Friday, November 21, 2008

Home Seller's Guide

For the last few posts, I have focused on the buyer's side in a transaction. Over the next few, I am going to focus on the seller's side.

Step 1

The first thing to do is to look at the house through a buyer's eyes. Think of things that need to be cleaned or painted. There may be items that need repaired before you can sell your house. Ask yourself what would you want corrected if you were the buyer. Remember the goal is to sell your house and you should make look as good as possible for any prospects that may be interested in purchasing it.

Remember that in a normal year in the United States there are approximately 5,000,000 houses sold. Each seller wants the same thing - the best price that a buyer is willing to pay. The buyer of real estate wants the best or lowest price that he can get. In a large part, the price you receive is based on the number of houses that are for sell in your community that are comparable to yours. You need to determine what will make a buyer want your house over the one down the street.

You want your house to stand out from the rest of the houses on the market. Improve your house so that it is comparable with other houses in the neighborhood. New paint, wallpaper and landscaping help a property to sell quicker. Any repairs should be made in order to get the best possible price from a buyer.

Before you actually put your house on the market, make sure you have prepared your house to sell. Remember, buyers want to be able to see themselves living in that house. If it needs repairs, or has too much "stuff" around, it will turn many people off. Don't look at your house as a place for you to live, look at it as a place you are trying to sell.

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