10 Important questions every home seller should ask.

1. Should I get my home staged?
To correctly market and sell your home, you should start seeing things through the buyer’s eyes as they first walk into your listing.  Does it still look lived in?  Are personal affects everywhere?  Is it too cluttered and are design elements non-neutral or noticeable?  Studies show that by decluttering your home, removing most personal affects, and staging your home with furniture and artwork, it will sell faster and for more money.

2. What’s our marketing plan?
This is where the homeowner and real estate agent sit down to map out a comprehensive plan how to market and sell their home.  Just listing a home on the MLS isn’t enough – you both should be clear on what tactics and marketing efforts will be used to gain maximum exposure, bring potential buyers through the front door, and ultimately sell for the top dollar at the best terms.  Remember to ask about open houses, social media and online advertising, and setting up a schedule of future price reductions that follow a timeline.

3. Am I being realistic about pricing?  
Every seller wants more than their home is worth and every buyer wants to get it for less than it’s worth, but the price negotiation will probably end up somewhere in the middle.  Pricing a home should be based on logical data not emotion or personal beliefs, in the form of a detailed Comparable Market Analysis presented by the listing agent.  If you’re outside the bubble of realistic pricing and where the appraised value will come back you’re going to end up with a lot of frustration and wasted time, so ask questions to make sure the deal makes dollars and sense.

4. Is it more important for my home to sell quickly or for every dollar possible?
Of course we want the highest possible price for our home but we also want it to see quickly, not sitting on the market for month after month as other sell, possibly holding us back from finding our next dream home.  For that reason, buyers should understand that the higher the price, usually the longer it takes to sell (and the less interest and offers you’ll have.)  So think of the balance between price and timing like being on a seesaw, and the buyer should ask what’s the proper balance.

5. Is there anything that’s outdated or needs fixing or remodeling?
Doing some light cosmetic fixing and modernizing in your home before it goes up for sale can bring you far more dollars once the deal closes.  Painting and landscaping are the two most inexpensive ways of making your home stand out, and modernizing the kitchen and bathrooms, particularly with new fixtures and flooring really will catch a buyer’s eye.

6. Would I buy my house for this price?
That’s the ultimate questions, isn’t it?  Would you buy your home (or one like it) for the price you have it listed at?  If the answer is no, or if you even have to think about it for a while or hemm and haw, then you probably need to get realistic and readdress the pricing, condition, and marketing strategies.

7. What are the terms?
Too often when we get an offer on our home, we focus only on the price.  Bu the terms of the sale count, too – not just in closing an amicable transaction on time but the wrong terms can cost your money.  Ask your realtor to thoroughly cover timelines, contingency plans, and all the fine print of costs, inspections, etc.

8. Am I making it accessible enough for buyers?
If you really want to get your home sold, you’ll want to make sure potential buyers and buyer’s real estate agents have full access to your listing.  Ask your realtor if the listing is convenient enough for buyers to look through on short notice, or if an arduous process of limited showing hours and appointments will deter buyers – and lose you money.

9. How will the buyer’s pest, roof, and home inspections come out?
Of course getting an offer from the buyer and going into contract is just the start of the process to close the sale, so ask a few questions in anticipation of their inspections.  Buyers should always get home inspections and roof certification inspections, chimney inspections, etc. and a pest inspection is mandatory.  So if you know there will be issues that come during these inspections, think about making repairs and addressing them ahead of time.  That way it won’t slow down the sale – or lead the buyer looking to renegotiate the price.

10.  How soon am I ready to move and how flexible am I?
Once the buyers make an offer it sometimes dawns on the homeowner that a closed sale means they’ll have to move out in short time, usually about 30 or 45 days.  Be prepared for that day by starting to pack, organize all of your possessions, and possibly start moving furniture and boxes off sight to a storage unit ahead of time so you’ll have flexibility once you sign on the dotted line.

10 Tips to stage your high-end listing.

Selling a high-end or luxury home is about so much more than a transaction, it’s a transference of lifestyle values, the marketing of an image of prosperity and taste as much as a roof and walls, and the presentation of your home should be treated accordingly.  Staging your home attracts buyers, creates bidding wars, differentiates your home from others for sale, and ultimately will put dollars in your pocket.  A recent study by the Real Estate Staging Association tracked 174 homes for sale in 2011.  Those that were staged sold in an average of 42 days, while those who were left unfurnished lingered on the market for 154 days!  We recommend enlisting the services of a staging specialist or designer, which we can help you find.  You may have to spend a little money to make money but if done correctly, the results always work in your favor. 

