Good morning! This is Gary Edelbrock here, and I'm back with my friend, Lee Amble, who has some great tips on how to sell your home in any market. Without further ado, let's hand it over to Lee.

Selling Your Home In Any Market, Any Time And Any Place For More!!

By: Lee Amble

Often sellers feel they are better informed about the value of their home than a seasoned end experienced Realtor. In that case, they are most often wrong. Uninformed and stubborn sellers are mostly to blame for selling at lower prices and taking longer to sell their homes, which often causes the loss of thousands of dollars for them.

Sellers reading this might disagree, but, at least, I hope, it will cause them to start thinking about having a quicker transaction time and more money. I will focus this article on the most important aspects of selling, but there are also many more.

1. Correct pricing is the number one reason to get the most money in the shortest time. When the price is too high, the remaining reasons in this article will mean very little. Always make your home the BEST VALUE in your neighborhood! By doing this, it will promote showings, and in some cases, multiple offers or in other words, a bidding process.

Buyers may have looked at other listed homes and studied home availabilities, which will cause them to reject a home that is over priced. A good way to think of it is comparing the purchase of a Ford Focus with two different dealers; normally, one will be lower priced for the same car. You know which one they will purchase! Remember, it’s the same with similar home - not rocket science! Overpriced listings always sell for less in the end, which, naturally, costs the seller time and money. If you don’t trust your own judgment or your Realtor, hire a licensed Appraiser for a fee to help you get the most money possible. Do not ever waste your time and energy on Internet Real Estate sites, i.e., Zillow, Trulia and/or the like as they cannot be correct. Have they been to our area and studied the market, neighborhoods, etc.?

2. Street appeal is very important. Remove childrens’ toys, bikes, trikes, garbage cans and other unneeded items from the perimeter of your home. Park your cars in the garage/and or carport, if available. If not, park your vehicles across the street. Don’t forget to trim your mow you lawn and trim all landscaping I.e., flowers, shrubs and trees. Keep your driveway and sidewalks swept and clean. Paint any outside areas that need it to present a fresh, clean appearance. If your home is painted an unusual color, repaint, when possible, with a more neutral color.

3. The interior of your home is also important. Be sure to remove any excess wall hangings (pictures, etc.), photos and any items that will detract from the showing of your home. Have a garage sale and/or pack away or donate to your favorite charity. You may want to hire an expert like a Home Stager to help you in this process. Many times this will help you get more money in less time for your home.

4. Do not turn down any showings. If you do, you have closed the door to a possible sale. (It’s better to have a bad showing than no showing)

Your home is lived in and most buyers can see through things that may not seem perfect to you.

5. Friendly Negotiations are very, very important. When you get a buyer this far, don’t blow it by getting greedy and unfriendly. This also applies to your Realtor (when you are using one). As a seller, please try to look at it through the eyes of a buyer as it will be a big help in negotiating. When an offer comes in, you as a seller have three choices.

• You can accept the offer as written.
• You can reject the offer as written.
• You can writer a counter offer and/or a counter proposal to the buyer.

Always be fair and friendly and when using a Realtor, that applies to them also. Remember, you are paying them and are the boss. Being kind, nice & understanding always works best in all cases.

6. Last, but not least: Home Inspection time! Most buyers use a Licensed Home Inspector to not only check out the home, but learn more about the home as neither the Realtor or you do not have the training and ability to complete this process. I do recommend all buyers schedule an inspection. Many times there is nothing wrong with the home, but it does serve somewhat as an Owners Manual. Home Inspections can cause some sales to fall through, which they should not, but many times it puts sellers and buyers in a tug of war, I.e., I win and you lose. Some items are reasonable, but many are not. (Often they are maintenance and/or cosmetic items) If a buyer wants a new home and no maintenance, they should buy one. Again, treat this like a negotiation and be fair and reasonable. (this does apply to your Realtor too) Keep in mind, a home transaction over $100,000 should never be lost by either the buyer or seller by some petty things that amount to a few hundred dollars. A home over $200,00 should not be lost for items that can be corrected up to about $2000. It makes no sense at all, just nonsense and poor negotiations. Many times the seller and buyer can not see the forest because of the trees.

Conclusion

Read and reread the above very carefully. Use the ideas as they will help both the sellers and the buyers. I could write a book on the information I have put in a few lines. If you want to learn more, please call me anytime. The formula is not hard! Price the property right, be friendly, courteous, reasonable, honest, and use common sense with sincere feelings. If you do, everyone wins!

Please remember pricing property is always the number one way to achieve a completed transaction for both the sellers and buyers. GOOD SELLING AND GOOD BUYING!

"Buying A Home Is Easy! Doing It Right Is The Key!"

Lee Amble, Realtor/Consultant
National Realty of Prescott
Lee’s cell: 928 533-4455
Jan’s cell: 928 533-4488
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