Unless you are a Realtor, no one breezes through the home selling process, especially if it’s your first home sale. To help out, we provided some real estate basics to get your home ready for the real estate market.
Less is More
Moving can be the best way to get organized. Clutter in your home can make rooms appear smaller than they are. Make sure you remove all unnecessary clutter so your home looks open. Use this time to clean out unused items, and I don’t mean just hide the clutter in your closets. Buyers WILL look inside your closets and you want them to appear large and great space for storage. Create two piles, one for things you want to take with you to your new home and another pile for donation or trash. Getting rid of unwanted items before you place your home on the market will also make packing an ease.
Organize Home Owner Documents
While you are getting your home organized, it’s a great time to find and set aside all paperwork needed for both the sale of your current home and what you will need for the loan of your new home.
Buyers may ask for warranties, mortgage documents, HOA documents and the name and numbers of your utility companies. For a list of documents needed for your new home loan, check out HomeLoanHelpCenter.com. Keep all the documents organized together for quick reference during the selling process.
Find a Real Estate Agent
Don’t just pick the first real estate agent you come across. Ask your friends and family for referrals, do some research and set up interviews. You want to make sure you pick a realtor who you feel is going to work hard for your best interest. Here are a few questions you should ask a realtor during the interview:
What's your experience?
How do you plan to market the listing?
Do you represent both sides of the transaction?
Do you work with buyers in this price range?
What are your sales figures?
Stage your Home
Ok, so your home is organized and clean, you have all your home documents in order and you signed up with a realtor. What is next? Schedule a home walk-through with your realtor before you place your home on the market. The realtor will point out areas that could use a little help, such as how to make your living room look bigger or how to make your outdated bathroom seem modern and updated. Most of the time just rearranging furniture and a fresh coat of paint can make for a huge difference and can help you reduce the amount of time your home is on the market. Make sure your realtor does not take the listing photos until your home is staged.
Be Patient
You may get tired of constantly signing documents, making repairs on a home you will soon not own and making sure your home is always clean and ready to be shown, but the reward is worth the effort. Keep in mind, this is just temporary and soon you will get the offer you have been waiting for. And most importantly once your home is sold, then you can start to look for your dream home.