When A REALTOR® Moves - Do They Take Their Own Advice?

Being real estate professionals we know what needs to be done to a house to make it more marketable. Right? We have all the neighbourhood comparables at our fingertips. We are constantly giving advice to others about pricing a home to sell for the most amount of money in the least amount of time.

Ultimately the market dictates what our home will sell for. Why is it then that so many real estate professionals don't take their own advice and think that their home is worth more than it really is?

I recently sold my home. It took me 3 weeks to get my home ready to sell. Well it didn't take 3 weeks full time but I kept adding things "to do" to my list. I didn't have any major projects but lots of minor sprucing up to complete.

I must admit I did take my own advice and here is a list of items that I completed before I listed.

1. Re-stain the cedar deck

2. Clean out the crawlspace and garage - a couple trips to the dump - bags of clothes and small items to Amity

3. Clean out closets

4. Clean windows, garage door and exterior of house

5. Add some flowers to the garden and fresh new flowers in containers and urns

6. Clean light fixtures

7. Paint house numbers

8. De-clutter and pack away unnecessary dishes, photos and decorative items.

Can you see that there is one word that has been repeated numerous times above?

Clean. Cleaning and decluttering are imperative in order for your house to sell in a reasonable amount of time. We were very fortunate. We received 2 offers after having the house listed for only 3 days. It took me longer to get it ready than it did to sell.

But my efforts paid off. We sold for over list price. No one said preparing a house to sell is easy. I feel for my clients because I have been in their shoes many times. As an agent, it is often difficult to tell a potential seller that they must clean their house and declutter if they want it to sell.

But it's a simple fact - Cleaning and decluttering = $$$$