Five Tips To Help You Sell Your Home At The Highest Possible Price

Especially in today's volatile market, you really can't afford to make mistakes.  Mistakes can cost you thousands of dollars in lost profit.  Avoiding these mistakes is easy, and can pay you back in huge dividends.  Here are FIVE TIPS that can help:

1.    "RIGHT PRICE" PRICING:  Your home is one of your most valuable possessions.  Pricing it right from the beginning will keep the buying public excited about viewing your home.  Overpricing your home only hurts its chances of being sold.  It languishes on the market and tends to become "shop worn".  In many cases, all you're accomplishing by pricing your home higher than your Realtor recommends is helping the people down the street sell their home.  It's simple economics:  if two houses are similar in age, size, amenities, etc., and your house is priced higher, the Buyer's agent will tell his clients, "Hey, if you like this house, just wait till you see the one around the corner.  It's pretty much the same house, but priced less!"  Even though you're a Seller, you have to think like a buyer.  Which one would you buy?

2.     MAKE YOUR HOME "BUYER FRIENDLY":  Buyers want to view a home on their own time table.  Unfortunately, their schedule does not always coincide with your.  All your agent to place a lock box on your property so your home can be shown more easily.  You never know if "the one that got away" was your buyer.

3.     PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD:  Prospects make up their minds within the first twenty minutes.  In fact, sometimes the Buyers will give a house a thumbs up or a thumbs down as soon as they drive up.  It's critical to dress up your landscaping and have everything looking its very best so that when the potential buyers drive up, they're immediately impressed and can't wait to see more.  As the Buyers' Realtor is fumbling with the lockbox and the Buyers are standing on the front porch looking around, make sure the door is clean and the hardware on the door is polished and shining like a new penny.  Does your home need new carpeting?  Instead of offering an allowance, go ahead and put it in if you can afford to.  The less you have to apologize for, the better.  Spending $1,200 on new carpeting might add another $4,000 to the price of your home.  Get an objective point of view from your Realtor.  He/she can provide you with a list of items that will maximize the profit of your home sale.

4.     TAKE EMOTION OUT OF THE PICTURE:  It can be very frustrating, and downright insulting to be presented with a low offer.  A good Realtor will help you keep your focus and make a sound counter-offer back to the Buyer.  This is a key reason you'll want to hire a professional instead of going the FOR SALE BY OWNER route.  Someone who has written hundreds of contracts knows how to be "the glue" that can hold the sale together.  Your agent will be invaluable at the home inspection stage of this process as well, helping you work through another series of steps toward the closing table.

5.     CHOOSE CAREFULLY:  Home sellers often pick a friend or family member as their agent.  That's fine, as long as you don't choose them ONLY because they're a friend or family member.  Make sure you choose an agent with a strong track record and aggressive marketing plan.  A top producer knows the market well and can generate many potential buyers.  During the interview, ask a battery of questions:  How long have you been selling real estate?  Where is your niche market?  How many homes have you sold in my neighborhood?  Are you on a team?  Do you have administrative assistance?  What kind of advertising can we expect?  How many websites will showcase my home?  At top professional should have a marketing strategy designed for your home, and you'll want someone who is affiliated with a company that utilizes every possible marketing tool available.

By aligning yourself with a top agent, you ensure that all the important issues and seemingly insignificant but...very important...details are handled professionally.  Choose someone who is willing to not only work hard - but work smart - someone who keeps up with the hottest new strategies in home selling.  And here's the bottom line:  look for someone who cares about your bottom line.

Jacki and Jerry Shafer are "Mega Agents" with The Shafer Team and KELLER WILLIAMS Realty Louisville East.  They specialize in home sales in Louisville and the surrounding counties of Oldham, Henry, Shelby and Trimble in Kentucky.