What I Learned from Selling My House

Real estate is still a pretty sound investment but the market has changed quite a bit due to the current economy. Home values have gone down which makes it a buyers market and can often net much less than the seller was hoping for. This was the case with my husband and I when we sold our home seven months ago. We learned some important lessons about selling a home that I would like to share with you from my personal experience.

Get real:
Enlist a licensed realtor. Check the Better Business Bureau to ensure there aren't a pile of complaints and if at all possible get some word of mouth reviews either from acquaintances or previous customers. Interview the realtor first to make sure you are compatible. Buying and selling a home is an extremely important transaction and often is highly stressful. Being on the same page as your realtor will help avoid misunderstandings. Realty is their job and they want to make money but getting a feel for them will help you avoid hiring a realtor that is focused solely on making money . A truly professional realtor will look out for your best interests. We hired an older acquaintance that we had worked with before because we felt obligated to do so. In retrospect I would have hired someone younger and more in tune with me. These days I am more prone to email and texting to communicate and having a realtor who felt likewise would have been a better fit than one who still utilized a corded phone and an answering machine.

The price is right:
The decision to sell our home was much easier than the decision of what to price it at. Too high and no one will look at it. Too low and potential buyers will think something is wrong with it. Pricing it correctly is imperative to hitting the target audience. Considerations should be made for what you paid for the house, improvements, assessment of neighboring houses, neighborhood quality, what other houses have sold for near by and most importantly the current real estate market. It comes down to not what you paid for it but what someone else will pay for it.

Set the stage:
Once you have hired your realtor and set your price it is time to set the stage. Staging your house for potential homebuyers is crucial. First impressions count and the longer lookers are in your house the more likely they are to consider purchasing it. Beginning with the outside I wanted to catch people's attention so I painted my door and mailbox red. The contrast against my grey house was lovely. I planted flowers, kept the lawn mowed and windows clean. Inside I organized everything neatly so the closets seemed more spacious. I went through my closets and gave away everything that I hadn't worn in two years. This made the closets seem bigger which is an asset. I kept the entire house cleaner than usual and dusted. Scrubbed the bathroom and put up a new shower curtain. Keeping my house ready to show was less stressful than last minute running around when a realtor calls.

Open house hints:
My realtor didn't think open houses were that effective and didn't bring in buyers. Perhaps not but I do think they can generate ''buzz'' about your house and that is always helpful. Have the house clean and nice smelling. Put out a plate of cookies and let your realtor do the rest.

How low can you go:
Know how low you can realistically go on the price when selling your home. Do not feel the need to share this with your realtor. I wish we hadn't shared this with mine. I don't know if it would have made a difference or not but we did get a lot of very low offers. Speaking of low offers, do not get offended by them. Take them for what they are worth. Some realtors always throw the lowest (and sometimes ridiculous) offer out there to test the waters and see how desperate a home seller is. Don't consider an offers unless the potential homebuyer is reproved for a mortgage. If they are not , no matter how great they think their credit is , they could be wasting your time.

Get a contract:
Once you accept an offer it isn't always smooth sailing. There can be nail biting delays. Having a realtor that is on top of their game is important. They can contact the home buyers realtor and find out the loan status, what type of loan (USDA loans are prone to delays). The contract negotiating can be tricky with closing costs and such so read, read, read before you sign that dotted line.

Our biggest mistake:
When selling our home the buyer had a loan delay but wanted to occupy the house. Our realtor drew up an Early Occupancy Contract. She said this was standard. This is a mistake and a potential snake pit. Do not ever do this. The potential buyers in essence rented from us for three weeks until the sale was final and the loan closed. In that three weeks they made ridiculous demands, caused damage that legally we had to repair since we still were the legal owners of the home. The crowning touch was that they did not pay their rent and we finally received it over a month late. This contract did not protect us as the home seller at all and gave the potential home buyer opportunity to find fault with the dwelling even after the inspections, appraisals and loan were signed.

If you are thinking of selling your home on the current real estate landscape you need a lot of patience , a little luck and a very good realtor!