Here are 12 things you can do to increase your odds for a successful sale. 1. Do your homework and price your home competitively right from the start. See our article, Pricing your Home, for some useful tips. 2. Track your neighborhood transactions closely while your home is on the market. Ensure your home remains well-priced relative to your competition. 3. Implement your selling plan before you implement your buying plan. Avoid the holding cost scenario by getting a solid marketing plan in place and pricing your home properly from the start. Once you've got your selling plan in place, then focus your time and energy on your buying plan. 4. Create a positive impression for every buyer that visits your home. See Kathy Quade's article, Showing Well and Selling Well, for some simple tips on how you can help your home look its best. 5. Maximize your exposure. Choose a FSBO service provider with a good internet presence. Create a secondary listing on craigslist. It's popular and free. 6. If a brokerage listing on your street is holding an open house, open your house to the public, too. Take advantage of your competition's marketing and traffic. 7. Hire a professional photographer to create your listing photos. Quality photos make a difference. Even if you don't sell your house via FSBO, you can re-use your photos with your flat fee or full service brokerage listing. 8. Create a marketing budget and track your expenses. Watch out for classified ad costs. Print media costs can add up quickly. 9. Consider marketing your home to buyer agents. A majority of home buyers work with real estate agents. You'll increase your chances for a quick sale if you include buyer agents in your marketing plan. If you do choose to market to buyer agents, make it clear that you are willing to work with them. Also make clear the commission that you will pay for the agent that brings you your buyer. 10. Familiarize yourself with the common elements in many purchase contracts - items such as the earnest money submission, financing contingency, inspection contingency, and sale of home contingency. Read Juscha Robinson's article, Legal Aspects of Selling your Home, for some good information on what every seller should know about a purchase contract. 11. Consider hiring an attorney. Think of your attorney as your insurance. You'll be glad you had your insurance when you needed it. 12. Research your options. Talk to a flat fee MLS provider and interview two or three real estate agents to learn what other marketing plans can offer. The interviews will give you an opportunity to learn about your market and gather ideas from a variety of real estate professionals. Feel free to contact Dan Miller or Shawn Kriewaldt with questions. We'll be happy to learn more about your goals and offer our suggestions - regardless of the marketing approach that you choose.
About us
This information is provided courtesy of Dan Miller and Shawn Kriewaldt of Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com. For more information, please contact Dan at 608-852-7071 (danielmiller@kw.com) or Shawn at 608-212-5743 (shawnkriewaldt@kw.com). Don't forget: if you're buying or selling, whether your timeline is 3 months or 3 years, we can help.
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