Back Up: Let’s\u00a0Do Some Market Research<\/h2>\n
A house can’t go up on the market without a reasonable asking price.<\/p>\n
Go dig\u00a0up\u00a0the median home prices in your city and neighborhood to\u00a0get a better understanding of what your house is worth. Forgoing this step could lead to some unwanted complications when listing the home and negotiating the deal. Nobody wants those.<\/p>\n
Take San Francisco for example. The city’s real estate boom is famous\u00a0but the market might\u00a0actually be cooling\u00a0down.\u00a0“Somebody who might have pulled the trigger at $5 million last year now might be a bit more cautious,” said Josh McAdam, a top producing real estate agent in San Francisco, told CNBC<\/a> this April. “It’s not the same environment.”<\/p>\n Start by researching home prices on sites like Zillow but keep in mind that these sites may not always have accurate data. According to The Washington Post<\/a>, sites like these\u00a0offer an automated model that can be wildly inaccurate.<\/p>\n A better strategy is\u00a0to contact a few real estate agents who sell property in the area<\/a>. The agents are\u00a0out there in the local housing market day in and day out so they’ll have a good handle on how much similar properties go for in the surrounding area.<\/p>\n Get the following housing market stats:<\/strong><\/p>\n Your first thought might be to call up your third cousin, the part-time Realtor, when it\u2019s time to sell your home. The thing is, an experienced real estate agent– someone with a history of selling in the\u00a0neighborhood– is essential if you want to get the best price for you home.<\/p>\n Here’s how to tell a good agent from a bad one:<\/p>\n At HomeLight, we\u2019ve found that by analyzing the historical home sales data in a\u00a0state\u00a0we can identify agents who are better at covering specific neighborhoods or metro-areas.<\/p>\n Picking an agent with actual sales in a neighborhood\u00a0can, depending on the area’s housing market, result in a 1 to 20% higher selling price<\/strong> for the home.<\/p>\n Real estate agents who have sold other properties nearby\u00a0will be able to price your home better,\u00a0understand\u00a0price trends, point out good local schools, and likely show your property to buyer’s agents they trust.<\/p>\n When a home sits on the market for too long it loses the appeal and can cost you money. Just like with sales prices, we can use the frequency of sales and compare agents by how long their listings sit on the market.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve found that some top real estate agents can\u00a0get homes sold in half as much time as the average real estate agent.<\/p>\n Home prices aren’t merely\u00a0a reflection of raw square footage. Appraisers\u00a0take into account recent updates, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and a variety\u00a0of other factors that may or may not be in\u00a0your control.<\/p>\n Getting a\u00a0house ready to sell isn’t about remodeling the kitchen, putting in brand new appliances, or adding a pool. Nor is it just about cleaning and primping. It’s about finding clever ways to emphasize the best features of the house and shoving\u00a0the less than marketable traits under the rug.<\/p>\n As you prepare the house, try to think about\u00a0every detail\u00a0from the buyer’s perspective.<\/p>\n Buyers\u00a0need to imagine themselves living in the home but visualizing a comfortable life in a new home is tough\u00a0when the house is filled with someone else\u2019s tchotchkes and family portraits.<\/p>\n You’ll want to\u00a0make as many cosmetics improvements — paint, wallpaper, landscaping — as is financially feasible, take care of those once postponed\u00a0mechanical repairs, and find the best way to stage each room so that it looks livable without looking\u00a0lived in.<\/p>\n After living in a home for a long time, everyone starts to accumulate a fair amount of stuff. All those hobbies, cute furniture pieces, and personal knick-knacks can really add up. The problem is that when a prospective buyer walks into a home, any clutter will immediately turn them off.<\/p>\n The first step to staging your home is to get rid of as much “stuff” as possible. If you’re unwilling to sell it off, go rent a temporary storage unit for the\u00a0items you want to keep.<\/p>\n Here are a couple of options for finding temporary storage space in your area:<\/strong><\/p>\n PODS:<\/a> SpareFoot<\/a>: OMNI: Making room is essential\u00a0because the next step is to organize everything in the\u00a0cabinets. Throughout the showing, prospective buyers will come through the home and open every cabinet and closet.<\/p>\n If they see that your cabinets are organized,\u00a0clean, and full of available space they\u2019ll think two really positive things:<\/p>\n Every home is filled with family photos,\u00a0vacation souvenirs,\u00a0and assorted personal items. These give the\u00a0place a personal touch and make it feel like a home but they can also make it harder for a prospective buyer to imagine making your house into their home.