Selling homes these days has become more difficult than ever. Add to it the fact that a lot of sellers are upside-down on their home; They owe the bank more than it is worth. Many sellers are trying so hard to get out from under their home that they are looking to Realtors now, more than ever to help provide the solution. We have come up with a simple list of 5 things that a home must have before it will sell. It’s called the 5 Rights.
It’s a fairly straightforward list, but if one of the 5 Rights is missing, you will either experience longer days on the market or be forced to make up for the shortfall in other areas such as Price or maybe even Terms. You can have a Picture Perfect home and a terrible Price and your home will sit until the market either improves, the inventory dries up or you lower your asking price. I’ll go through each of the 5 Rights and give you a general idea of what is important, but before we jump into it, you have to change your mindset and look at this not so much from your point of view, but from the buyers perspective. It is difficult, but a must.
- The Right Yard Staging
- The Right Interior Staging
- The Right Price
- The Right Terms
- The Right Agent
The Right Yard-
I can tell you that most buyers start their search either online or by driving around. If they are looking at photos of your home (and hundreds of others) and the yard is out of shape, you can be guaranteed that they will pass it up. If they saw the sign and stopped the car, there must have been a good reason for it. The outside condition of your home is the first impression that every buyer sees so it has to look it’s best until the home sells.
Keep up on your yard care by mowing, trimming and fertilizing. Refresh your flowerbeds with new bark and keep them weed free. If your shrubs and bushes look like overgrown wooly mammoths, prune them. The easiest and most overlooked part of the outside appearance is how the home looks while you are standing at the door, not parked at the curb.
When an agent brings buyers to your home, they have to stand at the door for nearly 30 seconds or more while the agent accesses the lockbox. A fresh coat of paint, clean windows and a couple of flowerpots can make this 30 second eternity a pleasant experience.
The Right Interior-
So far so good. You;ve managed to get them from their car into your home, now’s the time to get them emotionally attached. Most buyers know almost immediately when they step into a home that they are going to buy it; They become emotionally driven not rationally driven and you can use this to your advantage.
When a buyer walks into your home, they should be greeted with a good smell, a well staged home and zero clutter. You don’t necessarily have to pay for an interior designer to come in and stage your home, but paying one for some consultation is a service that I can provide my clients for free. I always tell people that the way you live in a home and the way you sell a home are two different things. That means, you need to start making the bed everyday, putting the dishes in the dishwasher instead of leaving them in the sink and pulling out all of your clutter from closets and putting it in storage. You may even have to rearrange some furniture or move it out completely.
The Right Price-
Since nearly every home is connected to the internet and over 75% of buyers are using it, it has to be priced right. This is usually the most focused on aspect of selling a home and also the most misunderstood and mishandled. The dangers of overpricing are real and if ignored, your home will be sitting on the market for longer than all the others.
Honestly, I know your home is your Castle, but the size of the inventory available to buyers makes it just another listing in a stack of others. You don’t spend more than things are worth, so, why should someone spend more for your home than what it’s worth?
The Right Terms-
To have a buyer write you an offer without a ‘subject to’ clause or a contingency is rare these days. You have to be open to different ideas. Even with financing becoming more difficult to obtain, you are going to have to work with the demands of the buyers bank just as much as the buyers will. Be flexible with helping out with closing costs, closing dates and also be open to different ideas that might be needed to get the deal done.
The Right Agent-
This is also one of the most overlooked parts of the listing. Many people think that a Realtor just provides access to the MLS. Some do…and that’s alll they do. You need more than the MLS in today’s market for many reasons. You need an agent who will circle prospect your neighborhood, one who will hold open houses, one who will pay for professional photos and a virtual tour. You’ll need an agent who is constantly updating you to changes in your competition. You’ll want an agent who communicates well, one who understands how to explain all of the paperwork. You’ll want an agent who networks with other agents to get your home sold. Hiring your nephew is noble, but it is a far cry from the right choice unless he has those attributes and more.
The right Agent works for a company who has access to the latest technology innovations and high traffic websites. They know marketing and they understand the processes involved in rolling out your home on a red carpet as though its something that no one has ever seen before.
I recently had the opportunity to list a home that had 3 of the 5 Rights. The yard was in great shape and had wonderful curb appeal. The inside was well kept and updated with good colors and had great furnishings. There were a couple of peices in the rooms that were too large and had to be stored away but it was just perfect inside. The sellers were in a hurry, but understood the market and were prepared to wait. My biggest challenge was to get them to understand that the price they asked and the marketing that I did was going to make the difference needed to get them a ‘Sold’ sign and turn them into Buyers.
We priced the home competitively and thoughtfully and within 4 days of our Newly Listed Marketing Campaign, the home had an offer! It closed 30 days later, and now, the Sellers are in a position to take advantage of market and get a good deal on a home closer to where they want to be. They think that with more time they may have gotten more, but thats spectulation. If so, it wouldn’t have been much and it could have kept the home on the market longer and kept them on the sidelines unable to buy their next home.
The 5 Rights look different for every property and if you or someone you know is thinking about selling their home, they need this consultation especially in todays market. Give me a call and I can meet with you whenever you like!
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