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Ready , Set , Sell !!
It's a buyer's market, but don't despair.
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| Selling in a buyer's market: |
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| You can increase your chance of selling your house in reasonable time by following a few good guidelines. |
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1. Play the cards you're dealt.
A successful poker night begins before you reach the table, when you resolve not to chase after hands that you have no realistic chance of getting. Similarly, a successful home sale begins before the house is listed, when you decide not to expect to make a killing.
All you can do in a falling market, if you have to sell, is have the best possible product out there at the price it should be, not what you wish you could get, not what the neighbor got two years ago, but at the price you should get now. That's the reality.
It takes discipline to face that reality. Humility, too. For many sellers, the only disappointment is that their friend, six months or a year ago, got more than they're getting ego gets in the way when they're trying to sell. Or stubbornness, I should say
2. Scope out other houses for sale.
By looking at the good deals that your neighbors are offering. The most important thing is to really shop the competition on the market right now.
Put on your shopping shoes and look at everything from a buyer's viewpoint. Get out in the car and spend a weekend looking at everything you can. Visit some weekend open houses. Just get a feel for what your buyers are looking at.
Visit newly built houses and find out which amenities and incentives builders are offering. Eavesdrop on other visitors to open houses to find out if there's something in particular they're looking for -- something you should do to make your house more presentable.
3. Make it a turnkey, not a turkey.
The word "turnkey" is used in commercial real estate. It means a property is ready for immediate use. Your house has to be that way when buyers have a cornucopia of houses to choose from. You have to make it a 100 percent turnkey situation. Everything has to be ready to roll, because buyers never want to buy a house that needs a lot of work unless it's an absolute bargain. You have to take away all their opportunities to say no.
When buyers outnumber sellers, you can get away with selling a house with ratty carpet, smelly furniture and walls that need painting. The market was like that last year, but not now. Think about possibly hiring a house inspector before putting the house on the market. Know now, and fix it. |
