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EDITION
The Ultimate Guide To
SE L L I NG YOU R HOM E How to Put Your Home on the Market & Attract Buyers
S O YOU’RE I NTER E STED I N SE LL ING?
Aside from buying the home of their dreams, selling a property is one of the biggest tasks many people will undertake in their lifetimes. There are numerous intricacies that go into the process of not only putting a home on the market, but also effectively promoting a residence and attracting the right kinds of buyers. In this detailed guide, we provide a thorough breakdown of everything that goes into the selling process — and how our real estate agents can ensure that process goes quickly and smoothly.
DO I REALLY NE ED A R EALTO R ?
With the advent and continual evolution of online search, you can access significant amounts of information within seconds. What the internet doesn’t offer, though, is detailed knowledge of the countless intricacies that go along with selling. Nearly 9 in 10 sellers use an agent or broker to help them sell their homes — and you’d be wise to hire a qualified Realtor to ensure the process goes smoothly. Data: The National Association of Realtors 2014 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Market EXPERTISE From understanding the local school system and jobs market to researching community home values and past sales history, real estate agents stay on top of all of the essential details they need to know to move your property expeditiously and for the right amount of money. Sure, you can research your neighborhood and general area to discover what price your neighbors have sold their homes for and how much properties in your town have appreciated in value over time, but given agents are already embedded into the community in which they work, they’ve already done that hard work for you.
Do I Really Need a Realtor?
Negotiation SKILLS You may be confident that your house is the best one in the neighborhood, but a qualified Realtor has a thorough understanding of the market and of the average buyer’s mindset — meaning they know the tricks of the trade that can secure plenty of buyers to show up at your open houses, call to set up personal home tours, and view your listing online. With our attention to detail and high level digital marketing strategies, our Realtors work to ensure you get the best price possible for your home for sale.
Do I Really Need a Realtor?
Law and Contract KNOWLEDGE The amount of laws, rules, and regulations that have to be dealt with throughout the course of selling a home are seemingly innumerable. No home seller should have to deal with complicated legalese and documents while trying to stage their residence and find a new home to purchase. Instead, they should leave all of that in the hands of their real estate agent. The right agent knows how to structure home contracts so they’re not only correct, but lead to quickly and productively closed deals.
Do I Really Need a Realtor?
Dedicated TIME The internet offers a wealth of information for home sellers, but with much of their time dedicated to their day-to-day lives — working a 9-to-5 job, picking up the kids at school, volunteer work etc. — hiring a qualified Realtor is essential. Realtors are dedicated to spending countless hours combing over data on local home sales, identifying buyer leads and performing a variety of other sales and marketing tasks (online and offline) to broaden awareness of your listing.
Do I Really Need a Realtor?
Professional NETWORK The best of the best agents are not only knowledgeable and accomplished, but also well-connected. Expert agents spend much of their time building their networks and gaining new relationships with fellow agents and home vendors: everyone from plumbers, electricians, and contractors to appraisers, inspectors, and attorneys. So, when you sign on with an experienced agent, you get much more than their sales and marketing expertise. You also get a comprehensive network of professionals who can help move a sale along speedily.
Do I Really Need a Realtor?
Do I Really Need a Realtor?
Important Factors
FOR BUYERS
PRICE
Setting the right price for your listing off the bat is vital to selling it in the time frame and for the price you desire.
CONDITION
Making updates, additions, and alterations to your residence can provide a big boost in your sales efforts.
P R E S E N TAT I O N
The aesthetic of your property plays a major role in how many buyers it attracts to showings and how quickly it sells.
LO C AT I O N
Though you have no control over this particular factor, you can leverage your community’s best attributes to help market your home.
PR I CI NG
Assuming you price your property appropriately, your home should start to gain awareness and leads within hours. But what exactly goes into setting a list price? Let’s delve into the primary factors that affect the specific dollar amount you ask for your residence.
