13 Secrets to sell your home

Are you ready to sell your home, the biggest investment in your life?

I have bought three homes and sold two. We recently bought and sold homes and moved between two different cities. I am going to break this series into three different parts:

1. What to look for when buying a home
2. How to sell your home
3. How to prepare to move

Manage Your Emotions

The process to sell your home can be a tedious, long-drawn-out process and can be emotionally challenging.  I want you to be empowered by making rational decisions, controlling your emotions, and not falling prey to them. I want you to sell your house, and get the highest price with the least amount of hassle.

Selling your home is an invasion of privacy. Strangers will enter your beloved home, poke, prod, and look at your cabinets and closets.  They will criticize it and unless you are in a seller’s market, they will offer you less.

As a homeowner, we spend time and effort to find the perfect house. You save for a down payment, decorate, and have created memories with family. It is tough to let go of feelings and emotions.

When you are selling your home, you need to have the mindset of a seller rather than the homeowner. You need to think like a businessperson and see it as a business transaction.

When selling your home think of the buyer, and that you are selling a lifestyle and need to stage, paint, remodel and make it look different and create an emotional detachment from the home.

REAL ESTATE AGENT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

This is an important decision. I chose Darwin Jurado because he is a full-time agent. I am an emotional guy, so I wanted someone who is calm. Darwin also is an active listener, honest, passionate, supportive, excellent negotiator, experienced, and has an online presence.  To me having a professional guide me through the process was a real benefit.

Darwin came and saw the home and gave a couple of suggestions. It is important to follow those recommendations because the agent is seeing it from an objective perspective.

Darwin had our best interest at heart. He set a competitive selling price and we got a quick sale. Darwin also interacted with the agents of the buyer and got their feedback. Darwin was experienced in negotiating the sale and walked me through all the paperwork so that everything went smoothly.

Setting Realistic Expectations on Price

The real estate agent will come up with a price based on a comparative market analysis. Think like a business person and see the home as an asset and make sure the price is realistic. If the price is lower, there could be a bidding war and the price you would get would be the actual market value of the home.

Choose the right time to sell

We listed in March, at the beginning of spring. The weather is getting better, people with kids are looking for schools and it was the ideal time. Winter, along with all the snow is a slow time and not the best time to show your home.

You only have one chance to make a good impression, therefore have a great curb appeal

You only have one chance to make a good impression. The buyer needs to feel this is the place they want to buy and live in. The home needs to have a welcome, safe and warm aura about it. The home needs to have an appeal that makes buyers stop and take a look or come to the open house.

Start by painting the outside of your home. Add some colored flowers and shrubs.  Make sure the mailbox, house number, door handle, and overhead light are in good condition and cohesive. Control the weeds and cut any overgrown shrubs. The driveway should be clean and all walkways swept. I also recommend that you have large pots filled with fresh flowers at the entrance.

Declutter your home

Selling your home is the right time to donate or get rid of stuff you do not use. To get the home ready for painting and staging, less is more. Remember nothing is off-limit for buyers. Look at all your visible areas like tables, counters, windowsills, and then cupboards, drawers, and closets. No one wants to walk into a messy home as it shows that there is not enough space.

Get rid of old condiments, knives, and cutlery that do not work, baby clothes, reference books, old medications, old towels and bedsheets, CDs, plastic grocery bags, clothes that you do not wear, plastic containers, wire hangers, old jewelry, old office supplies, old paint and anything you do not use.

We made eight trips to the diabetes center and ten trips to Value Village.

To sell your home depersonalize it

The home has been decluttered. Now the home is not yours anymore. You have to prepare it for the future owner. Remove all personal items and photos from the fridge and the living room.

For me, the most challenging was to take off all my diplomas and degrees from the office. The whole goal is so that the new owner can see themselves living there.

Clean your home

After decluttering and depersonalizing your home it is time to clean it thoroughly. The home should be spotless. Everything should be tidy and in place, even when you are living in it.

Use neutral colors to paint

Darwin gave us a suggestion to paint in neutral gray which did the trick. The light color allows the buyer to see how the walls would look with their colors. We hired a painter who painted the bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchen. The baseboards, walls, and doors all looked amazing.

You are not selling your home, you are selling your kitchen

It is important to remember that you are not selling your home, but your kitchen. If you do not want to remodel the whole kitchen, paint the cabinet hardware and make sure the appliances are stainless steel. The kitchen should not look dated.

Stage your home

We had lived 18 yrs in the home. The home was screaming 2000. We were selling in the spring of 2022. Staging galvanizes and rejuvenates a home. You will make more money, the home will sell faster, it helps you to become objective and Darwin was paying for it.

The professional stagers look at the home and your personal belongings and decide what will take it to the next level. They will give you some paint suggestions. The stagers know the real estate and what buyers want. Their main goal is to get buyers excited about your home.

Once the home is decluttered, depersonalized, cleaned, and painted, the home is ready to be staged by professional stagers.

Make sure the listing looks professional

The home is ready to be photographed for the listing. The agent of the buyer will be sending daily updates for any new listing. The buyers will be seeing your home online and make sure there is a video tour and 360-degree views and high-quality visuals of your home. Great visuals will set your home apart and more people will want to see it.

Once listed now what

The real estate agent might want to list from Tuesday to Saturday and then take offers on Sunday. The home needs to be perfect at all times. Do not cook at home during the listing period.  Make sure everything looks perfect and be flexible.

Have details of the age of the roof, the age of the HVAC system, any renovations or upgrades, and when the windows were changed.

The realtor will attach a lock box to the front door to allow buyers and their agents access to the property.

I strongly recommend not to be in the home when people are visiting. Do not cook or make sure there are no smells.

If you follow the above secrets, I am sure you will get a great price for your home.