Home Sellers Guide
Selling is an Art
There are major differences between providing a service to a client and actually selling a home. Selling requires the art of motivating another person to purchase a home. This involves working through issues, concerns or problems and finding solutions to keep a transaction together. Service involves meeting your communication needs, working to identify creative ways to market your home, and providing you weekly updates on the progress of your home.
There are a few things that you, the homeowner, can do to prepare your home for sale. Below you will find a short list of suggestions to get started.
Outside Your Home:
- Keep your lawn mowed and other landscaping maintained.
- Mulch enhances planting beds and other surrounding vegetation.
- Seasonal flowers adds color around your home.
- Paint or touch-up the exterior if needed.
- Repair or replace the roof.
- Replace any cracked windows or broken window seals.
- Hide garbage cans and other containers out of sight.
Inside Your Home:
- Replace carpet with a neutral color, i.e. beige, if the carpet is older or showing signs of wear.
- Patch & paint any interior walls a neutral tone for a cleaner, crisper look.
- Remove any unnecessary clutter. Many people collect things or display several items in a room. However, too many items may clutter a room and appear visually unpleasing.
- Clean & organize your garage. This is probably one of the most difficult tasks due to this area becoming the natural place for storage.
- Clean and organize your closets. Donate or throw away any unneeded items.
- Fix and replace any broken cabinets, window screens and touch up any trim that may need paint.
Why Use an Agent
Your REALTOR® can assist with determining your price, staging and exposing your home to its best advantage and to the widest pool of home buyers with our aggressive, custom marketing techniques.
Working with a REALTOR® can save you time, money and headaches. When you enter into a contract with one of our distiguished agents, you have the security of knowing that he or she is legally representing you and acting in your best interest throughout the transaction.
Marketing Your Home
There are many aspects to selling your home and since every home is unique, every situation will be a little different. What sets our agents apart from the rest is their exceptional marketing and selling skills.
Download our home marketing brochure to learn more about our approach.
1. Digital Photography
Digital photography offers the best way to keep marketing photos updated, clear for print advertising and internet usage. More photos of the home increases the opportunity to entice a buyer to visit the home.
2. Internet Exposure
The internet has changed how buyers search for homes. Statistics show that homebuyers between the ages of 25-35 go to the internet first to identify potential homes and then contact a real estate professional. With today’s technology, viewing the interior of a home can easily be captured by panaromic photographs or even with 360 degree virtual tours of the property.
3. Yard Signage
Yard signage is still the most common way of identifying when a home is for sale with an agency. Never underestimate the networking power of a neighbor! Many times they know people who would like to live in the neighborhood or area.
4. Premium Brochures
Brochures should be professionally designed. Just like buying an automobile, marketing for a $100,000 or a $550,000 home should be flattering and accuate. The format of the brochure can vary, but the highlighted features and room measurements that are included will entice the buyer to schedule an appointment to tour the home.
5. Magazine & Newspaper Publication Marketing
There are several real estate publications, newspapers and magazines used to advertise a home depending on who the audience is. If the audience is located in the Columbia, Missouri area, then The Columbia Daily Tribune’s Columbia Homes Weekly section, The Columbia Missourian’s Real Estate This Week insertion or The Real Estate Book are all effective means of advertising.
6. Direct Marketing
Direct mailings can target individuals in a geographic area and introduce the home to a future buyer. Most postcards have about two to three seconds to capture the attention of a person before they are thown in the garbage. Direct marketing continues to only provide more exposure for the home.
Information appearing on this site has been produced by or obtained primarily from WEICHERT, REALTORS® - First Tier and its representatives. Such information is deemed accurate, but not guaranteed. WEICHERT, REALTORS® - First Tier may provide links to other Internet sites only for the convenience of its web users. WEICHERT, REALTORS® - First Tier is not responsible for the availability or content of these external sites, nor does WEICHERT, REALTORS® - First Tier endorse, warrant or guarantee the products, services and/or information described and/or offered at these other Internet sites.