In a hot real estate market, homes usually are listed and sold in a short period of time. Here in Orlando, the market stays quite active because of the all the attractions, events, and infrastructure. It’s constantly growing larger, with new construction all around. That means having to compete with a number of other properties. Unfortunately, some sellers use strategies which backfire or are just plain unproductive. However, savvy individuals use effective home selling preparation to their advantage.
Effective Home Selling Prep Tips
Now, to be an effective seller, you must be willing to accept certain things. First and foremost is, selling a home isn’t free. While it’s certainly not anywhere near as costly as buying a home, sellers do incur some expenses. These usually include: a pre-listing home inspection, repairs and touch-ups, landscaping, staging, closing costs, and the real estate commission. Some of these you can do on your own to save money. Others can be opted out entirely. But, things like staging are too important to forego.
“Spring is almost here, and soon it will be home-selling season. Some economists expect this year to be a good one for home sales because mortgage interest rates will continue to hover at near historic lows, the overall economy is heating up and there’s a lot of pent-up demand. For sellers looking to get the maximum out of their home sale, this all means they’ll need to do some careful home prep and staging, without spending so much that they cut into profit from the sale.” —U.S. News and World Report
While it is possible to do the staging yourself, you need to avoid the most common home staging mistakes. These include, but are not limited to: overloading the color and/or theme, not taking advantage of natural light, failing to float furniture for space, not having a realistic staging plan, and publishing poor quality pictures in online listings.
- Get the house move-in ready. Home staging is something you just cannot skip over. Think about a model home (or go see a few) and you’ll notice a common practice is to make the house look move-in ready. This allows buyers to see themselves living in the house and sends a signal you’re serious about selling.
- Prepare for your own purchase. Most sellers will put their home on the market while simultaneously house hunting for their next property. It’s a very common dynamic, but there are sellers who choose to rent short-term. Even if this is the case, you should be prepared for your next purchase, complete with a mortgage pre-approval.
- Price the house you’re selling right. One of the biggest blunders some sellers make is to price their homes above true market value. It’s a strategy which almost always fails because buyers won’t see it in their online searches since it’s out of price range. And, it also sends a strong signal you’re not being realistic.
- Be open-minded during the negotiations. Like it or not, if you truly want to sell your property, you’ll have to be willing to give and take. Negotiation is just part and parcel of selling a house and buyers will expect a little from you. If you don’t like to negotiate, leave it to your listing agent. Either way, it’s going to be part of the process.
- Take time to learn about the entire process. Speaking of the process, it’s very helpful to know what that process entails so you know what to expect. Don’t be caught off-guard or by complete surprise because you’ll probably make a rash decision.
If you are considering selling a house in Orlando’s Hunter’s Creek, or another community, contact us for the latest market information. We are local and experienced in all facets of residential real estate, here to help you, when you need it.