Preparing Your Home for Sale

One house will sell within days and another will remain on the market for months. It is not only the price that affects a buyer's decision. As a seller, you must learn how to make your house stand out and be more saleable. A property on the market for a long time makes potential buyers suspect that there is a problem.

Try and remember the first time you saw your house. What did you notice? What sold you?

List the positive features. Personal perceptions included. It may just be a tree in the back yard or a special room.  Children's impressions can be very important also. View every room, the basement, the garage and outside.  Is there anything you can you do to accent them? Light a fire in the fireplace, put fresh flowers in an attractive window setting.
List the negative also. Be critical and be honest. Remember that you are selling your house, not your lifestyle, hobbies, political affiliation, or religion. Be especially critical of things that mainstream people might consider offensive. Get rid of the Black Magic Alter!

Sellers who fail to make necessary repairs, who don't spruce up the house inside and out and fail to keep it clean and neat, chase away buyers as fast as their Realtor can bring them. A property that is not clean or well maintained is an indication that there may be hidden problems. Buyers will always deduct a larger amount than what is probably needed when they make an offer on a property that looks like trouble. Sellers are usually better off doing the work themselves ahead of time.

De-clutter and organize. You might want to consider working with an organizing professional. You are going to be packing up your things to move anyway, so why not get started on the things that you can do without until after the move. Freeing up space makes your house seem larger and friendlier to the prospective buyers. It will be easier for them to have their own vision of the location of their belongings in your house. You may think that people look through the decorations, furniture, etc. and see the house, but don’t believe it. 

Redecorating can be done cheaply. It is not necessary to throw a lot of money at redecorating. Paint can make dramatic improvements. However the cliché of “neutral colours sell” is not always the answer either. Whites or another neutral colour may not offend, but they also may not enhance. Today there is a multitude of colours to choose from and if you have seen the array of colour chips at your local do it yourself store you will know that. While colours can be a personal choice, your own personal choice should be held in check until you move into your new house. However your house could benefit from an interesting colour to emphasize a feature or to distract the eye from a problem area.

First impressions are formed in seconds and can last forever. Help ensure the first one is a positive.

Selling Your Property

The greatest amount of activity on a listing usually happens in the first few weeks. Purchaser’s “can always make an offer” but if the property is overpriced, potential buyers looking in a lower price range will never see it. When a house is priced too high, it receives little activity and when it does purchasers and their agents use it as a comparable to verify that they can get better value elsewhere. It will stay on the market and become stale and purchasers will assume something is wrong with it. When the price gets reduced they will further assume there is a problem with the property. When eventually it does sell, by possibly even reducing the price further, it will probably sell for less than if it had been priced at market value in the first place.  In the meantime, lost opportunity means a long time to sell.

Factors that can influence overpricing

·         • Extensive and expensive renovations. Some renovations have a better return than others.

·         • Original cost of the home was too high.

·         • Unrealistic expectations, possibly because of emotional value.

·         • A desire to build in bargaining room.

Pricing your Property:

Know the Market

·        • The market determines value.

·        • Price your home competitively based on the price of homes that have recently sold, those that are currently for 
     sale, and those listings that have expired in your neighbourhood.

Condition of your Home

·        • Buyers base their decisions on the condition of the home as well as the price.

·        • Take the time now to prepare your home to attract potential buyers.

Results of Overpricing

·        • Agents will show the property to validate a better price on a comparable property.

·        • The property has a historically longer "Time on the Market".

·        • Overpricing decreases the property's chances for high exposure because most agents want to present only the 
      very best options to their customers.

·        • Brokers are more inclined to invest advertising dollars on properties that are priced correctly.

·        • The property can become lost in a database search.  Buyers specify price ranges, and if you are above the upper 
      range on the computer run, you won't even get considered.

·        • A property listed for a length time may start to have a desperation look.  If this happens, any offers that do come 
     in are well below what they might have been if the property had been priced correctly at the start.

Early Activity is Important
The time of the initial listing will generate the most interest and activity. When the listing first comes on the system, Sales Associates and potential buyers take notice. If a property is overpriced, it will be noticed and the property will be dismissed.

The Offer

The first offer is often the best offer - always look seriously at it - don't dismiss it merely because it is made early in the process. Properties are most marketable when they first come on the market. Don't think just because there was an offer soon after listing that it is the first of many. You should consider that the person making the first offer might have been waiting just for a property such as yours to come on the market.

Call us at (705) 645-3900 to arrange an appointment. We will show you how owning a cottage, home, farm or land can make you a part of Muskoka. Or CALL US AND SEE HOW WE CAN GIVE YOU A COMPLIMENTARY EVALUATION!

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