1. Clutter free.

The cardinal rule of staging your home to sell is to clear the space of as many of your personal effects and items as possible, leaving the area open and flowing when viewed.  Buyers who walk through will love this because they can instantly envision themselves living there and their own personal affects in the house.  Remove absolutely everything that isn’t essential to decorating the property or a highly personal nature (they don’t need to see framed photos of your family but they do need to see some artwork on the walls.) 

2. Paint in neutral colors.

One of the biggest mistakes sellers make is keeping bright or noticeable paint colors on the walls.  The aim is to keep everything as neutral as possible so no matter what the buyer’s tastes, they’ll feel at home.  Dark, brooding, colors or accent walls are a no-no, too.  Stick to an off white or light tan color and white moldings and you can’t go wrong.  Once you declutter and paint with neutral colors you’ll be amazed how much bigger and airy your home feels.

3. Don’t forget to stage outside.

Remember that people will drive onto your property, up the driveway, and walk to your front door first, so that’s when the first impression should start.  De-clutter the outside of your home, hire a professional landscaper to make everything look tip top, and consider a tasteful signature piece like outdoor sitting area, fountain, or other decoration.

 

4. Original artwork.

If you really want to convey the image that your high-end listing is unique and valuable, consider hanging original art as you stage.  Everyone’s seen prints by famous artists so decorating with those comes off as a little cheap and unsophisticated.  Instead, track down some original artwork that will add a dynamic visual detail and lead the buyer to take notice.  Your professional stager will probably have some great original artwork or you can contact nearby galleries and ask for a loan to help promote their work (the buyer might even want to buy it if they like it!)

5. Designs that tell stories.

When you walk into your favorite gourmet restaurant, you go to enjoy an experience, not just good food.  Same thing when you go to the nicest golf course or to a luxury hotel.  It’s the same thing with your listing; you want the buyer to have an experience as they walk through and the way you do that is by telling stories.  Incorporate local and historical items that have some history, antiques like old books, and other rare or interesting finds that are easy on the eyes but will spark conversation and contribute to the buyer’s perceived experience that your home is something special.

6. Mix it up. 

We’ve talked about your listing being neutral and free of clutter, but that doesn’t mean we want it institutional or lacking personality.  Now that we have the “canvas” ready, we’re going to bring in stimulating and diverse elements that will really pop and catch the buyer’s eye.  A well-orchestrated symphony of fabrics, curtains, finishes, area rugs, textures, pillows, candles, and flowers will turn your home into something special.   This is a good time to reassess your fixtures and lighting, too because it’s usually easy and not pricey to modernize, simplify, those elements.

7. Get it out of there.

To be clear, when we told you to declutter we didn’t mean to move everything from your house to your garage.  Buyers look for cues of quality as they’re walking through a listing – the little details that convey who you are or what the quality of the property.  One of the best ways to show how you live is to have the garage 100% clean and spotless.  I’m serious – boxes, bikes, skis, bins – it all needs to go and you should clean it exceedingly well.  People expect a dark, dusty, packed garage, so when they walk in and see it’s been as well treated as the rest of the property, that will make a statement.  This goes for all of your closets, too.  The best thing you can do is rent a storage unit and keep everything in there in boxes but DON’T fill up closets to the brim or pack your garage with the clutter.

8. Don’t match!

Good stagers and interior designers understand the elegance of utilizing cohesion without uniformity.  Rarely in a luxury home or high-end listing will you see furniture set that all matches.  Instead, you want elements - from the couch to the tables to the lamps – that complement each other but each have their own contribution to the je ne sais quoi, as the French say.

9. Culture sells.

One of the best ways to convey a feeling of class and quality in your home is to exhibit a few cultural or artistic items.  No one cares about your huge big screen TV, but having a baby grand piano, stand up bass, rare books, or telescope in your home shows an affinity for culture that is consistent with buyer’s perception of luxury. 

10.  Paint and plant.

If in doubt, or pressed for time or on a limited staging budget, the best thing you can do outside of decluttering is to focus on painting your interior walls a neutral color, your front door, (and shutters if you have them,) and plant colorful flowers, small trees, and soothing potted plants. 

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I'f you'd like a complimentary analysis of your home's market value or some tips on staging before you list, feel free to contact the Alfano Group Real Estate.