The Beeler Group

Selling a house in an extremely competitive market is possible, especially if a seller is prepared to take action to help facilitate attracting a buyer.  In a housing market where ‘for sale’ signs are springing up like mushrooms after a downpour, it’s not enough to hire a realtor who only puts a sign in the yard, enters the information about the home on the local multiple listing service (MLS), and waits for a potential buyer to find the home.

In a buyer’s market, it is imperative that sellers be more cognizant of the choices and actions they take prior to putting the home on the market.  In some instances, It may even be wiser to keep the home off the market until they are fully prepared to offer it for sale.  Potential buyers may not reappear to see your freshly painted entry.  How should you prepare yourself for this competitive market?  Here is a brief rundown of a must-do list to get your house noticed and sold:

The Right Agent

Rushing into choosing a realtor could be your first mistake in a competitive market. You must begin by interviewing several agents in order to choose the best realtor available for your individual circumstance, especially in such a competitive housing market.  Begin by asking some standard questions to find out what marketing plans are offered, what internet presence can be expected, a list of past clients as references, and what type of administrative and communication systems are in place.

Putting your house listing in the MLS is no longer adequate to get a house sold. Now that places like Craigslist.org, Homes.com and Realtor.com exist – home buyers are skipping the basic MLS altogether. Make sure your Realtor is using YouTube, Google Maps, Craigslist, small mini-sites, MLS, their own site and more. You can’t have too much.
The realtor who understands the market, who is not interested in appeasing your over-priced value on your house, and who can explain what it means to sell a house in a buyer’s market is the agent for you. Choose the agent that gives you the straight talk while keeping a good rapport with you, and you will have a successful relationship and sale.

Repairs

It’s time to prepare the home for sale.  Aggressive sellers will hire a home inspection company to conduct what is termed a “pre-inspection” of the house.  This pre-inspection will identify potential defects in the home that will eventually show up through a buyer’s inspection, possibly terminating any offers on the table.

By discovering defects and making the corrections well before a buyer has an opportunity to back out, the home will get a second and third showing, resulting in more offers.  When a pre-inspection is conducted, it is best to inform potential buyers of it by leaving a copy of the inspection report at the home as well as have it posted on the multiple listing service.  Don’t forget to do those little repairs, too.  It’s not just about whether the furnace works; buyers notice things like broken light switches and squeaky doors.  It may seem trivial, but each one starts a fingernails-on-the-blackboard response in a buyer which can result in losing a follow-up showing.

Curb Appeal

In addition to making repairs to the actual home, taking a look at the landscaping and entry is another key to selling a home in a buyer’s market.  Landscaping and your front door has a tremendous impact on the first impression a buyer will get when they first see the home.  You may be thinking that buyers are fickle, and they may very well be.  But, regardless of whether you think something like a few flowers and a fresh coat of paint is trivial, your buyer may not.  Having a potential buyer come back for a second look because they felt welcomed by the first impression they got at your front step can make the difference between selling and sold.

Photos of your home will be posted on the internet, printed on flyers, and used in other publications if you have an aggressive agent.  Simple things like potted plants, trimmed shrubbery, and neat entries make a difference.  Photographs aren’t very forgiving.  You can’t make up for that peeling paint or pile of dead leaves with a clever description of your home or even cinnamon rolls baking in the oven.  Pictures are not forgiving, so be sure your landscaping and entry are meticulous, even if you have to postpone your listing until you get it done.

Staging

Take a look at your home from a buyer’s perspective.  I know this is hard to do because you have an emotional attachment to your home.  But, consider coming into your home for the first time as a new owner.  You may have furniture that perfectly matches your purple walls, but not everyone does.  You may have the perfect kids’ rooms for your toddlers, but not everyone has toddlers.  Invest in neutral tone paint and cover up all those lovely colors.  You also need to take a look at replacing carpeting, putting away all your knick-knacks, rearranging your furniture, and even storing most of your items to clear the way for a buyer’s imagination.

Many sellers benefit from hiring a home staging professional.  These experts are trained to see the potential, and for understanding how difficult it is to de-personalize your home while it’s on the market.  A home staging expert is trained to see homes through the buyer’s eye and will present the home so that the buyer actually looks at the qualities and features of the home, rather than be distracted by the stuff the owner either loves or has become immune to.

When selling a home in a buyer’s market that is saturated with a large inventory of homes for sale, it is imperative sellers take proactive steps prior to putting a for sale sign in the yard.  Interview and hire the best realtor, review and repair any defects of the home, and properly stage the home so you will maximize the interest each time you show your home.

If you’re looking to sell your home – call us and ask for Mark. We’ll provide a marketing plan you won’t see anywhere else. 573-302-3660

Just when you thought you were staging a house correctly, the world changes. How many times have you seen parents “home shopping” with their kids in tow? And once in the house, kids want to see what the bedrooms look like – because like their parents – they want to see their space.

Home shopping isn’t easy. Long hours, house after house and often times cranky kids hanging on. To keep them interested, parents now are pointing to a room and saying “there’s plenty of room here for your Wii, in fact, there might be more room”. But what does that mean, exactly?

Well, both the Wii and the new XBox Kinect require a large area in front of the TV to operate effectively. In fact, the XBox Kinect requires that two players stand between 6 and 9 feet behind the TV. In a 10′ x 10′ room, that’s almost not possible with couches, chairs and tables.

For family friendly neighborhoods, consider staging the house with a video game system the kids can use while the parents pareuse. It will endear the kids to the house, give the parents a few moments relief and give everyone the sense that “yes, we could live here.”

If your place is small, but you know a room and an orientation that would work for a gaming system, print it on a small placard and tape it to the wall above the light switch in that room. “This is a great room for the Wii and XBox. With the TV in the corner, there’s plenty of room to play”.   With that, you not only put a positive in the mind of the parents, but you get the parents thinking about that when they visit other houses.

When your prospective buyer walks through the front door they will form an INSTANT first impression. Little things can make a HUGE difference.

• Keep the porch swept and clear of debris
• Add a seasonal pot of flowers or a wreath on the door
• Refresh the air periodically with a vanilla scent.

Once through the threshold, what does the prospective buyer SEE? It is your home and it is difficult to remove yourself personally and answer that question.

And here’s something else that really works.

Before the Realtor comes to take photos for marketing, take your own photos. Sit down and study each one. You are now outside of the room looking in. You are a visitor in your own home. You’ll find yourself saying: “That picture looks so ALONE hanging over there”, “that window doesn’t even show”, “the room looks so crowded”.

In most cases, it’s an easy fix! Clear the palate! They came to see your HOME— not the contents. The eye will usually go to the vibrant color, etc. We want them to SEE the bones of the house!

So, have fun with it! You will learn so much!

Mike and Anita Sievers
573.302.3660 Office

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• Lake of the Ozarks Home Buying Tips
• Pricing your Lake Home to Sell
• Home Selling Mistakes