How to sell your Parkwoods Condo for top dollar

March 14th, 2010

How do you get top dollar for your Parkwoods condo in today’s market?

parkwoods_condo_1#1. Use a Realtor that knows how to ‘Market’ not just ‘Sell.’  Selling is what you do when someone is already in front of you.  Marketing is what you do to get a buyer there in the first place. 

 #2. Do not settle for Complacent marketing when selling a home.  When selling your home there are no guarantees that the ultimate buyer of your  unit will have simply walked through the front door. In many cases you may have to bring your  unit to the buyer. Effective marketing will help ensure that your property receives maximum

exposure to attract a ready, willing and able buyer in the shortest period of time. Ask me to list for you all of the ways I intend to market your unit and on what time-line. Also, be sure to ask about the home being advertised on the Internet. 

 #3. Taking for granted the “first impression” of your unit.  When you’re preparing for a sale remember a buyer’s first impression sets the tone for the rest of the showing.  Buyers make offers emotionally, they close escrow intellectually.  What I mean is that most buyers decide to write an offer using their emotions to make their decision.  Emotions are manipulated first impressions.  Closing an escrow is more of an evaluation of numbers and figures.  Mortgage payments and inspection results for example.  With that in mind, be sure to stand just inside your unit and take a realistic “fresh look” and then ask yourself what can be done to make the “first impression” improve. It could make a huge difference in your final sales price. 

 #4. Attend to inspection findings and health and safety issues.  Be upfront, pre-inspect and and fully disclose.  The problems are going to be discovered anyway.  In many cases, these issues have been or can be factored into the home’s listing price.

 #5. What you would want to see if you were the buyer of your unit?  Remember that although people can be different in personality, they tend to be the same when it comes to expectations at someone else’s expense. In other words, a prospective buyer would probably like to see a perfect unit from top to bottom, inside and out, when it comes to your unit. Try to do as many of the following items as possible to improve the likelihood of your units sale in an expedient way.

1) Sweep front walkway and keep it that way
2) Remove newspapers, bikes and toys.
3) Move clutter to a storage unit
4) Place fresh flowers in the main rooms.
5) Apply fresh, clean paint throughout.
6) Clean windows and window coverings throughout.
7) Keep plumbing and all appliances in working order.
8) Maintain all sealant (window, tub, shower, sink, etc.) in good condition.
9) Clean the carpets.
10) Have the grout in the counters and tiled areas cleaned.
11) The kitchen and bathroom should shine.
12) Put dishes away, unless setting a formal display for decoration.
13) Make all beds and put all clothes away.
14) Open drapes and turn on lights for a brighter feel.
15) Straighten closets.
16) Turn off television.
17) Play soft music on the radio/stereo.
18) Keep pets out of the way and pet areas clean and odor-free.
19) Replace personal photos with non-personal artwork.
20) Enhance the spaciousness of each room.
 

#6. Thinking you need to be in the unit to explain things to a prospective buyer is not the case.  You will be better served if you allow their Realtor to do their job without you there. Most potential buyers usually feel more comfortable if they can speak freely to the real estate professional without the owners being present. If people unaccompanied by an agent request to see your property, you should refer them to your agent for an appointment. 

#7. Price your unit at the comparable “listing” amounts, not comparable “selling” amounts.  Price your home to sell.  Perhaps the most challenging aspect of selling a unit is listing it at the correct price. It’s one of several areas where the assistance of a skilled real estate agent can more than pay for itself. Listing the unit too high can be as bad as too low. If the listing price is too high, you’ll miss out on a percentage of buyers looking in the price range where your home should be. This is the flaw in thinking that you’ll always have the opportunity to accept a lower offer. Chances are the offers won’t even come in, because the buyers who would be most interested in your unit have been scared off by the price and aren’t even taking the time to look. By the time the price is corrected, you’ve already lost exposure to a large group of potential buyers. The listing price becomes even trickier to set when prices are quickly rising or falling. It’s critical to be aware of where and how fast the market is moving – both when setting the price and when negotiating an offer. Again, an experienced, well-trained agent is always in touch with market trends – often even to a greater extent than appraisers, who typically focus on what a property is worth if sold as-is, right now.  

#8. Plan your move early enough. Many sellers simply don’t plan their move early enough and then feel totally overwhelmed at the time of moving out of the house.  Asking for a rent back from a buyer might affect the quality of offers that you receive 

#9. Using a “convenient” Realtor rather than using an experienced Realtor.  When working with a real estate agent, it’s critical that you have full confidence in that agent’s experience and education. A skilled, knowledgeable agent should be able to explain to you exactly why your unit needs to be priced at a certain level – compared to recent listings and sales of units similar to yours. Experienced agents also know exactly what the current pool of buyers are looking for in relation to particular styles and price ranges of properties. A skilled agent can recommend changes that will enhance the salability of your unit, thus increasing the price – and/or decreasing the length of time before a sale.

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Opinion, Sellers

Author: BrianS

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