 | Uncategorized5 Tips for Selling Your HousePosted Thursday, July 24th, 2008 and visited 115 times, 3 so far today by MInTheGap |
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Leslie is selling her house, and wants to know if we have any tips for her. So, out of kindness, I thought I’d share a few from my experiences over the past year selling and buying…
1. Know the overlap
Say you sign up with Sincerity Realty. After a month with Sincerity Realty your house has not sold, so you decide to go with The Selling Guide. You house sells within the first week.
Who gets paid? Both.
The previous realtor has typically 90 days to claim that it was their publicity, and not your new company’s that made the sale. This is also something that’s there to protect the realtor.
Say that you went with Sincerity Realty, found a couple interested in buying such that they wanted to place an offer and you were there, tapped them on the shoulder and said, “Hold off on that offer. I’ll take the house off the market and we can split the realtor’s fee.”
Unethical? Yes. Especially considering that realtors don’t typically get paid until there is a sale.
2. Rates are Negotiable
I live in a state where the seller pays the realtor, so this may differ depending on your state. In either case, know that there are two percentages that make up the Realtor’s price—there’s the percentage for the selling realtor and a percentage for the buying realtor.
You want to try to make the buying realtor portion higher if possible.
Why? Because all rates show up on MLS as the portion that the buying realtor gets. So, say that you make a deal to pay 6% of the cost of the sale to the realtor. That realtor will then break up the 6% something like 3% for the seller and 3% for the buyer. That’s not bad.
But suppose they did a 2.5% for the seller and 3.5% for the buyer. That would give the buying agent more incentive to show your house in a positive light.
So, make sure you talk about the rates and see what you can get.
3. Know Your Area
Before you put your house on the market, you may want to do some house shopping. By going around to houses in a specific price range, and in a specific area, you will better know what price is reasonable.
Yes, the realtor will come with a price in mind, but this will be predicated on how much they think they can get in a relatively quick amount of time. The more time you have, the better price you can get for your house—it’s that simple.
4. Decide How Fast You Want Your House To Sell
Part of the dilemma when moving is that if you get the other house first, you may be pinched for money, and you may have to settle for a lower cost to get your house out faster. If you wait too long you have the hassle of having people constantly coming through your house, but where do you go when your house is bought? Do you really think you can find a place between the offer and closing?
5. Keep Your House Clean
Lots of little tips here:
- People that have been hunting for a while know when you’re hiding something.
- Don’t exaggerate what is in your house—is that really an eat in kitchen? 10 bedrooms?!
- Light colors are great on walls.
- Cut down on the clutter.
- Take down excessive family photos—they can be distracting.
Don’t get yourself stressed out trying to make it perfect.
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July 24th, 2008 at 10:24 am Subscribed to Comments
Great tips, MIn. A few more:
Know that you can sign a contract with a seller for a new house which is contingent on the sale of your current house. This will prevent you from being stuck with two mortgages. The down side is that this contingency is not attractive to a seller.
Invest in a new coat of paint and new carpet. Check the roof and repair any damage. The more like a model home your house looks, the quicker it will sell.
MIn’s right - don’t exaggerate, but you can use the word “non-conforming” to talk about a bedroom which maybe doesn’t have all four walls, a closet, or an escapable window. In our house, we have only two bedrooms, but we have two non-conforming bedrooms as well.
Don’t underestimate the power of the verbage your Realtor will use to put on MLS. There’s certain “Realtor speak” phrases that, although sound good, will put off anyone who speaks “Realtor speak.” Things like “Needs TLC” will put off anyone not looking for a remodel. Don’t lie on the MLS, but put a description (not bullet points) of the home which highlights its two or three best features. Here’s a funny link with some “Realtor speak” and its translations: http://www.biggerpockets.com/r.....te-jargon/
AG’s last blog post..The Front Fell Off
July 24th, 2008 at 10:58 am
@AG: Good point– when I see “Needs TLC” I know that it’s like a “Handyman’s Special.”
Our Realtor did a poor job labeling our house on their website too– so make sure you check that. You may even want to take/offer your own pictures.
July 24th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Have lots of lights on when they come through, maybe even a little jazz. Nice smelling candles are definitely a bonus!
July 24th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
@Colleen: My wife always thought you should bake cookies or bread right before they came in, and she didn’t want window air conditioners.
I don’t know how much ambiance actually adds. And I’d rather have an A/C in the window than sweat it out!