Market ANALYSIS As noted, your real estate agent has considerable intelligence regarding the market in which they work, so leave it to them to source data and create reports that paint you an accurate picture of what others have done with their listings in terms of price. In turn, this information can inform your own pricesetting. In addition to what others have listed and sold their homes for, though, you need to take into account factors like home style/type, square footage, age and how long their homes sat on the market.
Pricing
Professional APPRAISAL Hiring a professional appraiser, which usually runs a few hundred dollars, can tell you about the condition of every last detail of your home. These certified and licensed professionals conduct thorough searches of residences to gauge their worth and, as with a market analysis your agent performs, compare homes to those of others nearby in terms of quality, newness and amenities.
Pricing
Online Valuation
TOOLS
Search for “home valuation tool” in Google and you’ll get quite a few — er, millions — of results, so there’s no shortage of online resources that can give you a rough estimate of your home’s value. Also, remember just that: These will be rough values. For instance, Zillow’s “Zestimate” tool is arguably the most popular home value calculator, but it’s certainly flawed and doesn’t always provide precise data.
Pricing
Being REALISTIC What your list price really, ultimately comes down to is figuring out what home buyers are spending on properties at the moment in your neck of the woods and what you’re comfortable with putting your residence on the market for. There is no one perfect price — rather, you simply need to take some time to evaluate all of these aforementioned factors and consult with your agent to find the ideal middle zone.
Pricing
CO ND I TI O N
Should a home inspector pinpoint any parts of your home that need attention before allowing your agent to list your property, you can take care of the problem areas yourself or employ a pro to take on the fixes for you. Specifically, there are three types of upgrades home sellers generally have to make to their residences before listing.
REFRESH Minor projects like painting, spackling, and caulking don’t necessitate hiring a professional to come out (unless, of course, you don’t mind shelling out a hundred bucks or more for them to do so). These types of small-scale tasks can be taken care of with a little bit of research and buying the right tools and objects at your local hardware store. Specific things to look for in your home include holes where you’ve hung paintings and pictures that need to be filled, toning down the color scheme of certain rooms, and cleanliness of your attic and basement. Curb appeal upgrades like these can go a long way in getting positive feedback from potential buyers.
Condition
REPAIR Once you’ve taken care of some slight refreshing of certain corners of your residence, you can turn your attention to more substantial restoration projects. Inspect your kitchen and bathroom for broken cabinetry and handles. Look for cracks in your walls, ceiling, and floor. Determine if you need to re-tile your roof or siding. There are often dozens of small components of your home that need addressing, so carefully investigate your interior and exterior for things to fix.
Condition
REPLACE Unfortunately, there may be a few aspects of your home that need to be overhauled and replaced entirely. Items like tub liners and certain types of wood floors don’t age gracefully and get scuffed and scratched with regularity. Moreover, pet owners can attest to their friendly feline and canine pals ruining things like carpet. The good news is real estate agents likely know of one or more reputable home improvement professionals who can come by and repair these areas as needed. Should you make major replacements, like new flooring, ensure you select high-quality, visually appealing material. When in doubt, go with a popular paint color, floor material, countertop surface, etc.
Condition
Condition
PR E SENTATI ON
You and your agent have settled on a solid listing price, you’ve made updates to your interior and exterior — now, it’s on to staging. Making your home look both functional and beautiful and marketing your revamped home to the right audience takes some skill. Our agents work with our in-house design team and real estate photographer to ensure your residence outshines the competition.
Marketing
BASICS
H EAD O NLINE TO P R O M OTE. First and foremost, the digital approach to marketing your home is vital and it starts by developing a strong online presence. With our sleek, mobile-optimized real estate website, you’re in good hands. Additionally, market research shows that they best way to connect with buyers is through a very targeted social media campaign and this plays a key role in our online strategy. C R EATE P RINT COLLAT ER A L , TO O. Despite the growing preference of home buyers to search for properties online, it’s worthwhile to have offline marketing tactics in play. Our layered marketing approach includes a variety of collateral, including photo-rich e-books, digital fliers and printed collateral where needed.
