close by.  Accenting the right things in the right ways when you write copy for your home’s written marketing materials is key.

Online Marketing

Gone are the days of newspaper and paper flyers (although they still have a place depending on what you’re trying to achieve). Today, homes are not only listed in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) but they are listed all over the internet. Professional real estate agents have access to the MLS which is seen by real estate agents all over your state.  Not only is it used by every agent in the state, but it pushed your listing out to all the top online real estate sites like Zillow and Realtor.com automatically so that you don’t miss any of them.  When you do your own online marketing, you have to add your home to each individual site manually. Not only is that a lot of work but you may miss some you don’t know about. And you can put your house on your social media accounts yourself but how many friends do you have attached to your account and how many of them are in the real estate business or potential buyers? Social media marketing is more effective when there is a target audience available such as a real estate agent would have. 

Qualified Buyers

There’s nothing like having the lookey-loos come to see your home and wasting your valuable time. Knowing what to ask and more so what the right answers to those questions are is so important to pre-qualifying a real estate agent’s client.  When an agent calls for a showing appointment, you’ll want to politely and professionally probe for whether or not their client is the right client.  Highlighting your home’s most desirable attributes while getting to know what they’re looking for is best done in just the right way. And when you get an offer, financing pre-qualification is everything.  An offer should be accompanied by a pre-qualification letter so that you know it’s serious and that the buyer can qualify for a loan in the amount they’re offering you.

Network of other agents

Most real estate agents can market your home effectively by reaching out to their network of other agents who may have potential buyers.  A good real estate agent may have a potential buyer lined up before they even list your home.  If they don’t then they can reach out to other agents in their network with mass emails, phone calls and during meetings and events.  Our company even has a Facebook page where agents can post their new listings. Having access to thousand of other agents is key in selling a home quickly to qualified buyers.

For more information call Sallie Elliott at 402-630-5953 or go to www.omahaprioritygroup.com to set up an appointment.