Thinking of Selling Your Home? | Here Are a Few Prepration Assigment for You | #ShareWithOthers #RealEstateKnowledge

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Take Five: Selling a Home – The Sun Chronicle : Stories

Spring is the peak season for the real estate market. Buying and selling a home is typically the largest and most expensive transaction a person encounters in their life. Being prepared and knowledgeable about what to expect and how to manage the process is key to a successful deal. This week, Gil Campos, owner of Campos Homes Team in Foxboro, walks us through his five most important steps for selling a home. (Buying tips will come next week.)

Preparing a Property

 

The condition of a home is critical and properties must be staged. “Millennials are driving the market. After binge-watching HGTV they are expecting perfection. The good news is that these buyers are willing to pay more for a move-in ready house than one they have to do work on. So, a $2,000 investment in the right improvements can net $5,000 more in the asking price because the buyer doesn’t have to do the work and endure the hassle,” Campos said. The key is making the right choices about what improvements to make. Campos explains that he starts working with some clients 2 to 3 years before they are ready to actually sell the house. “If you know this isn’t going to be your long-term home, it’s wise to spread out the costs for improvements and start doing them a little at a time now.” Install granite countertops in the kitchen, replace the roof, or remodel a bathroom, for example. “These can still be enjoyed while you remain living in the home, but will add value when it’s time to sell.”

Setting a Price

“Price is the most important factor when it’s time to list the house,” Campos said. “The market is very aggressive and sellers have to make sure not to overprice the home. When the price is too high, and they’re wrong, then you have to reduce it and end up getting less in the end as it lingers on the market.” This is where a realtor adds value. A good realtor can evaluate the marketplace and develop a pricing strategy based on comparable houses that have recently sold, as well as those still active that your home will be competing against. A realtor can also properly adjust the pricing for intangibles such as privacy and location.

Pre-Inspection

“A pre-inspection makes sure you don’t have to sell the house twice,” Campos said. Real estate deals fall apart for two primary reasons — the buyer cannot get financing, or issues arise during the home inspection. “Hire a reputable inspector to evaluate your home before listing it. Then fix the scary stuff and disclose the minor stuff. This way buyers know up front what they are getting and there are no surprises when they bring in their own inspector to evaluate the home.”

Photos, Photos, Photos

“Online photos are the first showing to a buyer. They need to be high quality and include everything. And there needs to be a lot of them!” Campos said. Bad photos will turn off buyers, even if the house is great. Too few photos will leave them wondering what’s being hidden. “When a buyer actually comes to see the house, we want them saying ‘I can’t wait to see this room in person’ because the online photo got them so excited about it.”

Marketing

The market is aggressive and moves fast.””A home needs to be exposed to the entire marketplace,” Campos said. “When it’s listed on the MLS and all the real estate websites, it will get the maximum amount of exposure, garnering the most interest amongst the biggest audience.” The more potential buyers, the greater the demand and the more likely that a seller will get a competitive offer from the strongest buyer.

Selling a home is just one-half of the real estate landscape. Buying a home has its own key components to ensuring a successful outcome. Stay tuned as Gil Campos shares his tips for buyers next week.

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