Guide to Selling

First time home seller? Seasoned veteran seller? Austin’s guide to selling will take you through the steps to get your home sold for the most amount of money in the least amount of time. Find out how to:

• Prepare your home for the market and stage like a TV designer.

• Price your home or condo competitively in the market to draw interest.

• Be ready to show your home to that those prospective buyers.

• Negotiate the terms and have a smooth sailing to closing.

Trust me, I understand that when making the decision to sell, your home isn’t always in its limelight condition. With that said, follow these steps to ensure your home looks like a diamond to prospective buyers.

De-cluttering

The goal is to make the home feel light and airy to prospective buyers. Too much clutter and personal items can damper that buyer’s experience. Packed closets, tables full of family photos, Knick Knacks, and a kitchen table with the last 3 days’ worth of unread mail will make it harder for the buyer to envision them and their family living there.

Cleaning

Clearing the cobwebs, freshening up the blinds, clearing the grease from the oven are what you can expect getting your home ready for showings. Consider getting the carpets cleans and if you have pet…., “Fluffy’s” pet hair has no place in the home selling process. Give your home that nice shine to leave buyers with a positive, clean impression of your home.

Staging

This step in the home selling process involves optimizing the use, look, and feel of your home. Repainting the walls, rearranging the furniture, bringing in some furniture props, and even adding that extra fluffy pillow to your bed are just a small handful of ways to make your property extremely marketable to prospective buyers.

Repairs and Renovations

Expecting to bring in top dollar for your home in the shortest amount of time? You should definitely expect to make the necessary upgrades to compete in the market. Doors need replacing? Damaged hardwood floors? The outside gate barely hanging on to its last bracket? Got a leak? Have these repairs taken care of by professionals to ensure the functionality and integrity to offer the most value to your home. For bigger renovations such as updating the kitchen or bathroom, these can be an excellent return on investments to compete in your neighborhood’s market.

How Austin can help you prepare your home to sell

• Considering I have many clients that have bought with my advising, I know what buyers are looking for. Buying a home is an emotional process – we want to appeal to the buyers emotions.

• Coordinate repairs and renovations with the various arsenal of contractors, painters, cleaners, electricians, stagers, and even gardeners to bring your home to maximum value.

• Advise what repairs will bring your maximum ROI in your market. What do the buyers REALLY care about ? Spending $15,000 for a new deck when the buyers in your town are looking for that perfect finished basement may not be the smartest investment. On the flip side, spending $15,000 to upgrade both bathrooms can bring an extra $35-$50k to your home’s value. Which ROI would YOU like? ….. I thought so.

Pricing

Your home is home is only worth what a the market is willing to pay, however, great pricing strategies will help you net top dollar in today’s market in the shortest amount of time.

You can check the value of your home by:

• Checking recent sales in your immediate area
• Reviewing what properties have recently had been placed under contract
• Staying on top of locale market conditions and interest rates
• Recognizing the pros and cons of your home

Marketing

When selling a home, it’s easy to say that the more eyes that catch sight of your home, the more generated interest there will be. The more generated interest, the better the chances of receiving a nice offer to purchase your home. Buyers want to feel like to feel like they’re getting the best value for their dollar so it’s important to have an ideal marketing plan. This can include:

1. Knowing who your local buyer is
   1. Are they a middle aged family looking to upsize because their kids are growing up? Is it a senior village where your buyers are looking to retire? What features and benefits are important to them? This will help you target a specific audience to help increase your odds of attracting the right buyer.
2. Looking good Online
   1. In our ever advancing world of the internet, a strong presence online can cast a wide net of potential buyers and draw their attention to your home. You can imagine where 90% of buyers begin their search – online! You didn’t take your wedding photos with your smartphone did you? – Professional photography is an absolute must when putting your home in the limelight online.
3. Marketing materials that connect with your ideal buyer
   1. Is your ideal buyer tech savy and very respondent to social media? Or are they an individual who read the postcards and flyers that come through her mailbox? Different buyers connect with different type of marketing materials. It’s important to recognize which marketing material will grab your ideal buyer’s attention – and KEEP it!
4. Understanding what types of buyers are in the buyer pool
   1. There are three main types of buyers and I target each and every one of them. They include the buyers who are actively looking in the market, buyers that are working with agents in the market, and those who don’t even know they are buyers yet!

How Austin can help you market your home

• I’m a millennial! — I was born with a smartphone in my hand. Technology and social media branding is second nature; increasing your potential buyer’s awareness. Combine that with traditional marketing campaigns and your home is sure to receive the attention it needs to sell.

• Besides the minimum 500+ websites that I market your home on, I know how buyers respond to marketing and I know what they want — I work with buyers on daily basis.

• The buyer isn’t just buying a home that exists in a vacuum – I market the area, the community, and vibe of your home. It helps add fuels to specific marketing materials to attract your ideal buyer.

• I ONLY use professional photography and graphics when marketing my client’s home for sale; elevating the highlights of your home while appealing to your ideal buyer’s senses. They say a picture is worth 1,000 words – what do you want your home to “say?”

You’ve spent the time to research your market and price your home competitively. You’ve made the necessary upgrades and repairs. You’ve marketed to your target audience and now buyers are calling your agent to set up showing appointments. What next?

1. Have flexible showing hours.
   1. It’s also tough to sell your home when buyers can only get one day out of the week to come view it. Remind yourself you’re also working around buyer’s work and family schedules. You want to make sure your home is as easy to show as possible.
2. Make sure your home is in showing condition
   1. Could you imagine what the buyer would think if your home in person didn’t match the persona of the pictures you provided? Keep it tidy, keep it neat. I’m well aware it can be a tedious process keeping the home in show ready condition, however, if done properly, your home won’t be on the market for long anyway! – Sold!
3. Feedback
   1. This is probably the most overlooked aspect about showings. What are your potential buyers saying about your home? This will give you an idea of how the market is responding to your home marketing strategy.

How Austin can help you with showings

• Assist with showing potential buyers your home with no need for you to present.

• Keep a running track of agents taking their prospective buyers to your home

• Provide weekly feedback analysis to keep you informed of what the market is feeling towards your home.

• Stay on top of ever changing market conditions for you to remain priced and marketed competitively.

Congratulations! Your marketing efforts have paid off and now there is a ready, willing, and able buyer who has given their agent the green light to submit an offer to purchase on their behalf. Once received and reviewed, you will have three choices when deciding how to handle the presented offer.

• Accept
  • You are content and satisfied with the price and terms of the offer
• Counter-Offer
  • Looking for a slightly higher price? Want to close sooner than the offer originally requested? Want to take your antique chandelier that the buyer is attempting to package with the home? Here’s your chance to give the buyer an opportunity to accept the contract on the terms you would like.
• Reject
  • You will reject the offer presented and continue to entertain other offers and potential buyers

With a presented offer, it will disclose how your transaction will unfold and will include these points of negotiations.

1. Purchase price
2. Closing date
3. Down payment/Deposit
4. Contingency deadlines and conditions

How Austin can help you negotiate an offer to purchase your home.

• I don’t get bullied! I know how to protect my seller’s best interest and keep their goals in the cross-hairs.
• Decoding the real reasons why buyers are asking for certain conditions when negotiating. Remind you, I work with buyers, I know what they’re thinking!
• Providing you with alternate decisions in order for you to stay closely aligned with your aspirations even when the first offer doesn’t satisfy those needs just yet.

CONGRATS! You just sold your HOME!! It’s time to take your profits, tell honey to start the car, and get on to the next destination to call Home!