How To Be a Rock Star Home Seller in 5 Easy Steps

How To Be a Rock Star Home Seller in 5 Easy Steps

Selling your family home can be a stressful experience under the best of circumstances.  Listing your home creates a condition that interferes with the daily rhythm of your family life and invades the privacy of your personal space, not to mention the mixed emotions your family might be feeling about letting go of the old home and moving on to a new one. That being said, if you want or need to sell your home, you must realize and embrace the fact that things are going to change. 

On the other hand, change is not a bad thing.  Hopefully, you will be moving forward to a bigger home, preferred location, new job, or a new life adventure! Perhaps you are downsizing and looking forward to less responsibility, more time for leisure activities or a simpler, less complicated lifestyle. Whatever your particular situation, you want and need to get your home sold and you want the process to be as seamless and stress-free as possible.

You’re ready to sell and I want you to be a Rock Star Seller so here are 5 easy ways to make that happen!

1. Listen to Your Real Estate Agent 

One of the reasons you selected your real estate agent was because you trusted that he was the best professional in the business to sell your home. Benefit from his wealth of experience and body of knowledge about the market. He is your best resource and a treasure chest full of invaluable advice about every aspect of selling your home from pricing to staging. Should you need the help of other professionals along the way, he will have some great recommendations and resources that he has worked with and vetted over the years. 

2. Make Your Home Shine

Get your home in tip-top condition before you put it on the market. Make sure all systems and appliances are in good working order and affect any repairs that are necessary.  Curb appeal cannot be over emphasized as first impressions are so important. Be sure the grass is mowed, bushes are trimmed and the yard is tidy. Get rid of clutter, clean out the garage and basement, organize your closets and cabinets, and put away all personal photos and memorabilia. Deep clean from top to bottom and front to back. A home that sparkles and shines sends a message to buyers that your home has been well loved and tended. Last but not least, ask your agent for staging tips or hire a stager.  If you are looking for some cleaning tips to get you started, look for suggestions on how to clean anything and everything on Clean My Space.

3. Stay in a Holding Pattern Until You Sell 

Now that your home is organized, clean and tidy, keep it that way until you have a deal in hand. Make sure every evening the dishes are put away and the counters are tidy. The bathrooms are cleaned, the toys are picked up, the laundry put away.  Get up a little earlier in the morning and always make the bed and put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher. If you do this you will be ready when that greatly motivated buyer wants to view your home on short notice.  This post on Apartment Therapy has a few suggestions on how to do damage control on messy clutter.

4.  When You Sell Your Home Be Prepared and Ready for Anything

Be flexible and available for times when buyers can tour your home. Most often potential buyers will want to see your home after work or on weekends, but many people will also schedule showings during daytime hours when you may be a work. Although your agent will give you advanced notice, at times things can happen quickly such as an out-of-town buyer on a tight schedule that may want to see your home on short notice. The bottom line is to be as open to showing your home as possible in order to sell it quickly and easily.  

5. Make Yourself Scarce

While it is true that no one knows your home better than you the current owner, a seller being present at an open house or a private showing is not a good plan for several reasons. Often buyers are intimidated with a seller present and are not comfortable asking questions about a property or looking into the nooks and crannies. Any doubts or concerns that remain unchallenged, may result in the buyer leaving with an unfavorable impression.  Additionally, many sellers are emotionally attached to their homes and may become offended if they hear negative feedback from a buyer. While on the subject of emotions, potential buyers need to make an emotional connection of their own to your house and envision it as their home. A current owner in the picture makes that much more difficult. Let your real estate agent do the job you hired him to do and don’t hang around during a showing. Ditto for the pets too if you have them.Take Bruno for a walk.

Now that is not so hard, is it?  It is not forever, it is a temporary condition and if you can handle these 5 things chances are you will not only sell your home quickly but for the best possible price and with the least stress and strain possible. Boom!