Are you an "Empty Nester" who needs a home for the future? Is it
time to downsize or to move into another home more suitable for
your glorious retirement years?
Like thousands of homesellers, you may be discovering that after
years of non-stop child traffic in and out of your doors, toys on
the floor, music floating throughout, suddenly you can hear a pin
drop over the quiet hum of the refrigerator. Your rooms are
filled with pictures and memories of this wonderful time in your
life, but there are many empty rooms gathering dust now that your
children have moved on. The freer years ahead are exciting ones
to look forward to, and it may be time for you to move as well.
If you find yourself in this situation, you’re in vast and good
company. And what that means is that there are many wonderful
opportunities for you to create this new chapter in your life...
if you know what it takes to get the most out of the equity you’
ve built up in your current home.
To help you understand the issues involved in making such a move,
and how to avoid the most common and costly mistakes most Empty
Nesters make, we’ve prepared this special article to help you
identify and plan for the move ahead.
9 IMPORTANT EMPTY NESTER TIPS FOR SELLING YOUR HOME
Selling your home is one of the most important steps in your
life. This 9 step system will give you the tools you need to
maximize your profits, maintain control, and reduce the stress
that comes with the homeselling process:
1. Know why you’re selling, and keep it to yourself.
The reasons behind your decision to sell affect everything from
setting a price to deciding how much time and money to invest in
getting your home ready for sale. What’s more important to you:
the money you walk away with, the length of time your property is
on the market or both. Different goals will dictate different
strategies.
However, don’t reveal your motivation to anyone else or they may
use it against you at the negotiating table. When asked, simply
say that your housing needs have changed.
2. Do your homework before setting a price.
Settling on an offering price shouldn’t be done lightly. Once
you’ve set your price, you’ve told buyers the absolute maximum
they have to pay for your home, but pricing too high is as
dangerous as pricing too low. Remember that the average buyer is
looking at 15-20 homes at the same time they are considering
yours. This means that they have a basis for comparison, and if
your home doesn’t compare favorably with others in the price
range you’ve set, you won’t be taken seriously by prospects or
agents. As a result, your home may sit on the market for a long
time and, knowing this, new buyers will think there must be
something wrong with your home.
3. Find Out What Other Homes are Selling For.
(In fact, your agent should do this for you). Find out what
comparable homes in your own and similar neighborhoods have sold
for in the past 6-12 months, and research what current homes are
listed for. That’s certainly how prospective buyers will assess
the worth of your home.
4. Find a "good" real estate agent to represent your needs.
Nearly three-quarters of homeowners claim that they wouldn’t use
the same realtor who sold their last home. Dissatisfaction boils
down to poor communication which results in not enough feedback,
lower pricing and strained relations.
5. Maximize your home’s sales potential.
Each year, corporate North America spends billions on product and
packaging design. Appearance is critical, and it would be foolish
to ignore this when selling your home.
You may not be able to change your home’s location or floor plan,
but you can do a lot to improve its appearance. The look and
feel of your home generates a greater emotional response than any
other factor. Before a showing, clean like you’ve never cleaned
before. Pick up, straighten, unclutter, scrub, scour and dust.
Fix everything, no matter how insignificant it may appear.
Present your home to get a "wow" response from prospective
buyers. Allow the buyers to imagine themselves living in your
home.
The decision to buy a home is based on emotion, not logic.
Prospective buyers want to try on your home just like they would
a new suit of clothes. If you follow them around pointing out
improvements, or if your decor is so different that it’s
difficult for a buyer to strip it away in his or her mind, you
make it difficult for them to feel comfortable enough to imagine
themselves as an owner.
6. Make it easy for prospects to get information on your home.
You may be surprised to know that some marketing tools that most
agents use to sell homes (eg. traditional open houses) are
actually not very effective. In fact only 1% of homes are sold at
an open house.
Furthermore, the prospects calling for information on your home
probably value their time as much as you do. The last thing they
want to be subjected to is either a game of telephone tag with an
agent, or an unwanted sales pitch. Make sure the ads your agent
places for your home are attached to a 24 hour prerecorded
hotline with a specific ID# for your home which gives buyers
access to detailed information about your property day or night 7
days a week without having to talk to anyone. It’s been proven
that 3 times as many buyers call for information on your home
under this system. And remember, the more buyers you have
competing for your home the better, because it sets up an
auction-like atmosphere that puts you in the driver’s seat.
7. Know your buyer.
In the negotiation process, your objective is to control the pace
and set the duration. What is your buyer’s motivation? Does s/he
need to move quickly? Does s/he have enough money to pay you your
asking price? Knowing this information gives you the upper hand
in the negotiation because you know how far you can push to get
what you want.
8. Make sure the contract is complete.
For your part as a seller, make sure you disclose everything.
Smart sellers proactively go above and beyond the laws to
disclose all known defects to their buyers in writing. If the
buyer knows about a problem, s/he can’t come back with a lawsuit
later on.
Make sure all terms, costs and responsibilities are spelled out
in the contract of sale, and resist the temptation to diverge
from the contract. For example, if the buyer requests a move-in
prior to closing, just say no. Now is not the time to take any
chances of the deal falling through.
9. Don’t move out before you sell.
Studies have shown that it is more difficult to sell a home that
is vacant because it looks forlorn, forgotten, simply not
appealing. It could even cost you thousands. If you move,
you’re also telling buyers that you have a new home and are
probably highly motivated to sell fast. This, of course, will
give them the advantage at the negotiating table.
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Gabriel Purcarus
Adresz Elite
3295 Souvenir
Laval, QC, H7W 1A9
Phone: 514-998-7927
Fax: 450-472-7910
Website: ImmoGrandMontreal.com
Email: Info@ImmoGrandMontreal.com
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