Presentation
Great PHOTOGRAPHY YO U R DIG ITAL “F IRST I M PR ES S I O N ”. In a digital world, your online images are your home’s first impression so your Realtor should have the highest standard for the images he/she posts online of your home. It is too important to leave in the hands of amateur photographers. Our staff includes an award-winning architectural photographer with a well-documented history of snapping & editing beautiful shots of listings. WORK WI T H A P R OF E S S I O N A L . Today’s real estate marketing tool belt includes even more ways to serve and share content about your home. Depending on the uniqueness of your property, your Realtor should explore a variety of ways to capture and market your home including the use of professional aerial photography, drone video, or cinematic lifestyle videos that showcase your property to perspective buyers.
Presentation
Home
STAGING
K EEP YOUR HOM E CLEA N A N D O R GA N I Z ED. Home buyers want to be able to envision themselves living in homes they are touring, so set the scene for them: Put nice magazines and candles on your coffee table, set out the nice china for the dining room table. Keep everything tidy, and put away as many of your personal treasures as possible. Seeing a messy living space is a turnoff for many prospective buyers, so ensure you’re home is dust- and clutter-free and stay on top of keeping your home in tip-top shape while showing it off. WO RK WI T H A P R OF E S S I O N A L STAG ER . If you feel your home lacks the requisite pizazz to impress buyers, we often recommend bringing in a professional staging team who can either give you tips on how to dress up your residence or
Presentation
actually do it for you. You may consider working with a staging pro or we can bring in our own in-house design team. Either option will likely run you just a few hundred dollars, but if their advice helps you sell your home quicker, you’ll be glad you made the minor investment. D ON ’T FORGE T AB OUT TH E EXTER I O R . Once you’ve made the inside of your residence look stunning, it’s time to head outside to examine your home’s exterior. Assuming you’re selling your property in a relatively warm climate, ensure the lawn is mowed, the plants are pruned, and there’s no unsightly messes anywhere to be found. Kids’ and pets’ toys should be put away in a shed or garage, while the siding should be blemish-free.
Presentation
LO CATI ON
Highlighting the best qualities of your location can help you convince possible home buyers that your community, and even your particular neighborhood, is one in which they should lay their foundation. All it takes to persuade potential buyers is a carefully thought-out pitch using powerful language.
Power of
PERSUASION
When it comes to marketing your location, you can never be too specific. Honing in on the nitty-gritty details of your neighborhood and community — like noting how many grocery stores are located in the town and relaying the best places to get a burger — helps home buyers visualize themselves living in the residence and surrounding area. Your agent can write plenty of marketing copy to promote your community, but if you know of any good selling points, let them know so they can spotlight them accordingly.
Location
T H E BOTTOM L I NE
Conducting all of these tasks and working with various professionals, including your agent, is all a part of the home selling process. However, at the end of the day, the best way to help sell your home is to be proactive. If you think a more neutral living room wall color would be more appealing to buyers, set time aside to re-paint them. Â If your agent wants to show your home early in the morning to a possible buyer, let them come over to give them a tour. In other words, be ready at all times to help your agent market your residence and, in turn, close a deal on the sale of your home quickly and on your terms.Â
Luxury Simplified
R EAL ESTATE At Luxury Simplified Real Estate our job is to make the process of selling your home, or buying a new one, as easy and enjoyable as possible. Our “dare to be different� approach to real estate and our collaborative team of real estate professionals means that we work tirelessly on your behalf, ensuring that you sell your home quickly and at the price you deserve. We invite you to contact us for a free listing consultation. We look forward to meeting you!
LUXURY SIMPLIFIED REAL ESTATE 95 Broad Street Charleston SC 29401 843 853 6055 info@luxurysimplifiedgroup.com www.luxurysimplifiedgroup.com
BUY SELL INVEST RENOVATE RESTORE BUILD VACATION
LUXURY SIMPLIFIED REAL ESTATE
95 Broad Street
Charleston
SC
29401
843 853 6055 l info@luxurysimplifiedgroup.com l www.luxurysimplifiedgroup.com