Tips for First-Time Sellers

There are plenty of tips to be found for first time homebuyers, but what about for tips first time home sellers?
In an effort to bridge the information gap, we’ve provided five tips for first time home sellers below. Read them over so that you have a better idea of what to expect when it comes time to put a for sale sign in your yard.
First-Time Seller? Here are Some Tips:
1. Interview a few real estate agents.
In truth, the home selling process starts with interviewing real estate agents. In this case, you’ll want to pull together a handful of qualified professionals to interview before making your final decision on who to hire.
Here is a list of questions to help get you started:
- How will you determine the list price for my home?
- How will you market my home?
- What do I need to do to get my home ready for sale?
- What costs should I be prepared for in this process?
- Have you recently sold other homes in my area?
- Are you part of a team?
- How do you prefer to communicate?
Ultimately, who you choose to hire to market your home and guide you through the home selling process will be a personal decision. You’ll want to go with the person who you feel that is the most informed and who you get along well with on a personal level.
2. Price your home right.
Once you’ve settled on a real estate agent, the next step is to set the list price for your home. Too often, a first time home seller assume that setting a high list price will help them to end up with more money in their pocket. Unfortunately, though, the opposite is often the case.
When buyers look at available homes on the market, they tend to look within a specific price range. If you list your home in a price range that is too high, it’s likely that your home will continue to get passed over in favor of other homes that have more to offer.
On the other hand, if your home ends up in the right price range for what it has to offer, buyers will think that they are getting a good deal. They will be more likely to schedule a showing to see your home in person. In the end, the more buyers who see your home, the more likely it is that you will see an offer.
3. Invest in staging and professional photography.
Along with the list price, professional photography is an important tool to have at your disposal for a speedy and profitable sale. These days, the vast majority of home buyers search for their home via online listings, which means that photographs often act as a buyer’s first impression of your home.
It goes without saying that, as the seller, you’ll want to make sure that your home makes a good first impression on every potential home buyer. With a combo of staging and professional photography, you can ensure that your home goes on the market while at its best.
However, in addition to investing in these services, you’ll also want to do your part by cleaning and de-cluttering your home before you put it up for sale.
4. Be accommodating with showings.
After your home hits the market, the best thing that you can do to encourage any prospective buyer to make an offer on your home is to accommodate showings. Unfortunately, this can get a bit tricky, especially if you are managing multiple responsibilities and obligations. However, it is a necessary evil.
Again, most buyers will not be willing to make an offer on your home unless they have the opportunity to see it in person first. You’ll want to give them every possible chance to view your home in order to increase the chances that they’ll make an offer.
That said, we know that it can be nerve-wracking to have people coming in and out of your home. Be sure to ask your agent what measures they intend to put in place so that both you and any potential buyers can stay safe.
5. Leave emotions out of the negotiations.
When you eventually do receive an offer, it’s important to remember to view the negotiations as a business and financial decision rather than an emotional one. Often, sellers tend to be very emotionally attached to their homes. While it is understandable, it can make it difficult to negotiate effectively.
One way to do this is to take the time to find your bottom line, or the minimum amount of money that you need to get out of the sale in order to effectively settle on your new home. You can use a net proceeds calculator in order to find this number.
Once you have that firm number in mind, resolve to consider any offer that comes in at or above your bottom line. Additionally, remember that negotiations are a give-and-take. While you should stand firm on the negotiation points that are important to you, it’s also important to be willing to give some small wins to the buyer.