<\/p>\n According to Roslyn Ashford<\/a> of ra ra rooms, Inc.<\/a> 87% of people can\u2019t visualize their things in someone else\u2019s home. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s important to depersonalize the house to make it easier for the prospective buyer to see himself or herself in the space,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Top real estate agents are split when it comes to this piece of advice but many of them recommend that sellers pack away family photographs, souvenirs, and wedding save the dates into boxes.<\/p>\n Mementos\u00a0are precious to you but not to a potential buyer.<\/p>\n Don’t just leave the walls empty and full of holes though.\u00a0The trick is to depersonalize the house without making it look bare.<\/p>\n Almost every time someone walks into a room on HGTV’s\u00a0\u201cHouse Hunters\u201d<\/a> they’ll\u00a0say \u201cthis paint color is hideous.\u201d Paint color,\u00a0wallpaper, and carpeting are often an expression of someone\u2019s unique taste but they\u2019re the first things a buyer\u00a0sees when they walk into a room.<\/p>\n Go through the house and paint all the walls in neutral shades of white, eggshell, and beige.\u00a0Painting the walls in neutral colors is another way to effectively depersonalize each room.<\/p>\n Need a good painter to give the house a once over? <\/strong><\/p>\n First, read through this Consumer Reports guide<\/a> then check out a few of these services:<\/p>\n TaskRabbit:<\/a> ThumbTack<\/a>: AngiesList<\/a>: Find A Painter<\/a>: No one wants to buy a house with broken appliances, even if they plan on replacing them. Make sure all your appliances work and are as clean as possible.<\/p>\n Take special care of the following appliances:<\/p>\n Everyone lives with a\u00a0few things that need repairs\u00a0like\u00a0bedroom locks that don’t work or\u00a0those pesky wall cracks that haven’t\u00a0been painted over. Now is the time to make those minor repairs, as prospective buyers will latch onto anything that isn\u2019t repaired and up to date.<\/p>\n Pay particularly close attention to repairs on doors, entryways, bathrooms, and kitchens as they’re likely to be the most trafficked areas during the open houses and showings.<\/p>\n During staging, the focus tends to go towards the\u00a0inside of the house but a home’s exterior is\u00a0arguably even more important.<\/p>\n Mow the lawn, trim unruly\u00a0hedges, and take the time to weed. Your house has to look warm and inviting when prospective buyers pull in. Curb appeal is important to 71 percent of home buyers<\/strong> when choosing their house, according to a 2013 National Association of Realtors survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
Pick a Good Real Estate Agent<\/h2>\n
1. Good agents will have\u00a0a history of sales in the area<\/h3>\n
2.\u00a0Good agents can move a property fast<\/h3>\n
![\"find](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Death_to_stock_home_buyer_17-e1549647233446.jpg\")
Get the House Ready:\u00a0The Real Work Begins<\/h2>\n
![\"staging](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Death_to_Stock_Cozy_7-e1549647354322.jpg\")
Let’s take it one step at a time:<\/h2>\n
1. Say goodbye to clutter<\/h3>\n
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\nRent a mobile storage container that sits outside of the house until you’re ready to move.<\/p>\n
\nSearch for available storage space in your area and get some moving help too.<\/p>\n
\nAn interesting new mobile app start up that lets you send stuff into storage on demand. Take a picture of something and a pickup truck will show up and take it away.<\/p>\n
\n![\"organize](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/roberto-nickson-721411-unsplash-e1549647452170.jpg\")
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2. Put away mementos<\/h3>\n
3. Paint the walls in neutral colors<\/h3>\n
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\nProbably the cheapest option. Find someone looking for odd jobs and get it done quick.<\/p>\n
\nFill out their quiz and find a painter who is used to painting similar properties.<\/p>\n
\nFind certified, vetted, and consumer approved painters at any price point.<\/p>\n
\nSearch specifically for painters in your area.<\/p>\n
\n4. Double check that all of the\u00a0appliances work<\/h3>\n
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5. Make minor repairs<\/h3>\n
6. Check your curb appeal<\/h3>\n
![\"curb](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/curb-appeal-for-selling-houses-1024x681.jpg\")
![\"guide](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/alexandra-gorn-485551-unsplash-e1549647664985.jpg\")