Selling A Home – CliffsNotes Version
Upfront Preparation Is The KEY
The formula to getting a residential home sold is not rocket science however it is consistent from home to home, market to market. It can be broken down into a 20 page document, click here, and made more complex than it is so I thought I’d just break it down into simpler terms.
1) Before putting your home on the market, have your Realtor come over and give you some ideas. If you don’t have one, it boils down to clean, uncluttered, repaired, good smelling and neat. Every part of the house should have some attention paid to it.
2) Professional pictures. One of the most important things is a good presentation. Professional pictures help with that.
3) From those pictures, a video can be made, you can do a walk through with your phone or your agent can have one made.
4) A marketing description that emphasizes the most desirable qualities of the home. Seems simple but can be tough.
5) Select a price for your home that is in line with the comparable sales of homes like yours but lower than the homes like yours currently on the market for sale.
6) When you list, make sure you’re on the MLS that serves the area of your home. For Sacramento and the surrounding counties, Metrolist, Inc. is where you want to be. Keep in mind, Metrolist Inc. does not have data sharing relationships with Zillow, Listhub, the company that serves the Sacramento Bee (believe it or not) or some other online resources. There is a reason for this.
Generally, while you want the most exposure possible, only the MLS matters. 98% of all homes sold in the greater Sacramento area are sold through Metrolist, Inc. Agents qualify buyers and sell homes. That’s what they do. Anyone not working with an agent could be a red flag. It may be fine and it may not be. Proceed at your own risk.
7) Go active on the market on a Thursday unless it’s a holiday weekend. Go on a Monday if it’s after a holiday weekend if you must. Otherwise, skip it and wait a week.
8) Don’t list from 1 week before Christmas to 1 week after Christmas.
9) Adjust. Once on the market, your indication of the temperature of buyers should be predicated on how many showings you get out of the gate. Follow this general formula:
a) If you get no showings/calls in the first week and are properly exposed to the market, your price is much too high.
b) If you get showings but no offers in the first 2 weeks, your price is a little too high.
c) If you get showings and 1 offer, you’re still just a touch too high.
d) If you get lots of showings and 2 or more offers in the first two weeks, you’re in the pricing sweet spot. Once you’ve got multiple offers, a good agent can negotiate that price up. Like it or not, if the home is clean, neat and fresh, you’ve got a great presentation online and the home isn’t sold in 2 weeks, the only thing to do is adjust the price. Like it or not, it is what it is.
That’s really it in a very small nutshell. Bare bones, down and dirty.
Thanks for visiting!
I can sell your home in 30 days or less for top dollar. Please call or text me directly at 916-532-7653 or click here, for my contact page and let’s talk about how I can help you.
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