A REALTOR’s Top Tips for Selling Your First Home
Transcript and Show Notes for Today’s Episode of the Real Estate, Real Profits Podcast:
Hey everyone! Today’s episode of the Real Estate, Real Profits podcast is all about helping first-time home sellers understand some of the most important basics they need to know to set the stage for a quick and lucrative sale.
I’m Mike Solovay, your host at the Real Estate, Real Profits podcast. Aside from being a REALTOR and real estate investor, I’m also a tech startup founder; I founded the 4BIZapp platform for real estate professionals. I started this podcast because I want to connect with home sellers, home buyers, and other like-minded real estate professionals, investors and entrepreneurs. Thanks for listening!
Perhaps you’re thinking it’s time to sell your home. If it’ll be the first time you’ve sold property, you might not know what to expect. I’m here to help. I have tips you can follow to increase the odds that you’ll sell your home quickly and for a satisfactory price.
- Choose the Ideal Real Estate Agent for the Property You Want to Sell
It might seem to you like real estate agents all say the same things, and there aren’t many differentiators between us.
However, the truth is that some real estate agents have massive experience with selling homes like yours – while others have zero experience with selling homes like yours. So, ideally, you’ll want to use an agent who’s an expert at selling homes in the same general area and price point as the one you want to sell.
When you’re selling a home in a popular city or suburb, your choice of real estate agents will make a huge difference in the outcome of your home selling process. An excellent real estate agent might secure a final offer that’s thousands of dollars higher than a less competent agent would be able to achieve.
If you’re selling a single-family home, you want to be sure of choosing an agent who has extensive previous experience pricing and selling single family homes similar to yours.
Similarly, if you’re going to be selling a condo or town home, you’ll want to ensure that you work with an agent who’s experienced with selling condos or town homes like yours.
This is because you’ll need to price your home correctly if you want it to sell. An experienced agent will give you reliable advice on how to price your home. In contrast, a novice agent might price your home incorrectly, a mistake which can cost you significant sums of time, money or both.
It’s ideal for your real estate agent to possess all of the following:
- A thorough knowledge of comparable homes in your neighborhood, particularly homes that have sold recently for attractive asking prices
- Expertise in both digital and offline real estate marketing
- A list of buyers who are already interested in purchasing homes like yours and are waiting for just the right home – hopefully yours – to come on the market
- Existing relationships with other experienced real estate agents who are likely to be interested in showing the home to their clientele — especially agents who have aspiring homeowners and prosperous real estate investors as clients
- Exceptional negotiating abilities
If you don’t already know a trustworthy real estate agent who meets these qualifications, I can help you find one. I’ve cultivated an extensive network of the USA’s best real estate sales professionals. So, get in touch with me if you need help with finding a truly reliable agent that you can trust with your home sale.
- Choose the Right Time and Season for Selling Your Unique Home
There are many factors that can affect which time is exactly the right time to put your home up for sale. It is wise to consider all of them before you make the decision to list your home for sale.
In the USA, it’s typical to list homes for sale in the spring and summer. This is a safe approach for many homes – but it isn’t necessarily the best approach for every home in every neighborhood.
For example, in one mountain resort town where I’ve sold a lot of homes, the sellers typically want to list in springtime, but we often find that the homes in that area don’t actually sell until mid to late fall.
That’s because summertime isn’t the time of year when people typically want to spend time in that neighborhood. It’s a ski resort town, and most people aren’t thinking about skiing during the spring and summer months. Heading into fall, that’s when they turn their attention to skiing and lining up their ski travel itineraries.
So in that neighborhood, late summer is actually more of an ideal listing time than spring is – because a home listed in late summer will still be a fresh listing at the time seasonal interest in buying in that neighborhood peaks.
So when you choose your listing time, one of the first things you want to consider is when people are likeliest to want to move into that neighborhood. If you’re selling a single-family home in a child-friendly neighborhood, the prospective home buyer is likely to be a family with children. In that case, they probably won’t want to move in the middle of a school year, so it could be advantageous to get your listing live just in time for summer vacation.
Another factor is when the home is likely to show best. For example, perhaps you’ve spent thousands of dollars on your home’s landscaping. Maybe you’ve planted fruit trees and gorgeous perennials all around your property. In the springtime, your garden comes alive with spectacular blooms and an inviting fragrance that prospective buyers are sure to fall in love with. In that case, early spring is likely to be the ideal time to make your home sale. If you were to attempt to sell the home in the wintertime, the landscape simply wouldn’t have the same impact.
Another important factor is what the local real estate market conditions are like at the time of your listing.
- Style the Home Beautifully and Present It Well
Consider what prospective buyers’ first impressions will be as they approach your home with the intention of touring it.
Since the home’s exterior will be the first thing they’ll see, prioritize tidying up the front lawn, the front walkways and the front porch and / or front door first:
- Cut the grass;
- Place attractive mulch around any shrubs and trees in the garden.
- Prune any overgrown or dead branches.
- Make sure the grand entrance truly does look its grandest;
- Paint or replace the front door if it doesn’t currently look its best.
- Make sure your house number looks bold and stylish and is clearly visible from the street.
Inside the home, take the time to ensure the entire interior is spotless and clutter- free. Remove cobwebs from the light fixtures and windows. Dust all surfaces including the tops of ceiling fans.
Following these 3 suggestions can help you maximize your opportunities when selling your home. If you have the right real estate agent, choose the best listing time and present your home well, you’re likely to receive higher offers and sell your home faster than you would otherwise.
So that’s it for today’s episode of the Real Estate, Real Profits podcast, but if you want more solid, real-world information about selling homes, buying homes, real estate trends, investing in real estate or succeeding as a real estate sales professional, I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter. You can find it at michaelsolovay.com.
Thanks for listening! I really appreciate your interest.