7 Tips on How to Sell Your Home for Top Dollar!

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1 7 Tips on How to Sell Your Home for Top Dollar! By Angie Perez Weichert, Realtors Edison Office: Text or Call My Cell:

2 Tip 1: Make a Capital Improvement Sheet The quickest way to prevent low-ball offers from buyers is to share your home s capital improvement sheet. This is a one page document that outlines the age of the major appliances that are included in the sale, including what year you updated the major systems in the home. This list is completely different than a seller s disclosure form, which discloses the condition of the property to the best of your knowledge. Your capital improvement sheet allows you to advertise the quality of the brands you choose for the home; it allows you to explain which systems or appliances have a transferable warranties or when your major systems were last serviced and by whom. Your CI sheet might provide information regarding the service providers in the area and how much you spend on utilities on average. As your agent, I would be more than happy to help you create this list. Please keep in mind, buyers will ultimately ask for this information. When you have it on hand, they are less likely make a low ball offer! If your market is saturated with home options, one of the ways to make your home stand out is to share your capital improvement sheet.

3 Tip 2: Share Comparable Home Sales Upfront Buyers will ultimately ask their real estate agent for a list of comparable home sales in the area before making an offer on your home. To head them up before you get an unexpected surprise, show them the comparable sales that have helped you to set your price. Comparable home sales data is available to buyers and sellers alike on many different websites, of which some websites may not be completely accurate. You want to paint the right picture. There s no better way to show buyers how confident you are about the pricing of your home than to show them the houses that have sold that are comparable to your home.

4 Tip 3: Remember the 3 D s De-clutter, De-Personalize and Disassociate 1. De-Clutter! (the red arrows show unintentional clutter) People collect an amazing quantity of junk. Consider this: if you haven't used it in over a year, you probably don't need it. If you don't need it, why not donate it or throw it away? Remove all books from bookcases. Pack up those knickknacks. Clean off everything on kitchen counters. Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored in a closet when not in use. Think of this process as a head-start on the packing you will eventually need to do anyway. 2. De-Personalize. Pack up those personal photographs and family heirlooms. Buyers can't see past personal artifacts, and you don't want them to be distracted when they are in the home. You want buyers to imagine their own photos on the walls, and they can't do that if yours are there! You don't want to make any buyer ask, "I wonder what kind of people live in this home?" You want buyers to say, "I can see myself living here." 3. Disassociate Yourself With Your Home. Say to yourself, "This is not my home; it is a house -- a product to be sold much like a box of cereal on the grocery store shelf. Make the mental decision to "let go" of your emotions and focus on the fact that soon this house will no longer be yours. Picture yourself handing over the keys and envelopes containing appliance warranties to the new owners! Say goodbye to every room. Don't look backwards -- look toward the future.

5 Tip 4: Make Minor Repairs Replace cracked floor or counter tiles. Patch holes in walls. Fix leaky faucets. Fix doors that don't close properly and kitchen drawers that jam. Consider painting your walls neutral colors, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls. (Don't give buyers any reason to remember your home as "the house with the orange bathroom.") Replace burned-out light bulbs. If you've considered replacing a worn bedspread, do so now!

6 Tip 5: Incentives Think along the lines of seller s concession for buyer s closing costs or paying discount points for buyers. Buyer s care about their monthly affordability more than the actual purchase price! Points, sometimes also called a "discount point", are a form of pre-paid interest. Usually, one point equals one percent of the loan amount. When lenders charge a borrower points, a lender effectively increases the yield on the loan above the amount of the stated interest rate. Borrowers who choose to pay a lender points as a method to reduce the interest rate on the loan, obtain a lower monthly payment in exchange for this up-front payment. For each point purchased, the loan rate is typically reduced by 1/8% (0.125). Including the appliances or the flat screen television might be another incentive. This or That? Which Payment Would You Rather Make?

7 Tip 6: Price It to Sell Price to sell is a real estate expression real estate agents use with buyers to alert them to the fact that your home is in line with the market and it is likely to sell within 30 days or less and for close to asking price. Real Estate Agents usually refer to these types of sales as quick sales. Buyers are generally apprehensive about houses that stay on the market for more than 90 days. If you are at the wrong price point to start with, you home my inevitably sit on the market and grow stale. Buyers will begin to think there is something wrong with your home.

8 Tip 7: Hire the Right Agent Selling a house can be a very complicated process and if your hire the real estate agent, you are likely to get frustrated by the entire process, not to mention that your home sale could be delayed. A delay could costs you big bucks in the short term. The right agent for you might be someone who is a good negotiator; someone who shows enthusiasm for your home; someone who knows your local the market inside and out; someone with years of experience handling sales in your town; someone trusty-worthy; someone who can persuade buyers to pay Top Dollar!... If you d like to talk to that agent, give me call, text, at or me angie@njretoday.com. I would be more than happy to help and get your thoughts on my 7 Tips on How to Get Top Dollar for Your Home! Several of the above tips come from:

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