5 Critical Steps You Must Take Before Listing Your Home For Sale

By: Glen Lazovick, Senior Vice President, Business Development

Summer is approaching, and you’ve decided that it’s time to put your house up for sale. Drawing from my 25 years’ experience in the industry, I’ve compiled this list of things to consider before you list your home. Taking these steps now can go a long way towards assuring that you'll successfully sell your house quickly and at a good price.

1. Walk through every room and around the outside of your home. Make a list of what needs to be repaired, updated or replaced. Remember you only get one chance to make a first impression.

• Which rooms need to be repainted?

• Wash the windows both inside and outside.

• Do the carpets need to be cleaned, stretched or replaced?

• Clean all light fixtures and make sure the blubs are clean and working. A bright well lit house will give a good impression.

• Make sure heating and ventilation vents as well as bathroom exhaust fans are vacuumed and clean.

• Have the HVAC system serviced and cleaned.

• On the outside of your home, prune trees and shrubs, replace any shrubs that did not make it through the winter, add some color with flowers. Put down fresh mulch.

• Power-wash siding, driveways, walkways and decks. Re-stain decks if needed.

• Repair and paint trim as needed.

2. De-cluttering your home will make rooms and closets appear larger and more inviting.

• Now is the time to go through your closets and get rid of the clothes you have not worn in the past few years. Don’t forget the linen closets, pantry and kitchen cabinets; they all should be orderly and uncluttered.

• Clean out the garage, basement and attic.

• If you have items that you do not use often but want to take with you to your next home consider renting a storage lockers or portable storage container. (Do not keep the portable storage container on your property have the company store it at their location, you do not want to call attention to a perceived lack of storage space).

• Hold a garage sale, or better yet donate your excess furniture, household items and clothing to a charity. You will get a tax write off and help someone in need.

3. Visit listed homes similar to yours.

• How do they compare to yours? Are they in better or worse shape? You will notice things that you might have overlooked in your own home (refer to number 1 above)

• How are they priced?

• Get some staging ideas to efficiently use space.

4. Meet with a Mortgage Loan Officer.

• Make sure you will be able to purchase your next home. There have been many changes to the mortgage process in recent months.

• Get pre-approved to increase you negotiating power.

5. Interview 2-3 Real Estate Agents.

• Get a referral from your Mortgage Loan officer. Your loan officer will know the top Realtors in your area and would be happy to make a referral.

• Ask for references from clients that they have worked with in the past.

• Ask for a detailed listing plan including a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA). All Agents should be in the same ballpark with a suggested listing price. If one is much higher or lower than the other ask them to justify the suggested price. They may give you an inflated price to gain the listing, only to have you lower your asking price in a week or two.

With these simple steps, you’ll be in a great position to sell your home. I’m always available to help you in the process in any way I can. Are you ready to begin the home buying process? Request a copy of our homebuyers guide or apply online.

Avoid These Common Mistakes When Pricing Your Home To Sell

It can be very difficult to determine what your property is worth in the current marketplace, because you are biased by what the property is worth to you. These emotions can get in the way of impartially evaluating a property and often cause sellers to overprice their home.

When pricing your property, you need to be objective and reasonable so you can come up with a selling price that will capture the interest of buyers.

Here are a few examples of common mistakes people make when pricing their house for sale.

Reading Too Much Into Online Comparable Properties

Avoid relying too much on online pricing information of sold houses. They can be a perfect place to start for getting a general idea of how much real estate is worth, but they are not always accurate. 

Overestimating The Market

Don't assume that you can sell your house for the same price at which you purchased it. Unless you bought your house a few weeks ago, the real estate market may have changed -- sometimes significantly -- and the purchase price will not reflect the appropriate pricing for today.

Overpricing To Pad For Future Negotiation

Don't overprice your Rockville home in order to be able to negotiate to the price you want to settle on. Of course, you want to get an appropriate value from it, but many first-time buyers are on tight budgets and will rule out higher-priced houses. Your over-priced property may sit on the market longer and then the price will have to be reduced anyway.

Factoring In The Cost Of Your New Home

Don't factor in the cost of your next house. Your listing price should not reflect how much money you'd need to purchase your next property. The price of the house should be the same whether you are wealthy or broke. Your financial situation is irrelevant to the potential buyer of the property.

These are just a few common mistakes you should avoid when determining the price of your home. Listed at the right price, you will get a fair amount from the sale of the house and the buyer will be getting a reasonable price too.

As always, your local real estate professional will have the best advice on getting your home ready for the market and selling for the best price.  Call them today to find out the details!