Under any circumstance, the sale of your home can be emotionally challenging. The sale of your house under difficult circumstance, for example, pursuant to a court order after divorce, can be even more difficult.
We have listed below 3 items which can assist in ensuring that you get the best sale possible for your home, in its current state.
- If you are hiring a realtor, look into his/her references. Check at least 3. As well, speak with the realtor about his/her action plan for the sale of your home.
- Have a market evaluation performed – usually, the realtor will provide an evaluation free.
- Query the avenues that are being used to sell your house – is your realtor providing MLS, are you using newspaper advertising, open house showings, and so on.
- De-personalize your home. You are no longer selling your home, you are selling a house, and you want the buyer to envision the house as their dream house, so they will pay premium.
- Enquire from your realtor/friends/other resources what you can do to improve the appeal of your home, inside and out. At minimum, your interior home should be clean and tidy, you may want to place a vase of fresh cut flowers at the entrance. Some persons advocate baking and distributing vanilla or chocolate muffins at house showings, for the warm smell from the oven as much as the taste!
- Ideally, be aware of the deficiencies of your home. The buyer will likely have a home inspector conduct a thorough inspection and any sale may be subject to a satisfactory home inspection. Therefore, if there are any minor deficiencies which are inexpensive to fix, it is better that you fix them before the inspection! If there are any expensive and clear-cut deficiencies of which the buyer will be apprised, for example, the roof needs repair within 1 year of the sale date, this expense should be incorporated or reflected into the sale price and communicated as such to the buyer.